[Advaita-l] Difficulty with Akhandakara Vrtti

Aurobind Padiyath aurobind.padiyath at gmail.com
Mon Jun 22 03:48:54 CDT 2015


Dear Sri Chandramouliji,
You are right when you say that a state cannot be beret of both thought and
thoughtlessness. For "a state" is valid only from the vyavaharika point of
view and the very nature of it is built on thoughts and intervening absence
before the next one. In Paramarthata "Atma vyatirekena kinchit naasti ".
Neither the original Upanishads nor the Bhashya ever mentions the term
"akandakara vritti". This has crept in from later commentators attempt to
explain the inexplicable.
Even though the word akandakara is not mentioned you can get a clarity if
you can go thru the Bhashya on Brhadaranyaka where detailed explanation of
" Brahmaivedam sarvam" is being discussed in the beginning.
Pranams,
Aurobind Padiyath
On 22 Jun 2015 13:58, "H S Chandramouli" <hschandramouli at gmail.com> wrote:

> Dear Sri Aurobind Padiyath Ji,
>
>
>  Thanks for the clarification that you are not referring to nirvikalpa.
> It removes a major impediment in progressing the discussion. A great
> relief.
>
>
>  Once we talk of “ akhandakara vritti “ and “ a state “ , we are in the
> Vyavaharika plane only and not in Paramarthika plane. But the rest of your
> note mostly pertain to the Paramarthika plane. It cannot be maintained << Even
> thought or thoughtlessness are not applicable to that state  >> . A “
> state “ must necessarily be either with thought ( as in jagrat or svapna )
> or without thought ( as in sushupti or samadhai ) . A “ state “ cannot be
> bereft of both. Kindly clarify.
>
>
>  Also please give a reference to where this concept of “ akhandakara
> vritti “ is explained so that I can study and better understand the context
> in which it has been explained.
>
>
>  Pranans and Regards
>
> On Sun, Jun 21, 2015 at 9:31 PM, Aurobind Padiyath <
> aurobind.padiyath at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Sri Chandramouliji,
>> Hari Om!!!
>> Nirvikapla stage is not culminating one and hence cannot be Brahma Jnana
>> avastha. Just because you have no vikalpa does not mean you have knowledge.
>> You have no vikalpa even during deep sleep. The difference between the two
>> is one is involuntary and the other is a result of forced control of mind.
>> Having explained that, let me try to come to the akandakara vritti.
>> The pramana for that state is what is told as " Atma vyatirekena nasti
>> kinchit". Even thought or thoughtlessness are not applicable to that state
>> where the mind cannot reach nor words can explain. But it is not
>> nothingness. It or that state is simply an "Is" or what we call in Sanskrit
>> as asti. To what or whom can that state explain when there is none other
>> than just itself in a state of being?
>> I do not know if I can ever explain it in words. It is where all thoughts
>> become knowledge just as where all ingredients of a yagna becomes only fire
>> in the yagnakund.
>> Hari Om!!!
>>
>> Aurobind Padiyath
>> On 21 Jun 2015 21:08, "H S Chandramouli" <hschandramouli at gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> Dear Sri Aurobind Padiyath Ji,
>>>
>>> Can you kindly clarify if this state you are mentioning is a '
>>> thoughtless state " or a " thought with unitary knowledge " . The question
>>> is genuine as many interpret nirvikalpa samadhi ( thoughtless state ) also
>>> as Brahma Jnana.
>>>
>>> Regards
>>>
>>> Chandramouli
>>>
>>> On Sun, Jun 21, 2015 at 6:05 PM, Aurobind Padiyath via Advaita-l <
>>> advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Hari Om,
>>>> "akhandakara vritti"
>>>> Akhanda meaning unbroken, Akara meaning (here) Swaroopa,  Vritti (here)
>>>> meaning continues,  (not thoughts).
>>>> So, that continuous Swaroopa avastha which displaced the earlier wave
>>>> like
>>>> thoughts of vishaya which were arising and subsiding including that of
>>>> deep
>>>> sleep like state where visheshvijnana absence is felt, because even
>>>> deep sleep
>>>> is not continuous, is the true state of akhandakara vritti. It is
>>>> called a
>>>> vritti as a misnomer due to the absence of a better word.
>>>>
>>>> Hari om!!!
>>>>
>>>> Aurobind Padiyath
>>>>
>>>>
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>


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