[Advaita-l] Apoureshyatva - Faith or Logic?

[V Subrahmanian]

On Wed, Jun 27, 2012 at 8:28 PM, Balasubramanian Ramakrishnan <
rama.balasubramanian at gmail.com> wrote:

>
>
> Unfortunately this quote refers to the true nature of reality or
> brahman which cannot be settled by tarka and is quite different from
> the way it is being used here (in the realm of "creation" or rather
> transformation of one thing into another).


Sir, if you see that BSB 2.1.11 it will be clear that it is a discussion on
the sAnkhya's claim that the pradhAna is the 'jagat kAraNam'.  In other
words, on the basis of  being the  cause of the world (creation) the
pradhAna is sought to be presented as the Supreme.  This stand is being
refuted by the siddhAntin.  Since the sAnkhya's claim is mainly based on
tarka, for he has not seen how the world originated but based on the
kArya-kAraNa bhAva seen in the world, extrapolates it to the world-creation
too. The siddhAntin shows that regarding things such as these, which are
beyond the ken of the senses and tarka, (only) the Agama is to be relied
upon.  At the same time the siddhAntin does not jettison tarka; he wants
tarka to be subservient to Agama:

अत आगमवशेनागमानुसारितर्कवशेन च चेतनं ब्रह्म *जगतः कारणं प्रकृतिश्चेति*स्थितम्
। । ११  । ।



> Ramesh has already referred to the passages on creation and the
> interpretation by Sankara in the sUtra bhAShya. There seems to be a
> concerted effort in misinterpreting what Ramesh is saying - all he is
> saying is that the vedantic view is
> *not contradicted* by theories of evolution. Whys is this so difficult
> to understand?
>

This was not disputed at all.  In fact from the beginning I have been
emphasizing that the shruti itself does not hold sRiShTi to be
pAramArthika, based on Shankara's bhashyam.  Yet, it is not for nothing
that a question such as this was posed to the Sringeri Acharya:

//We learn from science that man evolved from animals.  Thousands of years
ago,  man was living in caves.  Cooking too was unknown to him.  How cold
the Veda-s have been there at that time? Further, how could the people then
have lived as per the dictates of the Veda-s? // [Excerpted from the book:
Exalting Elucidations, ch.36, p.284]

It is only since people who come to religion/philosophy with modern
education/training, might, and most probably will, find the
teachings/explanations found in the scripture not easily agreeable in the
background of their own education/thinking/training, questions such as the
above were posed to the Acharya and replies published so that they can form
a guideline to the modern mind coming to Vedanta.  Some centuries ago such
questions would not have been thought of but today they are required.  They
are required to show that the methods of the scripture and the modern
scientists are different. Another question from there:

//Scientists say that life has evolved from matter.  They also say
consciousness is produced when the elements of matter evolve into a
particular form, such as that of a cell or a brain.  Is such an opinion
wrong?//

regards,
subrahmanian.v



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