Sutra Vahini Index

Sruthathwaath Cha

Since the All-knowing Brahman is declared by the Vedas to be the cause of the Cosmos, description and understanding of this sublime phenomenon has been made. The very expression, Brahman, conveys the meaning that It has the power of willing, etc. The Vedas which speak of Brahman as unconditioned and devoid of attributes also declare that It has, as its very nature, total beneficence. For, from the standpoint of the Cosmos, Brahman is without qualifications.

The Upanishad texts which form a section of Sruthi or Vedic scripture, do not convey any distinction between Brahman or Easwara, the Absolute and the Almighty. What has to be understood from all these texts of Vedanta is that the Cosmos is the manifestation or projection of supreme Consciousness. On the contrary, when the Cosmos is considered inert and devoid of consciousness, some may ask, how can it be so invitingly attractive? It cannot be irresponsive and dull for if it were so, It will be ever the same. No. This view is incorrect. God is the efficient cause as well as the material cause of the Cosmos. He has become Himself all this. He is the inner and the outer Truth. Hence, the Light that illumines and reveals, that draws and discloses.

"Pishtaadi Guda Samparkaath", it is said. 'Pishta' means 'flour'; any flour, rice or wheat or pulse. The flour is rendered sweet by "guda samparkaath", getting mixed with 'guda', jaggery or sugar. By itself, flour is not welcomed by the tongue; sugar makes it tasty. Similarly, wherever charm, attraction or splendour is manifest in the Cosmos, it is the cosmic Soul, Param-Atman, that is evident and nothing else. The Sruthi makes this very clear. The Param Atma, as the Sruthi texts assert, creates, fondles, fosters and sustains the Cosmos (jagath) and finally, it is He who induces It to merge in Him. Param Atma is the sole Creator, the sole Enjoyer, and the sole Protector and Master. This is the proclamation contained in the Sruthis.

The Sruthis declare that Brahman is Ananda-swaroop, of the Nature of Ananda or Supreme Bliss. Elaborating on the Atma, they mention the sheaths which treasure it - the Food sheath (Annamaya), the Vital Air sheath (Pranamaya kosa), the Mental sheath (Manomaya kosa), the Intellectual sheath (Vijnanamaya kosa), in that series. After these four, the innermost sheath is the Bliss sheath (Ananda maya kosa). All these are in Brahman and so, it is proper to conclude that Brahman is inherently Ananda. Each of these kosas is subtler (sukshma) than the other, the subtlest being the fifth, the Anandamaya. The Pranamaya is subtler than the Annamaya, the Manomaya subtler than the Pranamaya, the Vijnanamaya subtler than Manomaya and the Anandamaya subtler than the Vijnana maya. Therefore, all these can be taken to be the 'body' or 'upadhi' of Brahman.

The Food sheath or the Food Coat is a gross covering, which protects the coating that is less gross, namely, the Vital Air one. The Vital airs re nurtured and directed by the less gross Mental sheath. The Manomaya kosa controls the Pranas, which regulate and operate the physical and sensory instruments. So, it is much more powerful than the Breath or Prana. Subtler than this sheath is Vijnanamaya. It is ever engaged in discriminating between the temporary and the permanent, the Anithya and the Nithya. It is very close to the experience of Ananda. In fact, it helps to evoke that experience, which is the awareness of Brahman itself.

In order to guard the body against disease we wear different varieties of clothes - first a banian, then a shirt, after that a coat, and over the coat, a shawl. When we have to observe the heart, the shawl has to be laid aside. Then, the coat must be taken off. The shirt also has to be removed. It is only when the banian too is pulled out that the heart can be examined. Similarly, one has to eliminate the Annamaya, Pranamaya, Manomaya and Vijnanamaya sheaths or upadhis in order to be intimately aware of the Supreme Atma or Brahman which is Ananda itself. The journey known as 'life' is but a pilgrimage from the Annamaya (the food plane of matter) to the Anandamaya (the blissful spiritual plane). This is the goal, the end. The Sutra conveys to us this truth. Param Atma, the Supreme Soul, is essentially of Ananda nature.

There are some who do not agree with this conclusion. They posit the jivatma or the individualised soul, not as Ananda, but, as Vijnana, the discriminating faculty of the Intellect. That is to say, Brahman is effulgence, in Its own right; it needs no external source of light. It is established in Its own splendour. Others declare that Para-sakthi (Supreme Energy) is the entity known as Anandamaya or Param-Atma and this Entity is also designated as Para-aakaasa, Supreme Space. However, these are theories arising out of different thought processes of people in different planes.

Brahman encompasses all and awareness of any entity is awareness of Brahman Itself. It cannot be differentiated or divided. Ananda is all; Brahman, the Anandamaya, is the jivatma too, appearing as individualised. The quality cannot be identified and considered apart from the thing possessing it. The Atma is Ananda, whether universalised as Param-Atma or particularised as jivatma. Ananda cannot be measured out as less or more. Anandamaya (full of Ananda) means Ananda itself, not something having Ananda. So, jivatma is not less or Param-Atma is not more of Ananda. They are both the same Ananda.

In the ordinary worldly sense, too, Ananda is the characteristic of each living being. As a consequence, every human being seeks to express and develop it. Living beings are found renouncing various desires and lines of conduct in order to attain Ananda. But, belief that ananda can be secured from external objects is a sign of ignorance. "Sarvam paravasam duhkham" (From all outside you, grief); "Sarvam Atmavasam sukham" (From all within you, you). According to this axiom, when man feels that his Ananda is dependent on external objects, he is moving beyond himself and courting grief. He plunges into needless grief by the enslavement to objects which, according to his fancy, can make him happy. He becomes the target for anxiety and worry. The attempt to derive Ananda through external objects and external activities is, therefore, not commendable at all. Those who long for genuine Ananda have to turn their attempts inward, bound to the Atma. When Ananda is sought from external objects, one has to suffer much, just as a person afflicted with thirst runs towards a mirage. He gets nothing to quench his thirst and he has a miserable end.

One point at this juncture: When it is said that Rama made Bhima a wealthy person or that Rama made Bhima a well-informed person, does it not follow that at the beginning Rama was wealthier or more knowledgeable than Bhima? If Rama was indigent and ignorant, how could he transform Bhima into a wealthy or knowledgeable person? Obviously, it would not be possible. Brahman is ananda-swaroop-Ananda itself. So, every living thing receives Ananda from Brahman. He is All-knowledge. So, He awards, arouses and advances knowledge in all. God is the grantor, the promoter of Ananda. This is confirmed in the Sutra "Aanandamayobhyaasaath" ("The Blissful One is the Supreme Self, since the statement is repeated many times.")

Manthra Varnikam eva cha:

("Sathyajnaanamanantham Brahma"). This manthra or sacred axiomatic formula also refers to the same Anandaswaroop Brahman. Brahman is Ananda; Brahman is Truth, Sathya; Brahman is knowledge, Jnana; Brahma is Infinity; Anantham. Sathyam or Truth is a synonym for Ananda, Bliss. It does not mean anything else.