SrI: SrImathE satakOpAya nama: SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama: SrImadh varavaramunayE nama:
sUthram 37
ஜ்ஞாநத்தையொழியவும் தன்னையறிகையாலும், ஜ்ஞாநம் ஸாரபூ4தகு3ணமாய் நிரூபக த4ர்மமாயிருக்கையாலும் சொல்லிற்று.
gyAnaththai ozhiyavum thannai aRigaiyAlum, gyAnam sArabhUtha guNamAy nirUpaka dharmamAy irukkaiyAlum solliRRu.
Meaning
It is said so because the soul knows itself without the aid of another knowledge, and because knowledge is its essential attribute and defining characteristic.
Explanation
The doubt raised in the previous sUthram is now answered.
The scriptures describe the soul as gyAna not because the soul is merely knowledge, but for two reasons.
First, the soul knows itself directly.
The soul does not require another knowledge to reveal itself. It is svayam-prakASa (self-revealing) and shines by itself.
Thus the commentary says:
“ஜ்ஞாநத்தையொழியவும் தன்னையறிகையாலும்“
(gyAnaththai ozhiyavum thannai aRigaiyAlum)
That is, the soul knows itself without depending upon another cognition.
Secondly, knowledge is the soul’s most essential attribute.
Knowledge is not an accidental quality of the soul but its sAra-bhUtha-guNa (most fundamental attribute). It is also the nirUpaka-dharma, the characteristic through which the nature of the soul is known and distinguished.
Therefore, because knowledge is inseparably connected with the soul and serves as its defining attribute, the scriptures sometimes refer to the soul itself as gyAna.
This principle is established by the brahma sUthrams:
तद्गुणसारत्वात्तु तद्व्यपदेशः प्राज्ञवत् [2.3.30 & 31]
(thadhguNa sArathvAth thu thadvyapadhESa: prAgyavath)
and
यावदात्मभावित्वाच्च न दोषस्तद्दर्शनात्
(yAvadhAthma bhAvithvAch cha na dhOshas thadhdharSanAth)
Because knowledge is the soul’s principal and inseparable attribute, scriptural designation of the soul as knowledge is appropriate, just as similar usages are found elsewhere in scripture.
The bhAshyakArar explains [in vEdhAntha dhIpam] –
ज्ञानमात्रव्यपदेशस्तु ज्ञानस्य प्रधानगुणत्वात् स्वरूपानुबन्धित्वेन स्वरूपनिरूपकगुणत्वादात्मस्वरूपस्य ज्ञानवत् स्वप्रकाशत्वादुपपद्यते।
(gyAna mAthra vyapadhESas thu gyAnasya pradhAna guNathvAth svarUpAnubandhithvEna svarUpa nirUpaka guNathvAth Athma svarUpasya gyAnavath svaprakASathvAth upapadhyathE).
“The designation of the self as knowledge is appropriate because knowledge is its principal attribute, inseparably connected with its nature, serving as the characteristic that reveals its nature, and because the self, like knowledge, is self-luminous.”
Thus, scriptural statements calling the soul gyAna do not teach that the soul is mere knowledge. Rather, they emphasise the soul’s self-luminosity and its inseparable relationship with knowledge.
adiyen vAsudhEva rAmAnuja dhAsan
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