[Advaita-l] Adhyaropa-Apavada Nyaya.

Bhaskar YR bhaskar.yr at in.abb.com
Fri Feb 11 05:07:19 CST 2011


Pranam Bhaskarji,

How can you ignore the positive way Kena and Mundaka talks about Brahman?

praNAms Sri Sunil prabhuji
Hare Krishna

Yes there are somany positive description about brahman like satyaM jnAnaM 
anantaM brahma, prajnAnaM brahMa etc. in shruti..but same shruti also says 
that it is beyond the speech & mind (yato vAcho nivartante aprApya manasa 
saha).  So, we have to understand that shruti mAta, being compassionate 
towards us, somehow trying to convey the knowledge of Atman which is 
unobjectifiable, svayaM siddhA & aprameya.  This has been beautifully 
expressed by shankara in taitireeya bhAshya.  Here he clarifies that 
brahman cannot be even called by 'jnAnam' (knowledge) either. 
Nevertheless, it is indicated (lakshyate says sankara) though not 
expressed, by the word 'jnAnaM' denoting the semblance of consciousness 
which is really a modification of mind.  It is not directly denoted by 
this term because brahman is devoid of genus and other specific features 
which alone are the occasion for the application of words to a thing. 
Shankara continues here to clarify that in the same way the term ' satyaM' 
also coined to describe brahman but it would not denote brahman.  Since 
brahman is by its very nature devoid of all specific features, the term 
satyaM really refers to the genus 'being' inhering in external objects and 
when brahman is described as 'satyaM' it is only indicated by that term, 
but brahman is not actually expressed by the terms 'satyaM'. 

By the way, neti neti is not the declaration of advaita, shruti itself 
saying that neti neti is the highest teaching available to describe 
'braman'. 

Hari Hari Hari Bol!!!
bhaskar


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