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

[Bhaskar YR]

sAshtAnga praNAms Sri vidya prabhuji
Hare Krishna

>  If you could permit me I shall share my thoughts.
 
The point of my rather cryptic earlier message was this - jIvo brahmaiva, 
i.e.
ayam AtmA brahma.
 
If you say that avidyA is strictly absence of knowledge, only a natural, 
mental
affliction of the jIva, and that it has absolutely no relation to material 
reality as
perceived, then a jIva that is separate from brahman, has to exist before 
avidyA
even comes into the picture. This will be advaita-hAni, at some level, in 
an
attempt to save avidyA from materiality (bhAva-rUpa ityAdi).


>  In adhyAsa bhAshya shankara starts talking about adhyAsa as if jeeva 
bhAva is pre-determined one and continues to talk about this jeeva 
adhyAsa.  Yes, avidyA / adhyAsa cannot have any existence in nitya 
shuddha, buddha mukta brahman.  If we closely observe the adhyAsa bhAshya, 
adhyAsa / avidyA is unlike the concept of paramArtha concept of 
ekamevAdviteeya Atma, it is only a concession to the jeeva's mind which 
longs to attain mOksha from bandha.  So, avidyA according to shankara is 
svAbhAvika & naisargika of me (ahaM) and mine (mama) entertained by all 
human beings owing to satyAnruta mithuneekaraNaM. When this socalled jeeva 
realizes his svarUpa through shAstra vihita sAdhana then he realizes that 
he was/is/will always be brahman only and at any point of time he was / is 
/ will not be the jeeva.  Yes, you have rightly observed if the jeeva is 
apart from brahman it will be advaita hAni..but the notion of jeeva which 
has been entertained by jeeva through his mind/upAdi is not real and there 
was no jeeva notion even when jeeva thinking himself as upAdhi 
paricchinna.  If that is not the case, then we have to conclude that 
before jeeva / jagat origination there exists one and only entity with the 
avidyA as his potent power and then he created this jeeva jagat through 
his avidyA...And the jeeva created by this brahman has to finally realize 
his originator brahman who has avidyA !!??  Prabhuji, I dont think 
scenario has any valid source in our scripture and shankara bhAshya. IMHO, 
it starts with jeeva's avidyA and proceeds there after to drive home the 
point that jeeva notion itself not there ultimately.
 
If you accept that avidyA is a seed material entity responsible for a 
distinction
between brahman and jIva, you still have to address whether this avidyA 
belongs
to brahman or to jIva. If your answer begins with a distinction between 
the great
brahman and the tiny jIva, that will be advaita-hAni as well.

>  prabhuji, as I said above, avidyA question arises whenever the jeeva 
started talk about it.  When he realized that he is Ishwara/brahman, then 
there would be not avidyA whatsoever.  As your kind self know this has 
been precisely said by bhagavatpAda in the 4th adhyAya of sUtra bhAshya. 
He concludes here, if you realize that you are brahman then there will be 
no avidyA whatsoever to anybody.  And in taitereeya bhAshya too shankara 
clarifies it is only karaNa dOsha by giving the example of cataract. 

 
To even say the words, "tiny jIva" and "omniscient ISvara," and then to 
ask the
question, "whose is avidyA?," one needs to presume avidyA. So long as one 
is
caught up in this game, one can never step aside from avidyA.

>  You are right prabhuji...all these vyavahAra presupooses jeeva's 
avidyA.  Hence shankara too says all loukika and vaidika vyavahAra are in 
the realm of avidyA.  It is because of this reason only shruti/shankara 
does not grant any permission to this alpajna, upAdhi parichinna, avidyA 
jeeva to create anything on his own.  It attributes the jagat kAraNa only 
to brahman who has sarvajnatva & sarvashaktitva as his inherent power in 
the context of creation.  Itareya maNtra and bhAshya explicitly says this. 
 And in sUtra bhAshya, taking the jagat srashtru into consideration, 
differentiates the Ishwara from the tiny soul jeeva.  In Sutra bhAshya 
(2-1-22) he clarifies : yat sarvajnaM sarvashakti brahma nitya shuddha 
buddha mukta svabhAvaM 'shAreerAt' (jeeva) adhikaM anyat tat vayaM jagatH 
srashtru brUmaH......shAreerastu anevaM vidaH. 
 
Best regards,
Vidyasankar

sAshtAnga praNAms once again
Your humble servant
Hari Hari Hari Bol!!!
bhaskar