Sankaracharya and Taittiriyopanishad

Author(s): Vijay Pandya
Publisher: ZZ_Anusandhan
Catalog link: https://jainqq.org/explore/269125/1

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Sankaracarya and the Taittiriyopanisad (with reference to his bhasyas) - Vijay Pandya The Taittiriyopanisad (T.U.) is one of those few Upanisads which have exercised a tremendous influence upon the course of Indian philosophy over the centuries. It is this Upanisad which has formed the core of the Brahmasutra available at present along with some other classical Upanisads. Some of the satras of the extant Brahmasutra have been based upon this upanisad. The very second sutra Ep 16 i (1-1-2) has the passage from this Upanisad i.e. at ar ghifa bhUtAni jAyante, yena jAtAni jIvanti, yatprayanti, abhisaMvizanti, tadvijijJAsasva, NIGSEL for its visayavakya. The whole of the Anandamayadhikarana (1-1-12to 19) has the anandamimamsa of this upanisad as the basis. Then, there is one theory according to which there were various Brahmasutras belonging to the various Upanisads, the Taittiriyopanisad likely being one of them. Sankaracarya was not to miss the enormous philosophic significance of this Upanisad, as is evidenced from the fact that he has quoted the T.U. in his Brahmasutrasankarabhasya (B.S.S.B.)142 times. He has also written a commentary on the T.U. Here, before we go deeper into the discussion, it should be made clear that, we assume both the bhasyas viz. B.S.S.B. and the Taittiriuopanisadbhasya to be authentic from the pen of Sarkaracarya, though occasionally the doubts have been raised about them. Scholars like Deussen think that the second interpretation of the Anandamayadhikarana is an interpolation. Similarly the T. U. bhasya is also authentic as Suresvaracarya has commented upon it and there are sub-commentaries upon the Vartika, a commentary by Suresvaracarya on the T, U.

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3TTEN-* 111 Bhasya. It may also be noted that the second interpretation of the Anandamayadhikarana is quite in consonance with T. U. Bhasya. If we want to understand Sankaracarya's philosophical position towards the T.U., then, his bhasyas on Anandamayadhikarana (1-1-12 to 19) of the Brahmasutra and the relevant portion of the T.U. are indispensable. We know that Sankaracarya has given two interpretations of the Anandamayadhikarana. The relevant portion of the T. U. which has been taken up as a discussing point in the Brahmasutru begins as follows: tasmAdvA etasmAdAtmana AkAza sambhUtaH / AkAzAdvAyuH / vAyoragniH / agnerApaH / adbhayaH pRthvI / pRthivyA oSadhayaH / oSadhIbhyo'nnam / annAtpuruSaH / sa vA eSa puruSo'nnarasamaya tasyedameva ziraH / ayaM dakSiNaH T&: 344: 981: | 3727174 ya urais From the Atman, the ether proceeded, from ether, the wind, from the wind the fire, from the fire the waters, from waters the earth, from earth the plants, from plants food, from food man, he is made up of food. And then in the similar fashion the T. U. proceeds further. In this self of food dwells inside another self of breath (Pranamaya), again in the self of breath, there is self of mind (manomaya). Further in the self of mind is the self of understanding (vijnanamaya) and in the self of understanding is the inner self which consists of bliss (anandamaya). Now the crucial point of discussion in the Brahmasutra and in the T.U.bhasya is this self consisting of bliss, Anandamaya. Who is this Anandamaya ? Sankaracarya puts forth two interpretations ih his commentary on the Anandamayadhikarana. According to the first interpretation put forth by Sankaracarya,

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3 TEN-89. 112 Anandumaya is Brahman. According to the second interpretation which some scholars like Deussen have dubbed as an interpolation, (but we believe it to be as authentic as the first one), Anandamaya is not Brahman. It is one of the five sheaths, as Sankaracarya says in his B.S.S.B., af f a15142762 31144H49fati: Y of The five sheaths extending from the sheath of food upto the sheath of bliss are merely introduced for the purpose of setting forth the knowledge of Brahman. Similar interpretation is offered in the TU.bhasya, and in the T.U.bhasya by Sankaracarya the interpretation resembling that of the first interpretation in the B.S.S.B., is nowhere in sight. It is most interesting and edifying to see how Sarkaracarya fortifies the thought that Anandamaya is not Brahman. The bhasya in the Upanisad runs as follows : annamayAdibhya AnandamayAntebhya Atmabhyo'bhyantaratamaM brahma vidyayA pratyagAtmatvena didarzayiSuH zAstraM avidyAkRtapaJcakozApanayanena anekatuSakodravavituSIkaraNeneva tadantargata taNDulAnprastauti / tasmAdvA etasmAdannarasamayAdityAdi / Brahman is the inmost of all selves beginning from the physical sheath and ending with the blissful one. The scripture starts with the text tasmAt vA etasmAt annarasamayAt etc. with a view to revealing through knowledge that Brahman as the indwelling self by following a process of eliminating the five sheaths just as rice is extracted from the grain called Kodrava that has many husks.? Thus Anandamaya is not Brahman and it is one of the sheaths which one has to transcend in order to realise Brahman. The TU. bhasya is running close parallel to the second interpretation offered by the great acarya in his B.S.S.B. As Sarkaracarya was writing an elaborate bhasya on the T.U., he makes some other subtler points which he did not mention in his bhasya on the Anandamayadhikarana in the

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anusaMdhAna - 17* 113 Brahmasutra. We know that in the T.U., after Annamaya comes Pranamaya and so on. At this place, Sarikaracarya in his T.U. bhasya observes evaM manomayAdibhiH pUrvapUrvavyApibhiruttarottaraiH sUkSmairAnandamayAntairAkAzAdibhUtArabdhairavidyAkRtairAtmavantaH sarve prANinaH / tathA svAbhAvikenApyAkAzAdikAraNena nityenAvikRtena sarvagatena satyajJAnAnantalakSaNena paJcakozAtigena sarvAtmanA AtmavantaH / Similarly all creatures are possesed of selves by virtue being provided with the bodies beginning with the mental and ending with the blissful which successively pervade the preceding ones and which are made up of the elements, beginning with akasa, that are the creations of ignorance. So also they are blessed with the self by the Self that is common to all, selfexistent, the source of ether etc., everlasting,unchanging, all-pervading, defined as truth, knowledge and infinite and beyond five sheaths." Further one more finer point Sankaracarya makes in the T.U.bhasya which he did not make in his bhasya on the Anandamayadhikarana. saMkramaNAcca 'AnandamayamAtmAnamupasaMkrAmati' iti vakSyati / kAryAtmanAM ca saMkramaNamanAtmanAM dRSTam / saMkramaNakarmatvena cAnandamaya AtmA zrUyate / yathAnnamayamAtmAnamupasaMkrAmatIti / na ca Atmana evopasaMkramaNam / adhikAravirodhAdasaMbhavAcca / na hyAtmanaivAtmana upasaMkramaNaM saMbhavati / svAtmani bhedAbhAvAt / AtmabhUtaM ca brahma saMkramituH 110 This also follows from the fact of Samkramana (attaining). The text will say 'He attains the self made of bliss. (T.U. 25) and things that are non-selves and effects are seen to be attained by others. Moreover the self made of bliss is mentioned in the text as the object of the act of attaining just as it is the annamayam atmanam upasamkramti, he attains the self made of food. Nor is the (unconditioned) Self attainable since such an attainment is repugnant to the trend of the passage and it is logically impossible. For the (unconditioned)

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3 1 -89.114 Self cannot be attained by the Self in as much as there is no split within the self and Brahman is the Self, of the attainer." So this argument of attaining is a very subtle one, and additional too, to the points made in the BSSB by Sankaracarya. The great acarya offered two interpretations of which he elaborated the second interpretation and the first one he altogether ignored in the T.U.bhasya. About the second interpretation it may be stated that the acarya was not wavering between ananda and anandi so to say as Belvalkar and Ranade seem to be averring. 12 We may, in fact, conjecture that, the first interpretation was handed down to Sankaracarya by the tradition and he felt bounden by the tradition to mention the interpretation of which he himself was little convinced. The second interpretation is consistent with his overall relentless pursuit of absolute, rigorous unflincing non-dualism and which gets reflected in the T.U.bhasya. In fact, as we could mark, in the T.U.bhasya, he is more original, vigorous and incisive unshackled by the tradition. Regarding Sankaracarya's Brhadaranyakopanisadbhasya, Daniel Ingalls has observed that Sankaracarya breaks with traditional interpretations frequently whereas in the Brahmasutrabhasya, he is very careful not to depart from the tradition..? This observation, I think, is applicable to T.U.bhasya by Sarkaracarya. So from the forgoing discussion, it would be seen that Sankaracarya sets aside that interpretation which connects Brahman with Anandamaya. I may venture even further, that had it been in Sarkaracarya's power, he would even have rejected the term Ananda, devoid of any suffix like mayat which obviously, under no circumstances, he could admit.

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TICHETT-919. 115 Tradition sanctified by usage and hallowed by time was too overwhelming for him to reject the term ananda. In support of this statement, it may be mentioned that, in the whole of literature by Sarkaracarya the most frequent phrase in the Indian philosophy, i.e. succidananda taken as a whole does not occur. Individually sat, cit and even ananda did occur in the literature by the acarya, but as a definition of Brahman and even otherwise by way of inserting such phrases, this phrase saccidananda, is conspicuous by its absence. So, as with anandamaya, Sankaracarya considered ananda epithet of Brahman as qualifying it. The epithet ananda goes against the tenor of his philosophical strain and despite Sankaracarya, in the Post-Sankara period the epithet and the phrase saccidananda have continued to reign unchallenged. Though there is no direct evidence to prove it but, according to Sankaracarya, it appears ananda would bring the worldly content which would pollute, so to say, Sankaracarya's Brahman. And perhaps (not sure) the connotations of the word ananda contextually used in the classical Upanisadic literature, had strengthened his aversion to the word ananda being applied to Brahman. It is not very infrequently that in the Upanisads the word ananda has a sextual connotation. To point out a few : In the Brhadaranyakopanisad (2-4-11) it is statet that sa yathA sarvAsAmapAM samudra ekAyanam, evaM sarveSAM sparzAnAM tvagekAyanam, evaM sarveSAM gandhAnAM nAsike ekAyanam, evaM sarveSAM rasAnAM jihavaikAyanam, evaM sarveSAM rUNANAM cakSarekAyanama, evaM sarveSAM zabdAnAM zrotramekAyanama, evaM sarveSAM saGkalpAnAM mana ekAyanam, evaM sarvesAM vidyAnAM hRdayamekAyanam, evaM sarveSAM karmaNAM hastAvekAyanam, evaM sarveSAmAndAnAmupastha ekAyanam, evaM sarveSAM visargANAM pAyurekAyanam, To nicht gan tai pagi atai aro 17 i (B.U.24-11)

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anusaMdhAna-17. 116 It is - as of all waters the uniting poing is the sea, so of all touches the uniting point is the skin, so of all tastes the uniting point is the tongue, of all smells the uniting point is the nostrils, so of all forms the uniting poing is eyes, so of all sounds the uniting point is the ear, so of all intention (sankalpa) the uniting point is the mind (manas), so of knowledge the uniting point is the heart, so of all acts (karma) the uniting point is the hand, so of all pleasures (ananda) the uniting point is the generative organ (evem sarvesamanandanam upustha ekayanam) so of all evacuations the uniting point is the anus, so of all journeys the uniting point is the feet, so of all Vedas, the uniting poing is speech.'' Similarly in the Prasnopanisad a question is asked : In whom, pray, are all things established ? (kasminnu sarve sampratiSThitA bhavantIti) And in the answer to this question are supplied couples having the cause-effect relationships. As birds resort to a tree for a resting place, even so, O friend (Pippalada addressing to Gargya, a questioner) it is to the Supreme Soul (atman) that everything here resorts. sa yathA somya vayAMsi vAsovRkSaM sampratiSThante / evaM ha vai tatsarvaM para Atmani sampratiSThate / pRthivI ca pRthivImAtrA cApazcApomAtrA ca tejazca tejomAtrA ca vAyuzca vAyumAtrA cAkAzazcAkAzamAtrA ca cakSuzca draSTavyaM ca zrotraM ca zrotavyaM ca ghrANaM ca ghrAtavyaM ca rasazca rasayitavyaM ca tvak ca sparzayitavyaM ca vAkaca vaktavyaM ca hastau cAdAtavyaM copasthazcAnandayitavyaM ca pAyuzca visarjitavyaM ca pAdau ca gantavyaM ca manazca mantavyaM ca buddhizca boddhavyaM cAhArazcAhartavyaM ca cittaM ca cetayitavyaM ca tejazca vidyotayitavyaM ca prANazca vidhArayitavyaM ca / (Prasnopanisad 4-87, 8) Earth and the elements of earth, water and the elements of water, heat (tejas) and the elements of heat, wind and the elements of wind, space and the elements of space, sight and what can be seen, hearing and what can be heard, smell and what can be smelled, taste and what can be tasted,

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BILHET-89 * 117 the skin and what can be touched, speech and what can be spoken, the hands and what can be taken, the organ and what can be enjoyed (upastjascanandayitavyumca), the anus and what can be excreted, the feet and what can be walked, mind (manas) and what can be perceived, intellect (buddhi) and what can be conceived, egoism (ahamkara) and what can be connected with 'me', thought (citta) and what can be thought, brilliance (tejas) and what can be illumined, life-breath (prana) and what can be supported. Similarly in the Kuusitaki Upanisad ananda has been associated with upastha - a generative organ. The passage runs thus : He says to him 'Wherewith do you acquire (ap) my masculine names. 'With the vital breath (Prana masc.)' he should answer. *Wherewith feminine names ? 'With speech (vac, fem.)' "Wherewith neuter ones ? 'With the mind (manas, neut.)' 'Wherewith odors ? "With the breath. (Prana)' 'Wherewith forms ? "With the eye' 'Wherewith sounds ?' "With the ear 'Wherewith the flavors. of food ?' With the tongue 'Wherewith actions ?' With the iwo hands.'

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3FTHETA-P10118 'Wherewith pleasure and pain ?' "With the body 'Wherewith bliss, delight and procreation ? 'With the generative organ' (*Ken anandam, ratim, prajatimiti, upasthena') 'Wherewith goings ?" *With the two feet 'Wherewith thoughts, what is understood and desired' 'With intelligence (prajna), he should say.' Similarly in the same Kausitaki Upanisad, further, father says 'My bliss, delight and procreation in you I would place. The son replies : Your bliss, delight and procreation in me I take.' (37747 you for at afa de fa : 1 (Kau. U. 2. 11) It is noteworthy that in the Kau. U. therse three words viz ananda, rati and prajati are being repeatedly used. 18 Prajati may be connected with jan to generate, procreate. Rati may be dealing more with the aspect of sexual pleasure from ram verb, and ananda may mean a general over-al! sexual gratification or satisfaction.'' In the B.U., ananda, as if, has been defined and it is not difficult to see that context is associated with sexual pleasure. Yajnavalkya says 4771 a or fapenafarta, nei farina: E ma, 73HI (B.U. 4-1-6) Verily, your majesty, by the mind one betakes himself to a woman. A son like himself is born of her. He is bliss. In the TU. context also, the word prajati along with anunda occurs and there is a word amstu also alongwith prajatiramstumananda ilyupasthie (T.U.3-10-3). Il can be seen that all these words prujali. amric and

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ITAE17-89 * 119 ananda are connected with upastham, a generative organ. In the Kau. U., it appears that a process of sextual intercourse is purported to be described. 7514 342) HATTEN JURUAN fa yfiawati (Kau. U. 36) With intelligence having mounted on the generative organ, with the generative organ, one obtains bliss, delight and procreation. So far, we have discussed that the word ananda is explicitely connected with the generative organ and has sexual connotations, And there are some places in the Upanisad where no direct connection can be perceived, but at the same time, there are sexual allusions. The celebrated passage from the B.U. gives an illustration of the erotic or amorous congruence in 4-3-21 WETT for f i aficato 7 GIEI feel II. As a man in the embrace of a beloved woman knows nothing, without, nothing within. In the C.U.(7-25-2) 7 ay gay ang pa fainalchefur DAS TEHAYA BICHIG: Verily who sees thus, who thinks thus, who understands thus, who has pleasure in the soul, who has deligiit in the soul, who has intercourse with the soul, who has bliss in the soul. It can be seen that this passage endeavours to define anunda almost in erotic terms. Similarly in the Mundakopunisad, the same words are employed in the following context, viz prANo hyeSa yaH sarvabhUtai vibhAti vijAnanvidvAnbhavate / nAtivAdI AtmakrIDaH Atmarati: kriyAvAneSa brahmavidyAM variSThaH // (M.U.3-1-4) Truly it is life that shines forth in all beings. Understanding this, one becomes a knower. There is no superior speaker. Having delight in the soul latman), having pleasure in the

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anusaMdhAna - 17* 120 soul, doing rites, such a one is the best of Brahma-knowers. From this discussion, it is certain that the word ananda, originally used to have an erotic or sexual connotation and hence, might have been considered profane by the philosopher like Sankaracarya. Of course, it cannot be gainsaid that, in the Upanisads, the word ananda has been employed in the non-sexual and unerotic contexts also. But it did not remain a pure, unalloyed, non-contextualised and shorn of all undesirable association. Hence the word ananda was not suitable to Sankaracarya's steadfast, and unflinching pursuit of the absolute monism. Sankaracarya did not want to dilute his rigorous, absolute monism and so he shunned the phrase saccidananda along with ananda. That was also the reason, why he, having offered two interpretations in the anandamayadhikarana, left the first interpretation of anandamaya as Brahman, in the lurch, so to say, completely ignored it in the T.U.bhasya. This is how I have endeavoured to unravel the mystery d Sankaracarya's having two interpretations in the Anandamayadhikarana, having abandoned one in his T.U.bhasya and not mentioning ever the phrase saccidananda in his entire literature. References Belvalkar S.K, Shree Gopal Basu Mallik Lectures on Vedanta Philosophy, 1929, p. 140-146 2. Dr. Paul Deussen, The System of the Vedanta, Reprint 1972, p. 31. 3. Ibid, p. 139 3(1).Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies, Advaita Vedanta, ed. by Karl H. Potter, 1981, pp. 116, 204. 4. Dr. Paul Deussen, The System of the Vedanta, p. 139 5. Bruhmasutrasankarabhyasya NSP edition, 1938, p. 185. 6. Taittiriyopanisad with the commentary by Sankaracarya, in the Volume Fanfezapftuc:, ang, Pub, Motilal Banarasidass, reprint 1978, p. 1. 294.

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anusaMdhAna-17. 121 Here and hereafter, this edition is utilised for the T.U.bhasya by Sarikaracarya 7. Translation by Swami Gambhirananda, Eight Upanisads, Vol I, Second Edn., 1948, p. 322. 8. 7.bhasya, p. 291. 9. Translation by Swami Gambhirananda, p. 326. 10. T.U.bhasya, p. 294. 11. Translation p. 335-336. 12. Belvalkar and Ranade, History of Indian Philosophy, Vol II, The Crea tive Period, 1927, p. 252. 13. Daniel Ingalls, The Study of Sankaracarya, Annals of Bhandarkar Orien tal Institute, 33, 1952, quoted by E. A. Sotoman, in Sankaracarya's Bhasya on the Brhadaranyankoparisud. A Few Salient Points in the Volume Adi Sankaracarya (12th Centenary Connotation Volume 1992) ed. by Dr. Gautam Patei, Pub. by Directorate of Information, Government of Gujarat, Gandhinagar. 14. Translation by R. E. Hume, The Thirteen Principal Upansads, OUP, 1995, p. 131. 15. Ibid, pp. 386-387. 16. Ibid, pp. 306-307. 17. tamAha kena meM pauMsyAni nAmAnyApnotIti prANeneti brUyAt / kena strInAmAnIti vAceti kena napuMsakAnIti manaseti kena gandhAnIti prANenetyeva brUyAt / kena rUpANIti cakSuSeti kena zabdAnIti zrotreNeti kenAnnarasAniti jihvayeti kena karmANIti hastAbhyAmiti kena sukhaduHkheti zarIreNeti kenAnandaM rati prajAtimityupastheneti, kenetyA iti pAdAbhyAmiti kena dhiyo vijJAtavyaM kAmAniti prajJayeti brUyA-- ttamAha (Kausitaki U. 1-6, upaniSatsaMgraha:-p.196, ed. by paNDita jagadIza zAstrI, pub. Motilal Banarasidass, Delhi, 1970.) 18. Further in the Kau.U., upastha evAsyA ekamaGgamadUhLaM tasyAnando ratiH prajAti: parastAtprativihitA,3-5, Again in 3-7, na hi prajJApeta upastha AnandaM rati prajAti kAJcana prajJApayedanyatra me mano'bhUdityAha / Ibid pp:202-203 19. G. Glasperl Sauch S. J., Bliss in the Upanisads, pub. Oriental Publishers and Distributors, New Delhi, 1977, p. 134.