The Brahma Sutra is held to be the most authoritative commentary on the Upanishads, which are a record of the mystical experiences of sages and seers steeped in meditation. With cogent and convincing arguments, it establishes the supremacy of Brahman as against the Sankhya theory which holds ‘Pradana’ as the ultimate cause, pointed out Sri Mani Dravid Sastrigal in a discourse.
It takes up the discussion of the terms Mahat, the great; Avyakta, the unmanifested or undeveloped; and Purusha of the Katopanishad passage to show that these do not refer to the Sankhya categories. “Beyond the senses there are the objects, beyond the objects there is mind, beyond the mind there is the intellect, and the great Self, Mahat, is beyond the intellect. Beyond the Mahat is the Avyakta, the undeveloped, and beyond the Avyakta there is the Purusha. Beyond the Purusha there is nothing — this is the goal, the highest path.”
The Sutra explains that Avyakta in this context denotes the subtle body or ‘sukshma sarira’ as well as the gross body and the term Mahat refers to Brahman or the Supreme Self. It then quotes an earlier passage in the same Upanishad where the Self, the body and so on are compared to a chariot, charioteer, etc, in order to teach the spiritual discipline of self control. “Know the soul to be the Lord of the chariot, the body to be the chariot, the intellect the charioteer and the mind the reins. The senses they call the horses, the objects of the senses their roads. When the Self is in union with the body, the senses and the mind, then wise people call him the enjoyer.”
It is proved that the word chariot described as the body in the metaphor is referred to as Avyakta and that “Purusha” is the Supreme Brahman to be attained.
