[Advaita-l] Re: The current advaita-dvaita debate

[Nagarjuna Siddhartha]

Trying to catch up on some old posts.

> >>So your analysis starts with this assumption 'empirical' world, but
> >>wouldn't such unwarranted assumptions bring down the quality of your
> >>analysis? 
 
> >On what criterion are you suggesting that the assumption is 
> >unwarranted?

>Because there is no proof to suggest that this world is empirical.

Two points to be made here-

1.Since brahman is the material as well as instrumental cause and since brahman is also unchangeable, it should follow that the "changes" that we see in the world are at a lower grade of reality than brahman. (vivarta vAda)

2.How about this analogy - Just as by knowing clay one knows the essence of all objects made of clay, while the rest being modifications in terms of name and form. Strictly speaking there is no proof for many things. Even the hardcore realist cannot prove that perception is real or that it will never be sublated in the future. 

>For example, the idea of nirguNa brahman is denounced
>by 'parA.asya shaktirvividhaiva shrUyate svAbhAvikI j~nAna bala kriyA
>cha'. If you show a scripture trying to hold the idea of nirguNa
>brahman, we point out that such statements admit other explanations and
>your insistence of nirguNa explanation is not binding. (I wonder how you can take away the force of'svAbhAvikI').

But the same text also says that brahman is nishkriya(actionless). If I follow the lead given by T M P Mahadevan these two positions can be reconciled by stating that while brahman is essentially qualityless(which includes nishkriya), Ishwara is *essentially* the doer of actions. The force of svAbhAvikI is applied to Ishwara here.

 >Similarly, what would you say of 'tadsR^iShTvA tadanupravishat.h'?

I believe that advaita considers prakRti as a form of brahman. That would explain this without any problem. 


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