ākāśas tal-lingāt: Akāśa describes the Lord
Brahman is the origin of the world. All beings come from Brahman and return to Brahman. Brahman is greater than all and the supreme destination.
« Vedānta-sūtra: The Govinda-bhāṣya of Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa
Sutra 1.1.22 - ākāśas tal-lingāt
ākāśas tal-lingāt
ākāśah: the word ākāśa; tat: of Him; lingat: because of the characteristics.
The word ākāśa in the passage refers to the Supreme Brahman, because the characteristics mentioned belong to the Lord.
Commentary: A topic discussed in the Upanisads is ākāśa. Ordinarily, ākāśa is a word for ether or space, but this sutra establishes a higher definition of it.
First of all, what is ether? According to the Vedas, there are five material elements: earth, water, air, fire, and ether. The "ether" mentioned in the Vedas is not connected with the disproven theory of the luminiferous ether from past centuries, nor is it just a vacuum, like in space. The Vedic conception of ether is a subtle element that serves as a fabric for all material manifestations through the interaction with the mind, intelligence, and false ego. The subtle elements (the mind, intelligence, and false ego, as well as all desires, ideas, and so on) are created from the ether, and from further interaction of these subtle elements with the ether, gross elements (earth, water, air, and fire), as well as all physical manifestations are created. Apart from "ether", the word ākāśa is sometimes translated as "sky" or "space", since there is not a single exact word for it in English.
However, different passages of the Upaniṣads appear to refer to something else apart from the ordinary element ether when using the word ākāśa. The passage discussed in this sutra is the Chāndogya Upaniṣad 1.9.1:
asya lokasya kā gatiḥ iti ākāśa iti hovāca
sarvāṇi ha vā imāni bhūtāni ākāśād eva samutpadyante
ākāśaṁ prati astaṁ yānti, ākāśaḥ parāyaṇam
"[Silaka asked:] What is the destination and support of this world? [Pravāhana answered:] Akāśa, he replied. From ākāśa only, all beings and everything else come into existence, and in the end, to ākāśa they return. Akāśa is greater than all, ākāśa is the supreme destination."
One could argue that the word akāśa mentioned in the passage refers to the ordinary element ether, but Vyāsadeva disagrees with this interpretation by saying "ākāśas tal-liṅgāt"; the word ākāśa in the passage means the Supreme Brahman because the qualities mentioned belong to the Lord.
If we take the word "ākāśa" in the verse as ether, we will end up with some nihilistic philosophy similar to Buddhism, believing that everything comes from space and merges back into space, and therefore the ultimate goal is to just annihilate our existence, merging back into the void.
However, this sutra calls our attention to the incorrectness of this interpretation. The ākāśa mentioned in this and other passages from the Vedas is not the material element ether, but the Supreme Brahman. In this way, Brahman is the origin of the world. All beings come from Brahman and return to Brahman. Brahman is greater than all and the supreme destination.
How can we be sure that ākāśa refers to the Supreme Brahman and not to the ordinary element ether? Because the qualities described there are qualities of the Supreme Brahman, and not of the ordinary material element. Ether is not a conscious being that can create and give rest to different living beings. Ether is just a raw material that has to be manipulated by superior forces.
If I say that "from iron, all cars come from", one could misunderstand it to mean that iron is the ultimate cause, while the correct understanding is that iron is the raw material that is manipulated by human beings and thus transformed into cars and other things. Similarly, different material manifestations are created from ether by a superior force, and this superior force, the Supreme Brahman, is the ultimate cause. Therefore, the correct understanding of this verse from the Chāndogya Upaniṣad and other similar passages is that the Supreme Brahman is the Supreme origin and destination.
The verse mentions that imāni bhūtāny ākāśād eva samutpadyante. The word "eva" (only) is important in this passage because it denotes that ākāśa is the only cause of the material creation. When the verse says ākāśaṁ pratyastaṁ (to ākāśa they return), it refers to the process of cosmic annihilation when all souls merge into the body of Mahā-Viṣṇu. Finally, when the verse mentions ākāśaḥ parāyanam, it refers to the Lord as the supreme destination. Therefore, the Lord is the ānanda-maya, He is the person in the Sun, He is ākāśa, and so on. The Upanisads are full of references to the Lord.
Another meaning of this sutra is in the context of the universal form described in the second canto of Srimad Bhagavatam. Seeing the powerful material energies (like the ether) as representations of the Lord can help one to meditate on Him. Srila Prabhupada mentions this point in his purport to SB 3.5.32:
"In the Vedic hymns it is said, etasmād ātmanaḥ ākāśaḥ sambhūtaḥ. The sky is the symbolic representation of the Supreme Soul. Those who are egoistic in passion and ignorance cannot conceive of the Personality of Godhead. For them, the sky is the symbolic representation of the Supreme Soul."
Exercise
Now it's your turn. Can you answer the following arguments using the ideas from this section?
Opponent: The word ākāśa mentioned in the Chāndogya Upaniṣad refers to the element ether. It is clearly stated, and there is no need to speculate that it refers to anything else. The element ether is the origin of everything because all the other elements appear from it. Ether gives origin to air, air gives origin to fire, fire to water, and water to earth. These five elements then combine to give origin to all living beings, as well as different material objects. The verse from the Chāndogya Upaniṣad clearly indicates this by the words imāni bhūtāny ākāśād eva samutpadyante. In the end, everything merges back into ether, as indicated by the words ākāśaṁ pratyastaṁ yānty ākāśaḥ parāyanam. Ether is thus the supreme cause and the supreme destination.
How can you answer this challenge?
« Vedānta-sūtra: The Govinda-bhāṣya of Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa
Here is the answer of the challenge:
The opponent says that because material element akasa is origin of everything because all the other elements appear from it.
The verse in our present discussion too says that
sarvāṇi ha vā imāni bhūtāni ākāśād eva samutpadyante
From ākāśa only, all beings and everything else come into existence
But here is the twist.
This verse cannot refer to material element ether or space because the material element ether is not the final cause of everything else, as we know from the Vedic scriptures as well as from the Sankhaya philosophy of Kapila Muni that the element akasa itself comes from subtle element.. mind, intelligence and ego
SB 3.26.32
tāmasāc ca vikurvāṇād
bhagavad-vīrya-coditāt
śabda-mātram abhūt tasmān
nabhaḥ śrotraṁ tu śabdagam
Translation:
When egoism in ignorance is agitated by the sex energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the subtle element sound is manifested, and from sound come the ethereal sky and the sense of hearing.
From this verse we can conclude that
material element ether is not the final cause of creation rather a part of creation thus it is concluded that the above verse of Chandogya upanishad doesn't refer to material element ether, but to someone else
In the Taittarya upanishad it is said
(3.1): yato va imani bhutani jayante, yena jatani jivanti, yat prayanty abhisamvisanti, tad vijijnasasva tad brahma
Which means that it is from Brahman everything comes from, it is from him everything subsits and at the end everything merges back into him
Thus it can be concluded that akasa here refers to Brahman
Furthermore in Vednata Sutra it is said Sūtra 1.4.28
etena sarve vyākhyātā vyākhyātāḥ
All [words in the scriptures] should be interpreted to agree with the explanation [that the Supreme Brahman is the original cause
By this sutra too we can conclude that akasa here refers to Brahman or Vishnu