[Advaita-l] A question on Brahma

[Venkata sriram P]

Dear Anselmo,
 
You have answered the question yourself.  
 
Sayana says "brahmANi vEdarUpANi stOtrANi"; "brahma stOtrarUpaM mantraM"
 
Rg Veda says "dEvadattaM brahmagAyata"
 
>From the above, it is evident that brahma implies mantra-rUpa stuthi.
 
Now, in a sacrifice, there are 4 supervisors who represent 4 vedas and
chant the respective vedas. Among them, the brahma supervising the
sacrifice chants atharvana mantra.  So, obviously, belongs to "priestly class".
 
As the the "growing aspect", the word "brahma" is defined as:
 
brahma briMhaNAt briMhati vardhatE niratishaya
mahatvalakShaNavriddhimAn bhavati iti arthaH vEdaH
 
Also, the root of brahma is "briH" which implies to swell or grow.  
 
The author of ratnaprabhA concludes that the word "brahma" denotes both
saguNa & nirguNa tattva. 
 
Acharya Sankara in Brahmasutra Bhashya (jijnAsAdhikaraNa) says that:
 
brahma sabdasya hi vyutpAdyamAnasya nityashuddhatvAdayO(a)rthAH
pratIyantE brihatErdhAtOH arthAnugamAt
 
So, there is nothing wrong in ascribing the word "brahma" as the Absolute.
 
The brahma denotes the growing one, the priestly class, the mantra.
 
I must appreciate your sincerity in vedic studies.  May God bless you.
 
reg,
sriram