A few questions

[Dennis Waite]

Hi (every)One,

It seems I haven't been too active on this list - my apologies. As I
mentioned before, I seem to have great difficulty keeping up; everyone is so
prolific in their postings! I almost succeeded in catching up over
Christmas, when things were quiet, but didn't quite make it. Anyway, I hope
to contribute within a week or so to what appears to be a discussion on
happiness (I've had a sneak look at some of the more recent lists). I'm
currently putting the finishing touches to an essay on the subject.

Meanwhile there are a few requests I've been wanting to put to the list for
some time. I would be very grateful if anyone could point me to some
references in the scriptures on the following topics which the material in
my group has been or is currently looking at.

1) Where can I find material relating to the teaching on creation being
brought into existence by sound (ahaM) and on the mechanism by which sound
arises (parA, madhyamA, pashyantI, vaikharI)? The only reference I have
found, to the latter part, was a bit in the chandogya upanishad.h.

2) Any thought on references to the topic of volition and the mechanism of
action (vR^itti, pravR^itti and saMvR^itti)?

3) What about the 'properties' of purushha (ahetu, nitya, vyApi, anAshrita,
svatantra, nirguna, aviveki, visheshha, chetana, akriya, aliN^ga, anavayava)?

4) One final question (if I have not overstepped my welcome!), and I'd be
happy if someone can refer me to a web page, relates to the apparent
different 'schools' of advaita. I have noted passing references in many of
the posts to this group and they usually assume that the reader will already
be familiar with them. The FAQ doesn't seem to precisely address the
question unless I have overlooked it, and I haven't succeeded in finding
these details on the web sites I have looked at. It seems, for example, that
some advaitins, such as the school I attend, clearly state that there 'IS' a
creation, albeit an illusary one (mayaa, lila etc); that it exists but is
none other than the Self. On the other hand, someone I have communicated
with over the net states equally positively that there is no such thing as a
creation and actually implied that the teaching I am receiving is
effectively dvaita. There do seem to be a number of slightly different views
on this and other topics from the posts I have read on the list. I would
very much appreciate a simple list of the different schools and a brief
statement of their essential points of difference. Does such a thing already
exist somewhere? It would seem to be a useful thing for the FAQ if not.

Dennis
dwaite at interalpha.co.uk