Resumo de Brahma Sutra

Thebrahma-sUtra consists of 564 individual sUtra-s, each of them a
complete discourse on a certain topic. There is a tradition that says
that thebrahma-sUtra must be written with an OM at the beginning and end of each sUtra. The justification for this is said to be that
since each sUtra is itself a complete discourse rather than a mere statement in
a work, it has to have a shAnti-pATha at the beginning and at the end, just as
with complete works like the bhagavadgItA or the upanishhad-s. However, the
OM-s are not considered to be part of the sUtra-s themselves, and are usually
omitted from commentaries. However, they are to be retained in uncommented
texts, and are also to be included when the text is recited. There are some differences in the number of adhikaraNa-s
(topics discussed) and sUtra-s, as accepted by various commentators. For
instance, shaMkara, rAmAnuja, and AnandatIrtha have taken these as 192/555,
156/545, and 222/564 respectively. Though much of the differences arise due to
their clubbing some sUtra-s together or splitting them in different ways, in
some cases there are different readings altogether as each tries to obtain a
total and coherent philosophical position by his own interpretation. However,
the division of the entire text into four chapters -- `samanvaya', 'avirodha',
`sAdhana' and `phala' is acceptable to all. It is interesting to know the objective of the composition. According to AnandatIrtha and the other commentators,
bAdarAyaNa condensed and classified the veda-s which were limitless in extent
and difficult to understand by persons of severely limited intellectual
capacities, into small divisions and sub-divisions, so that each individual
could study one part; and he composed the brahma-sUtra-s for their correct
interpretation. The very first two chapters samanvaya (integration of the
diverse texts into a homogeneous total picture) and avirodha (removing all
possible objections and internal contradictions) as accepted by all
commentaries show this objective clearly.

· The approach adopted by the sUtrakAra is to
refer to some specific passage of the veda-s or upanishhad-s by a key word,
context, or hint as to the topic of discussion. He then gives his own decision as
to the conclusion to be reached, in one or two words, followed by the reasoning
behind the conclusion. Usually, the sUtra-s are stating the conclusion without
elaborating the pUrvapaksha (the extant proposition or hypothesis
which is examined and rejected). The aptness of the commentary has to be judged
by the correct identification of the vishhaya vAkya (the original
Vedic statement referred to), consistency with the chapter, section and subject
discussed previously, avoidance of wasteful or repetitive points, coherence
with the system being propounded as a whole, the logical structure indicated by
the sUtrakAra being shown correctly, etc. Some commentators have rather
arbitrarily assigned certain sUtra-s as pUrvapaksha, although there is no
indication in the sUtra-s themselves to that effect, and although this strongly
militates against the notion that each sUtra is a complete exposition upon a
certain subject. AnandatIrtha holds that all sUtra-s are themselves siddhAnta
or conclusions, and that there are none that are not so.

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