taduparyapi bādarāyaṇaḥ saṃbhavāt ..1.3.26..

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SUTRA I. 3. 26.

तदुपर्यपि बादरायणः संभवात्॥१.३.२६॥

taduparyapi bādarāyaṇaḥ saṃbhavāt ..1.3.26..

.. Tad, that; namely, meditation on Brahman. ... Upari, above, namely, with regard to the beings who are above men, namely Devas. .. Api, also .. Badaranyah, the sage Badaranya is of opinion. .. Sambhabat, because of the possibility.

26. The meditation on Brahman, according to the opinion of Badarayana, must be admitted with regard to those also, who are above men, in the scale of evolution; because of its possibility with regard to them also (for they also have an organized body.) — 90.

COMMENTARY

This meditation on Brahman must be admitted with regard to these, who are higher in scale of evolution to mankind, namely, with regard to Devas also. This is the opinion of Lord Badarayana. Why has he this opinion? Because the Upanishads, the Mantra portion of the Vedas, the descriptive portions of the Vedas, the sacred scriptures known as Itihasa and Purana, all unanimously describe that the Devas have bodies as believed also by mankind. Since they have bodies, it is possible for them to meditate on Brahman; because the objection of the Purvapakshin was that Devas have no body, and therefore they could not meditate.

Note: It is only the Purva Mimamsakas who hold the theory that the Vedic Devatas are not embodied beings, but only creation of the Rishis when they chant the Vedic Mantras. According to this theory, the vibrations produced by the proper singing of the Mantras create these Deva-forms, through ‘which theurgic effects are produced. But this is only a partial truth. The artificial elementals. as these Mantra-Atmic Devatas are, constitute only a portion of the inhabitants of the Devaloka. There are real Devas also, real Jivas, passing through Deva evolution, who are not mere creations of Mantras.

Thus the Devas also have the capability of meditating on Brahman, because they possess body and senses made of celestial matter, and they also are capable of feeling disgust and dispassion (Vairagya) with their own state, however high it may appear to us in lordliness and glory. For compared with the glory of God, the Devas realize keenly the sinfulness, the littleness, the insignificance, and the transitory nature of their own lordliness and glory, and consequently they also are capable of feeling Vairagya. There is the authority of the Vishnu Purana on this subject:

Oh best of the twice-born, not only is sorrow to be found in hell, but it exists in Svarga also, for the inhabitant of heaven is afraid of the transitoriness of heavenly life, so the dweller of heaven also is not free from grief.

Therefore, Devas also desire to acquire the eternal bliss which the knowledge of Brahman gives. For this Brahmic bliss is free from all taint of evil, and it is an immeasurable, eternal state of joy. For thus is this bliss described in the sacred scriptures. Moreover, we find in the Upanishads descriptions of how both the Devas and men went to Prajapati to learn the Brahma Vidya, as the following extract from the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad will show:

The children of Prajapati are of three sorts, namely, the Devas, the men and the Asuras: They approached their father Prajapati and dwelt with him as students of Brahma Vidya. (Br. Up., V, 2. 1)

Similarly, in the Chhandogya Upanishad, we find that Indra dwelt as a Brahmacharin in the house of Prajapati for more than one hundred years:

This made in all one hundred and one years, and therefore, it is said that Indra Maghavat lived one hundred and one years as a pupil with Prajapati. (Ch. Up., VIII, 11. 3.).

Owing to their having bodies, the Devas, therefore, are also qualified for meditation ou Brahman.

An objector says: If we admit that Devas have bodies, then there would arise difficulties with regard to sacrifices, for it is impossible for one limited corporeal entity to be simultaneously present at many places of sacrifices, when he is invoked simultaneously by all his worshippers. Therefore, sacrifices become useless, for an embodied Deva, like Indra, cannot be present simultaneously in all the places of worship, where he is invoked. To this objection the author gives the following answer:

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