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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 11 December 2009
In this chapter I shall begin to explore Rāmānuja's use of the term śarīra-śarīrin (body—self) to refer to the relationship between all conscious and non-conscious beings (which for simplicity's sake, I shall henceforth refer to as ‘the world’) and Brahman. There is one definition of ‘body’ (śarīra) in his Śrībhāsya (his main commentary on the Brahma-sūtras) which can assist in this enquiry:
Therefore the definition should be considered in this way: that substance [is] the body of a conscious being which can be controlled and supported [by that conscious being] for its own purpose in all circumstances, and which has the essential form of being its accessory.
Thus, a body (i) belongs to a conscious being; (ii) is controlled and supported by that being; (iii) serves to further that being's purpose in all circumstances; and (iv) its proper or essential form is accessory to that being.
These four points will serve as guidelines for our enquiry, since Rāmānuja's argument develops from this definition into a claim that the world (i.e. all conscious and non-conscious beings) comprises the body of Brahman: ‘Since everything [is] in all circumstances controlled and supported by the Supreme Person, and always has the nature of being his subordinate, then all conscious and non-conscious beings [are] his body.'
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