[Advaita-l] Advaiti Response to this report?

[Vidyasankar Sundaresan]

> In order to reply properly, I need an educated opponent.
> Why am I saying this ?
> Because, you once said that silver is asat and now you are saying that
> dream is real and existing. Be consistent.

See, this is the crux of the problem. If one wants to get involved in dvaita - advaita
debates, one needs to be very firm in the fundamentals! 
 
Re: the advice given by Sri Bharati Tirtha Swami, quoted by Venkata Sriram: I don't
think this was meant for all people all the time. It actually goes back to the dictum of
the Panchadashi - svAnubhUtyanusAreNa tarkyatAM, mA kutarkyatAm.
 
Either one has to have a sharply honed logical framework or one has to have had
some glimpse of what is meant by paramArtha vs. vyavahAra (advaita) or svatantra
vs. paratantra (dvaita), or preferably one should have both. When we try to get into
discussions without satisfying these prerequisites, it is like a domestic cat trying to
roar like a lion. All the cats can do is mew!
 
Even after gaining the adhikAra to roar like a lion, sometimes it is better to be silent.
The great sadASiva brahmendra was happily defeating opponents in verbal debates
on the SAstras, when his guru, paramaSivendra sarasvatI, advised him to be silent.
He never indulged in verbal debates after that moment, but left us a lot of written
texts that are gems in advaita literature. A lot depends on the context in which a
Guru gives advice and how the Sishya takes that piece of advice.
 
Vidyasankar
 
ps. Sri Subrahmanian's quotation of the taittirIya bhAshya with respect to satya and
anRta is quite apt. Note that in the brahmasUtra bhAshya, when bhagavatpAda first
introduces adhyAsa and mithyAtva, he uses the phrase "satyAnRte maithunIkRtya".