[Advaita-l] Vsheshana and Lakshana

kuntimaddi sadananda kuntimaddisada at yahoo.com
Fri Dec 15 21:41:30 EST 2017


Subbuji - PraNAms
I would like to make some points here. 
1. There are also taTasta lakshaNas the differentiate from swarupa lakshanas. In the definition of Brahman, many times taTasta lakshaNas are used since Brahman, being infinite, cannot be pointed otherwise. jnanmaadyasa yataH - based on yatova imaani bhutaani jaayante...
2. Another point is Swaruupa Lakshana has to be different from just lakshaNa. Let me give an example that I use. The sweetness of the sugar. It is a necessary qualification (visheShaNA) but not sufficient qualification. That means if it is sugar, it has to be sweet. However, the converse does not work - that is if it is sweet it need not be sugar. Hence sweetness is not sufficient qualification to define sugar.  
3. We can define the swaruupa lakshaNa if it fulfils both the necessary and sufficient qualification. For example - H2O is a swaruupa lakshaNa for water. It means water is H2O and conversely H2O is water. Sugar or sucrose similarly a necessary and sufficient qualification which we can call it as its swaruupa lakshaNa,
4. Satyam, jnaanam, anantam are necessary and sufficient qualification - hence Swaruupa lakshaNa - as Shankara points it out simply by saying - ananatatvaat - since it is infinite since satyam stands for sat which is infinite as it is ekam eva adviteeyam. 
5. Being infinite, it can also be indicative swaruuap lakshaNam for Brahman since no words can reach there. na vaak gacchati na manaH. 
Just my 2c. 
Hari Om!Sadananda

 

   On Friday, December 15, 2017, 1:16:16 PM GMT+5:30, V Subrahmanian via Advaita-l <advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote: 
 
 Visheshana: adjective: blue, big, fragrant lily. In this example, the
blueness helps to distinguish 'this' lily from a red, etc. lily. The
bigness helps to distinguish this lily from small, baby lilies. Fragrance
helps distinguish this lily from those lilies that are devoid of fragrance.
This is a case of visheshana that distinuishes a thing from all other
members of the same class: lily.

On the other hand, a lakshana is that which helps distinguish an object
from every thing that is not that object.  Example: akasha is given the
lakshana 'avakasha  pradaatrtva - the one that accommodates (all other
things).  Now, this trait is unique to akasha.  nothing else in creation
has this.  When we say a house can accommodate people and things, it is the
space there that accommodates.

Similarly satyam jnanam anantam anandam are lakshanas of Brahman. Brahman
alone can have these, nothing else in creation.  Satyam is that which does
not go out of existence.  all that is created will go out of existence.
Jnanam is pure objectless consciousness.  every other jnanam in creation is
janya jnana like 'pot knowledge, cloth knowledge' It happens through a
vrtti. Brahman svarupa jnanam is not a vritti dependent one.  Ananta is
infinite in space, time and object.  everything in creation is limited by
space, time and object.  Thus alone the advaita Vedantin holds that satyam,
jnanam anantam are the svarupa of Brahman.  Brahman is satyam, brahman is
jnanam....Brahman can't be other than, without satyam.  just like there can
be no fire sans heat/light.
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