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Shri Datta Swami

Jnana Saraswati – Parabrahma Sutras

    

13. Worldly greatest items remain the greatest only in limited contexts


एकमेव संदर्भमात्राणाम्।१३।
ekameva saṁdarbhamātrāṇām |13|

All the greatest worldly items remain the greatest as long as the context of their categories is maintained. Otherwise, if the contexts do not exist, God alone becomes the greatest and all the worldly items are no more the greatest.

Explanation:

Any worldly item, which is the greatest in a particular category, remains the greatest only as long as the context of the category is maintained. If this context disappears and God is also considered, the worldly item is no more the greatest because God is greater than any ‘greatest’ item. When the context of the category is in reference, you cannot bring God into the picture to remove greatness of the worldly item. It becomes out of the context. Due to the significance of the context, you cannot say that no worldly item is the greatest since God is greater than any greatest worldly item. In view of the scope of the context, you cannot resist the usage of the word Brahman for any worldly item. Thus, you cannot fix the word Brahman only for God and avoid the context of the category. Hence, an isolated [1] word like Parabrahman is required.

Note:

How is Brahman used in a particular context?

What is the meaning of the word Brahman? Brahman means ‘the greatest’. In a classroom, there are students and the teacher. The teacher is the greatest since he or she is better than any student. So, in the class, the teacher is Brahman. Brahman is just alternative word for ‘greatest’. In the entire creation, God is the greatest. If we confine only to the context of the classroom, the teacher is the greatest. Here, we are limiting the context only to the classroom. Can we not say “Among metals platinum is the greatest”? Here, context is clearly defined as ‘among metals’.


[1] Separate or specific

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