[Advaita-l] Acceptance of the validity of shruti is only *faith*

[Sundaresan, Vidyasankar (GE Infra, Water)]

Sreenivasa Murthy wrote:
>The meaning of the words, Anubhava / sArvatrikapUrNAnuBava have been 
>given in Mantra 2-5-15 of Brihadaranyaka Upanishad which reads as
follows:
>tadEtadbrahmApUrvamanaparamanantnaramabAhyamayamAtmA brahma
>sarvAnuBUrityanuSAsanam || The word "sarvAnuBUH" gives the meaning of
>anubhava/sArvatrikapUrNAnuBava. 

The above quoted bRhadAraNyaka vAkya is 2-5-19. bhagavatpAda's
commentary on this text describes the AtmA as drashTA (seer), SrotA
(hearer), mantA (thinker), who experiences all (sarvam anubhavati iti
sarvAnubhUH), because of brahman being the self of all (sarvAtmanA).
This is not the sArvatrika-pUrNa-anubhava in the sense intended in
recent discussions on the list.

Or am I attaching a different meaning to the term sArvatrika pUrNa
anubhava than intended? A priori, I think not, as this pUrNa anubhava is
being equated to brahman / AtmA that is svayaMjyoti, svataH siddha,
kUTasthanitya. After all, saying that anubhava = Atman is different from
saying AtmA sarvam anubhavati iti sarva-anubhUH.

>Sri Shankara, In Upadeshasahasri slokas 18-195, 18-210 and 12-8, has
clearly
>defined and explained the meaning.
 
It is interesting that you refer to upadeSasAhasrI 12.8, for in the
verse immediately before that (12.7), bhagavatpAda has referred to the
one who rightly sees the self as the best of yogins (yoginAM SreshThaH).
In chapter 18, I would draw attention to one of the concluding verses,
18.224 - SAstrAd brahmAsmi nAnyo'hamiti buddhir bhaved dRDhA - which
points both to SAstra-ja buddhi and to something over and above an
experience that is sarvajana sAdhAraNa (ordinary to all people) in their
normal avasthA-s of waking, dream and sleep.

It is true that no one can deny one's own self and that every cognition
begins with the self first recognizing itself, but the whole point of
advaita vedAnta is that this fact is nowhere apparent to any human being
in normal vyavAhAra. It takes Sruti to point it out, via tat tvam asi,
and it also takes Sruti to point out that this Atman / brahman is all
there really is. Casting aside one's sAdhAraNa anubhava in the light of
the teaching of Sruti and intelligent reasoning takes a vast shift of
perspective.

Re: the quotation from mANDUkya rahasya vivRtti, could you clarify the
phrase indriyAntaHkaraNavyApAranapEkShaH? Is it ...vyApArAnapeksha
(vyApAra + anapeksha)? 

Regards,
> Vidyasankar Sundaresan
>