Contents
Shri Sankara's Gita Bhashya
(Sri Sankaracharya's Commentary on the Gita)
CHAPTER -8
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3. The Imperishable is the Supreme Brahman. (His) nature is called Adhydtma. The offering which brings forth, the existence of beings is called Karma. The Imperishable-Aksara, That which never wanes- is the Supreme Self (Paramātman), Brahman, in accordance with the Śtuti, "O Gārgi, it is at the command of this Aksara that the sun and the moon stand held in their places"[1]. The aksara (syllable) Om, referred to in" the one-syllable 'Om'. the Brahman"[2], is not to be understood here (as Brah man), because of the attribute 'supreme' (paramam); on the contrary, the epithet' supreme' is more apt with respect to the transcendental Imperishable Brahman. His innate nature, the state of that very same Supreme Brahman existing in every body as the Innermost Self (Pratyagātman), is called Adhyātma: the condition of the Real, in relation to the body, which reveals Itself (at the beginning) as the Innermost Self, and which ends up as the Supreme Truth. Brahman, is "sva-bhāva," and this is denoted by the term "Adhyālma". The offering of materials such as cooked rice, cakes, etc. to gods-this sacrificual act (yajña) consisting in giving away, which brings forth the existence of beings, which causes the origination of all creatures, is called Karma, is known by the term "Karma "; since, it is indeed from this (yajña), constituting the seed (source) that all beings, inanimate and animate, come into existence, through rain and the rest in the regular order[3]. |
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