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SANKARANANDA

by

P. C. Subbamma
M. A., M. LITT.

As is common with the lives of our great men in the past, as regards 艢a峁卥ar膩nanda also it is difficult to determine with any accuracy his date and to gather the details of his life. Yet from his writings it is possible to gather that 艢a峁卥ar膩nanda was the disciple of Anant膩tman and Vidy膩t墨rtha. 艢a峁卥ar膩nanda along with Bh膩rat墨t墨rtha, and Vidy膩ra峁噛a, studied under Vidy膩t墨rtha. He became a guru of Vidy膩ra峁噛a. Vidy膩ra峁噛a offers his salutations to his guru thus:

鈥�nama岣� 艣r墨 艣a峁卥ar膩nanda-guru-p膩d膩峁僢ujanmane鈥�

艢a峁卥ar膩nanda鈥檚 most important work is 膧迟尘补辫耻谤腻峁嘺 which is also known as 鲍辫补苍颈峁�a诲-谤补迟苍补 and contains the essence of the 鲍辫补苍颈峁�a诲蝉 in verse in the form of story and dialogue. He has also written a commentary on the 叠丑补驳补惫补诲-驳墨迟补 and a 惫峁泃迟颈 on 叠谤补丑尘补-蝉奴迟谤补. Besides, he has written 顿墨辫颈办腻蝉 on several major and minor 鲍辫补苍颈峁�a诲蝉. Not only this, but there are other independent works attributed to 艢a峁卥ar膩nanda. For instance鈥� Yatya-nu峁ａ弓h膩na-paddhati, Vivekas膩ra, 艢ruti-t膩tparya-nir峁嘺ya, and so on. His magnum opus, however, is 膧迟尘补辫耻谤腻峁嘺.

We shall now set forth briefly the teachings of the 膧迟尘补辫耻谤腻峁嘺.

艢a峁卥ar膩nanda is mainly concerned with explaining the nature of 膧tman; yet in order to generate in the nninds of aspirants an irresistible attraction towards the knowledge of Brahman, he introduces several stories from the major as well as the minor 鲍辫补苍颈峁�a诲蝉. Most of the materials are drawn from 艢r墨 艢a峁卥ara鈥檚 commentary on the 鲍辫补苍颈峁�a诲蝉.

Brahman or 膧tman, not being conditioned by the three divisions, namely space, time, and matter, is homogeneous. The limitations that are caused by the above three factors exist only in the objects comprising the not-self.

(1) The counter-correlate of the absolute non-existence (atyant膩bh膩va 辫谤补迟颈测辞驳墨) is called space-division (诲别艣补-辫补谤颈肠肠丑别诲补). This division is seen in a pot which exists in one place while there is the absence of that pot in other places, since the counter-correlateness (辫谤补迟颈测辞驳墨) of the absolute non-existence is in that existent pot.

(2) The counter-correlate of the prior non-existence and of the posterior non-existence is known as the time division. This division is applied to the halves of a pot, since there are both the prior non-existence (辫谤腻驳补产丑腻惫补) and posterior non-existence (辫谤补诲丑惫补峁僺腻产丑腻惫补) in a pot before its production and after its destruction, respectively.

(3) The countercorrelate of mutual non-existence (补苍测辞苍测腻产丑腻惫补) is called the division of matter. For instance, a cloth is not a pot and vice versa. In this cognition, the non-existence of the cloth in the pot and the non-existence of the pot in the cloth is understood.

Thus all the objects that come under the category of not-self are conditioned by three kinds of limitations. Brahman, being all-pervading, transcends the division of space. Since Brahman is eternal, the category of time is inapplicable to it. And Brahman, being the inmost self of all, is not conditioned by matter. So, Brahman is established as the transcendental Reality beyond all kinds of divisions.

The Self (膧tman) does not come within the range of mind and speech. Every word employed to denote an object, denotes that object in relation to a genus, or a quality, or an action. For instance, the word 鈥榩ot鈥� denotes a thing which contains a particular form, or a quality, blue, etc; the word 鈥榗ook鈥� denotes a man who is associated with the act of cooking. The Self (膧tman) does not have a genus; it is not related to any quality; it does not act. So, words cannot primarily convey 膧tman. However, 叠谤补丑尘补苍-膧迟尘补苍 is taught by the method of 补诲丑测腻谤辞辫补 and 补辫补惫腻诲补 , which consists in first super-imposing the world on 叠谤补丑尘补苍-膧迟尘补苍 and negating it subsequently. In this teaching of 叠谤补丑尘补苍-膧迟尘补苍, exciusive-cum-non-exclusive implication (箩补丑补诲-补箩补丑补濒濒补办峁�a峁嘺) is resorted to.

Is the universe which we perceive self-sustaining and self-established? The 鲍辫补苍颈峁�a诲蝉 affirm that there is a Being transcending the universe and yet immanent in it. And that Being is Brahman, which is non-dual. This non-dual Brahman appears as the universe, and 补惫颈诲测腻 or 尘腻测腻 is the cause of the appearance of Brahman as the universe. This 补惫颈诲测腻 is doubly evil in that it veils the true nature of Brahman and distorts it in the form of 莫艣vara, 箩墨惫补 and the jagat. Brahman is said to be the source of the universe in that it is the substratum of 补惫颈诲测腻, which is the immediate cause of the universe. 础惫颈诲测腻, being inspired by the reflection of Brahman in it, transforms itself into the form of the universe. It is thus the transformative material cause (辫补峁涐箛腻尘测耻辫腻诲腻苍补) of the universe. Brahman only illusorily appears as the universe; it is the transfigurative material cause (vivarto鈥�辫腻诲腻苍补) of the universe. Brahman viewed in this aspect is 莫艣vara. While the Ny膩ya system holds that atoms are the material cause of the universe and God is the efficient cause, Advaita holds that Brahman as 莫艣vara is both the material and the efficient cause of the universe.

It is because of its association with 补惫颈诲测腻 and its product, intellect, that Brahman, which is supra-relational (补蝉补峁単补), appears as the individual soul. The latter in essence is Brahman. But, owing to 补惫颈诲测腻, it identifies itself with intellect and its qualities, experiences pleasure, pain, etc., and undergoes transmigration. It is the mind alone that acts and thinks; but being falsely identified with mind, 膧tman, which is pure consciousness, appears to act and think. 础惫颈诲测腻, thus, is the source of all evil. It is described as the one which is capable of bringing together two incompatible things (agha峁璱ta-gha峁璦n膩-pa峁�墨yas墨-尘腻测腻). Avidy膩 is termed aj帽膩na, m奴laprak峁泃i, pradh膩na, and 补惫测腻办峁泃补. This 补惫颈诲测腻 is the cause of the superimposition of all the objects on Brahman or 膧tman. It becomes operative in this way only by being itself superimposed on Brahman. It does not require another 补惫颈诲测腻 for its own superimposition on 膧tman; for, to assume a second 补惫颈诲测腻 is to be involved in the fallacy of infinite regress. Hence it is admitted that 补惫颈诲测腻 itself is the cause of its superimposition on 膧tman.

础惫颈诲测腻, the root-cause of the universe, is one; yet it consists of various aspects, and these are known as 迟奴濒腻箩帽腻苍补 or 迟奴濒腻惫颈诲测腻. Avidy膩 which is present in 膧tman and which is annihilated by the intuitive knowledge of 膧tman is known as 尘奴濒腻惫颈诲测腻. And the various aspects of 补惫颈诲测腻 which are present in the consciousness delimited by the objects and which, are removed by the knowledge of the true nature of those objects are termed 迟奴濒腻惫颈诲测腻.

The entire universe is superimposed on 膧tman through 补惫颈诲测腻. The Upani峁�adie text 鈥�neti neti鈥� negates the entire universe superimposed on 膧tman, and 膧tman the self-existent entity alone remains. The individual souls are identical with 膧tman. But, owing to 补惫颈诲测腻, they have lost sight of their identity with 膧tman and undergo transmigration. By pursuing Ved膩ntic study, reflection, and meditation, an individual soul attains to the intuitive knowledge of Brahman. 础惫颈诲测腻, in his case, is annihilated and the individual soul becomes free from characteristics such as finitude, agency, etc., that are brought about by 补惫颈诲测腻. He is a released soul and he remains as Brahman.