[Advaita-l] moxa

[Siva Senani Nori]

Dear Sri Kris
>The point here is that we can judge, protest, argue and influence the change of the law and the >govt.. But per Vidyasagar, even judging is not allowed against SaStras whether it is good or bad. >Then there is no room for improvement. From what I learned from this list, Sankara mandates >thorough analysis and discrimination (judgement comes out of discrimination).

Regarding the SAstras, the right order is study, understanding, analysis, and then judgement; which I dare say somebody like Sri Dayananda Saraswati has done (Disclaimer: I am not an Arya Samajin and actually differ from some of the preachings of Swamiji) . After that, depending on the force of one's presentation, a number of followers take it up. And then, those teachings become a part of the SAstra itself. The changing nature of dharma's presentation is indeed the reason why we have Ritam or Satyam, the eternal and changeless on one hand, and Dharma which is represented depending on the time and place. For instance South Indians marry the children of one's paternal aunt and maternal uncle (and woman marry their maternal uncles in some places), and yet, these cousins are addressed as brother and sister by North Indians, such marriages amounting to incest. Why, our guys have even made a movie called Maayaabazaar where Abhimanyu marries the daughter
 of Balarama, his maternal uncle, though the Yadavas and Pandavas are not supposed to follow this version of dharma.

Sri Vidyasankar recently quoted from the "convocation address" found in the last but one anuvAka of Ananda Valli in the TaittirIya Upanishad; there the teacher asks the student first to follow the good deeds of the teacher, and then qualifies those good deeds as those which are not capable of being "talked" about [negatively]. It futher advices that when in doubt, the actions of great men (I am cheating, it actually says great BrAhmaNas) around should be the guide. In short, the SAstras do not regulate based on rules, but on principles. Anyone can challenge the rules, but not the principles.
The discrimination or vivechana, mandated by bhagavatpAda is between sat and asat, the eternal and the ephemeral, not on the soundness or otherwise of SAstra. In fact he mandates SraddhA, and defines it as based on belief in the guru and SAstra.

Regards
Senani