Part I. Brahma Is Atma
*
"Brahma Knowledge", by L. D. Barnett, [1911],
12. Brahma is tm.--I. "Upanishads."--This idealistic conception became more marked when Brahma was identified with the "tm," the subject of individual thought. "The universe is an Idea, "my" Idea"--this doctrine is constantly preached in detailed expositions and in pithy phrases like the famous "I am Brahma (aham brahmsmi)", "thou art that (tat tvam asi)". Hence all phenomena are known when their substrate Brahma is known as the Self of the knower.
For "tat tvam asi" see Ch. VI. viii. 7 f.; "aham brahmsmi," B.A. I. iv. 10; cf. "tad vai tat, truly this is that," B.A. V. iv., "etad vai tat", Kah. Iv. 3-6. The most adequate treatment of this theme is B.A. IV. iii.-iv.: the Self is "the Spirit "(Purusha)"
p. 25
made of understanding amid the Breaths, the inward light within the heart, that travels abroad, remaining the same, through both worlds," wandering in waking and dreaming through this world, and in deep sleep or death through the world of Brahma; in dreams it builds up a fairy world from the materials of waking thought; in dreamless sleep it is merged in the "understanding self, prjna tm," viz. Brahma as universal subject of thought, without consciousness of objects distinct from itself (cf. 11, 15,18). tm is pure consciousness, Kau. III f.; as a purely intellectual force pervading all being, it is compared to salt dissolved in water, B.a. Ii. iv. 12, Ch. VI. xiii. tm known, all is known, Ch. VI. i. f.; the later view of it as impassive spectator of the subjects, objects, and activity of finite thought, Pra. VI. 5, vet. VI. 11, Sarvopanishatsra, etc.
Ch. VIII. i. f. lays special emphasis on the presence of the whole macrocosm, the universal Self, in the heart of man, and hence on the absolute freedom of him who knows the Self within him. The whole world of cognitions exists for us only in so far as it enters into the range of our egoity; our pleasures are only for the satisfaction of our Self, which is the All; this recognition unites our soul with the universe and gives us control of all things from their source, B.a. Ii. iv., IV. v. The final reality of cognition is infinitude, "bhm,"
p. 26
illimitable ideation, on realising which the soul wins absolute freedom, Ch. VII. xxiii. f.
Very important in this connection is the theory of the Five Selves propounded in the Taittirya Upanishad, ii., an attempt to interpret the phenomena of physical existence in terms of the tm. The author conceives the first four Selves as sheaths surrounding the fifth. The first is "anna-maya, formed of food"; that is, it comprises the physical organs of microcosmic and macrocosmic body. Within this is the second, the "pra-maya, formed of life-breaths"; it is the Self as embodied in the incorporeal functions on which depends the activity of the gross organs in the microcosm and macrocosm. The third is "mano-maya, formed of will," namely of the Vedas and Brhmaas, which are the powers inspiring the life of the world for worldly ends, for they ordain rituals for the carnal benefit of gods and their worshippers in this and other worlds. The fourth is "vijnna-maya, formed of understanding," namely that phase of consciousness in which the vanity of this Vedic ritual is recognised and superseded by an intellectual worship of Brahma, which however still distinguishes Brahma as object from the Self as worshipper. Within this is the inmost Self, the "nanda-maya, formed of bliss," the incogitable spirit of infinite peace and joy (cf. Ch. IV. x.-xv., where Brahma is essentially space and joy).
p. 27
Ii. \"Later Vednta."--The triad of attributes often mentioned in the later Vednta, Existence, Thought, and Bliss "(sack-chid-nanda)", does not occur as a formula in ankara's writings; it is however anticipated by his definition of Brahma as "eternal, omniscient, omnipresent, eternally satisfied, eternally pure, intelligent, and free of nature, understanding, and bliss" (on Brahma-stra I. i. 4). Brahma is the omnipotent and omniscient cause of the origin, maintenance, and dissolution of the universe, the intelligence forming the Self or true Ego of every being, of which the only possible predicates are absolute Being and Thought (on I. i. 2, 4, Ii. iii. 7, III. ii. 21, etc.).
In accordance with his principles, ankara regards the creation by and from Brahma from both an esoteric and an exoteric standpoint. On the one hand, he remarks, the creation of the phenomenal world as described in terms of empiric thought by the Vedas and Upanishads has no absolute reality at all; it is intended to teach parabolically that the Self of all things is Brahma (see commentary on Brahma-stra II. i. 33). On the other hand, the world of experience cannot be ignored altogether; it is a fact of consciousness, though only of unenlightened consciousness, and accordingly an explanation of its process must be found. Creation consists in a division of Brahma by himself into a boundless variety of "names and forms," intelligible existences
p. 28
which constitute the empiric world and possess determinate principles of being, formal and material potentialities "(akti)" that never vary throughout all the world's successive cycles (see 23). These potential forces, which relatively to one another are of infinite variety but intrinsically are strictly determinate, include not only the germinal principles of all phenomena but also the empiric souls "(jva) "as such; and collectively they constitute the "powers" or "aktis," i.e. the eternal demiurgic potencies of Brahma, which in the intervals between the creations of the worlds lie dormant in a deep sleep of illusion as a sum of merely potential energies, waiting for the next creation to arise in cosmopoeic activity (on I. iii. 30, Iv. 9, Ii, i. 30 f., etc.). Thus the Upanishadic theory of a single creation is replaced by a doctrine of beginningless and endless successions of emergence and reabsorption of the phenomenal world (see 23).
The force that moves the absolute Idea to conceive itself as a plurality of determinate subjects and objects of empiric thought is, according to ankara, "Ignorance," which, though itself strictly negative, is the basis of that positive illusion, the phenomenal world (see 16). Ignorance creates "determinations, updhi," modes of thought limiting the self-conception of the absolute Brahma, and Ignorance causes the empiric soul thus produced to confuse Brahma with the determinations
p. 29
falsely imposed upon him, so that Brahma is imagined variously as individual soul, a world of experience, and a personal God.
The "determinations" that play the most important part in ankara's system are those which form the structure of individual consciousness by constituting the idea of an embodied individual soul, "jva." These are the "pras," or "breaths," the "works," the "subtle body," the gross body, and sometimes also the sensations and phenomenal perceptions (see 18). A favourite metaphor by which Sankara illustrates his theory of "updhis" is that of a jar. The space enclosed within a certain jar is really the same as the infinite space filling the universe, and the conception of it as limited by the jar nowise limits the infinitude of space itself; and so the conception of the Self as determined by the forms of embodied existence nowise excludes the identity of the embodied Self with the absolute Brahma. The soul itself, says ankara (on II. iii. 40), is totally incapable of (empiric) action, whether as subject or object; its apparent activity, e.g. in desire, grief, etc., is based merely upon Ignorance, for the activity arises because the soul falsely ascribes to itself the properties of "determinations" (cf. the definitions of the individual soul given on IV. ii. 4 as "the intelligent self, "vijnntm," having the determinations of ignorance, works, and previous experience").
The Vedantic schools which followed ankara
p. 30
theorised more schematically on the origin of the phenomenal world. They regard Ignorance as a cosmic sum of forces including all finite powers, causes, and effects, which has two characteristic properties, viz. "obscuration (varaa)", causing the Absolute Idea to conceive itself as distinct individual egos, and "distention (vikshepa)", arousing in the Self the illusive idea of an external world of phenomena. Accepting the Snkhya's division of matter into the three "guas" or modes of "sattva" ("goodness" or "truth"), "rajas" ("passion"), and "tamas" ("gloom"), they identify matter with Cosmic Ignorance, or the sum of individual Ignorances, which acts as a "determinant" to the Supreme Self or Absolute Thought. The latter as "determined" in Cosmic Ignorance acts as a world-soul, directing the universal order of phenomena with supreme power and knowledge, and hence is called "vara, the Lord." The Cosmic Ignorance is hence called "vara's body," and also "Deep Sleep (sushupti)", for in it the force of Ignorance investing Thought is almost wholly inoperative, and the phenomenal world exists only in potentiality. This sphere of being is called the "sheath of Bliss, nanda-maya koa." To it corresponds a stage of existence in the individual soul, in which the Self or Thought (here styled "Prjna") is "determined" by individual Ignorance. From vara as "determined" by Cosmic Ignorance arise the subtle
p. 31
elements ( 18) and thence both the "subtle bodies" ( 19) and gross elements. The "subtle bodies" in the aggregate determine the Self into a mode called "Pra, Strtm," or "Hirayagarbha"; individually they determine it into the mode called "Taijasa." These combinations of matter with the Self form three successive phases of being for the individual soul: (1) the "sheath of understanding, vijnna-maya koa," composed of intelligence "(buddhi)" and the "organs of knowledge" ( 18), which constitutes the real "agent" in empiric experience; (2) the "sheath of mind, mano-maya koa," formed of "manas" and the organs of action, thus constituting the "instrument" of empiric experience; and (3) the "sheath of the breaths, pra-maya koa," formed of vital breaths and organs of action, and constituting the effect of experience. These three phases of being are together called "Dream-Sleep," as in them arise the subtle or elementary forms of phenomena and the reflection of them upon the "determined" Self. The gross elements which arise from the subtle collectively "determine" the Self into the phase called "Vaivnara" or "Virt"; individually they "determine" it into "Viva". This lowest determination is called "anna-maya koa," the "sheath of food," or the state of Waking, for into it the forms of both gross and subtle phenomena are displayed to the Self, as in waking both memory and sense-perception are active.
p. 32
The scheme is thus as follows:
1. Individual Gross Body, determinant of Viva, in state of Waking.
Sheath of Food.
Cosmic Gross Body determinant of Virt, in state of Waking.
2. Individual Subtle Body, determinant of Taijasa, in state of Dreaming.
(1) Sheath of Breaths.
(2) Sheath of Mind.
(3) Sheath of Understanding.
Cosmic Subtle Body, determinant of Pra, in state of Dreaming.
3. Individual Causal Body, determinant of Prjna, in state of Dreamless Sleep.
Sheath of Bliss.
Cosmic Causal Body, determinant of vara, in state of Dreamless Sleep.
"Brahma Knowledge", by L. D. Barnett, [1911],
12. Brahma is tm.--I. "Upanishads."--This idealistic conception became more marked when Brahma was identified with the "tm," the subject of individual thought. "The universe is an Idea, "my" Idea"--this doctrine is constantly preached in detailed expositions and in pithy phrases like the famous "I am Brahma (aham brahmsmi)", "thou art that (tat tvam asi)". Hence all phenomena are known when their substrate Brahma is known as the Self of the knower.
For "tat tvam asi" see Ch. VI. viii. 7 f.; "aham brahmsmi," B.A. I. iv. 10; cf. "tad vai tat, truly this is that," B.A. V. iv., "etad vai tat", Kah. Iv. 3-6. The most adequate treatment of this theme is B.A. IV. iii.-iv.: the Self is "the Spirit "(Purusha)"
p. 25
made of understanding amid the Breaths, the inward light within the heart, that travels abroad, remaining the same, through both worlds," wandering in waking and dreaming through this world, and in deep sleep or death through the world of Brahma; in dreams it builds up a fairy world from the materials of waking thought; in dreamless sleep it is merged in the "understanding self, prjna tm," viz. Brahma as universal subject of thought, without consciousness of objects distinct from itself (cf. 11, 15,18). tm is pure consciousness, Kau. III f.; as a purely intellectual force pervading all being, it is compared to salt dissolved in water, B.a. Ii. iv. 12, Ch. VI. xiii. tm known, all is known, Ch. VI. i. f.; the later view of it as impassive spectator of the subjects, objects, and activity of finite thought, Pra. VI. 5, vet. VI. 11, Sarvopanishatsra, etc.
Ch. VIII. i. f. lays special emphasis on the presence of the whole macrocosm, the universal Self, in the heart of man, and hence on the absolute freedom of him who knows the Self within him. The whole world of cognitions exists for us only in so far as it enters into the range of our egoity; our pleasures are only for the satisfaction of our Self, which is the All; this recognition unites our soul with the universe and gives us control of all things from their source, B.a. Ii. iv., IV. v. The final reality of cognition is infinitude, "bhm,"
p. 26
illimitable ideation, on realising which the soul wins absolute freedom, Ch. VII. xxiii. f.
Very important in this connection is the theory of the Five Selves propounded in the Taittirya Upanishad, ii., an attempt to interpret the phenomena of physical existence in terms of the tm. The author conceives the first four Selves as sheaths surrounding the fifth. The first is "anna-maya, formed of food"; that is, it comprises the physical organs of microcosmic and macrocosmic body. Within this is the second, the "pra-maya, formed of life-breaths"; it is the Self as embodied in the incorporeal functions on which depends the activity of the gross organs in the microcosm and macrocosm. The third is "mano-maya, formed of will," namely of the Vedas and Brhmaas, which are the powers inspiring the life of the world for worldly ends, for they ordain rituals for the carnal benefit of gods and their worshippers in this and other worlds. The fourth is "vijnna-maya, formed of understanding," namely that phase of consciousness in which the vanity of this Vedic ritual is recognised and superseded by an intellectual worship of Brahma, which however still distinguishes Brahma as object from the Self as worshipper. Within this is the inmost Self, the "nanda-maya, formed of bliss," the incogitable spirit of infinite peace and joy (cf. Ch. IV. x.-xv., where Brahma is essentially space and joy).
p. 27
Ii. \"Later Vednta."--The triad of attributes often mentioned in the later Vednta, Existence, Thought, and Bliss "(sack-chid-nanda)", does not occur as a formula in ankara's writings; it is however anticipated by his definition of Brahma as "eternal, omniscient, omnipresent, eternally satisfied, eternally pure, intelligent, and free of nature, understanding, and bliss" (on Brahma-stra I. i. 4). Brahma is the omnipotent and omniscient cause of the origin, maintenance, and dissolution of the universe, the intelligence forming the Self or true Ego of every being, of which the only possible predicates are absolute Being and Thought (on I. i. 2, 4, Ii. iii. 7, III. ii. 21, etc.).
In accordance with his principles, ankara regards the creation by and from Brahma from both an esoteric and an exoteric standpoint. On the one hand, he remarks, the creation of the phenomenal world as described in terms of empiric thought by the Vedas and Upanishads has no absolute reality at all; it is intended to teach parabolically that the Self of all things is Brahma (see commentary on Brahma-stra II. i. 33). On the other hand, the world of experience cannot be ignored altogether; it is a fact of consciousness, though only of unenlightened consciousness, and accordingly an explanation of its process must be found. Creation consists in a division of Brahma by himself into a boundless variety of "names and forms," intelligible existences
p. 28
which constitute the empiric world and possess determinate principles of being, formal and material potentialities "(akti)" that never vary throughout all the world's successive cycles (see 23). These potential forces, which relatively to one another are of infinite variety but intrinsically are strictly determinate, include not only the germinal principles of all phenomena but also the empiric souls "(jva) "as such; and collectively they constitute the "powers" or "aktis," i.e. the eternal demiurgic potencies of Brahma, which in the intervals between the creations of the worlds lie dormant in a deep sleep of illusion as a sum of merely potential energies, waiting for the next creation to arise in cosmopoeic activity (on I. iii. 30, Iv. 9, Ii, i. 30 f., etc.). Thus the Upanishadic theory of a single creation is replaced by a doctrine of beginningless and endless successions of emergence and reabsorption of the phenomenal world (see 23).
The force that moves the absolute Idea to conceive itself as a plurality of determinate subjects and objects of empiric thought is, according to ankara, "Ignorance," which, though itself strictly negative, is the basis of that positive illusion, the phenomenal world (see 16). Ignorance creates "determinations, updhi," modes of thought limiting the self-conception of the absolute Brahma, and Ignorance causes the empiric soul thus produced to confuse Brahma with the determinations
p. 29
falsely imposed upon him, so that Brahma is imagined variously as individual soul, a world of experience, and a personal God.
The "determinations" that play the most important part in ankara's system are those which form the structure of individual consciousness by constituting the idea of an embodied individual soul, "jva." These are the "pras," or "breaths," the "works," the "subtle body," the gross body, and sometimes also the sensations and phenomenal perceptions (see 18). A favourite metaphor by which Sankara illustrates his theory of "updhis" is that of a jar. The space enclosed within a certain jar is really the same as the infinite space filling the universe, and the conception of it as limited by the jar nowise limits the infinitude of space itself; and so the conception of the Self as determined by the forms of embodied existence nowise excludes the identity of the embodied Self with the absolute Brahma. The soul itself, says ankara (on II. iii. 40), is totally incapable of (empiric) action, whether as subject or object; its apparent activity, e.g. in desire, grief, etc., is based merely upon Ignorance, for the activity arises because the soul falsely ascribes to itself the properties of "determinations" (cf. the definitions of the individual soul given on IV. ii. 4 as "the intelligent self, "vijnntm," having the determinations of ignorance, works, and previous experience").
The Vedantic schools which followed ankara
p. 30
theorised more schematically on the origin of the phenomenal world. They regard Ignorance as a cosmic sum of forces including all finite powers, causes, and effects, which has two characteristic properties, viz. "obscuration (varaa)", causing the Absolute Idea to conceive itself as distinct individual egos, and "distention (vikshepa)", arousing in the Self the illusive idea of an external world of phenomena. Accepting the Snkhya's division of matter into the three "guas" or modes of "sattva" ("goodness" or "truth"), "rajas" ("passion"), and "tamas" ("gloom"), they identify matter with Cosmic Ignorance, or the sum of individual Ignorances, which acts as a "determinant" to the Supreme Self or Absolute Thought. The latter as "determined" in Cosmic Ignorance acts as a world-soul, directing the universal order of phenomena with supreme power and knowledge, and hence is called "vara, the Lord." The Cosmic Ignorance is hence called "vara's body," and also "Deep Sleep (sushupti)", for in it the force of Ignorance investing Thought is almost wholly inoperative, and the phenomenal world exists only in potentiality. This sphere of being is called the "sheath of Bliss, nanda-maya koa." To it corresponds a stage of existence in the individual soul, in which the Self or Thought (here styled "Prjna") is "determined" by individual Ignorance. From vara as "determined" by Cosmic Ignorance arise the subtle
p. 31
elements ( 18) and thence both the "subtle bodies" ( 19) and gross elements. The "subtle bodies" in the aggregate determine the Self into a mode called "Pra, Strtm," or "Hirayagarbha"; individually they determine it into the mode called "Taijasa." These combinations of matter with the Self form three successive phases of being for the individual soul: (1) the "sheath of understanding, vijnna-maya koa," composed of intelligence "(buddhi)" and the "organs of knowledge" ( 18), which constitutes the real "agent" in empiric experience; (2) the "sheath of mind, mano-maya koa," formed of "manas" and the organs of action, thus constituting the "instrument" of empiric experience; and (3) the "sheath of the breaths, pra-maya koa," formed of vital breaths and organs of action, and constituting the effect of experience. These three phases of being are together called "Dream-Sleep," as in them arise the subtle or elementary forms of phenomena and the reflection of them upon the "determined" Self. The gross elements which arise from the subtle collectively "determine" the Self into the phase called "Vaivnara" or "Virt"; individually they "determine" it into "Viva". This lowest determination is called "anna-maya koa," the "sheath of food," or the state of Waking, for into it the forms of both gross and subtle phenomena are displayed to the Self, as in waking both memory and sense-perception are active.
p. 32
The scheme is thus as follows:
1. Individual Gross Body, determinant of Viva, in state of Waking.
Sheath of Food.
Cosmic Gross Body determinant of Virt, in state of Waking.
2. Individual Subtle Body, determinant of Taijasa, in state of Dreaming.
(1) Sheath of Breaths.
(2) Sheath of Mind.
(3) Sheath of Understanding.
Cosmic Subtle Body, determinant of Pra, in state of Dreaming.
3. Individual Causal Body, determinant of Prjna, in state of Dreamless Sleep.
Sheath of Bliss.
Cosmic Causal Body, determinant of vara, in state of Dreamless Sleep.
