Brahma Sutras

The Brahma Sūtras (Sanskrit: ब्रह्मसूत्राणि), also known as the Vedanta Sūtra (Sanskrit: वेदान्त सूत्र), or as Shariraka Sūtra, and Bhikshu-sūtra (latter two in monastic traditions), are a Sanskrit text which criticizes the metaphysical dualism of the influential Samkhya philosophy, and instead synthesizes and harmonizes divergent Upanishadic ideas and practices about the essence of existence, postulating Brahman as the only origin and essence of everything. The text is attributed to the sage Bādarāyaṇa, who is also called Vyāsa (arranger), but is probably an accumulation of incremental additions and changes by various authors to an earlier work, completed in its surviving form in approx. 400–450 CE. The oldest version may have been composed between 500 BCE and 200 BCE, with 200 BCE being the most likely date. The Brahma Sūtras consist of 555 aphoristic verses (sutras) in four chapters, dealing with attaining knowledge of Brahman. Rejecting the smriti as a base of knowledge, the text declares that the Vedic Upanishads are the only acceptable source of truth, infallible revelations describing the same metaphysical Reality, Brahman, which cannot be different for different people. The text attempts to synthesize and harmonize diverse and sometimes apparently conflicting vidyas ("knowledges") of, and upasanas (meditation, worship) of the essence of existence, stating they are actually synonyms for Brahman. It does so from a bhedabheda perspective, arguing, as John Koller states: "that Brahman and Atman are, in some respects, different, but, at the deepest level, non-different (advaita), being identical." The first chapter rejects Samkhya's view on pradhana, stating that an inert first principle cannot account for a universe which reflects purpose and intelligence. It harmonizes different views of Absolute Reality found in the Upanishads, subsuming them under the concept of Brahman. The second chapter reviews and addresses the objections raised by Samkhya and other competing orthodox schools of...