[Advaita-l] Re: logic and Shastra

[Vidyasankar Sundaresan]

>  One point 1.
>  Are you trying to say that the maha-vakyas as axioms provides are
>self-consistent system to establish Advaita only? That they may not
>necessarily hold for Christianity and Islam. That the latter two have their
>own systems that need to be consistent but not necessarily overlap? I think
>that is too restricted a view - Advaita (according to me) spans every
>thought stream, irrespective of origination.

It is one thing to say that advaita can span every thought stream. It is 
quite another to say that every thought stream can be derived from advaita 
vedAnta. Christianity and Islam, at least as far the leading thinkers of 
these two faiths define them, certainly would reject any advaita 
interpretation of their own philosphies. And they would certainly not accept 
the mahavAkyas as axioms.

>  On point 3:
>  The self is self-evident and not the Self.
>  Humble pranams, Mahesh

This is why I think we (especially Indians in the modern world) should think 
outside of written English when it comes to advaita. "Self" and "self" are 
easy to write down in Roman script, but they sound the same when spoken. 
Also, the word AtmA can only be written down in one way and it can only be 
said/heard in one way in any Indian language/script. No capital letters 
means no artificial visual distinction between self and Self in the written 
word and therefore, no distinction in the mind too. There is good reason why 
Sruti is that which is heard, not that which is written and read.

Regards,
Vidyasankar

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