[Advaita-l] Pa~nchapAdikAchArya

[savithri devaraj]

--- Ramakrishnan Balasubramanian
<rama.balasubramanian at gmail.com> wrote:
> " In the face of the above unmistakable definitions
> of both Avidyaa and
> Maya, the sub-commentaries on Sankara Bhasya, have
> started a
> procession of the blind led by the blind, in
> emphatically affirming
> the identity of both
> avidyaa and maayaa, and defining avidyaa not as
> subjective
> ignorance but as something objective clinging to
> Atman, and thus
> distorting his nature by
> converting the all pure Brahman into a
> transmigratory soul by
> enveloping his essential nature."
> 
> Essays on Vedanta, page 43.
> 
> Is it surprising Gangolli is saying what he is
> saying? They have to
> rationalize how in 1200 years no one understood
> Sankara, but someone
> (namely SSS) was the only one to understand him
> after self-study. You
> just have to resort to some conspiracy theory to
> explain away the
> absurdity of this presumption. So Padmapada is this
> evil person who
> had malicious intent. Quite simple really. Clever
> enough to mislead
> scholars for 1200 years, but not SSS. Oh, no indeed.
> 
> Rama

Namaste,

Wow - I would be more careful what I say about an
individual who spent a good portion of his 95 years
immersed in Shankara bhAshyas and Shankara vedanta.

A new conspiracy theory is proposed here - these
crooked derivations don't belong to a group studying
advaita vedanta.... Arjava is a desirable quality of a
sadhaka.

There is no argument here, all hearsay - complacency
on the part of investigators for a 1200 years is no
reason to assume that it is the holy grail! 

Have you tried to read the Shankara bhAshyas in their
original, and then read the later sub-commentators'
versions?

Only one who has read (and re-read) the Shankara
bhAshyas in their original, and then read (and
re-read) the sub-commentators' versions looking for
the usages of avidya, mAya, avyAkR^ita, agrahaNam,
avyaktam, etc., can have any authority to comment this
way. 

And this is what Swamiji did for an entire lifetime!!
And you should read about the opposition he faced when
he brought out his mUlAvidyAnirAsa book, what a
fearless soul he was - all because he had the facts
and research to support him!

It is absolutely possible, no one took the time or
efforts to do the kind of research that Swamiji did.
Well, it might even be that several others tried
previously, but couldn't overcome the pressures of the
prevailing thought. Even in scientific investigations
- it isn't enough to make a groundbreaking discovery,
you must have the audacity to propose it.

Just because no one suggested it for 1200 years
doesn't give you the sanction to criticize his work
even without reading his works with an open mind.

It is easy to criticize and make pompous blanket
statements, but where is the supporting argument to
your stance? 

Sorry if this sounds harsh, my intent was to highlight
the noble task Swamiji undertook single-handedly for
decades to efface the misconceptions and confusions
with the several sub-commentaries. A reader will have
to agree, his clarifications are simple and
straightforward. 

Savithri

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam?  Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around 
http://mail.yahoo.com