[Advaita-l] Chandogya Upanishad 8.12.3

[Shrinivas Gadkari]

Namaste,

I have changed the name of this thread - I will not be saying anything 
about shankara bhASya but my own observations.

 1. This part of the chAndogya upaniSad is directly related to the state of 
     puruSottama that gItA talks about in 15.17-18. !5.18 says that in veda 
     as well as in this loka I am known as puruSottama. This is the only 
     place in upaniSad-s (that I know of) where the state of puruSottama 
     is explicitly labeled and described. (That is, it is likely that this state 

     may be described in other upaniSad texts without referring to this state 
     by the name "puruSottama".)

2.  Shri V. Subramanian in his reply has brought out the following point that
     should in principle suffice to explain this shruti text.
    "Since Brahman is identified with everything, therefore, wherever they
  (enjoyments) may be, they are said to be in the world of Brahman".

3.  Here is more explanation of the above point:
     puruSottama is that state of being which has access to shakti-s in their
     original unmodified form. To give an example consider the three main
     class of shakti-s iccha, kriyA and jnAna. At the level of jiva these are
     only accessible in their modified and limited forms via the operation of 
mana, 

     prANa and buddhi (prajnA) respectively. So whatever experiences 
     one may have via mana, prANa and prajnA (buddhi) can be said to be
     reflections of processes happening in the world of puruSottama wherein
     these three shakti-s are involved/ exercised. hari om.

Regards,
Shrinivas
     



On Wed, Mar 30, 2011 at 11:21 AM, Venkatesh Murthy <vmurthy36 at 
gmail.com>wrote:

> Namaste
>
> What is Sankara's opinion regarding this Chandogya Upanishad Mantra
> 8:12 3? Kindly explain with analysis.
>

Namaste.

This is the translation of the mantra 8.12.3:

//"So does this serene Being, arising from this body and reaching  the
Highest Light, appear in His own form. In that state He is  the Highest
Person. *There He moves about, laughing, playing,  rejoicing—be it with
women, chariots, or relatives,* never  thinking of the body into which he
was born.  "As an animal is attached to a cart, so is the prana (i.e. the
conscious self) attached to the body.  //
.
.
.

//Since Brahman is identified with everything, therefore, wherever they
(enjoyments) may be, they are said to be in the world of Brahman. //

.
.
.

Regards
subrahmanian.v

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