[Advaita-l] Can a mithyA-vastu produce an effect? असत्यवस्तुनः अर्थक्रियाकारित्वम्

[V Subrahmanian]

2011/5/19 Venkatesh Murthy <vmurthy36 at gmail.com>

> Namaste
>
> The Badhaka Jnana will be negating the object Jnana Vishaya but not
> Jnana.  The silver is false but nobody can  say I did not have
> experience of seeing silver. Nobody can say I did not have experience
> of seeing snake. The snake is false. The dream object like elephant is
> false but nobody will say I did not experience seeing the elephant in
> my dream.  The negation Badha is of Jnana Vishaya only and it can be
> Mithya but Jnana is Satya. Sribhashya- Tatra Hi Vishayanam Eva
> Mithyatvam Tesham Eva Badho Drushyate Na Jnanasya and Na Hi Maya
> Svapnavelayam Anubhutam Jnanamapi Na Vidyate Iti Kasyacidapi Pratyayo
> Jayate and Darshanam Tu Vidyate Arthaha Na Santi Iti Badhaka
> Pratyayaha.
>


Namaste.

The above is not already unknown to Advaita.  Says Shankara in the
Sutrabhashya:

किञ्च 'अहमद्य स्वप्ने हस्तिनद्राक्षं नेदानीं तं पश्यामी'ति दृष्टमेव
प्रतिबुद्धः प्रत्याचष्टे । द्रष्टारन्तु तमेव प्रत्यभिजानाति 'य एव अहं
स्वप्नमद्राक्षं स एवाहं जागरितं पश्यामीति ।

//Further, upon waking (from a dream) he only negates what has been seen by
the words 'Today in dream I saw an elephant which I do not see now'.  But
the seer is re-cognized as oneself as 'I am the one who saw the dream and am
now experiencing the waking.'  //

This dictum given in the BSB 1.3.5.19 in the context of a dream holds good
with equal vigour to the waking and the bhrama experiences as well.

In the UpadeshasAhasrI too He has said:

ननु व्यभिचारो दर्शितो मया सुषुप्ते न पश्यामीति || ९२||

न | व्याहतत्वात् | कथं व्याघातः | पश्यतस्तव न पश्यामीति व्याहतं
वचनम् | न हि कदाचिद् भगवन् सुषुप्ते मया चैतन्यमन्यद् वा किंचिद्
दृष्टं | पश्यंस्तर्हि सुषुप्ते त्वं | *यस्माद् दृष्टमेव प्रतिषेधसि न
दृष्टिं *| {Here He says that the 'seeing' is
never negated} या तव दृष्टिस्तच् चैतन्यमिति मयोक्तं |
यया त्वं विद्यमानया न किंचिद् दृष्टमिति प्रतिषेधसि सा दृष्टिस्तच्
चैतन्यं | तर्हि
सर्वत्राव्यभिचारात् कूटस्थनित्यत्वं सिद्धं स्वत एव न प्रमाणापेक्षं |
स्वतःसिद्धस्य हि प्रमातुरन्यस्य प्रमेयस्य परिच्छित्तिं प्रति प्रमाणापेक्षा |
या त्वन्या नित्या परिच्छेदाय सा हि नित्यैव कूटस्था स्वयंज्योतिःस्वभावा |
आत्मनि प्रमाणत्वे प्रमातृत्वे वा न तां प्रति प्रमाणापेक्षा तत्स्वभावत्वात् |
यथा प्रकाशनमुष्णत्वं वा लोहोदकादिषु परतोऽपेक्ष्यतेऽग्न्यादित्यादिभ्यः
अतत्स्वभावत्वात् नाग्न्यादित्यादीनां तदपेक्षा सर्वदा तत्स्वभावत्वात् || ९३||

Having said this, as Sri Vidyasankar ji pointed out, the 'jnanam' of all the
states of the jiva become sublated in the parmArtha darshana.  Again, here,
the jnAnams are akin to objects and the one who has experienced these
jnaanams, the Chit, the sAkShi, the Immortal Consciousness, never is
negated.  That is the parmArtha jnAna svarUpam, the turIya.  The Br.Up.
mantra: न हि विज्ञातुर्विज्ञातेः विपरिलोपो विद्यते, अविनाशित्वात्.  The
dRiShTi of the draShTA never goes out of existence, since Its very nature is
avinAShI.

While advaita accepts all jnanams that are required for vyavahAra, in the
final picture, even these are negated.  This is because even jnAnams are
manovRtti-s alone, distinct from the Atman. Even the jnAtaa, as a pramAtA,
is in the vyavahArika realm alone.  jnAtR, jnAnam and jneyam, the tripuTee,
belongs to the vyavahArika.  The sadhana performed with this vyvahArika
tripuTee can produce the knowledge of the pAramArthika which never gets
sublated. Even the vRtti jnAnam that destroys avidyA gets destroyed as it
too belongs to the vyAvahArika.

 Regards,
subrahmanian.v