[Advaita-l] Difference between Brahman and Brahma

[Sundaresan, Vidyasankar (GE Infra, Water)]

>Thanks, Vidya Shankar and Jaladhar, for the nice
>explanation. I still have a problem with
>sarva-bhutatma-bhutatma. Sarva=all, bhuta=beings,
>atma=self. So I am not sure how to interpret this with
>due respect to grammar. 

There is an apparent repetition of the term bhUtAtmA. However, the
problem vanishes if you split the compound as follows

sarvabhUtAtmabhUtAtmA = sarvabhUta - AtmabhUta - AtmA

It is a combination of samAsas here. Put together, it should be
interpreted as (yaH) sarveshAM bhUtAnAm AtmabhUtaH (asau saH) AtmA.

[The term AtmabhUtaH makes sense if you take into the account the first
half of the verse. yogayuktaH ... jitendriyaH AtmA sann, sarveshAM
bhUtAnAm AtmA bhavati, sarvAtmatAm avApnoti, tasmAt saH AtmA sarveshAM
bhUtAnAm AtmabhUtaH.]

>Also, in 12.5 (and in many other verses in gita), is
>duhkham in accusative case? If so, I am assuming that
>avapyate is the verb? But the sentence wouldn't make 

I need to double-check the grammar, but in a quick reading of verse
12.5, duHkham operates in an adverbial sense, qualifying the verb
avApyate.

dehavadbhiH - by those who are embodied, gatiH - the goal, duHkham
avApyate - is reached with difficulty/hardship.

In this context, the word duHkham would be what is called an
indeclinable, an avyayIbhAva, and case terminations would not apply.
Note that the word sukha also behaves as an adverb in some contexts,
e.g. sukham Aste - sits comfortably. 

>sense either way. There are many places where this
>confusion occurs. Even in 5.16, aditya-vaj
>jnanam...why is it not jnanaH, because it seems to be
>the subject of the verb (prakashayati) rather than the
>object? 

It is indeed the subject of the verb, but it is not jnAnaH, because the
word jnAnam is in neuter gender. Both the nominative and the accusative
singular forms would therefore be the same.

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Best regards,
Vidyasankar