If you draw a line on a paper and ask whether it is short or long, there is no answer to this. You need another line to compare with. When a wheel from a car is removed, you say, ‘a part is missing’. When you look at the sky, there is no part or whole. It is just space. You can’t speak of distance without a second object and cannot even know the existence of space if there are no objects. Is there a way to describe God, the substratum of all that exists? The cause of everything here in this world is God but that God is not available for you to see and interact. Hence there are different versions of God. The moment you describe God, you have to give an attribute and hence it is something short of Nirguna Brahman (God without attributes). We need right means to understand God and the relationship of individual with God to know the reason for our existence and reach that goal. The Upanishads have special methods to reveal ‘Brahman’. This is further supported by the Upangas(subsidiary limbs of Veda)for clear understanding.
The intention of Upanishads
When Upanishads introduce the creation, it is called Adhyaropa. This is not just to teach the origination of creation. This is only to temporarily concur with what we ordinarily see. The intention of Upanishad is to gradually shift our attention from the creation to Brahman. In other words, the shift is from the effect to cause of creation. As the vision is shifted the effect gets dismissed since it does not exist separate from the cause. This dismissal through the shift is called Apavada. However the shift from the grossest level of effect to the subtlest level of cause cannot take place in a stroke. Hence the Upanishad takes us gradually through stages. This method is followed in Taittireeyopanishad and finally Brahman is revealed as the substratum of all. The Upanishad establishes that Brahman is the one, which converts itself to the world. It is self- creator and created. The Upanishad declares that the wise man that is established in Brahman is fearless and happy. His fearlessness does not come from worldly security; it is because he is established in Brahman. The very same Brahman appears as the dualistic world for the ignorant one, causing limitation and fear. This does not mean that the Upanishad thinks low of the common worldly life, which stops at the level of body-Annamaya. One must understand the highest truth even whilst pursuing worldly objectives. By leading a dharmic existence, this life should be treated as a means, as it were, to reach higher stages. That is why the Upanishad also states,”do not waste food; grow more food”. Kenopanishad which occurs in Sama Veda is in the form of dialogue between student and teacher. The dialogue method is to indicate that Upanishads must be learnt from a teacher. The Upanishad says,” Brahman is the very consciousness which one does not perceive with the eye and by which consciousness one perceives the eyes. One who says he knows Brahman, knows it not; one who says of not knowing it, knows it; one who sees it sees it not; one who cannot see it can see it” Thus the Upanaishad reveals that Brahman is ever the subject and never become the object of knowledge. Even though the subject is not an object of knowledge, we cannot doubt its existence, because it is self evident as ‘I’.
Great contribution of Adi Sankara
Adi Sankara highlighted the non-dualist (Advaita) nature propounded in Vedanta by writing commentary on ten major Upanishads selected by him. He beautifully expresses this principle in his Nirvana Satkam, by saying,” I am not the mind, I am not the intelligence; I am neither air nor water; I know of no pleasure and pain; I am neither eater nor the object of eating; I have no death; I am eternal bliss and awareness.” Though Adi sankara’s advaita talks of giving up rituals and concentrating the mind in Atma in the ultimate stage, it does not recommend it in the initial stages. First one has to abide by the karmas (duties) and go ultimately to the stage of giving up the karmas after attaining mental purity. The greatness of Adi Sankara is that he has taken what is correct from various schools of thought and rejected those that are unacceptable. He thus established the basic Vedantic faith, which is the cause of these other theories as well. Adi Sankara considered that each doctrine of individuals stresses one aspect of Veda and make it the goal of human existence. In fact they have to be harmonized into a single entity, acceptable to reason and intellect. The Meemamsakas while accepting the Vedic rituals, did not accept Isvara(God) as the authority to award results of actions. They condemned Buddhism, which preached that there was no need for any ritualistic karma as prescribed in Vedas. Adi Sankara firmly established that there is Isvara(God) who is the creator of the phenomenal universe and He alone awards the fruits of one’s actions. Adi Sankara while accepting the tenets of Buddhism, Meemaamsa, Sankya and Nyaya to certain stage rejected their stands beyond that stage.
Logic as a step
Advaita of Adi Sankara accepts the 24 principles of Prakriti or Maya but rejects Sankya’s Nireeshwara vada(Godlessness).With regard to Buddhism, Adi sankara accepted the conclusion of Buddhism at the stage of pure consciousness. The Nyaya Sastra is considered as one of the four subsidiary limbs (upanga) of Vedas. This was composed by sage Gautama. Its main aim is to establish that Iswara is the creator of this universe by means of disputation. The Nyaya sastra discusses the fundamental truth through four devices. They are 1. Pratyacha(What is experienced by sense organs)2.Anumana(reasoned deduction or knowing the unknown through known)3.Upamana(simile or example)4.Sabda(sound, this includes the Vedic text and the sayings of great men like Rishis). In addition to these four, Advaitins have accepted two more devices (pramana) propounded by Kumarila Bhatta. They are 5. Arthapat (reconciliatory approach which eschews absurd conclusions) 6. Anupalabdhi(What comes to be known in the absence of an object).In order to dispel all kinds of doubts in understanding the Vedas, Nyaya Sastra or logic is used. This is an intermediary step to reach Advaitic conclusion of ekatma. But logic should be used as a means to arrive at the ultimate truth and not for indiscriminate arguments. Adi Sankara had mastered all these doctrines and his Advaita contains in itself various other faiths and due recognition and importance is given to all levels of development towards the goal.
All the steps are for understanding the ultimate knowledge given by Upanishads beyond any doubts-“Awareness, which is without second, is Atma. There is nothing else that can be known different from it”. Adi Sankara, the personification of wisdom of Vedas, travelled the length and breadth of India, teaching the oneness of existence. He also established monasteries in Sringeri, Dvaraka, Puri and Josi Math and had placed four of his disciples each well versed in one of the four Vedas. There are many seeming contradictions when studying scriptural texts. It is important to study the scriptures systematically under the guidance of a Guru.
-Arasu Ramanujam
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