Taittiriya Upanishad Bhashya Vartika
by R. Balasubramanian | 151,292 words | ISBN-10: 8185208115 | ISBN-13: 9788185208114
The English translation of Sureshvara’s Taittiriya Vartika, which is a commentary on Shankara’s Bhashya on the Taittiriya Upanishad. Taittiriya Vartika contains a further explanation of the words of Shankara-Acharya, the famous commentator who wrote many texts belonging to Advaita-Vedanta. Sureshvaracharya was his direct disciple and lived in the 9...
Verse 2.143
Sanskrit text and transliteration:
नाभूत्सृष्टिरभूतत्वादभूतं कालहेतुतः ।
न भविष्यत्यभाव्यत्वादभाव्यं चाक्रियोत्थितेः ॥ १४३ ॥
nābhūtsṛṣṭirabhūtatvādabhūtaṃ kālahetutaḥ |
na bhaviṣyatyabhāvyatvādabhāvyaṃ cākriyotthiteḥ || 143 ||
English translation of verse 2.143:
It cannot be said that there was creation (by Brahman) because Brahman is not of the past; and Brahman is not of the past, because it is the cause of time. Nor can it be said that there will be creation (by Brahman), because Brahman is not of the future; and Brahman is not of the future, because it is not an effect.
Notes:
If it be said that Brahman is the cause of the creation of the world, it is necessary to explain the occurrence of creation in respect of time: that is to say, it must be stated whether the creation of the world by Brahman took place in the past, or whether it will take place in the future, or whether it takes place now. But none of these alternatives is acceptable. The untenability of the first two alternatives is shown in this verse.
It cannot be said that Brahman created the world in the past. Two reasons are given herein support of this contention. (I) Without assuming Brahman’s relation with time, it cannot be said that Brahman created the world in the past. But Brahman is unrelated (asaṅga) to anything whatsoever. So Brahman is not of the past. (2) To say that something is of the past is to say that it is limited by the temporal dimension called the past. Inasmuch as Brahman is the cause of time, it cannot be said to be limited by time. And so, Brahman is not of the past.
Though Brahman is said to be the cause of time, it has no real relation with time. Its relation with time by virtue of its being the cause is due to māyā (kāraṇatvena kālānvayasya māyātmakatvāt). By itself, Brahman is neither a cause nor an effect. It is what transcends the cause-effect-relation. If it comes to be looked upon as a cause, it is due to its apparent association with māyā.
Similarly, it cannot be said that Brahman will create the world in the future, because (1) it is not limited by the temporal dimension called the future, and also because (2) it is not an effect, that is to say, no change can ever arise in Brahman.