aksharADHikaraNam-1-3-3 suthra-9-aksharam ambarAnthadhrthEH-1-3-9 The akshara is Brahman because it supports that beyond AkAsa. In BrhadhAranyaka upanishad there is a passage in the form of conversation between Yajnavalkya and Gargi in which she asks, after being told that the unmanifest AKasa pervades that above heaven and earth and what is in between, that, by which the AkAsa is pervaded.He replied 'sa hovAcha Ethadhvai thadhaksharam gargibrAhmnA abhivadhanthi asTHoolam anaNu ahrasvam adheerGHam alOhithm asnEham acchAyam,' (Brhad.3-8-8) that the knowers of Brahman describe it as the Absolute,neither gross nor subtle, neither short nor long neither red nor oily neither shadow nor darkness and so on. Now is it pradhAna ,or jiva or brahman is the doubt. The reason given for it being praDHAna is that in the Mundaka passage discussed earlier, the phrase 'aksharAth parathah parah' (Mund.2-1-2) shows that the word akshara is used with respect to the unmanifest prakrthi.Moreover the question which pervades even AkAsa proves that it is praDhAna because it is the cause of the element AkAsa. This view is refuted by saying that it is only Brahman because AkAsa is referred to as the support of everything, pervasive of above the heaven and below the earth and in between them, the phrase 'yadhbhootham cha bhavath cha bhavishyath cha' meaning that the AKasa pervades all, past, present and future, which cannot be the element AkAsa but denotes only the unmanifest praDHAna. Then, the AkAsa is said to be woven like warp and hoof and the answer is given as akshara. It may be said that akshara could be the individual self and not praDHAna because the words it is neither red nor black which eliminates praDHANa as it consists of rajas and thamas depicted as of red and black colour respectively. Further the words asthoolam etc also apply to the jivatma. which has no form. There is scriptural authority also for the use of the word akshara to denote the individual self and in Gita we find the following words 'ksharassarvANi bhoothAni kutasTHo akshara uchyathE' allbeings are perishable and the inner self is called akshara, the imperishable. The next suthra answers this. suthra-10-sA cha prasAsanAth-1-3-10 And this supporting comes from command. The subsequent passage tells about the command of the akshara over all beings which cannot apply to the individual soul. 'Ethasya vA aksharasya prasAsanE gArgi suryAchandrmasou viDHRthou thishTathah.,' says YAgnavalkya meaning that under the rule of this akshara the sun and the moon are held in their post thus he mentions all beings one by one and says that they are under the control of the akshara. Hence it could only be Brahman. suthra-11-anyabhAvavyAvrtthescha-1-3-11 Because of exclusion of what is of another nature than Brahman. The text 'tadhvA Ethadhaksharam gArgi adhrshtam dhrashtr asrutham srOthr amatham manthravijnAtham vijnAthr; nAnyadhathO asthi dhrshtr nAnyadhathOasthi srOthr nAnyadhathO asthi manthr nAnyadhathO asthi VijnAthr; Ethasminnu khalu akshre gArgi AkAsah OthaschA prOthascha.' This means- the akshara is never seen but seer, never heard but hearer, never thought of but thinker.never known but knower. There is no other seer, hearer, thinker than this. In this akshara is the AkAsa woven like warp and woof.So this excludes praDHAna and also the individual self. Hence the akshara is Brahman. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Oppiliappan/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: Oppiliappan-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
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