praa.na and sun (fwd)

[Dominik Wujastyk]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Mon, 11 Feb 2002 22:36:45 -0800
From: Vidyasankar Sundaresan <vidya at scripps.edu>
To: ucgadkw at ucl.ac.uk
Subject: praa.na and sun

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With respect to the points raised by Jan Houben, it seems to me that rather
than yoga or tantra texts, it is in the vedaanta texts that most references
will be found. As Sankara has already been mentioned, the following may be of
interest.

1. I don't think Sankara's commentary on brahmasuutra 2.4.15-16 discusses
   the kaushiitakii braahma.na upanishad at all. Instead, check his
   commentary on the concluding suutras in the first adhyaaya, first paada
   (from the suutra praa.nas tathaanugamaat to the one reading jiiva-mukhya-
   praa.na-lingaan neti cen na ..). This is where the said upanishad
   reference to praa.na and consciousness is the vishaya-vaakya. If I
   remember right, Sankara does not quite equate the two directly. Rather,
   the idea is that both denote brahman, but as limited by different
   upaadhi-s or by kriyaa and j~naana 'sakti-s respectively.

2. With respect to brahmasuutra-s 2.4.15-16, see one other suutra immediately
   prior to these in the same adhikara.na, the one that reads na vaayukriye
   p.rthag upade'saat. Here, contrary to common sense, praa.na is set apart
   from vaayu. In fact, from suutra 2.4.1 onwards, the term praa.na is used
   not just for the breath, but to denote all the organs, including the five
   sense organs, the five action organs and the mind (the internal organ).

3. See also Sankara's commentary on b.rhadaara.nyaka 2.4.11 - the particular
   merges into the general (the verb form used is praliiyate), in progession,
   and ultimately into the praj~naanaghana. See particularly,
   "karmendriyaa.naa.m vishayaa.h ... taani saamaanyaani praa.na-maatram.
   praa.na's ca praj~naana-maatram." This apparently equates praa.na with
   praj~naana, but if I have his sense right, Sankara is saying that the
   praa.na finally merges into pure consciousness. And as in point 1 above,
   note that Sankara maintains a distinction between karmendriya-s and
   j~naanendriya-s, the former merging into consciousness through praa.na
   and the latter through vij~naana-matra.

4. Here is where the connection to the sun comes in, at least as far as the
   advaita school and its upanishadic sources are concerned. There is a
   pra'snopanishad teaching of meditation on the maatra-s of Om, which is
   connected to the dhaara.naa-yoga in the eighth chapter of the giitaa, as
   also to chaandogya 8.6.5-6, which specifically mentions aaditya. These
   are tied in with the devayaana, which I have sufficient reason to believe
   forms the upanishadic precursor to various kinds of ku.n.dalinii yoga
   teachings. Briefly put, the praa.na leaves the microcosm of the human
   body through the naa.dii that rises upwards, and reaches the macrocosm
   of the aaditya-loka. I would suggest a look at Sankara's commentaries
   on the above, particularly those on giitaa 8.9-13, and chaandogya 8.6.5.

Best regards,
Vidyasankar