[Advaita-l] Body is the disease

[Vidyasankar Sundaresan]

> 
> Don't forget such all bhEda-s are only for upAsana purpose and not really
> tAtvIka in nature. Under Shankara's reading, shAstra's such assertions are
> aimed at performing anthakaraNa shuddhi of a sadahaka.
> 

Please consider why upAsana is needed in the first place, how the citta Suddhi
takes place, and why it can lead the sAdhaka to moksha in a graded manner.
 
> Opponents are arguing -- if pramANa-s are provisionally valid, so also
> pramA jnAna (such as jIva is ashraya of avidya, or Brahman is ashraya for
> avidya etc) which are generated by such pramANa-s are also "provisionally"
> true and not necessarily "idamittam" type of truth. When pUrvapaxi-s are
> arguing on the basis of (alleged) reality of their pramANa-s, siddhAntin
> cannot argue on the basis of tatkAlika-pramANa-s.
> 
> In my opinion this is the crux of the issue.
> 

I'm not saying that you are right about the non-allowability of tAtkAlika pramANa
for the siddhAntin in the face of a certain contention of the pUrvapakshi-s. Yet,
assuming so, it follows that the siddhAntin can walk away without making any
statement. And it also follows that this doesn't necessarily make the pUrvapakshin
right! False conclusions of the idam-ittham type can be arrived at from allegedly
real pramANa-s. Examples are dime a dozen.
 
All pramANa-prameya vyavahAra in a discussion between a pUrvapakshin and the
siddhAntin presumes the usage of words. For vAg-gocara subjects, no problem. Yet,
when the subject of discussion has already been declared to be agocara (yato vAco
nivartante, aprApya manasA saha), walking away with silence is not a sign of defeat
of the siddhAntin by the pUrvapakshin. So, the crux of the issue really is that an
advaitin can finally remain silent, impervious to anything that the pUrvapkshin throws
at him and that very silence, that non-action is a sign of victory in the discussion. For
advaitins, all this usage of words in the dicussion is only a means to reach that which
is silence. For true silence, the words have to come to a stop. Eventually...
 
Best regards,
Vidyasankar