[Advaita-l] Anadimatparambrahma

[V Subrahmanian]

Here are some more thoughts on the topic:

First a correction:

I had presented these two verses and had highlighted two words in the second
verse.  I realized later that I should have underlined the word प्रकृतिः in
the first verse and not in the second.  Accordingly, the highlighting is
shown now as:

The wording of the verse 7.4 is:

भूमिरापोऽनलो वायुः खं मनो बुद्धिरेव च ।
अहंकार इतीयं मे भिन्ना *प्रकृतिर*ष्टधा ॥

In the above verse the Lord is giving a list of the jaDa prakRti that forms
His lower nature called aparA prakRti.  This name 'aparA prakRti' appears
only in the next verse:7.5 -

*अपरे*यं इतस्त्वन्यां प्रकृतिं विद्धि मे पराम् ।
जीवभूतां महाबाहो ययेदं धार्यते जगत् ॥

The words in red fonts show the 'aparaa prakRti' and the blue fonts show the
paraa prakrti, the two 'natures' of Brahman.

Interestingly, the 'paraa prakRti' that is shown as jiva is taught as the
very nature of Brahman, that too, the pAramArthika, higher nature.  So,
Brahman has only one true nature:  That is the Consciousness.  This
consciousness is the observer of the inert, vyavahaarika, praatibhAsika
lower nature, aparaa prakRti, anAtma.

We have seen earlier that the 13th chapter provides a lot of inputs to the
AdhyAsa bhAshyam.  Now, in the seventh chapter, the above two verses, too,
we are able to see this feature:

The Adhyasa bhashya (AB) commences with the woprds:  युष्मत् अस्मत्.   The
aparaa prakRti (AP) is the 'yuShmat', the 'this/you consciousness'.  The
parA prakRti (PP) is the 'asmat', the 'I conscousness'.

The AB has other words: विषय - विषयि. Again, AP and PP are applicable
respectively to these two AB words.  Again, AB has these two words:  तमः ,
प्रकाशः.  AP and PP apply here too.  And that these two categories are
विरुद्धस्वभाव is obvious:  the observer is consciousness, the observed is
anaatma, jaDa.

PP is the observer, the jiva, only because of prANa.  In the AB it has been
shown that the pramAtR, knower, is a mixture of Pure Consciousness + body,
mind, senses (prAna).  Without  these the 'knowing' is not possible.  So,
pramAtrutvam itself is an outcome of adhyAsa:  of Pure Consciousness and
anAtma (body, mind, etc.).  This is the 'jiva' that is stated in the above
verse as PP.  So, we have the core input for adhyAsa in the Gita verse we
are seeing now.

Of course, in the larger picture, we have even more to appreciate the BG
verses and the whole of the 7th chapter, as forming the foundation for the
AdhyAsa Bhashya.  This seventh chapter is called : jnAna - vijnAna yoga.
The Lord proposes to teach jnAnam along with vijnAnam.  To this end He first
shows what is anAtma, what is Atma, the adhyAsa, how this has come about.
While the pancha bhuta-s and mind, ahankara, etc. belong to the AP, one has
taken them, out of ignorance, to belong to oneself, PP.  This is the basic
problem of samsara.  The AB ends with the agenda:  Atma - AnAtma viveka as
the means to eradicate samsara born of aviveka, adhyAsa.  This is the
purpose of the Brahmasutras.

The chapter talks about Maya, the binding force, the cause of adhyasa.  And
the need to transcend this force and the means to accomplish that:  मामेव ये
प्रपद्यन्ते मायामेतां तरन्ति ते . Endeavoring keeping the Lord, Brahman,
Atman, Consciousness, as the sole Goal, one will be able to cross over Maya.


Thus, the seventh along with the 13th chapter helps us in understanding the
Adhyasa Bhashya from the scriptural angle.  Bhagavatpada has extensively
shown the connection between the seventh and the 13th chapters.

Regards,
subrahmanian.v



On Wed, Jun 30, 2010 at 2:49 PM, V Subrahmanian <v.subrahmanian at gmail.com>wrote:

> Namaste.
>
> There is another inconsistency in taking 'anaadi matparam  brahma' to mean
> that the Lord is different from the jiva:  In the very second verse of this
> chapter it was declared that the kshetrajna, the observer consciousness, in
> every kshetram, observed, is none other than the Lord/Brahman/Isvara.
> Having established / declared / taught that identity, it would be incorrect
> on the part of the Lord to later say that He is the Lord of the eternal
> jiva.
>
> //This interpretation also tallies with the Lord's opinion in
>
> BG 7.5 that jiva bhutam is apara prakrti and mamaivamso jivaloke.//
>
> The wording of the verse 7.4 is:
>
> भूमिरापोऽनलो वायुः खं मनो बुद्धिरेव च ।
> अहंकार इतीयं मे भिन्ना प्रकृतिरष्टधा ॥
>
> In the above verse the Lord is giving a list of the jaDa prakRti that forms
> His lower nature called aparA prakRti.  This name 'aparA prakRti' appears
> only in the next verse:7.5 -
>
> *अपरे*यं इतस्त्वन्यां *प्रकृतिं* विद्धि मे पराम् ।
> जीवभूतां महाबाहो ययेदं धार्यते जगत् ॥
>