devotion vs. knowledge

[Ian Goddard]

At 07:19 PM 6/3/96 -0400, Michael Cohen wrote:

>If I may, a general question addressed to the forum:
>
>When seeking to locate authority concerning the precepts of advaita, to
>whom should appeal ultimately be directed? If we seek to understand the
>relationship between jnana and bhakti, it seems scriptural sources are the
>resort of choice. If we seek interpretation of the scriptures relating to
>advaita, is not Samkara the voice accepted as most authoritative by virtue
>of sampradaya or the succession of teaching lineage?


IAN: What is the "authority" in the scriptures? I say this authority
is truth. As such, the only authority in the scriptures is the truth
in the scriptures. If we can show that scriptural statement X is
true, then and only then does statement X poses authority.

If truth is the measure of authority, then all statements that are
true have authority regardless of their inclusion or exclusion
from some set of written documents defined as "scripture."

The only other definition of authority I can see as being applied to
scripture is the "authority" of tradition and thus of established
social pattern. Established social patterns are what dreams are
made of. The social pattern is the pattern of the mind. The
mind of each person, all of its emotions, are but links
to the social mind via which commands for action and
social station are distributed. Each feature of each
mind is but a feature in a vast social signalling
network -- a network which contains no separate
self.

The truth beyond the mind, is beyond the mind.

At least that's what this unit reports.



I am Poety: http:/www.erols.com/igoddard/iam-free.html

Law of Identity: A is A, relative to not-A. A = {A, ~A}

Law of Nonidentity: If there is 100% A, there is 0% A. A = ~A

absolute reality: http://www.erols.com/igoddard/reality.html