Brahma Sutras (Shankaracharya)
by George Thibaut | 1890 | 203,611 words
English translation of the Brahma sutras (aka. Vedanta Sutras) with commentary by Shankaracharya (Shankara Bhashya): One of the three canonical texts of the Vedanta school of Hindu philosophy. The Brahma sutra is the exposition of the philosophy of the Upanishads. It is an attempt to systematise the various strands of the Upanishads which form the ...
III, 4, 3
3. On account of scripture showing (certain lines of) conduct.
'Janaka the king of the Videhas sacrificed with a sacrifice at which many presents were given to the priests' (Bṛ. Up. III, 1, 1); 'Sirs, I am going to perform a sacrifice' (Ch. Up. V, 11, 5); these and similar passages--which occur in sections that have another purport--show that those who know Brahman are connected with sacrificial action also. And similarly we apprehend from the fact that according to scripture Uddālaka and others taught their sons and so on, that they were connected with the condition of life of householders. If mere knowledge could effect the purpose of man, why should the persons mentioned have perforated works troublesome in many respects? 'If a man would find honey in the Arka tree why should he go to the forest?'