[Advaita-l] Avidyaa is Subjective not Objective

[Venkatesh Murthy]

Namaste
On Wed, May 22, 2013 at 11:56 PM, V Subrahmanian
<v.subrahmanian at gmail.com>wrote:

> On Wed, May 22, 2013 at 6:10 PM, Bhaskar YR <bhaskar.yr at in.abb.com> wrote:
> > praNAms Sri Subbu prabhuji
> > Hare Krishna
> >
> > Without considering & clarifying  the context in which shankara
> apparently
> > implied that  avidyA is brahmAshrita, I think you will be doing advaita
> > hAni or siddhAnta hAni.
>
>
> Shankara is saying in very clear terms: Ok, let it be that 'Brahman is not
> the originator of avidyA or one that is deluded'. * But there is no other
> sentient being that is not Brahman that is the subject of avidyA and who is
> deluded.  'kintu naiva abrahma avidyAkartA chetano bhrAnto anya iShyate*'.
> And He cites a number of upanishad and Gita statements like: na anyo ato
> asti vijnAtA', tattvamasi, 'AtmAnameva avet aham brahma asmi, 'ahamAtmA
> guDAkesha', etc. All these statements show in clear terms that there is no
> such person called jIva apart from Brahman.  Therefore, according to
> Shankara it is Brahman alone that takes the form of a samsArin owing to
> avidya.  He is using the arthApatti pramANa here.  On  the one hand we have
> Brahman as nitya shuddha mukta svabhAvaH (as you have cited) and on the
> other hand we have the very Br.Up.1.4.10 which declares that 'AtmAnamevAvet
> aham brahma asmi iti'.  Here the subject in this mantra is the advitIya
> brahman itself.  So, in order to reconcile these two facts which are pitted
> against each other, the kalpanA (anyathA anupapatti) has to be done: That
> nitya shuddha mukta brahman alone assumed a samsAri bhAva owing to avidyA
> and now gets enlightened.  Unless this kalpanA (arthApatti) is done the two
> facts will remain irreconcilable.  So, there is no advaita hAni or
> siddhAnta hAni.
>
> > Do you really mean here in this bhAshya shankara
> > talking about brahmAshrita avidyA without jeeva aspect  !!??
>
> Brahman assuming the jIvabhAva due to avidyA is the admitted 'kalpanA'
> (arthApatti) as shown above by Shankara.
>
But in 'Brahman assuming the jIvabhAva due to avidyA' Whose Avidyaa it is?
If you say Brahma has taken Jeevabhava because of his own Avidyaa it is not
correct because Brahma cannot have Avidyaa. If you say Brahma has taken
Jeevabhava because of Jeeva's Avidyaa there is a circular logic. Who is
first? Jeeva or Jeeva's Avidyaa? If Jeeva is first - How Brahma became that
Jeeva without Avidyaa? If Jeeva's Avidyaa is first - how that Avidyaa came
without Jeeva? You have not solved the Problem. The correct answer is
Avidyaa is for person having the Adhyaasa. Jeeva, Ishwara and Maayaa are
imagined through Avidyaa.



>
> regards
>


-- 
Regards

-Venkatesh