[Advaita-l] 'world' is not the mental creation of tiny soul !!

[V Subrahmanian]

On Mon, Mar 17, 2014 at 10:01 PM, subhanu <subhanu at hotmail.com> wrote:

> HS Chandramouli wrote:
> "May I request you to cite specific references from Sri SSS to the effect
> that creation is by jiva".
>
> To my knowledge no such statement exists by Sri Swamiji. His precise
> position is fully in line with Shankara, Gaudapada and Suresvara.  I have
> provided in the Satchidanandendra list the relevant sanskrit sections of
> Vedanta Prakriyā Pratyabhijñā with translation and vārtikā references for
> those interested.
>
> Regards
> Subhanu
>

Dear Shri Subhanu ji,

I am copying an old post of mine dt. Nov. 5, 2011, addressed to you, on
this forum:

//Namaste Sri Subhanu ji,

In the Vedanta, prakRti, or mAyA, is admitted as the upAdaana kAraNam for
the universe.  In the Bh.Gita itself we have several verses where the Lord
says that the world is created with the Lord as the 'adhyakSha' by PrakRti.
 [This is my addition now: For the verse 9.10 of the BG, Shankara comments:
mayA sarvato dRshimAtrasvarUpeNa avikriyAtmanA adhyakSheNa mama mAyA
triguNAtmikA avidyAlakShaNA prakRtiH sUyate utpAdayati sacarAcaram jagat. =
 with Me, of the form of Pure Consciousness, and Immutable as the
Witness/Presiding One, My mAyA, the one endowed with the three guNa-s, of
the nature of avidyA prakRti brings forth, creates, this world of moving
and unmoving.]  creation comes out of this prakRti and lapses back into it,
only to re-emerge from there in the next cycle.  The abode of origin, stay
and dissolution is the upAdAna kAraNam as admitted in (Advaita) Vedanta.

The last verse of the BG 13th chapter talks of the bhUtaprakRtimoksha which
is explained by Shankara as the bhUtAnAm prakRtiH kAraNam, avidyAlakShaNA,
and its abhAvagamanam.  Only that which has been imagined to be real can,
upon the rise of right knowledge, can become sublated.  The
jnAnanivartyatvam of this prakRti is very clearly stated in this bhashyam.
In fact this knowledge, that is, of the prakRti's abhAvagamanam, is one of
the two requisites of liberating knowledge; the other one being the
distinctly knowing the kShetra and the kShetrajna.

In the commentary of Sri Madhusudana Saraswati for the BG verse 9.10 we
find a quotation and his concluding comment :

तदुक्तम्—

अस्य द्वैतेन्द्रजालस्य यदुपादानकारणम् ।

अज्ञानं तदुपाश्रित्य ब्रह्म कारणमुच्यते ॥ इति ।


श्रुतिस्मृतिवादाश्चात्रार्थे सहस्रश उदाहार्याम् ॥१०॥


[For this grand display of magic that is dvaita, that which is the material
cause, is ajnAnam.  With that ajnAnam as the basis, Brahman is alluded to
be the cause of creation.]  There are thousands of shruti and smRti
passages with this as the purport which can be cited.]





[I would like to know the source of this verse.  Someone told me that
Sureshwaracharya has quoted or said this in his work/s.  Kindly confirm.  I
find a word द्वैतेन्द्रजालस्य in the NS 2.112, however.

स्वतस्सिद्धात्मचैतन्यप्रतिबिम्बिताविचारितसिद्धिकात्मानवबोधोत्थेतरेतरस्वभावापेक्ष-

सिद्धत्वात्स्वतश्चासिद्धेरनात्मनो द्वैतेन्द्रजालस्य ..  //

Coming to the present discussion, if Brahman is admitted to be the cause of
creation, which is not so according to the BG and Shankara's commentary,
one will have to admit avidyAlakShaNa for Brahman.  In other words, Brahman
will have to be admitted to be endowed with avidyA in order to be the cause
of creation.  In any case, Shankara, based on the Lord, does not admit
Brahman as the cause of creation.

Also, in the mAnDUkya kArikA 1.2 bhAShya, Shankara has said: //It is spoken
of as the cause in all the upanishads by assuming It (for the time being)
to be the seed of others.  And it is because of this that It is referred to
- by refuting Its causal state - in such vedic texts as.....That Supremely
Real state - free from causality, relation with body, etc. and modes of
waking, etc. - of that very entity that is called prAjna, will be spoken
separately in its aspect as Turiya...//  This appears at the end of that
lengthy bhashyam.

So, according to Shankara, the causehood for Brahman is only abhyupetya, an
adhyAropa, to be negated, in the Turiya.

What has Sri SSS said for the Chandogya 6.2.3 bhashya 'buddhiparikalpitena'
with regard to 'becoming many' by Brahman/Sat? Shankara gives two examples:
1. mRdghaTAdyAkAreNa and 2.rajjvAdi sarpAdyAkAreNa buddhiparikalpitena.
 And immediately raises a question from the asadvAdi: if so, non-existence,
asat, alone is grasped as in the case of rope grasped as snake.  And
replies 'not so, since duality is grasped wrongly there is no
non-exiistence, asat (of the bauddhas, following from the previous mantra
6.2.2), of anything anywhere, so we say.'

Why should Brahman/Sat resolve to become many in the form of rope, etc.
being concocted as snake etc.? Is this IkShaNapUrvkA sRShTiH, where an
intelligent, omniscient Being is the creator? Has Sri SSS made any comments
on this?

warm regards
subrahmanian.v

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