[Advaita-l] GYAnimAtra and the sthitapraGYa (was Re: FW: Avidya, Jnanis and SSS' views)

[S Jayanarayanan]

--- On Fri, 5/7/10, V Subrahmanian <v.subrahmanian at gmail.com> wrote:

> Dear Karthik,
> 
> This is the portion of the JMV that categorically,
> unambiguously states that
> the akRtopAsti has his ignorance destroyed by the practice
> of vedanta
> shravaNa, etc.:
> 
> *They even
> > reach the stage of obliteration of vasana and the
> > dissolution of the mind
> > for the time being*, and in consequence, study,
> > contemplation and
> > assimilation (of the VEdanta) are also fully
> accomplished
> > by repeated
> > application to these three;* ignorance, doubt and
> false
> > perception are
> > demolished; *and real Jnana is achieved**.
> 
> This is the portion that says that the ignorance destroyed
> does not return:
> 
>  In the
> > absence of a more powerful
> > means to counteract it and of any cause which can
> > resuscitate the ignorance
> > dispelled by it, *the resultatnt Jnana does not
> > fade.*
> 
> [pl. read the concluding verses of the Panchadashi 2nd
> chapter with the
> above]
> 
> The above is the JMV proof for the akRtopAsti being a
> mukta. The word may
> not be there, but that is what is meant there. Freedom from
> ignorance with
> the gaining of JNanam is what mukti is.

Here are the facts:

1. The JMV explicitly says that such an akR^ItopAsti who has attained to saMyak-GYAna, i.e. a GYAnimAtra, is NOT a jIvanmukta.

2. NOWHERE does the JMV affirm the status of this person as a mukta of any kind.

3. The JMV notes that such a person still has to make effort towards vAsanAkShaya-manonAsha.

Given the above, I am reticent to say that the status of such a person a "mukta".

If you have a clear-cut authoritative quote that such a person is a "mukta in spite of his NOT being a jIvanmukta", I would be very interested indeed!

> And  If you
> ask: If anything, note
> the last line about how they are affected by prArabdha
> karma - can this be
> called mukti?!
> 
> The answer is: yes.  This is mukti.  Pl. note
> that all over the Shankara
> bhashya (we have recently seen)  there are innumerable
> references to the
> mukta, jivanmukta, having prArabdha. 

I NEVER said that the jIvanmukta does not have prArabdha, but it is a fact that the jIvanmukta is NOT AFFECTED by prArabdha karma!

Here is the difference between the jIvanmukta and the GYAnimAtra:

JIvanmukta - NOT AFFECTED by prArabdha.
GYAnimAtra - IS AFFECTED by prArabdha.

Now, what does the above mean? It means that the jIvanmukta has practised Yoga to achieve vAsanAkShya-manonAsha to the extent that he is completely unperturbed by prArabdha. On the other hand, note that VidyAraNya underlines the fact that the GYAnimAtra is still affected by prArabdha. This is an important difference between the two, and a chief reason why the GYAnimAtra still has to make further effort towards mukti.

An example may help explain this better. There are two people, and they both happen to miss their lunch one day. Perhaps this was due to a past Karma of theirs, and they were denied a meal. One person keeps complaining of his hunger, and gets angry that he has missed a meal. The second person remains calm, and does not get angry even though he has lost a meal. The reason is that the second person is a yogI, and has conquered his hunger ***NOT BY MEANS OF FOOD, BUT BY MEANS OF YOGA***!

In the same manner, the jIvanmukta has conquered his mind by means of yogAbhyAsa, but the GYAnimAtra has yet to do so. For this reason, the GYAnimAtra has to make effort in vAsanAkShaya-manonAsha to attain jIvanmukti, as per the JMV.

Regards,
Kartik