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

[Bhaskar YR]

praNAms Sri Sadananda prabhuji
Hare Krishna

Being not extensively familiar with eka vs aneka jiiva vaadas - 

>  just for the records sake we must note that it is vivaraNa school which 
is more passionate towards eka jeeva vAda and wants to condemn nAnA jeeva 
vAda in the name of tradition :-))

I must point out based on my understanding that one cannot have eka jiiva 
notion without perceiving aneka jiivas in the creation that he is 
transacting. 

>  even if we hold that socalled eka jeeva vAda, it cannot be individual 
tiny jeeva which is, now, according to some, capable of creating this 
whole universe!! OTOH, shankara clearly says it is pure being (brahman) 
alone that is spoken of as a jeeva owning to connection with a 
conditioning adjunct (upAdhi).  In this scenario we can talk of one 
particular jeeva, so long as attaching itself to one upAdhi.  but in the 
case of bondage continuing to attach itself to another upAdhi the talk of 
another jeeva becomes necessary.  Sutra bhAshya 3rd adhyAya has the 
detailed discussion about it.  As you have rightly observed if we hold the 
samashti or collective antaHkaraNa / upAdhi as the single upAdhi for Atman 
then it is called eka jeeva vAda.  but please note here eka jeevatva 
cannot be attributed to individual jeeva but to hiraNya garbha.  And this 
paricchinna jeeva can come into picture only and only when we hold the 
individual antaHkaraNa which is particular to that particular jeeva.  So, 
here eka-jeeva is nothing but pure consciousness associated with samashti 
upAdhi. It is also called mahAn Atma or hiraNyagarbha or prathamaja (the 
first born)...katha and brahma sUtra has the source for this.   So, at any 
stretch of our mundane imagination, eka-jeeva cannot be a individual tiny 
jeeva and if at all we are talking about eka-jeeva it would be mahAt Atma 
or hiraNya garbha only.  Moreover, linking creation to individual jeeva's 
mental creation does not come into picture at all since there is no second 
chaitanya apart from brahman in advaita vedAnta.

Hari Hari Hari Bol!!!
bhaskar 

PS :  If at all I am permitted to say something from Sri SSS works, in his 
Kannada translation of sUtra bhAshya, Sri swamiji quotes nyAyanirNaya 
commentary which says shankara has refuted nAnA jeeva vAda and he 
clarifies this statement is baseless and it is not supported by 
bhAshyakAra.  And says, bhAshyakAra has accepted both the (eka - nAnA 
jeeva vADa) from two different view points. 

In any case, eka-jeeva vAda cannot be linked to individual tiny jeeva, if 
at all eka-jeeva vAda reference is there in shankara bhAshya it is with 
respect to hiraNyagarbha or mahAn Atman and it is not the individual tiny 
jeeva.