[Advaita-l] [advaitin] 'Prana' as Brahman

[Venkatraghavan S]

Namaste Subbuji,
The kAryAdhikaraNam in the 4th chapter, 3rd pAda of the brahmasUtra
establishes that wherever the Shruti talks of a travel to a loka it is
travel to the world that is supervised by a kArya brahma, conditioned
Brahman, only.

So, the first sUtra in this adhikaraNam, कार्यं बादरिरस्य गत्युपपत्तेः
(4.3.7) established that that gati is possible only for kArya brahma
(hiraNyagarbha), not kAraNa brahma (Parameshvara). The second
sUtra, विशेषितत्वाच्च (4.3.8) with the help of the
shruti ‘ब्रह्मलोकान्गमयति ते तेषु ब्रह्मलोकेषु पराः परावतो वसन्ति’ (बृ. उ.
६ । २ । १५) proves that it can only be a kArya brahma, where the use of the
plural tense in ब्रह्मलोकेषु is used to justify that worlds in the plural
can only apply in a literal sense with kAryabrahma.

A question is raised about why the term brahma is used in the shruti if it
is referring to an apara brahma, to which the third sUtra  सामीप्यात्तु
तद्व्यपदेशः (4.3.9), where because hiraNyagarbha is close to Ishvara,
sometimes the term brahma is applied to the former as well for the purpose
of upAsana.

The next sUtra settles the matter: कार्यात्यये तदध्यक्षेण सहातः परमभिधानात्
(4.3.10) - where AchArya clearly says कार्यब्रह्मलोकप्रलयप्रत्युपस्थाने सति
तत्रैव उत्पन्नसम्यग्दर्शनाः सन्तः, तदध्यक्षेण हिरण्यगर्भेण सह अतः परं
परिशुद्धं विष्णोः परमं पदं प्रतिपद्यन्ते - when the world of the kArya
brahma undergoes dissolution, all its residents who have attained jnAna,
attain moksha (परं परिशुद्धं विष्णोः परमं पदं), along with the leader of
that world, hiraNyagarbha. The sUtrakAra uses the term adhyaksha to denote
the ruler of that world, and the bhAShyakAra explains that word to be
hiraNyagarbha.

Finally in sUtra 4.3.11, स्मृतेश्च he quotes the smRti
 ‘ब्रह्मणा सह ते सर्वे सम्प्राप्ते प्रतिसञ्चरे । परस्यान्ते कृतात्मानः
प्रविशन्ति परं पदम्’ इति ।, and concludes with the words
तस्मात्कार्यब्रह्मविषया एव गतिश्रुतयः इति सिद्धान्तः ॥ - the siddhAnta is
that every gati shruti only refers to travel to kAryabrahma - if it is an
actual travel.

So, if we take going to kailAsha, vaikunTha occurring in the purANa-s as
literal statements, then it is tantamount to taking Shiva and Vishnu as
kAryabrahma, and any upAsakas who die without attaining jnAna and reach
such loka-s would necessarily (because they would travel to such loka-s)
have to attain jnAna in such loka-s. Instead, if we take the attainment of
these loka-s in the figurative sense such as attaining विष्णोः परमं पदं, ie
knowing the the highest Brahman through samyagjnAna, then that is moksha
and the object of the jnAna, the true Shiva / Vishnu tattva is Parabrahman.
In fact, in the bhAShya to the sUtra 4.3.14, in responding to the pUrva
paksha position that gati is possible for Parabrahman, AchArya
says: परविद्याप्रकरणेऽपि च तत्स्तुत्यर्थं
विद्यान्तराश्रयगत्यनुकीर्तनमुपपद्यते — ‘विष्वङ्ङन्या उत्क्रमणे भवन्ति’ (छा.
उ. ८ । ६ । ६) इतिवत् ।
It is possible for there to be a reference to gati in the context of
Parabrahman too - where such a gati (travel) is mentioned as a eulogy (ie
not literal) of paravidyA.

Now, Shankaracharya uses the term Ishvara with respect to hiraNyagarbha in
various places in the bhAShya, but he does not mean hiraNyagarbha is
Parameshvara, he only uses the term Ishvara to denote the supremacy of
hiraNyagarbha amongst the jIva-s. See the bhAShya to 1.3.30:

सत्यपि सर्वव्यवहारोच्छेदिनि महाप्रलये परमेश्वरानुग्रहादीश्वराणां
हिरण्यगर्भादीनां कल्पान्तरव्यवहारानुसन्धानोपपत्तेः । यद्यपि प्राकृताः
प्राणिनो न जन्मान्तरव्यवहारमनुसन्दधाना दृश्यन्त इति, तथापि न
प्राकृतवदीश्वराणां भवितव्यम् । यथा हि प्राणित्वाविशेषेऽपि
मनुष्यादिस्तम्बपर्यन्तेषु ज्ञानैश्वर्यादिप्रतिबन्धः परेण परेण भूयान् भवन्
दृश्यते ; तथा मनुष्यादिष्वेव हिरण्यगर्भपर्यन्तेषु
ज्ञानैश्वर्याद्यभिव्यक्तिरपि परेण परेण भूयसी
भवतीत्येतच्छ्रुतिस्मृतिवादेष्वसकृदनुश्रूयमाणं न शक्यं नास्तीति वदितुम् ।

Even though in the mahApralaya, when all activities have ceased, Ishvara-s
such as hiraNyagarbha etc are able to recall, through the grace of
Parameshvara, the activities undertaken in another kalpa. Even though
ordinary creatures are not able to recall the actions in another kalpa, one
cannot surmise that Ishvara-s (he means hiraNyagarbha etc) too will be so
unable. It is observed that the capacity of the intellect is superior in
some creatures compared to others. Similarly, starting from men, and
culminating in hiraNyagarbha, the manifestation of intellect increases by
species, as observed in a multitude of Shruti and smRti statements and
therefore this cannot be denied.

Note the reference to hiraNyagarbha as Ishvara, in juxtaposition to
Parameshvara, by whose grace he recalls his actions from another birth.

Not just hiraNyagarbha, the term Ishvara is used by the AchArya to refer to
other great souls such as apAntaratamas (BSB 3.3.32):
एवम् अपान्तरतमःप्रभृतयोऽपीश्वराः परमेश्वरेण तेषु तेष्वधिकारेषु नियुक्ताः
सन्तः सत्यपि सम्यग्दर्शने कैवल्यहेतौ अक्षीणकर्माणो यावदधिकारमवतिष्ठन्ते,
तदवसाने च अपवृज्यन्त इत्यविरुद्धम् ।
Therefore, apAntaratamas and others, despite being divine (Ishvara-s), are
assigned their respective tasks by Parameshvara even though possess the
right knowledge that is the cause of liberation, continue with their bodies
for so long as their task requires it and their activities are not
completed.

The reference provided by you of AchArya using the term Parameshvara in the
context of hiraNyagarbha (इन्द्रः परमेश्वरः त्वं हे प्राण) in the
prashnopaniShad, must be interpreted only as Parameshvara a eulogy, along
the lines of the nyAya from the सामीप्यात्तु तद्व्यपदेशः sUtra.

Kind regards,
Venkatraghavan