8. AkAsha

Adhyaya 1 – Pada 1 - AdhikaraNa 8


The Word "AkAsha" Refers to Brahman


1. ViShaya (Statement): The ChAndogya UpaniShad states:


asya lokasya kA gatir iti AkAsha iti hovAca
sarvANi hA vA imAni bhUtAny AkAshAd eva
samutpadyante. AkAshaM pratyastaM yAnty AkAshaH
parAyanam iti.


"He asked: What is the ultimate destination of all living entities? He replied: AkAsha is the ultimate destination. All living entities and all material elements have emanated from AkAsha, and they will again enter into AkAsha."

2. SaMshaya (doubt): What is the meaning of the word AkAsha here? Does it mean the element ether, or does it mean the Supreme Brahman?

3. PUrvapakSha (the opposing argument): The word AkAsha here means "the element ether", because air and the other elements evolve from it. Indeed, ether is the origin of all the other elements.

4. SiddhAnta (Conclusion): shrIla VyAsadeva refutes this argument in the following sUtra.


SUtra 22

AkAshas tal-li~NgAt


AkAshah - the word AkAsha; tat - of Him; lingat - because of the qualities.


The word "AkAsha" in the Vedic literature refers to the Supreme Brahman, for the description of "AkAsha" aptly fits the description of the qualities of Brahman.


Purport by shrIla Baladeva VidyAbhUShaNa


The word AkAsha here refers to Brahman and not the material element ether. Why? Because the AkAsha described here has alll the characteristics of Brahman. The AkAsha described here is the source from which the material elements emanate, the maintainer who sustains them, and the ultimate refuge into which they enter at the time of comsic annihilation. That is Brahman. The scriptures explain: sarvANi hA vA imAni bhUtAni (All material elements have emanated from AkAsha). Because ether is one of the material elements, it is included in the word sarvANi (all the elements). It is not the independent origin of the causal chain, but merely one of the links. For this reason it cannot be the AkAsha that is the source of all the elements (including ether). The use of the word eva (certainly) in this context reinforces the interpretation that AkAsha refers to Brahman because eva implies "there is no other cause". For this reason AkAsha cannot refer to the material element ether. For example, clay is the origin from which clay pots are produced, and other material substances are the origins of other objects, but all these "origins" are not primal origins, but merely intermediate steps in a great causal chain. By using the word eva (the sole cause) the text clearly refers to the primal, uncaused cause, Brahman, and not ether or any other particular intermediate stage in the causal chain. The Vedic literatures describe Brahman as the master of all potencies and the source of all forms, and therefore, because the AkAsha is described (eva) as the "sole cause", it can refer only to the primal cause Brahman and not the material element ether. Although the word AkAsha generally means "ether" in ordinary usage, in this context the secondary meaning "Brahman" is far more appropriate.