[Advaita-l] Sringeri AchAryas on the VivaraNa - the cause of adhyAsa

[bhaskar.yr at in.abb.com]

It is not only Padmapada, but also Sureshvara who accepts Ignorance
as a Material Cause:

http://www.advaita-vedanta.org/archives/advaita-l/1998-September/010134.html


"Further BUBhVa 1.4.371 (purushhavida brAhmaNa),

asya dvaita indrjAlasya yat.h upAdAnakAraNam.h |
aGYAnaM tat.h upAshritya brahma kAraNaM uchyate ||

Having relied on that ignorance which is the material cause of this
great magic of duality,
It is said that brahman is the cause [though there is no cause nor
effect, but brahman alone]."


Can Sureshvara be wrong too -- in ascribing a "Causal Power" to
Ignorance?

Regards,
Kartik

praNAms Sri Karthik prabhuji
Hare Krishna

My dear prabhuji, it seems you have not properly understood the position of
vivaraNa....surEshwara here  not talking about bhAva rUpa avidyA which is
the material cause for adhyAsa... vivaraNakAra talks about avidyOpadAna
kAraNa for adhyAsa ....vivaraNakAra propagates the theory that *adhyAsa*
has the material cause in the form of positive ignorance *bhAvarUpa*.  It
is wrong to argue that the prakruti is the material cause of avidyA and it
will get vanished through knowledge etc.  According to the methodology of
vEdAnta i.e from adhyArOpa drushti ( superimposition point of view) it is
first accepted that brahman is the location of avidyA and brahman is the
subject matter of avidyA.  See the bruhadAraNyaka upanishad bhAshya where
shankara says *brahmaNi sAdhakatva kalpana ....apeshala iti*...shankara
clearly hints here from the standpoint of adhyArOpa brahman is the location
and brahman is the subject matter of avidyA...sureshwara also from the
standpoint of adhyArOpa talking & ascribing the causal power of ignorance
to brahman...All these are accepted for the sake of teaching the absolute
non-dual truth....see saMbhandha vArtika of surEshwara if you have further
doubt in this.

Hari Hari Hari Bol!!!
bhaskar