[Advaita-l] HH Sri SSS on adhyAsa..continued VERY IMPORTANT

[bhaskar.yr at in.abb.com]

praNAms
Hare Krishna

In continuation to my earlier mail dtd. 08.05.2007 on the subject matter &
subsequent clarification by Smt. Savitri mAtAji..Here I'd like to quote one
more excerpt from the book * SHANKARA'S CLARIFICATION OF CERTAIN VEDANTIC
CONCEPTS* written in English by Sri SSS.  I think this is one of the very
very important references in Sri SSS's works to understand his stand on
adhyAsa since here he is  *directly* sharing his understanding of the
subject matter.

Page No. 9 & 10  : (Sri SSS giving his understanding of adhyAsa here after
quoting shankara's adhyAsa bhAshya in Sanskrit).    (I've typed the
important sentences in capital letters just to show swamiji's stand on
adhyAsa)

// quote //

The sum and substance of these two extracts, from the famous introduction
to Sankara's sUtra bhAshya is this :  Atman the real 'I' of each one of us,
is the Witnessing consciousness.  That alone is really real according to
vEdAnta, since it is absolutely undeniable as we have seen (p.4).  THE
NON-SELF WHICH IS MADE UP OF THE BODY, THE SENSES AND THE MIND IS AN UNREAL
APPEARANCE, SET UP BY IGNORANCE OR PRIVATION OF KNOWLEDGE.  Now the human
intellect has an innate tendency to project the non-real Not-self
(un-Atman) and confound the identity of the real and the unreal WHENEVER IT
FUNCTIONS.  This mixing up of the real and the unreal and the delusion
WHICH PROMPTS THE MIND TO SUBMIT ITSELF TO A MISTAKEN TRANSFERENCE OF THE
MUTUAL PROPERTIES OF THE SELF AND THE NON-SELF, IS WHAT IS CALLED AVIDYA.
This tendency is so natural to all mankind that no one suspects that he is
under the influence of this primary ignorance due to want of discrimination
when he talks of 'me and mine'.  It follows that this avidyA or ignorance
is finally wiped off as soon as one discriminates the real and the unreal
and determines their true nature.  This discrimination and determination of
the true nature of these, is what is termed as vidyA, knowledge.

9.  How and when was this mutual super-imposition of identity and mistaken
transference of properties caused??  THIS QUESTION IS OBVIOUSLY
ILLEGITIMATE, FOR WE HAVE LEARNT THAT IT IS AN INNATE TENDENCY OF THE HUMAN
MIND TO CONFOUND THE REAL AND THE UNREAL.  ALL HUMAN ACTION AND EXPERIENCE
OF THE FRUITS OF ACTION PRESUPPOSE INTELLECTION AND INTELLECTION ITSELF IS
BASED ON THIS NATAL ERROR.  HUMAN BEHAVIOUR IS ON A PAR WITH ANIMAL
BEHAVIOUR IN THIS RESPECT FOR BOTH ARE THE RESULT OF THIS NATURAL WANT OF
DISCRIMINATION.  Sankara's dicta on this point are incontrovertible for
THEY ARE ALL BASED UPON UNIVERSAL INTUITION.

// unquote //

Page No.11 : here Sri SSS puts his comment on shankara's adhyAsa bhAshya
quotes :

// quote //

The meaning is that while men do have the faculty of rethinking about their
behaviour, THE PROCESS OF BEHAVIOUR ITSELF IS THE RESULT OF SUPERIMPOSITION
DUE TO WANT OF DISCRIMINATION.  This shows that all human activity based
upon perception and other means of knowledge, is in the field of an innate
error due to want of discrimination between the real and the unreal.

And finally Sri SSS concludes this chapter in Page No. 12 :

// quote //

This avidyA is beginningless NOT because, as has been egregiously
ill-conceived by some followers of Sankara, there is a beginningless
seriesof individual avidyA flowing in a continuous stream, but because IT
IS ITSELF THE CONJURER OF TIME IN WHICH ANY SERIES CAN BE CONCEIVED BY THE
MIND, THE MIND ITSELF BEING A SUPERIMPOSITION ON THE SELF.  SO IT IS A
NOTION HAVING THE SEMBLANCE OF A FALSE CONCEPT (mithyApratyayarUpaH).  And
vidyA in its turn, is not knowledge of Atman in the ordinary sense, for the
simple reason that Atman can never be an object of knowledge.  It is rather
the intuition of Atman by Atman himself.

// unquote //


Hari Hari Hari Bol!!!
bhaskar