[Advaita-l] Bondage and Liberation-Logical or illogical?

[V Subrahmanian]

On Mon, Feb 4, 2013 at 1:42 PM, Srikanta Narayanaswami <
srikanta.narayanaswami at yahoo.com> wrote:

> There had been comparison between Adwaita and Dwaita schools on the
> Mandukyopanishath Karika,
> "Anadi Mayaya suptah yada jivah prabhudhyate!
> Ajam anidram asvapanm adwaitam budhyate tada!!
>
> Madhwacharya says here,Maya is "Vishnu Maya".But,here, what is written
> here is "Maya"which is Maya of the Jiva.If it is 'Vishnu Maya" the Karika
> would have mentioned "Vishnu Maya".But,it states,Anadi Mayaya suptah yada
> Jivah prabhudhyate.
> N.Srikanta.
>

I do not think it is wrong to call this samsAra-sleep-causing power as
'viShNu mayA/icchA'.  In the Bh.gita 7.14 we have 'mama mAyA duratyayA' as
said by the Lord Himself.  Shankara comments: mama Ishvarasya svabhUtA ..'.
We can see Shankara commenting in the Kathopanishat as 'anAdi avidyayA
suptAH' for the mantra 'utthiShThata jAgrata...'.  So, in Vedanta there is
no difference between avidyA and mAyA.  It is One shakti. It would be
interesting to note that in the Br.up. 1.4.10 ('aham brahmAsmi') bhAShyam
Shankara takes up the question of 'How can it be that Brahman has
ignorance?' and replies: For we do not see any other sentient being other
than Brahman and hence it is apt to hold that Brahman Itself owing to its
own ignorance (mAyA/avidyA) appears as a jIva and It Itself owing to its
own realization appears as though liberated. And it should also be
remembered that this avidyA/mAyA that brings the jIvabhAva also creates the
IshvarabhAva too. Unless this 'order', scheme, is in place, as does the
shruti, the bandha-mokSha vyavahAra cannot be explained. For maintenance of
bandha there is required a karmaphala dAtA and for providing the means of
liberation we require the upadesha which is again initiated by Ishwara
(vedAntakRti).    Bondage and liberation and the 'order'/vyavasthA  are 'as
if' for it will be known upon realization that the shakti called
mAyA/avidyA itself is unreal at all periods of time.

As I had pointed out, the verse Madhwa cites for this says 'svApitaH' which
means: 'made to / put to sleep'.

regards
subrahmanian.v