Brahma Sutras (Shankara Bhashya)

by Swami Vireshwarananda | 1936 | 124,571 words | ISBN-10: 8175050063

This is the English translation of the Brahma-sutras including the commentary (Bhashya) of Shankara. The Brahma-sutra (or, Vedanta-sutra) is one of the three canonical texts of the Vedanta school of Hindu philosophy and represents an early exposition the Vedantic interpretation of the Upanishads. This edition has the original Sanskrit text, the r...

Chapter IV, Section II, Adhikarana I

Adhikarana summary: At the time of death the functions of the organs are merged in mind

 Sutra 4,2.1

वाङ्मनसि, दर्शनाच्छब्दाच्च ॥ १ ॥

vāṅmanasi, darśanācchabdācca || 1 ||

vāk—Speech; manasi—in mind; darśanāt—because it is so seen; chabdāt—from scriptural statements; ca—and.

1. Speech (is merged) in mind, because it is so seen, and there are scriptural statements (to that effect).

“When, my dear, the man departs from here, his speech merges in mind, mind in Prana, Prana in Fire, and Fire in the Highest Deity” (Chh. 6. 8. 6). This text describes what happens at the time of death. It says that speech gets merged in mind, mind in Prana, and so on. Now the question is whether the organ of speech as such gets merged in mind, or only its function. The opponent holds that as there is no mention in the text about the function of speech getting merged, we have to understand that the organ itself gets merged in mind.

The Sutra refutes this view and says that only the function of the organ of speech gets merged in mind. Mind is not the material cause of the organs, and as such they cannot get merged in it. It is only in the material cause that the effects get merged, and as mind is not the material cause of the organs, we have to understand here by speech not the organ, but its function. A function of the organ, unlike the organ itself, can get merged in mind, even though it is not the cause of that function, just as the burning property of fire, which has its start in wood, becomes extinct in water. The scriptural statement therefore refers to the function of speech, the function and the thing to which it belongs being viewed as one. We also notice that a dying man first loses his function of speech, though his mind is still functioning. So we have to understand from experience also that the function of speech, and not the organ itself, if merged in mind.

 

 Sutra 4,2.2

अत एव च सर्वाण्यनु ॥ २ ॥

ata eva ca sarvāṇyanu || 2 ||

ataḥ eva—For the same reason; ca—and; sarvāṇi—all (organs); anu—after.

2. And for the same reason all (organs) follow (mind, i.e. get their functions merged in it).

For the same reasons as stated in Sutra 1 the functions of the remaining organs follow, i.e. get merged in mind. “The fire is verily the Udana, for they in whom the fire has been extinguished, go for rebirth with their organs absorbed in mind” (Pr. 8. 9). This text shows that the functions of all the organs get merged in mind.

Like what you read? Consider supporting this website: