[Advaita-l] Fwd: Advaita-l Digest, Vol 83, Issue 2

[Bhaskar YR]

Humble sAshtAnga praNAms Sri Vidya prabhuji
Hare Krishna

Kindly bear with me, after long time, I am onceagain taking this 
(unsettled) issue with your goodself.  Hope you wont mind.

Sri Vidya prabhuji :

The definition of a jnAnI is devastatingly simple - one
who knows Brahman as one's own Self, one who sees only the Self (sarvam
Atmaiva abhUt), one who sees Brahman everywhere and all things in Brahman
(yo mAM paSyati sarvatra, sarvaM ca mayi paSyati). There is nothing more 
to
be said really, as far as a definition is concerned.

bhaskar :

Yes prabhuji, one more striking definition of the jnAni, as upanishad 
itself asserts it, is : 'brahmavit brahmaiva bhavati'.  But I think this 
definition holds good only on the paper as description of the jnAni's 
jnAna depends upon the 'individuality', parichinnatva and prArabha of that 
particular jnAni.  Since we cannot point our finger to a particular jnAni 
and declare : he knows brahman so he is brahman :-))

Sri Vidya prabhuji :

A description, on the other hand, can be more elaborate and take into 
account
other factors. These can include descriptors such as prasanna-vadana, 
sarva-
bhUtahita, bhagavad-bhakta, Atmarata, AtmakrIDa, AptakAma, kRtakRtya, etc.

bhaskar :

Yes prabhuji, shruti says the vyAvahArika phala of the Atma jnAna is : 
bhidyate hrudaya granthi, chidhyante 'sarva saMshayAH', and clarifies this 
further and says when for the knower of brahman all this has become the 
one Atman, then whom could one see and with what, who could smell with 
what etc.. but we have to understand these descriptions also with a pinch 
of salt since there can be a 'digbhrAnti' occasionally for the jnAni & 
there can be a 'gap' of time in subsiding this ajnAna depending upon the 
prArabdha janita dehendriya of that particular jnAni. So, no one 
particular or universal description would suit all the jnAni-s due to 
'their' prArabdha janita dehendriya manObuddhi ahaMkAra.  Under these 
circumstances it is always better not to talk about a sandardized Atma 
jnAna ( which is real only on papers) as it varies & fluctuates among 
individual jnAni-s.

Your humble servant
Hari Hari Hari Bol!!!
bhaskar