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Prasthanatrayi Swaminarayan Bhashyam (Study)

by Sadhu Gyanananddas | 2021 | 123,778 words

This page relates ‘Classification of Ultimate Prama� of the study on the Prasthanatrayi Swaminarayan Bhashyam in Light of Swaminarayan Vachanamrut (Vacanamrita). His 18th-century teachings belong to Vedanta philosophy and were compiled as the Vacanamrita, revolving around the five ontological entities of Jiva, Ishvara, Maya, Aksharabrahman, and Parabrahman. Roughly 200 years later, Bhadreshdas composed a commentary (Bhasya) correlating the principles of Vachanamrut.

Go directly to: Footnotes.

5.4. Classification of Ultimate Pramā

The ī describes:

ida� tu te guhyatama� pravakṣyāmyanasūyave |
ñԲ� vijñānasahita� yajjñātvā mokṣyase'śubhāt ||
[1]

“O Arjuna, since you have faith in my words, I shall reveal to you the most profound, secret, supreme knowledge, together with supreme experience. Knowing this, you shall be freed from the miseries of worldly existence.�

Bhadreśadāsa explains through his commentary:

guhyatamam atiśayena gopyam | guhyamٳsvarūpavedanam | guhyataramakṣarabrahmasvarūpavedanam ٳno'pyantaḥsthatvāt | guhyatama� paramٳvedanam akṣarabrahmaṇo'pyٳtvāt | yadvā śarīrādyantaḥsthasyā''tmano'tisūkṣmatvāttajñԲ� gadyam |vijñānasahita� vividhaprakāreṇa tanmāhātmyajñānaśṣṭ� ñԲ� paramٳsvarūpaniścayā'nukūla� ñԲ� pravakṣye | (Bhagavad-ī 9/1, p.201)

“Here, the ṣy presents an exegetical study about the three types of knowledge. 1. Secret knowledge (self) 2. More secret knowledge (Akṣarabrahman’s) and 3. The most secret knowledge (Parabrahman’s). Taken together, this knowledge results in the ultimate liberation of the ī and īś. ṛṣṇ� wants to reveal this knowledge to consolidate the conviction of Arjuna towards ultimate realities.�

Similarly, the Brahmaūٰ Bhāṣya states while commenting on the ūٰ:

athāto brahmaᾱñ� (Brahmaūٰs 1/1/1)

“Then, therefore, the inquiry into Brahman.�

The Svāminārāyaṇa-ṣy enunciates:

ñٳܳ ᾱñ | brahmaśabdena yathoktadivyatattvadvayā'bhidhānād ᾱñpadasyeṣyamāṇ�'kṣarapuruṣottamajñānecchetyartha� | svaviṣayaprādhānyaprakṛtitvāccecchāyāstadviṣaya-ū'kṣarapuruṣottamākhyadivyatattvadvayajñānapravṛtteriha vidhānam | ñԲ� ceha dhyānopāsanādirūpam |� (Brahmaūٰ 1/1/1, p.8)

“The innermost will to know (to attain knowledge of) Brahman and Parabrahman is īñ (inquiry). Here, the aphorism indicates that the will needs three things: 1. who wills (seeker), 2. The subject of will (Brahman and Parabrahman), and 3. The action of willing (meditation, worship, etc.).�

The 貹Ծṣa Svāminārāyaṇa Bhāṣya highlights it in the same way:

ⲹ'ṛtśԳܳٱ� (Īś-ܱ貹Ծṣa 11)

“The seeker attains emancipation through knowledge.�

The ṣy comments:

puruṣottamanārāyaṇasyottamanirvikalpaniścayādirūpeṇavijñānenetyartha� | etādṛśa� śṣṭ� ñԲ𱹲 󳾲 parā vidyā'ٳٲⲹ徱ś岹� śٲ� śrutismṛtyadiṣu | amṛtamaśnute janimṛtihetubhūtī māyāmatikramya maraṇadharmavarjitamavināśina� mokṣa prāpnotītyartha� |� (Īś-ܱ貹Ծṣa 11, p.21)

“The ṣy defines the glory of knowledge that with the firm conviction of Parabrahman and the knowledge which the 󳾲ū貹 Guru gives, is called 󳾲 and ٳ which is elaborately described in the Śܳپ and that includes ٳ-realization and all the daily spiritual routine like , karma, bhakti, etc. this knowledge brings the liberation.�

However, from the aforementioned discussions, we know that the knowledge of the five entities is not merely of copulative or coordinative composition. The realization of Parabrahman and Akṣarabrahman consequents in the knowledge of the five eternal entities[2]. More specifically, for Parabrahman’s cognition, there is no need of any ṇa since Akṣarabrahman, Parabrahman and a person who became the 󳾲ū貹 through the grace of them have self-proven knowledge.[3]

Footnotes and references:

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[1]:

Bhagavad-ī 9/1

[2]:

Brahmaūٰ-1/1/1, p.10 112

[3]:

nityodbhāsitabodhatvānmānā'nadhīnasiddhita� |
mānavaśya� na vai meyam akṣaraparamٳno� ||svāsisukā 226 ||
tatkṛpālabdhaprajñānā� brahmaū''tmanā� tathā |
sarvārthānā� samudbhāsānnaivā'sti mānavaśyatā || svāsisukā 227 ||
ato mānāt prameyasya siddhiriti tu kevalam |
baddhٳniyata� ñⲹ� yaddhi vādeṣu yojyate || svāsisukā
. 228 ||

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