The Goal of Vedanta Study
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are stated, it becomes very glorious for us. But the commentary made by Sankaracharya is indirect, and is very dangerous for the common man, because, by understanding the import of the  Upanishad  in such an indirect, disruptive way, one becomes practically barred from spiritual realization.
According to  Skanda  and  Vayn Puranas , “ Sutra ” means a condensed form of words, which carries meaning and import of immeasurable strength without any mistake or fault. “ Vedanta ” means the end of Vedic knowledge. In other words, any book which deals with the subject indicated by all the Vedas is called  Vedanta . For example, the  Bhagavad Gita  is also Vedanta, because in the  Bhagavad Gita  we will find that the Lord says that the ultimate end of all Vedic research is Krishna, Therefore,  Bhagavad Gita  and  Srimad Bhagwatam , which aim only at Krishna, are to be understood as Vedanta.
In transcendental realization there are three divisions of knowledge, and they are called  Prasthana Trai . The department of knowledge which is proven by Vedic instruction, like the  Upanishads , is called  Sruti Prasthan . Authoritative books indicating the same thing and written by liberated souls like Vyasa—for example  Bhagavad Gita ,  Mahabarata  and the  Puranas , especially the  Srimad Bhagwatam , the  Maha Purana —are called  Nyaaprasthana . From the Vedas we understand that the Vedas originated from the breathing of Narayan. Vyasadeva, Who is an incarnation of the power of Narayan, has compiled the  Vedanta Sutra . According to the Sankara commentary there appears another name, Apantartama Rishi, who is also credited with having compiled the codes of the  Vedanta Sutra . According to Lord Chaitanya, the  Codes of Pancharatra  and the codes of Vedanta are one and the same. The  Vedanta Sutra , being compiled by Vyasadeva, is to be understood as spoken by Narayan Himself. From the whole descriptive literature about the  Vedanta Sutra , it is understood that there were many other  Rishis  contemporary with Vyasadeva who also discussed this  Vedanta Sutra . The following sages—Atriya, Asmarathyk, Audulomi, Karshnajini, Kasakritsna, Jaimimi, Badari, and other sages such as Parasarikarmandi—also discussed  Vedanta Sutra .
Actually, in the first three chapters of  Vedanta Sutra , the relationship of the living entities with the Supreme Lord is explained, and in the Third Chapter the discharge of devotional service is explained. In the Fourth Chapter the result of the relationship of discharging devotional service is explained.
The natural commentary on the  Vedanta Sutra  is  Srimad Bhagwatam . The great Acharyas of the four sections of the  Vaishnava  community—namely, Ramanujacharya, Madhvacharya, Vishnu Swami, and Nimbarka—have also written commentaries on the  Vedanta Sutra  in following the principles of