Vedanta Sutras
About this book
This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1904 ... kind of absolutely perfect excellence. The First Adhyaya is therefore mainly occupied with interpreting typical words and propounding general rules for the purpose. II. Next it is indispensable to consider the objections which may interfere with our concept of Brahman and to show 'they are not real and they can imply no defect in Him. To this purpose the Second Adhyaya is devoted. III. When the mind of the inquirer is thus reassured as to the accuracy of the concept and the reality of the object implied in the mental act, there arises the natural desire for its realisation. The means to this end are discussed in the Third Adhyaya. To withdraw the heart completely from, all worldly objects, the pains of recurring birth and death are treated of in the first pada. To engender devotion to the Imperishable Lord, His greatness is pointed out in the second pada. The third pada discusses the rules of meditation which enables the contemplatist to see the Lord directly. The fourth pada tells us of the power of the knowledge which results from directly seeing Him. IV. The Fourth Adhyaya describes how the bondage of Karma is dissolved, how the gods occupying certain celestial ranks obtain Moksha, while others in the human body depart from it, what path they travel and what they reach, and what eternal blessings the released souls enjoy in the kingdom of heaven and how long they enjoy them. This is a bare sketch of the subject matter of the four Adhyayas and this, it is hoped, will facilitate the grasping of the summary that follows and of the general sense of the text as well. Badarayana's sutras are divided into four Adhyayas or Chapters, each Adhyaya being subdivided into four Padas or parts. The sutras in each Pada fall into certain groups called Adhikaranas, and e...