2. Inquiry Into Brahman

Adhyaya 1 – Pada 1 - AdhikaraNa 1


Inquiry Into Brahman


The first adhikaraNa of the VedAnta-sUtra discusses brahma-jij~nAsA (inquiry into Brahman). The adhikaraNa may be shown in its five parts in the following way:

1. ViShaya (statement): One should inquire about Brahman. This statement is confirmed by the following statements of Vedic scripture:


yo vai bhUma tat sukhaM nAnyat sukham asti bhUmaiva sukhaM bhUmatveva vijij~nAsitavyaH


"The Supreme Personality of Godhead (bhUma) is the source of genuine happiness. Nothing else can bring one actual happiness. Only the Supreme Personality of Godhead can bring one happiness. For this reason one should inquire about the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
- ChAndogya UpaniShad 7.25.1


AtmA vA are draShTavyaH shrotavyo mantavyo nididhyAsitavyo maitreyi


"O MaitreyI, one should see, hear, remember, and inquire about the Supreme Personality of Godhead."
- BR^ihad-AraNyaka UpaniShad 2.4.5


2. SaMshaya (doubt): If one has studied the Vedas and dharma-shAstras, need he inquire about Brahman or not? The following statements of Vedic scriptures nourish this doubt:

apAma somam amR^itA abhUma


"We have attained immortality by drinking the soma-juice."
- R^ig Veda 8.18.3

akShayyaM ha vai cAturmAsyAjinaH sukR^itaM bhavati


"They who follow the vow of cAturmAsya attain an eternal reward."


3. PUrvapakSha (presentation of the opposing view): There is no need to inquire about Brahman. Simply by discharging ordinary pious duties described in the dharma-shAstras one can attain immortality and an eternal reward.

4. SiddhAnta (the conclusive truth): In the first sUtra BhagavAn VyAsadeva replies to his philosophical opponent.


SUtra 1

athAto brahma-jij~nAsA


atha - now; atah - therefore; brahma - about Brahman; jij~nAsa - there should be inquiry.


Now, therefore, one should inquire about Brahman.*


Purport by shrIla Baladeva VidyAbhUShaNa


In this sUtra the word atha means "now", and the word ataH means "therefore". The sUtra means "Now one should inquire about Brahman."

Atha (now): When a person has properly studied the Vedic literature, understood its meaning, adhered to the principles of varNAshrama-dharma, observed the vow of truthfulness, purified his mind and heart, and attained the association of a self-realized soul, he is qualified to inquire about Brahman.

AtaH (therefore): Because material piety brings results of material sense-happiness, which is inevitably limited and temporary, and because the transcendental form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, which is realized by the proper attainment of real transcendental knowledge, and which is full of imperishable, limitless bliss, eternity, transcendental knowldege, and all transcendental attributes, brings eternal bliss to the devotee-beholder, therefore one should renounce all material pious duties for attaining material sense-gratification, and inquire about Brahman by studying the four chapters of VedAnta-sUtra.

At the point someone may object: Is it not true that simply by studying the Vedas one attains knowledge of Brahman, and as result of this knowledge one abandons the path of material piety and fruitive work and instead takes to the worship of the Supreme Personality of Godhead? If this result is obtained simply by studying the Vedas, what need is there to study the four chapters of VedAnta-sUtra?

To this objection I reply: Even if one carefully studies the Vedas, misunderstanding and doubt may destroy his intelligence and lead him away from the real meaning of the Vedas. For this reason it is necessary to study the VedAnta-sUtra, to strengthen the students as understanding.

Performing the duties of Ashrama-dharma are also helpful in purifying the heart and understanding the transcendental reality. How the Ashrama duties of the brAhmaNa help in this regard is described in the following statement of BR^ihad-AraNyaka UpaniShad (4.4.22):

tam etaM vedAnuvacanena brAhmaNA vividisanti yaj~nena dAnena tapasAnashanena


"By Vedic study, sacrifice, charity, austerity, and fasting, the brAhmaNas strive to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead."


The usefulness of the brahminical duties such as truthfulness, austerity, and mantra chanting is described in the following scriptural statements:

satyena labhayas tapasA hy eSha AtmA samyak j~nAnena brahmacaryeNa nityam


"By constant truthfulness, austerity, transcendental knowledge, and austerity, one becomes eligible to associate with the Supreme Personality of Godhead."
- MuNDaka UpaniShad 3.1.5

japyenaiva ca saMsiddhyad
brahmaNA nAtra saMshayaH
kuryAd anyan na vA kuryAn
maitro brAhmaNa ucyate


"Whether he performs other rituals and duties or not, one who perfectly chants mantras glorifying the Supreme Personality of Godhead should be considered a perfect brAhmaNa, eligible to understand the Supreme Lord."
- Manu-saMhitA 2.87


Association with those who understand the truth also brings one transcendental knowledge. By this association NArada and many other spiritual aspirants attained interest to ask about spiritual life and were finally eligible to see the Supreme Personality of Godhead face-to-face. Sanat-kumAra and many other great sages have also helped many devotees by giving their association in this way. The great value of contact with a self-realized soul is described in the following statement of Bhagavad-gItA (4.34):

tad viddhi praNipAtena
pariprashnena sevayA
upadekShyanti te j~nAnaM
j~nAninas tattva-darshinaH


"Just try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master. Inquire from him submissively and render service unto him. The self-realized soul can impart knowledge unto you because he has seen the truth."*


The material benefits obtained by following the pious rituals of the karma-kANDa section of the Vedas are all temporary in nature. This fact is confirmed by the following statement of ChAndogya UpaniShad (8.1.3):

tad yatheha karma-cito lokAH kShiyante evam evAmutra puNya-cito lokaH kShIyate


"By performing good works (karma) one is elevated to the celestial material world after death. One is not able to stay there forever, however, but one must lose that position after some time and accept another, less favorable residence. In the same way, by amassing pious credits (puNya) one may reside in the upper planets. Still, he cannot stay there, but must eventually relinquish his comfortable position there, and accept a less favorable residence somewhere else."


The following statement of MuNDaka UpaniShad (1.2.12) affirms that only transcendental knowledge will help one approach the Supreme Brahman:

parIkShya lokAn karma-citAn brAhmaNo
nirvedam ayan nAsty akR^itaH kR^itena
tad-vij~nAnArtham sa gurum evAbhigacchet
samit-pANiH shrotriyaM brahma-niShTham


"Seeing that the celestial material planets, which one may obtain by pious work, provide only temporary benefits, a brAhmaNa, in order to understand the truth the of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, should humbly approach a bona-fide spiritual master learned in the scriptures and full of faith in the Supreme Lord."

In contrast to the temporary material benefits obtained in the celestial material planets, the Supreme Brahman is the reservoir of eternal, limitless bliss. This is confirmed by the following statments of TaittirIya UpaniShad (2.1.1):

satyaM j~nAnam anantaM brahma


"The Supreme Personality of Godhead is limitless, eternal, and full of knowledge."

Anando brahmeti vyajanAt


"He then understood that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is full of transcendental bliss."


The Supreme Brahman is eternal, full of knowledge and endowed with all transcendental qualities. This is confirmed by the following statements of shvetAshvatara UpaniShad:

na tasya kAryaM karaNaM ca vidyate
na tat-samash cAbhyadhikash ca dR^ishyate
parAsya shaktir vividhaiva shrUyate
svA-bhAvikI j~nAna-bala-kriyA ca


"He does not possess bodily form like that of an ordinary living entity. There is no difference between His body and His soul. He is absolute. All his senses are transcendental. Any one of His senses can perform the action of any other sense. Therefore, no one is greater than Him or equal to Him. His potencies are multifarious, and thus His deeds are automatically performed as a natural sequence."*
- 6.8

sarvendriya-guNAbhAsaM
sarvendriya-vivarjitam
asaktaM sarva-bhR^ic caiva
nirguNaM guNa-bhoktR^i ca


"The Supersoul is the original source of all senses, yet He is without senses. He is unattached, although He is the maintainer of all living beings. He transcends the modes of nature, and at the same time He is the master of all modes of material nature."*
- 3.17

bhAva-grahyam anidAkhyaM
bhAvAbhAva-karaM shivam
kAla-sArga-karaM devaM
ye vidus te jahus tanum


"The Supreme Personality of Godhead is the creator and destroyer of the entire material cosmic manifestation. He is supremely auspicious, and He does not posesses a material body, for His body is spiritual in all respects. He may be reached and understood only by loving devotional service. Those who thus serve Him and understand Him may become free from having to repeatedly accept various material bodies for continued residence in the material world. They become liberated from this world, and obtain eternal spiritual bodies with which to serve Him."
- 5.14


That the Supreme Personality of Godhead grants eternal transcendental bliss to His devotees is confirmed by the following statement of GopAla-tApanI UpaniShad (1.5):

taM pITha-sthaM ye tu yajanti dhIrAs
teShAM sukhaM shAshvataM netareShAm


"The saintly devotees who worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead in the spiritual world attain eternal transcendental bliss. Except for them no others can attain this eternal bliss."


This uselessness of the temporary benefits obtained by following the material piety of the karma-kANDa section of the Vedas will be described in the third chapter of this VedAnta-sUtra.

This may be summed up by saying: One who has studied the Vedas, Upavedas, and UpaniShads, understood them, associated with a self-realized soul, and in this way understood the difference between the temporary and the eternal, who has lost all attraction for the temporary and chosen the eternal, becomes a student of the four chapters of VedAnta-sUtra.

It cannot be said that simply by completely studying and understanding the karma-kANDa section of the Vedas one will naturally take up the study of VedAnta-sUtra. They who have studied karma-kANDa but not associated with saintly devotees do not become eager to understand Brahman. On the other hand, they who have not studied karma-kANDa, but who have become purified by association with saintly devotees, naturally become attracted to understand Brahman.

Neither can it be said that simply by understanding the difference between the temporary and the eternal, and simply by attaining the four qualities of saintly persons, one will become attracted to understand Brahman. These things are not enough. However, if one attains the association of a self-realized soul and follows his instructions, then these ordinarily difficult-to-attain qualifications are automatically attained at once.

Three kinds of persons inquire into the nature of Brahman: 1. Sa-niShTha (they who faithfully perform their duties); 2. PariniShTha (they who act philantropically for the benefit of all living entities); and 3. Nirapeksha (they who are rapt in meditation and aloof from the activities of this world). According to their own respective abilities all these persons understand the nature of Brahman. They become more and more purified, and they eventually attain the association of Brahman.

At this point someone may raise the following objection: Is it not so that the words oM and atha are auspicious sounds that sprang from Lord BrahmA.as throat in ancient times? Is it not also so that these words are traditionally used at the beginning of books to invoke auspiciousness and drive away all obstacles? For this reason I think the word atha in this sUtra does not mean "now". It is simply a word to invoke auspiciousness, and has no other meaning.

To this objection I reply: This is not true. shrIla VyAsadeva, the author of VedAnta-sUtra, is the incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself, and therefore He has no particular need to invoke auspiciousness or drive away obstacles and dangers. That VyAsadeva is the Supreme Personality of Godhead is confirmed by the following statement of the smR^iti-shAstra:

kR^iShNa-dvaipAyana-vyAsaM
viddhi nArAyaNaM prabhum


"Please understand that KR^iShNa Dvaipayana VyAsa is actually the Supreme Personality of Godhead, NArAyaNa."

Still, ordinary people may take it that Lord VyAsadeva has spoken the word atha at the beginning of VedAnta-sUtra just to invoke auspiciousness, just as one may sound a conch-shell to invoke auspiciousness. In conclusion, we have described here how at a certain point in time, after certain understandings (atha), a person may become eager to inquire about the nature of Brahman.

At this point someone may raise the following objection:Is it not so that the word bhUma or brahma may also refer to the individual spirit soul and not only to the Supreme Personality of Godhead? This fact is explained in ChAndogya UpaniShad. Even the dictionary explains: "The word brahma means that which is big, the brAhmaNa caste, the individual spirit soul, and the demigod BrahmA who sits on a great lotus flower."

To clear away the misunderstanding of this objector, the following scriptural passages may be quoted:


bhR^igur vai varuNir varuNaM pitaram upasasAra adhIhi bho bhagavo brahma. . . yato vA imAni bhUtAni jAyante yena jAtAni jIvanti yat prayAnty abhisaMvishanti tad brahma tad vijij~nAsasva


"BhR^igu asked his father VaruNa: .aMy lord, please instruct me about the nature of Brahman..a VaruNa replied: .aAll living entities have taken their birth because of Brahman. They remain alive because they are maintained by Brahman, and at the time of death they again enter into Brahman. Please try to understand the nature of Brahman..a"


At this point someone may doubt: "In this VedAnta-sUtra does the word .aBrahman.a refer to the individual spirit soul or the Supreme Personality of Godhead?"

Someone may indeed claim that the word "Brahman" here refers to the individual spirit soul, and to support his view he may quote the following statement of TaittirIya UpaniShad (2.5):

vij~nAnaM brahma ced veda
tasmAc cen na pramadyati
sharIre pApmAno hitvA
sarvaN kAmAn samAshnute


"If one understands the true nature of the Brahman who lives in the body and uses the senses of the body to perceive the material world, then such a knower of Brahman will never become bewildered by illusion. Such a knower of the Brahman in the body refrains from performing sinful actions, and at the time of leaving the body at death, he attains an exalted destination where all his desires become at once fulfilled."


Our philosophical opponent may claim in this way that the word "Brahman" should be interpreted to mean the individual spirit soul. In order to refute this false idea, shrIla VyAsadeva describes the true nature of Brahman in the next sUtra.