[Advaita-l] Aitareya Upanishad, Bhashya and Kenopanishad Bhashya - Ekavaakyataa

[V Subrahmanian]

The Aitareyopanisad, where occurs the famous mahavakya 'prajnanam brahma'
(3-1-3), says –

एष ब्रह्मैष इन्द्र एष प्रजापतिरेते सर्वे देवा इमानि च पञ्च महाभूतानि पृथिवी
वायुराकाश आपो
ज्योतिषीत्येतानीमानि च क्षुद्रमिश्राणीव । बीजानीतराणि चेतराणि चाण्डजानि च
जारुजानि च स्वेदजानि चोद्भिज्जानिचाश्वा गावः पुरुषा हस्तिनो यत्किञ्चेदं
प्राणि जङ्गमं च पतत्रि च यच्च स्थावरं सर्वं तत् प्रज्ञानेत्रं प्रज्ञाने
प्रतिष्ठितं प्रज्ञानेत्रो लोकः प्रज्ञा प्रतिष्ठा प्रज्ञानं ब्रह्म ।

[He is Brahma; He is Indra; He is Prajapati; He is all these gods; and
these five great elements viz., the earth, the air, the akasa, the water
and the fire ;
these things and living creatures down to the smallest ; seeds of various
types – the egg-born, the womb-born, the sweat-born and the sprout-born;
horses, cows, men, elephants and all other living beings – those that walk,
those that fly and those that are stationary. All this is guided by
Consciousness and is established in
Consciousness. The world is guided by Consciousness. Consciousness is the
support.Consciousness is Brahman.]

Says the Bhasya thereon –
तदेतत् प्रत्यस्तमितसर्वोपाधिविशेषं सन्निरञ्जनं निर्मलं निष्क्रियं
शान्तमेकमद्वयम् ; ‘नेति नेति’ इति सर्वविशेषापोहसंवेद्यं
सर्वशब्दप्रत्ययागोचरं तदत्यन्तविशुद्धप्रज्ञोपाधिसम्बन्धेन
सर्वज्ञमीश्वरसंज्ञं भवति । सर्वसाधारणाव्यकृतजगद्बीजप्रवर्तकं
नियन्तृत्वादन्तर्यामिसंज्ञं भवति ।
तदेव व्याकृतजगद्बीजभूतबुद्ध्यात्माभिमानलक्षणं हिरण्यगर्भसंज्ञं भवति ।
तदेवान्तरण्डोद्भूतप्रथमशरीरोपाधिमद्विराट् प्रजापतिसंज्ञं भवति ।
तदुद्भूताग्न्याद्युपाधिमद्देवतासंज्ञं भवति । तथा
विशेषशरीरोपाधिष्वपि ब्रह्मादिस्तम्बप्रत्यन्तेषु तत्तन्नामरूपलाभो ब्रह्मणः ।
तदेवैकं सर्वोपाधिभेदभिन्नं सर्वैः प्राणिभिस्ताकिकैश्च सर्वप्रकारेण ज्ञायते
विकल्प्यते चानेकधा । ‘एतमेके वदन्त्यग्निं मनुमन्ये प्रजापतिम् ।
इन्द्रमेकेऽपरे प्राणमपरे ब्रह्म शाश्वतम् ॥‘ इत्याद्या स्मृतिः ॥

[This Brahman is free from all ascriptions and is untainted, Pure,
Actionless,
Peace, One only, Secondless, characterized by such epithets as ‘Not this,
not this’ by negating all qualifications, and incapable of being
comprehended by notions conveyed by words. That same Brahman when in
association with the upadhi that is the Purest Prajna, Mayavrtti, is spoken
of as the All-knowing Isvara. As
causing the universal undifferentiated world-seen to germinate, as the
controller of all. It is called the Indwelling Ruler, Antaryamin. The same
Brahman in identification with the intellect, the root-cause of the rest of
the universe after the quintuplication,
pancikarana, gets the name of Hiranyagarbha. And as coming out of the
primordial
egg, Brahmanda, as the first embodied being, He is called Virat, Prajapati.
That
Brahman, again as delimited by Agni and the rest proceeding form the
primordial egg acquires, as it were, the designation of devata. Similarly
from Hiranyagarbha to the smallest worm as associated with the several
bodies as the various upadhis, Brahman acquires, as it were, the various
names and forms as well. Hence it is that this Brahman is spoken of and
imagined in all sorts of ways not only by the generality of common people
but even by the learned men well versed in reasoning. Says the Manusmrti
(12-123) – Some call it Agni, others Manu, Prajapati, some, Indra,
some, Prana, and yet others, the Eternal Brahman.]

http://talkandcomment.com/p/227e0d6a9e82e0166f3be02c (voice note)

In the Kenopanishad Pada Bhashyam 1.5:
आत्मा हि नामाधिकृतः कर्मण्युपासने च संसारी कर्मोपासनं वा साधनमनुष्ठाय
ब्रह्मादिदेवान्स्वर्गं वा प्राप्तुमिच्छति । तत्तस्मादन्य
उपास्यो विष्णुरीश्वर इन्द्रः प्राणो वा ब्रह्म भवितुमर्हति, न त्वात्मा ;
लोकप्रत्ययविरोधात् । यथान्ये तार्किका ईश्वरादन्य आत्मेत्याचक्षते, तथा
कर्मिणोऽमुं यजामुं यजेत्यन्या एव देवता उपासते । तस्माद्युक्तं
यद्विदितमुपास्यं तद्ब्रह्म भवेत् , ततोऽन्य उपासक इति ।

Shankara brings out some very crucial points in Vedanta:

   1. A samsari by karma-upasana desires to attain Deva-s such as Brahmaa,
   or svarga. Thus the upasya Brahman can be Vishnu, Ishwara (Shiva), Indra,
   Prana, that is something which is different from the aspirant.
   2. Brahman of the stated nature cannot be the Atman (of the
   samsari/aspirant). An identity of the upasya with the aspirant, upasaka, is
   contradictory to the ways of the world.
   3. For, non-vedantins that are tarka-dominant hold the Atma (jiva) to be
   different from Ishvara. So too the Karmin-s (mimamsaka-s).
   4. Thus it is quite in order if that which is known as an object,
   viditam, (such as Brahma, Vishnu, Ishwara, Indra, Prana) is the upasya,
   Brahman, and the atman is different from it.

 Shankara has cited the Rg.Veda ‘इन्द्रं मित्रं वरुणमग्निमाहुः’ (ऋ. १ । १९४
। ४६)  which teaches 'one Sat alone is called Indra, Mitra, Varuna,...'

http://talkandcomment.com/p/449af86f2fceabe66642f3ec (voice note)

Om Tat Sat