[Advaita-l] kratu without IshvarapraNidhAna

[Vidyasankar Sundaresan]

> From: satisharigela at yahoo.com
> To: advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org
> Subject: Re: [Advaita-l] kratu without IshvarapraNidhAna
> 
> Just saw this thread. shrI Ramesh presented the issue correctly to shrI
> Ramakrishna's question. Thanks 
> 
> Indeed, I was trying to say that the effect is independent of such
> theoretical constructs.

I would just like to point out that as far as vedAnta is concerned, ISvara as
karma-phala-dAtA goes beyond being a theoretical construct.
 
>From a pUrva mImAMsA perspective and perhaps from a tAntrika one too,
the individual agent is the doer of action and experiencer of its results. It
would almost seem as if bringing in ISvara as someone disbursing out the
fruits of one's actions would take away from the efficacy of the action itself,
because ISvara could conceivably overrule the potency of the effect of the
action, due to other considerations. Indeed, a lot of bhakti oriented schools
of thinking would tend towards such a position.

However, in advaita vedAnta, one of the roles of ISvara in the vyavahAra 
of the world is as a universal causal agent behind every individual agent.
I'm thinking of a brahmasUtra bhAshya passage where bhagavatpAda says
that indeed while the jIva acts (karoti), ISvara causes the action (kArayati).
Accepting this at a philosophical level is quite different from the emotion
laden perspective that most of us have on bhakti towards an ISvara, but
from the advaitin's viewpoint, this is true bhakti. And for the advaitin, any
mantra prayoga and its effects are also part of ISvara's causal role in the
activity undertaken by any jIva. Or perhaps especially so, given the out of
the ordinary claims regarding effects of mantra prayoga/upAsana.
 
Regards,
Vidyasankar