The Anandamaya section examines one of the most subtle passages in the Taittiriya Upanishad: the teaching of the “self consisting of bliss.” The central question is whether this bliss-self is itself the highest Brahman, or whether Brahman is the deeper reality spoken of as its support. The sutras resolve this by showing that Brahman alone remains the independent and ultimate subject of the passage.
The imagery of limbs, trunk, and tail in the Upanishadic sequence might seem to suggest that Brahman is merely one part of the bliss-self. But Vedanta rejects this literal reading. The language of parts is maintained only to preserve the imagery of the earlier sheaths. Here the “tail” does not mean a physical limb, but the final support and abiding ground of the entire structure of experience.
The force of the argument rests on repetition. Throughout the Taittiriya’s unfolding movement—from food, life, mind, and understanding—the deeper and recurring subject is always Brahman. The Upanishad begins with Brahman as Truth, Knowledge, and Infinity, and returns to that same reality as the final ground of bliss. The repetition of this theme makes it impossible to reduce Brahman to a mere subordinate component.
The sutras further strengthen this by identifying Brahman as the cause even of the bliss-self. The source of all the sheaths, including the most inward sense of bliss, must be the reality beyond them. The cause cannot be a part of its own effect. Thus the bliss sheath points beyond itself toward the unconditioned Brahman.
Another decisive argument is the distinction between the experiencer and that which is attained. The individual soul becomes blissful only upon attaining that essence of bliss. Therefore the experiencer cannot itself be the final reality referred to in the text. The bliss-self is a stage in inward inquiry, but Brahman is the independent essence that makes bliss possible.
The culmination of the section lies in identity. On the dawn of knowledge, the individual self is taught to become one with that ultimate support. This union can only be meaningful if the final referent is Brahman itself. The Anandamaya teaching therefore leads the seeker from experiential bliss to the limitless substratum that supports even bliss itself.
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