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therefore appropriate that the concluding brahmana sectionabout the sheath of blisssimilarly concludes by referring to Brahman; so "consisting of bliss" refers to Brahman. |
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16: It is implausible to think that the alternative, the human self, consists of bliss. |
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My comment: If Brahman were not the one "consisting of bliss," the prime alternative would be the human self; but an examination of the plight of the human self shows that it cannot be plausibly identified with bliss. |
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17: Moreover, the difference between the self and Brahman is clearly taught. |
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My comment: A subsequent part of the text (Taittiriya 2.7)
16 makes it clear that humans acquire bliss; so they cannot be bliss. |
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18: Because desire is explicitly mentioned, we cannot depend on inference to draw a conclusion. |
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My comment: In the latter half of Taittiriya 2.6, not cited above, the one "consisting of bliss" is said to desire; but desire involves anticipation, and so the one who desires must be able to anticipate, i.e., to be intelligent; therefore the unintelligent material principle (pradhana) cannot be the one "consisting of bliss." |
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19: In the upanisad, the union of this self and that Brahman is clearly taught. |
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My comment: Taittiriya 2.7 teaches that knowledge of the sheath consisting of bliss leads to release; but Brahman is the only object of knowledge which leads to release. |
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The most straightforward conclusion to be drawn from these eight sutras is that Badarayana holds that Brahman consists of bliss, is the fifth and final sheath, and is reached by the path described in the five steps which comprise this text. |
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But that conclusion aside, the very fact of Badarayana's posing the question has already transformed the text, by using it differently. The effort to fix its right meaning relocates it within an interpretive and systematic framework in which the text is |
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