Suresvara was a prominent Advaita philosopher, who was a disciple of Adi Shankaracharya. He wrote commentaries and works that elucidated the teachings of Advaita Vedanta in a manner that was more accessible and systematic. One of his famous works is the Vartika, a critical commentary on the Brahmasutras of Badarayana, which serves to explain and clarify various aspects of Advaita Vedanta.
In the context of Advaita Vedanta, the terms Sisu (literally "child") and Murtamurta Brahmana (the embodied, manifested Brahman) come into play in some of Suresvara's writings.
In the Vartika, Suresvara mentions the concept of Sisu in relation to the stages of spiritual development or understanding. The term "Sisu" is metaphorical and often denotes someone who is in the very early stages of spiritual knowledge. Just as a child is immature and needs to grow, a seeker in the initial stages of their journey may not have a mature or complete understanding of the nature of reality (Brahman). The reference to Sisu indicates someone who is at the beginning of their spiritual quest and has a lot of learning and development to undergo before attaining full realization.
The term Murtamurta refers to the concept of Brahman in its manifest (mūrta) and unmanifest (amūrta) forms. Murtamurta Brahmana refers to the Brahman that appears in the form of the world, as well as in the specific forms like deities, individuals, or any physical manifestation. In Advaita Vedanta, this is crucial, as Brahman is simultaneously formless (nirguna) and has form (saguna). The Murtamurta Brahmana can be understood as a way of conceptualizing the absolute, formless Brahman in a way that is more accessible to human understanding, such as through the worship of deities (like Vishnu, Shiva, etc.) or the recognition of divinity in various forms.
In the Vartika, Suresvara comments on this idea to clarify how, in Advaita Vedanta, the distinction between the formless Brahman and its manifested form can be understood. The apparent contradiction between the two is explained as a matter of perspective. Ultimately, both the manifested and unmanifested aspects of Brahman point to the same ultimate reality.
Suresvara’s commentary often aims to clear doubts and reconcile apparent contradictions in Advaita Vedanta. In his work, he would likely explain the term Sisu as pointing to an early stage of understanding, emphasizing that even though a person may initially see distinctions (like the difference between the self and the world), this is a stage that ultimately leads to the realization of non-duality (Advitiyam). Similarly, his take on Murtamurta Brahmana would guide the reader toward understanding the unity of the formless and the manifested aspects of Brahman.
For Advaitins, the primary concern is to realize that both the Sisu (beginning stage of realization) and the Murtamurta Brahmana (manifested forms of Brahman) are ultimately expressions of the same non-dual reality.
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