page_title: Brahma Sutras
section_title: Chapter 3: The means to spiritual knowledge
hierarchical_section_title: Brahma Sutras / Contents / Chapter 3: The means to spiritual knowledge
caption_attribution_description: Bronze figure of Kashmiri in Meditation by Malvina Hoffman. Filed Museum Chicago Asian Collection Keywords: Malvina Hoffman; Meditation
context_page_description: The Brahma Sūtras is a Sanskrit text, attributed to the sage Badarayana or sage Vyasa, estimated to have been completed in its surviving form in approx. 400-450 CE, while the original version might be ancient and composed between 500 BCE and 200 BCE. The text systematizes and summarizes the philosophical and spiritual ideas in the Upanishads. Bramhasutra synthesized the diverse and sometimes conflicting teachings of Upanishads by arguing, as John Koller states: "that Brahman and Atman are, in some respects, different, but, at the deepest level, non-different, being identical." It is one of the foundational texts of the Vedānta school of Hindu philosophy.
  The Brahma Sūtras consists of 555 aphoristic verses in four chapters. These verses are primarily about the nature of human existence and universe, and ideas about the metaphysical concept of Ultimate Reality called Brahman.
context_section_description: Third chapter (Sādhana: the means): describes the process by which ultimate emancipation can be achieved. The topics discussed are diverse. The third chapter is the longest and consists of 186 sutras, with six Adhikaranas in its first Pada, eight in second, thirty six in third, and fourteen Adhikaranas in the fourth Pada.
  The third Brahma Sūtras chapter focuses on the nature of spiritual knowledge and epistemic paths to it. The theory of death and rebirth, karma and importance of conduct and free will, and the connection between Atman (Self, Soul) and the Brahman are discussed in sections 3.1 and 3.2 of the text.
  अपि संराधने प्रत्यक्षानुमानाभ्याम्
  
  And (Brahman is apprehended) in perfect meditation also, according to perception (Sruti, Pratyakṣa) and inference (Smriti, Anumāṇa).
  
  प्रकाशवच्चावैशेष्यं प्रकाशश्च कर्मण्यभ्यासात्
  
  And as is the case of (physical) light and the like, there is the non-distinction (of two Selves), the light (Self) by its activity, on account of repeated declarations (in the Scripture).
  
  अतोऽनन्तेन तथा हि लिङ्गम्
  
  Therefore (the individual soul enters into unity) with the infinite (the highest Self), for thus (is the scriptural) indication.
  — Brahma sutra 3.2.24 - 3.2.26, 
  Sections 3.3 and 3.4 describe the need for self-study, reflection of texts read, meditation, etc., as steps while one makes progress and the role of sannyasa (monk, mendicant) in the pursuit of spiritual knowledge.
  Meditation
  The third pada, states George Thibaut, opens a new section and theme in chapter 3 of the Brahma Sūtras, asserting that meditation is central to the Vedic texts, and summarizing the Vedic theories, from different Shakha (Vedic schools), on "how the individual soul is enabled by meditation on Brahman to obtain final release". These sutras constitute a significant part of the text, extensively refer to the oldest Upanishads, and their commentaries by different Vedanta sub-schools have been extensive, signifying the large historic tradition around meditation, and acceptance of Yoga-sutras teachings in Vedanta.
  Meditation is defined in Vedanta texts of commentary on the Sutras, states Klaus Witz, as "a continuous succession of comparable basic conceptions, beliefs, not interspersed with dissimilar ones, which proceeds according to the scriptures and relates to an object enjoined in the scriptures". It is described by Vedantins as a practice of concentrating on an object of meditation, states Witz, a state of "absorption or immersion into essentially a single thought" and "concentrating on it, excluding conventional notions, till one if as completely identified with it as with one's body". While this practice is discussed in Vedic texts, their formulations were differently described by different Vedic schools. The Brahma-sutra, in Adhikaranas of third and fourth pada, states Thibaut, assert that there is no contradiction in these teachings and that "the different Upanishads have to be viewed as teaching the same matter, and therefore the ideas must be combined in one meditation".
  सैव हि सत्यादयः
  
  For the True are so on (in different texts), are one and the same knowledge.
  — Brahma sutra 3.3.38, 
  The most referred to texts in these sections are the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, the Chandogya Upanishad, the Kaushitaki Upanishad, the Katha Upanishad, and the non-Upanishadic parts of Shatapatha Brahmana and Aitereya Aranyaka. The topic of meditation, state the Brahma-sutras, is the spiritual knowledge of Brahman; the object of this knowledge, states Thibaut, is "Brahman viewed as the inner Self of all". The Brahma Sutras, in addition to recommending meditation, suggest that rituals and rites are unnecessary because it is knowledge that achieves the purpose.
  And for this very reason there is no need of the lighting of the fire and so on.
  — Brahma sutra 3.4.25, 
  In sutras 3.4.26 and 3.4.27, the text adds that rituals, however, can spiritually prepare a mind, remove impurities within, empower calmness and distractions from sensory pursuits, and therefore assist in its ability to meditate and gain the ultimate knowledge. Th
caption: The Vedanta texts, state sutras 3.1.1-4 and 3.3.5-19 of Brahmasutra, describe different forms of meditation. These should be combined, merged into one and practiced, because there is nondifference of their basic import, that of Self, mind, knowledge and a state.[69][70]
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