Talk:The Vedas:The Brahmasutra
By Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswati Swami
I have said earlier that every philosophical system consists of a Sūtra (a text composed of aphoristic statements), a Bhāṣya (commentary), and a Vārttika (elucidation of the commentary). The systems established by Śaṅkara, Rāmānuja, Madhva, and Śrīkaṇṭha (the Ācārya of the Śaiva Siddhānta) all belong to Vedānta. Each of these Ācārya-s accepts the authority of the Vedas in support of his philosophical doctrine, and all have chosen the same ten principal Upaniṣad-s for commentary, interpreting them according to their respective philosophical standpoints. Although the Upaniṣad-s are not themselves composed in the form of Sūtra-s, they occupy the same foundational position within the Vedānta tradition.
What is a Sūtra? A Sūtra expresses profound truths in an extremely concise form. That which conveys an idea or principle in the fewest possible words is called a Sūtra, or aphorism. Judged by this definition, the Upaniṣad-s cannot strictly be described as Sūtra-s. Nevertheless, Vedānta does possess a foundational aphoristic text—the Brahmasūtra.
In the Brahmasūtra, on which all the major Vedānta schools have written commentaries, Bhagavān Vedavyāsa presents, in an exceedingly concise manner, the essential teachings of the ten principal Upaniṣad-s. Since he resided at Badarī, he came to be known as Bādarāyaṇa, and his work is therefore also called the Bādarāyaṇa Sūtra.
Who is the individual self (Jīva)? What is the nature of the world (Jagat) in which one lives? What is the Ultimate Reality underlying both? The Brahmasūtra, which serves as the foundational text for all Vedānta schools, seeks to answer these fundamental questions. Bhagavān Vedavyāsa does not merely present his personal opinions. Rather, he undertakes a systematic inquiry into the science of Vedānta as already revealed in the Upaniṣad-s. Since this inquiry concerns the concluding portion of the Vedas, the Brahmasūtra is also known as the Uttaramīmāṃsā.
The Brahmasūtra consists of 555 Sūtra-s arranged into four chapters, each divided into four Pāda-s. Altogether, it contains 192 Adhikaraṇa-s (topical sections). It is also known as the Bhikṣu Sūtra because it expounds the path of Saṃnyāsa, regarded as the culmination of the spiritual quest. Since it deals with the nature of the embodied self, it is also called the Śārīraka.
The word Sūtra literally means a thread or string. The same word occurs in the expression Maṅgala Sūtra, the sacred thread worn by a bride at marriage. Keeping this literal meaning in mind, Ādi Śaṅkarācārya makes a beautiful pun in his commentary:
Vedānta-vākya-kusuma-grathanārthatvāt sūtrāṇām.
If the flowers represented by the Upaniṣad-s, growing on the tree of the Vedas, were scattered everywhere, how could they be gathered into a garland? Ādi Śaṅkarācārya explains that the Brahmasūtra strings together these flowers the teachings of the Upaniṣad-s—into a single garland.
All Hindu philosophical systems are based upon the Brahmasūtra, while the Brahmasūtra itself derives its authority from the Upaniṣad-s. For this reason, it has become customary to describe all Vedic philosophical traditions as Upaniṣadic systems. When Western scholars praise Indian philosophy under the name "Vedānta," it is primarily the Upaniṣad-s that they have in mind.
Even in ordinary speech, when someone turns away from worldly pleasures and speaks in the language of spiritual wisdom, people remark, "Are you talking Vedānta now?"
If the Vedas were personified as a Puruṣa, the Upaniṣad-s would be his head or crown. It is for this reason that they are called Śrutiśiras the crown or summit of the revealed scriptures.