[Advaita-l] Body is the disease

[V Subrahmanian]

On Fri, Jan 17, 2014 at 12:00 PM, Anand Hudli <anandhudli at hotmail.com>wrote:

>
> Again, the anAditva of both avidyA and jIva is sufficient here. I
> repeat there is no time when jIva was not there and only avidyA
> existed. Nor was there any time when avidyA was not there and only
> jIva existed. The two have always co-existed in a mutually dependent
> way. If you ask how avidyA and jIva are established in advaita, it is
> a different question. The answer is found in standard advaita texts
> and there is no need for madhusUdana to establish avidyA and jIva in
> this specific context.
>

We may look at these verses of the BG 13th chapter for here are dealt the
unique concepts of avidyA, adhyAsa, etc (I have copied these portions from
the gitasupersite and have not done any spell, etc. checks):

प्रकृतिं पुरुषं चैव विद्ध्यनादी उभावपि।
विकारांश्च गुणांश्चैव विद्धि प्रकृतिसंभवान्।।13.20।।

English translation by Swami Gambhirananda
13.20 Know both Nature and also the individual soul Prakrti is sometimes
translated as matter, and purusa as spirit.-Tr. to be verily without
beginning; know the modifications as also the qualities as born of Nature.

English translation by Swami Gambhirananda (on Sri Sankaracharya's Sanskrit
Commentary)
13.20 Viddhi, know; ubhau, both; prakrtim Nature; and also the purusam,
individual soul;-these two; Nature and the soul. the aspects of God-to be
api, verily; anadi, without beginning. Those two that have no beginning
(adi), are anadi. Since the godhood of God is eternal, therefore it is
logical that even His aspects also should have eternality. For God's
god-hood consists verily in having the two aspects. Those two aspects
through which God becomes the cause of creation, continuance and
dissolution of the Universe, and which are beginningless, are the sources
of mundane existence........Viddhi, know; the vikaran, modifications that
will be spoken of-the intellect etc., the body and the organs; ca eva, as
also; gunan, the qualities (sattva etc.)-manifest in the form of the mental
states of happiness, sorrow and attachment; as prakriti-sambhavan, born of
Nature. Nature, Maya, is the power of God, which is the cause of the
modifications and which consists of the three qualities. Those
modifications and qualities, which have that Nature as their source,-know
those modifications and qualities as 'born of Nature', as transformations
of Nature.Which again, are those modifications and qualities born of
Nature?


कार्यकारणकर्तृत्वे हेतुः प्रकृतिरुच्यते।
पुरुषः सुखदुःखानां भोक्तृत्वे हेतुरुच्यते।।13.21।।

13.21 With regard to the source of body and organs, Nature is said to be
the cause. The soul is the cause so far as enjoyership of happiness and
sorrow is concerned.


13.21 Karya-karana-kartrtve, with regard to the source of body and organs:
Karya is the body, and karana are the thirteen Five sense organs, five
motor organs, mind, intellect and ego. organs existing in it. Here, by the
word karya are understood the aforesaid elements that produce the body as
also the objects which are modifications born of Nature. And since the
qualities-which are born of Nature and manifest themselves as happiness,
sorrow and delusion-are dependent on the organs, (therefore) they are
implied by the word karana, organs. The kartrtvam, (lit) agentship, with
regard to these body and organs consists in being the source of the body
and organs. With regard to this source of the body and organs, prakrtih,
Nature; ucyate, is said to be; the hetuh, cause, in the sense of being the
originator. Thus, by virtue of being the source of body and organs, Nature
is the cause of mundane existence.Even if the reading be
karya-karana-kartrtva, karya (effect, modification) will mean anything that
is the transformation of something; and karana (cause) will be that which
becomes transformed. So the meaning of the compund will be: 'with regard to
the source of the effect and the cause'.Or, karya means the sixteen The
eleven organs (five sensory, five motor, and mind) and the five objects
(sound etc.). modificaitons, and karana means the seven Mahat, egoism, and
the five subtle elements. transformations of Nature. They themselves are
called effect and cuase. So far as the agentship with regard to these is
concerned Nature is said to be the cause, because of the same reason of
being their originator.As to how the soul can be the cause of mundane
existence is being stated: Purusah, the soul, the empirical being, the
knower of the field-all these are synonymous; is the hetuh, cause;
bhoktrtve, so far as enjoyership, the fact of being the perceiver;
sukha-duhkhanam, of happiness and sorrow-which are objects of experience,
is concerned.How, again, is it asserted with respect to Nature and soul
that, they are the causes of mundane existence by virtue of this fact of
their (respectively) being the source of body and organs, and the perceiver
of happiness and sorrow?As to this the answer is being stated: How can
there be any mundane existence if there be no modification of Nature in the
form of body and organs, happiness and sorrow, and cause and effect, and
there be no soul, the conscious being, to experience them? On the other
hand, there can be mundane existence when there is a contact, in the form
of ignorance, between Nature, modified in the form of body and organs, and
cause and effect as an object of experience and the soul opposed to it as
the experiencer. Therefore it was reasonable to have said that, Nature and
soul become the cause of mundane existence by (respectively) becoming the
originators of the body and organs, and the perceiver of happiness and
sorrow.What again is this that is called worldly existence? Worldly
existence consists in the experience of happiness and sorrow; and the state
of mundane existence of the soul consists in its being the experiencer of
happiness and sorrow.It has been asserted that the state of mundane
existence of the soul consists in its being the experiencer of happiness
and sorrow. How does it come about? This is being answered:

Sanskrit commentary by Sri Sankaracharya
-- कार्यकरणकर्तृत्वे -- कार्यं शरीरं करणानि तत्स्थानि त्रयोदश।
देहस्यारम्भकाणि भूतानि पञ्च विषयाश्च प्रकृतिसंभवाः विकाराः पूर्वोक्ताः इह
कार्यग्रहणेन गृह्यन्ते। गुणाश्च प्रकृतिसंभवाः सुखदुःखमोहात्मकाः
करणाश्रयत्वात् करणग्रहणेन गृह्यन्ते। तेषां कार्यकरणानां कर्तृत्वम्
उत्पादकत्वं यत् तत् कार्यकरणकर्तृत्वं तस्मिन् कार्यकरणकर्तृत्वे हेतुः
कारणम् आरम्भकत्वेन प्रकृतिः उच्यते। एवं कार्यकरणकर्तृत्वेन संसारस्य कारणं
प्रकृतिः। कार्यकारणकर्तृत्वे इत्यस्मिन्नपि पाठे, कार्यं यत् यस्य विपरिणामः
तत् तस्य कार्यं विकारः विकारि कारणं तयोः विकारविकारिणोः कार्यकारणयोः
कर्तृत्वे इति। अथवा, षोडश विकाराः कार्यं सप्त प्रकृतिविकृतयः कारणम् तान्येव
कार्यकारणान्युच्यन्ते तेषां कर्तृत्वे हेतुः प्रकृतिः उच्यते, आरम्भकत्वेनैव।
पुरुषश्च संसारस्य कारणं यथा स्यात् तत् उच्यते -- पुरुषः जीवः क्षेत्रज्ञः
भोक्ता इति पर्यायः, सुखदुःखानां भोग्यानां भोक्तृत्वे उपलब्धृत्वे हेतुः
उच्यते।।कथं पुनः अनेन कार्यकरणकर्तृत्वेन सुखदुःखभोक्तृत्वेन च
प्रकृतिपुरुषयोः संसारकारणत्वमुच्यते इति, अत्र उच्यते --
कार्यकरणसुखदुःखरूपेण हेतुफलात्मना प्रकृतेः परिणामाभावे, पुरुषस्य च चेतनस्य
असति तदुपलब्धृत्वे, कुतः संसारः स्यात्? यदा पुनः कार्यकरणसुखदुःखस्वरूपेण
हेतुफलात्मना परिणतया प्रकृत्या भोग्यया पुरुषस्य तद्विपरीतस्य भोक्तृत्वे न
अविद्यारूपः संयोगः स्यात्, तदा संसारः स्यात् इति। अतः यत् प्रकृतिपुरुषयोः
कार्यकरणकर्तृत्वेन सुखदुःखभोक्तृत्वेन च संसारकारणत्वमुक्तम्, तत् युक्तम्।
कः पुनः अयं संसारो नाम? सुखदुःखसंभोगः संसारः। पुरुषस्य च सुखदुःखानां
संभोक्तृत्वं संसारित्वमिति।।यत् पुरुषस्य सुखदुःखानां भोक्तृत्वं संसारित्वम्
इति उक्तं तस्य तत् किं निमित्तमिति उच्यते -- ।।13.21।।



पुरुषः प्रकृतिस्थो हि भुङ्क्ते प्रकृतिजान्गुणान्।
कारणं गुणसङ्गोऽस्य सदसद्योनिजन्मसु।।13.22।।

13.22 Since the soul is seated in Nature, therefore it experiences the
qualities born of Nature. Contact with the qualities is the cause of its
births in good and evil wombs.


13.22 Hi, since; purusah, the soul, the experiencer; is prakrtisthah,
seated in Nature, which is characterized as ignorance and gets transformed
into body and organs, i.e., (since the soul) has become identified with
Nature; therefore, bhunkte, Bhunkte, lit. enjoys, here means
'experiences'.-Tr. it enjoys, i.e. experiences; gunan, the
qualities-manifest as happiness, sorrow and delusion; prakrtijan, born of
Nature, thinking thus, 'I am happy, sorrowful, deluded, learned.' Even
though ignorance continues as a cause, still the main cause of worldly
existence, of birth, is the contact, the self-identification, with the
qualities-happiness,sorrow, and delusion-when they are experienced, as is
affirmed by the Upanisadic text, 'What it desires, it resolves' (Br. 4.4.5)
See Sankaracarya's Comm. on this.-Tr..That very fact is stated here:
Gunasangah, contact with the qualities; is karanam, the cause; asya, of
its, the soul's, the experiencer's; sad-asad-yoni-janmasu, births in good
and evil wombs. Self-identification with the qualities is the cause of the
experience of births in good and evil wombs. Or the meaning is,
'Self-identification with the qualities is the cause or its worldly
existence through birth in good and evil wombs,' where the words 'of
worldly existence' have to be supplied. The good wombs are he wombs of gods
and others; evil wombs are the wombs of gods and others; evil wombs are the
wombs of beasts etc. From the force of the context it is to be understood
that there is no contradiction in including even human wombs among 'good
and evil wombs'.It amounts to saying that ignorance-called 'being seated in
Nature'-and the contact with. i.e. the desire for, the qualities are the
causes of worldly existence. And this is said so that they can be avoided.
And in the scripture Gita it is a well-known fact that knowledge and
dispassion, accompanied with renunciation, are the causes of removing this
(ignorance and self-identification with the qualities). That knowledge
about the field and the Knower of the field, too, has been presented
earlier. This has also been said in, '...by realizing which one attains
Immortality' (12), etc., through the process of refutation of elements
alien (to the Self) and superimposition of qualities belonging to others
(that are not the Self). Verse 12 deals with the refutation of alien
elements, and vere 13 with the superimposition of qualities belonging to
others.A direct presentation is again being made of that (knowledge)
itself:

End of quote

And as the word 'prakRti' being non-different in meaning from the word
'avidyA'. here is the BG and Bhashya source: (the concluding verse of the
chapter 13):


क्षेत्रक्षेत्रज्ञयोरेवमन्तरं ज्ञानचक्षुषा।
भूतप्रकृतिमोक्षं च ये विदुर्यान्ति ते परम्।।13.35।।

13.35 Those who know thus through the eye of wisdom the distinction between
the field and the Knower of the field, and the annihilation of the Matrix
of beings,-they reach the Supreme.
13.35 Ye, those who; viduh, know; evam, thus, in the manner described
above; jnana-caksusa, through the eye of wisdom-the eye is the realization
in the form of the knowledge of the Self, which arises from following the
instructions of the scriptures and teachers; through that eye of wisdom;
antaram, the distinction, the particular mutual distinction;
ksetra-ksetrajnayoh, beween the field and the Knower of the field as they
have been explained; and bhuta-prakrti-moksam, the annihilation of the
Matrix of beings-the Matrix of beings is that which is described as
ignorance and is called the Unmanifest; (those who know) the annihilation
(moksanam) of that Matrix of beings; te, they; yanti, reach, go to; param,
the Supreme, to Brahman, the Reality which is the suprme Goal. The idea is
that they do not take up a body again.

Sanskrit commentary by Sri Sankaracharya
-- -क्षेत्रक्षेत्रज्ञयोः यथाव्याख्यातयोः एवं यथाप्रदर्शितप्रकारेण अन्तरम्
इतरेतरवैलक्षण्यविशेषं ज्ञानचक्षुषा शास्त्राचार्यप्रसादोपदेशजनितम्
आत्मप्रत्ययिकं ज्ञानं चक्षुः, तेन ज्ञानचक्षुषा, भूतप्रकृतिमोक्षं च, भूतानां
प्रकृतिः अविद्यालक्षणा अव्यक्ताख्या, तस्याः भूतप्रकृतेः मोक्षणम् अभावगमनं च
ये विदुः विजानन्ति, यान्ति गच्छन्ति ते परं परमात्मतत्त्वं ब्रह्म, न पुनः
देहं आददते इत्यर्थः।।इति श्रीमत्परमहंसपरिव्राजकाचार्यस्य
श्रीगोविन्दभगवत्पूज्यपादशिष्यस्य श्रीमच्छंकरभगवतः कृतौ
श्रीमद्भगवद्गीताभाष्येत्रयोदशोऽध्यायः।।श्रीमच्छंकरभगवत्पादविरचितम्श्रीमद्भगवद्गीताभाष्यम्
।।13.35।।


Regards
subrahmanian.v