Vedanta Sutra and the Vedanta (the essence of Upanisads*)

Introduction:

The early humans compiled the accumulated knowledge calling it the Veda, which considered the ultimate Reality in three parts: God (Brahman / ब्रह्म), soul (Purusha / आत्मा) and the world (Nature / संसार: Prakriti including the body, intellect, ego and  mind).

The Mimamsa is a Hindu philosophical system which analyzes and explores how the three parts of Reality --- Brahman, soul and the world -- relate to and influence one another.

The Mimamsa consists of two parts: the Purva Mimamsa and the Uttara Mimamsa. The Purva Mimamsa, or simply the Mimamsa, is the earlier (older) one, and it deals with the Divine (God) and the acts of service (holy offering and worship etc.). The Purva Mimamsa (or Karma Mimamsa) investigates the duties (dharma) enjoined by the Veda, together with the rewards attached thereto.  

In the Uttara  Mimamsa (also known as the Vedanta) the emphasis is on Lord (God), while considering Brahman (God) first and then the creation (souls and the world) which even as attributable to Brahman.

The term "Vedanta" means literally "the end of the Veda," or the doctrines set forth in the closing chapters of the Vedas, which are the Upanisads. The views of the Upanisads also constitute "the final aim of the Veda," or the essence of the Vedas.

The Vedanta Sutra, or the doctrine of Vedanta, is also called Brahm Sutra, because it is an exposition of the doctrine of Brahm (or Brahman), and also Sariraka Sutra, because it deals with the embodiment of the unconditioned self (soul). The Uttara Mimamsa is the critical investigation and discussion involving various philosophico-theological views in the Upanisads.

Note, the Upanisads are but a series of glances at truth from various points of view, and not an attempt to think out the great questions consecutively. Badarayana (Vyasa, according to some scholars), through his sutra (Vedanta Sutra or Braham Sutra, comprising 550 sutra or aphorisms, which could be under development for a long time even before Badarayana compiled it finally) attempts to systematize this wisdom of the Upanisads in a consistent whole.

Badrayana's work (Vedanta Sutra) is not so much systematic philosophy but as theological interpretation. It investigates the Upanisads teachings about God, the world, the soul in its conditions of wandering and of deliverance; removes apparent contradictions in the doctrines; and binds them systematically together.

Metaphysical Views:

The Vedanta Sutra has four chapters (discussed briefly below, 1 - 4). According to the Vedanta Sutra, the purusa (soul or spirit) and prakrti (body or Nature) are not independent substances, but modifications of a single reality. A plurality / multiplicity of true infinites is not possible. The one infinite substance, Brahman, is identified with the highest reality set forth in the Upanisads.

(1)     The first chapter in the Vedanta Sutra deals with the theory of Brahman as the central reality. This includes an account of the nature of Brahman, its relation to the world and the individual soul. The individual soul is an agent (karta). Birth and death refer to the body and not the soul, which has no beginning. It is eternal.There is a discussion of the several descriptions of Brahman given in the Upanisads. He is the origin, support and end of the world, the efficient and the material cause of the universe. He creates without implements. He has the qualities of purity, truth of purpose, omniscience, omnipotence, etc. He is to be contemplated as residing in the heart of man, and humans are allowed to look upon the omnipresent god as occupying a limited space. The ultimate ground of things is a single supreme spirit that is the source of everything and an adequate object of unqualified adoration and worship.

Brahman, itself uncreated and eternal, is the cause of the whole universe. Every material element is created by Brahman. If, through the activity of the primary elements, the evolution of the world takes place, even then it is Brahman that confers the power through the exercise of which the evolution takes place. Brahman thus is the material cause as well as the instrumental cause of the world. In the Sutra the nature of the relation between the cause and the effect, Brahman and the world, is discussed.

(2)    The second chapter gives an account of the nature of the dependence of the world on God and the gradual evolution from and re-absorption into him. In the latter part there are interesting psychological discussions about the nature of the soul, its attributes, its relation to God, body and its own deeds.

(3)    The third chapter in the Vedanta Sutra discusses the ways and means (sadhana) of attaining Braham-vidya or Braham-jnana (divine knowledge). There is in it an account of rebirth and minor psychological and theological discussions, together with many exegetical components.

It is pointed out how ethical discipline can secure for the individual a body fit for the acquirement of absolute knowledge or Braham-jnana. The salvation is possible for everyone, whether through acts or the grace of God. To this end, the rules of the Veda (sruti) are helpful. The active service and renunciation of the world get equal support from the scriptures.  Action done out of ignorance, but not all action, impedes the rise of spiritual perception or jnana. Whatever freedom is there after attaining release, on earth, even in the jivanmukta (liberated life) condition, action is enjoined.

Following the Upanisads, the Sutra allows secondary worships (involving the lesser devas) which may grant blessings to the devotees, though even these are governed by the supreme (Brahman). The reality is beyond and not contained in the pratikas, or symbols, which are permitted as an aid (in worship and prayer etc.) to the inapt man. The supreme is avyakta or unmanifested, though he is seen in the state of samradhana (reverence). The highest kind of religion is the possession of God-vision. The ultimate end of the individual is the attainment of the self (un-conditioned or released soul). Knowledge of Brahman puts an end to the karmas which have not begun to operate, though the body lasts until the karmas which have started to operate (arabdha) are exhausted.

(4)   The fourth chapter in the Vedanta Sutra deals with the fruits (phala) of Braham-vidya. It also describes in some detail the theory of the departure of soul after death along the two paths of the gods (the Path of Light)  and the fathers (the Path of Darkness) and the nature of the release from which there is no return.

There is also an account of how the individual soul reaches Brahman through the Devayana (the Path of gods or light), whence there is no return. The characteristics of the released soul also are described. After mentioning the almost infinite power and knowledge which will come to the liberated soul on attaining moksa, none, however, will get the power of creating, ruling and dissolving the universe, since that belongs to God alone.

Ethics:

The world is due to the will (samkalpa) of God. It is his lila, or play. It does not, however, mean that he created sin and suffering for his joy or, as some might say, that there may be inferior creatures who will praise and glorify him for his eternal greatness. A God all blissful, who delights in the suffering of creatures, is no God at all. The diversity (or diverse conditions) is determined by the karma (actions) of the individuals. God is limited by the necessity of taking into account the previous actions of humans. The unequal distribution of happiness is the expression of the moral order of which God's will is the embodiment. So, Brahman is neither partial nor pitiless, and has not the delightful freedom and irresponsibility.

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* Subhash C. Sharma, “Vedanta Sutra and the Vedanta,” (June 27, 2004) https://www.oocities.org/lamberdar/vedanta.html