Adhikarana 8

The Word "Akasa" Refers to Brahman

1. Visaya (Statement): The Chandogya Upanisad states:

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asya lokasya ka gatir iti akasa iti hovaca sarvani ha va imani bhutany akasad eva samutpadyante.

akasam pratyastam yanty akasah parayanam iti.

"He asked: What is the ultimate destination of all living entities? He replied: Akasa is the ultimate

destination. All living entities and all material elements have emanated from akasa, and they will again

enter into akasa."

2. Samsaya (doubt): What is the meaning of the word akasa here? Does it mean the element ether, or

does it mean the Supreme Brahman?

3. Purvapaksa (the opposing argument): The word akasa here means "the element ether", because air

and the other elements evolve from it. Indeed, ether is the origin of all the other elements.

4. Siddhanta (Conclusion): Srila Vyasadeva refutes this argument in the following sutra.

Sutra 22

 akasas tal-liìgat

    akasah - the word akasa; tat - of Him; lingat - because of the qualities. 

    The word "akasa" in the Vedic literature refers to the Supreme Brahman, for the description of

"akasa" aptly fits the description of the qualities of Brahman.

 Purport by Srila Baladeva Vidyabhusana

The word akasa here refers to Brahman and not the material element ether. Why? Because the akasa

described here has alll the characteristics of Brahman. The akasa described here is the source from

which the material elements emanate, the maintainer who sustains them, and the ultimate refuge into

which they enter at the time of comsic annihilation. That is Brahman. The scriptures explain: sarvani

ha va imani bhutani (All material elements have emanated from akasa). Because ether is one of the

material elements, it is included in the word sarvani (all the elements). It is not the independent origin

of the causal chain, but merely one of the links. For this reason it cannot be the akasa that is the source

of all the elements (including ether). The use of the word eva (certainly) in this context reinforces the

interpretation that akasa refers to Brahman because eva implies "there is no other cause". For this

reason akasa cannot refer to the material element ether. For example, clay is the origin from which clay

pots are produced, and other material substances are the origins of other objects, but all these "origins"

are not primal origins, but merely intermediate steps in a great causal chain. By using the word eva (the

sole cause) the text clearly refers to the primal, uncaused cause, Brahman, and not ether or any other

particular intermediate stage in the causal chain. The Vedic literatures describe Brahman as the master

of all potencies and the source of all forms, and therefore, because the akasa is described (eva) as the

"sole cause", it can refer only to the primal cause Brahman and not the material element ether. Although

the word akasa generally means "ether" in ordinary usage, in this context the secondary meaning

"Brahman" is far more appropriate.