The Hidden Lives of Brahman FM.indd 1 12/20/13 12:21 AM SUNY series in Religious Studies Harold Coward, editor FM.indd 2 12/20/13 12:21 AM The Hidden Lives of Brahman Śaṅkara’s Vedānta through His Upaniṣad Commentaries, in Light of Contemporary Practice Joël André-Michel Dubois Foreword by Christopher Key Chapple FM.indd 3 12/20/13 12:21 AM Cover Illustration: A brāhmaṇa boy venerates the sun at midday across the river from Śṛṅgeri’s temples (photograph by Prashant Sringeri). Published by State University of New York Press, Albany © 2013 State University of New York All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission. No part of this book may be stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means including electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior permission in writing of the publisher. For information, contact State University of New York Press, Albany, NY www.sunypress.edu Production by Diane Ganeles Marketing by Michael Campochiaro Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Dubois, Joël André-Michel. The hidden lives of Brahman : Śaṅkara’s Vedānta through his Upaniṣad commen- taries, in light of contemporary practice/Joël André-Michel Dubois; Foreword by Christopher Key Chapple. pages cm.—(SUNY series in religious studies) Includes bibliographical references. Summary: “Using both textual and ethnographic sources, demonstrates that in Sankara’s vedanta brahman is an active force as well as a transcendent ultimate”— Provided by publisher. ISBN 978-1-4384-4805-3 (hardcover : alk. paper) 1. Brahman. 2. Upānishads— Criticism, interpretation, etc. 3. Sankaracarya. 4. Vedanta. I. Title. BL1124.57.D83 2013 294.5’2113—dc23 20 1 2 0 4 6 1 8 7 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 FM.indd 4 12/20/13 12:21 AM yair ime gurubhiḥ pūrvaṁ pada-vākya-pramāṇataḥ / vyākhyātāḥ sarva-vedāntā tān nityaṁ pranato ’smy aham // The elders who, by [paying attention to] word, utterance, and [accurate] measures [of reality], fully explained all vedāntas—before those [elders] I am perpetually prostrate. —Śaṅkara’s invocation to the Taittirīya Upaniṣad Bhāṣya In Memory of My Father, André Dubois (1939–2012) and Father William Cenkner, O.P. (1930–2003) FM.indd 5 12/20/13 12:21 AM FM.indd 6 12/20/13 12:21 AM Contents Illustrations ix Pronunciation of Sanskrit Words xi Foreword xiii Preface xv Abbreviations xxi Chapter 1 Introducing Brahman: The Hidden Lives of Śaṅkara’s Vedānta Teaching 1 Part 1: Envisioning Brahman 27 Chapter 2 Attending to Brahman: Upāsana Practice Past and Present 29 Chapter 3 Learning Brahman: The Daily Life of the Brahmacārin 51 Chapter 4 Envisioning Veda: First-Person Declarations in Śaṅkara’s Upaniṣad Commentaries 75 Part 2: Imagining Brahman 105 Chapter 5 Conditioning the Mind for Brahman: Saṁskṛta Training Past and Present 107 Chapter 6 Perfecting the Life of Brahman: The Training of the Saṁskṛta Paṇḍita 149 Chapter 7 Perfecting the Vedic Imagination: Imagery and Rhetoric in Śaṅkara’s Upaniṣad Commentaries 179 Part 3: Perceiving Brahman 239 Chapter 8 Thinking Deeply About Brahman: The Two Mīmāṁsās, the Lost Art of Yajña, and the Hidden Structure of Brahman 241 Chapter 9 Giving Up the Inconstant Brahman: Contemporary Saṁnyāsins and Aspiring Renouncers 285 Chapter 10 Discerning the Paradox of Veda: Ritual Activity and Insight in Śaṅkara’s Upaniṣad Commentaries 305 Conclusion: Brahman as Center and Periphery 347 Appendix: Diagrams of Key Concepts 349 Notes 353 Bibliography 395 Index 405 FM.indd 7 12/20/13 12:21 AM FM.indd 8 12/20/13 12:21 AM Illustrations 1.1 Bronze icon of Śaṅkara worshipped in the small temple at the back side of the Śṛṅgeri audience hall during Śaṅkara’s “Victory Day” celebration. 4 1.2 Bhāratī Tīrtha presides over recitation of Śaṅkara’s Conquest of the Directions at Śaṅkara’s Victory Day celebration in the Śṛṅgeri audience hall, April 1999. 7 3.1 Brāhmaṇas at Mattūr gather to venerate and contemplate the setting sun. 57 3.2 A teacher leads brāhmaṇa boys in recitation of their lineage’s veda. 65 6.1 Bhāratī Tīrtha presides over chanting of the yajur veda to initiate the evening session of the “Council of the Insightful” in the fall of 1999. 172 6.2 Saṁskṛta scholars share a specialized joke at the morning session of the “Council of the Insightful” in the fall of 1999. 176 9.1 Three saṁnyāsins stand behind the burial shrine of a Śṛṅgeri guru as they wait for the evening session of “Council of the Insightful” to begin in the fall of 1999. 290 9.2 Subrāya Śarma explains one of Śaṅkara’s upaniṣad commentaries to lay students at a community gathering hall in Bengalūr, spring 1999. 296 FM.indd 9 12/20/13 12:21 AM
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