[Chaturamnaya] Sri Sankara Bhagavatpada, Commentator Par Excellence (1)

[R Krishnamoorthy]

Visishtadvaithins hold that Karma leads to Gnanam and Gnanam leads to
Bhakthi and Bhakthi blesses with liberation/Moksham.


On Sun, Aug 18, 2013 at 7:51 PM, S Jayanarayanan <sjayana at yahoo.com> wrote:

> An Introduction to Sankara's Commentary on the Brahma Sutras by
> the present Pontiff of Sringeri Math follows.
> http://svbf.org/journal/vol1no3/bhagavatpada.pdf
>
> Sri Sankara Bhagavatpada
> Commentator Par Excellence
>
> JAGADGURU SRI BHARATI TIRTHA MAHASWAMIGAL
>
> * The Acharya’s bhashya on the Brahmasutras is the fruit of the
> austerities of all
> scholars. Those who taste this elixir will know no birth, no death.
>
> Sri Sankara Bhagavatpada, famous for his profound knowledge in
> all branches of learning, has been acclaimed by all men of letters as
> the commentator par excellence of Prasthana Traya. This consists
> of the Upanishads, Brahma Sutras and the Bhagavad Gita. The
> Bhagavatpada’s commentaries, which deal with matters of deep
> import, shine as examples of a majestic and magnificent work.
>
> Karma-cum-Jnana
>
> Sri Bhagavatpada has categorically established in his commentary
> that liberation is attained only through knowledge of the Self, and
> not by a combination of karma and jnana. Even inconsistencies
> apparent in some of the passages in the Brahma Sutras, Upanishads
> and the Bhagavad Gita have been cleared by the Bhagavatpada by
> his deep and thorough elucidation.
>
> In the Bhagavad Gita, we have passages, such as
> Karamanyevadhikaraste ma phaleshu kadachana, kuru karmaiva
> tasmat tvam, which emphasize the importance of karma for
> mankind. We also have other verses which declare Yad jnatva
> amrutamasnute, and Tato mam tatvato jnatva. These uphold the
> path of jnana as the means to liberation. Hence some people may
> wonder whether it is not the Lord’s intention that only a
> combination of karma and jnana will lead to liberation.
>
> These inconsistencies were explained away by the Bhagavatpada
> who said that the two paths, namely the path of karma and the path
> of jnana, apply to persons of different categories. He wrote in his
> commentary on the Gita: "The path of karma concerns the
> unenlightened, while the path of jnana is preceded by the
> abandonment of all karmas for the enlightened."
>
> In the same way, he corrected the wrong impressions based on a
> superficial reading of some passages in the Isavasyopanishad. In
> his commentary, he argued that the two paths are not advocated for
> all desirous of liberation. Indeed, the applicability of each path
> depends on the individual qualification. Thus he said there was no
> inconsistency in the text.
>
>
> (To be Continued)
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