Brhadaranyaka Upanisad III. ii .12

[Anand Nayak]

>Dear Friends
>Could someone explain the meaning of the passage of Br.Up. III.ii,12?
>What's the meaning of the sentence "anantam vai nAma"?
>Best wishes
>Edgard Leite
>Rio de Janeiro State University


Dear Mr.Leite,

The expression nama-rupa (name-form) in the upanisads is the principle of
individuality (cf. Br.Up. I,4,7; I,6,1-3; Mundaka up. I,2,9 etc). Death
wipes out the form; but not the name. Chandogya up. has an intresting
explanation: VII,2,1-5 which is I think is the meaning of the Br.Up. verse
you have quoted for explanation. The name (which is the sum total of all
acquisitions in life) can last eternally. But Mundaka 3,2,8 and Prasna 6,5
seem to say that at the final liberation the name too should disappear. Is
it the reason why the upanisadic sages have not left behind their names? As
you probably know, the nama-rupa  is also a fundamental category in
Buddhism in the paticca-samuppada. All the best. Anand Nayak

Sarvesham svastirbhavatu        May all be prosperous
sarvesham santirbhavatu         May all be  peaceful
sarvesham purnambhavatu         May all be whole
sarvesam mangalambhavatu        May all be happy

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