[Advaita-l] vyavahAre bhaTTanayaH

[Keshava PRASAD Halemane]

praNaams  Sri  Siva Senani Nori ji 
It is indeed a very illuminating explanation about communication using Sabda as the means / vehicle. 
It seems to me that the most basic essentiality is the necessary pre-requisite or condition for both the two parties (sender & receiver) to 'share a common knowledge';  which when ensured, the Sabda, if used appropriately by the sender, will invoke that shared knowledge in the receiver. 
I wonder what is meant by 'sharing a common knowledge' ! And, whatever it be, how such a 'sharing a common knowledge' can be ensured ?  
 - Keshava PRASAD Halemane  mOkShakaamaarthadharmah  janmanaa jaayatE jantuḥ |  samskaaraat hi bhavEt dvijaḥ ||  vEda-paaThaat bhavEt vipra |  brahma jnaanaat hi braahmaNah ||  


    On Tuesday, 24 November 2015 9:43 PM, Siva Senani Nori via Advaita-l <advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote:
 

 Sri Sundaram Venkatraman, Namaste.
Yes, Vyakaranam, specifically the Ashtadhyayi is indeed a Vedanga. Along with being a Vedanga, it is also a Darsana. This aspect becomes clear in the commentary of Ashtadhyayi, called Mahabhashyam. Broadly there are two streams in the commentary - what is called prakriyaa and aarthikam. Prakriyaa refers to the process through which the correct form of words is derived. Aarthikam refers to the philosophical side dealing with questions such what is the meaning of word (jaati or vyakti, i.e. universal or particular), what is the nature of external reality (according to Grammarians, Sabda refers to an entity in one's mind - there is no need for such an entity to exist outside), and so on. Later Bhartrihari wrote a book called Vakyapadiyam (apart from a Deepikaa on the Mahabhashya, which is available only on the first seven ahnikas out of 84 ahnikas in the Mahabhashya) where the "philosophy" part is set out in great detail. There are three kaaNDas in this book, called a) BrahmakaaNDa dealing with Sabdabrahman, the highest principle according to Grammarians; b) VaakyakaaNDA dealing with sentence and c) PadakaaNDa, divided into fourteen samuddeSas (some say, there were more, but no longer available) dealing with the "categories" of grammar (according to some), such as Jati, Dravya, Guna, Dik, Kaala, Saadhana (Kaarakam), Kriyaa, Purusha, Sankhya, Linga and Vritti. Here, though technically dealing with "Padas" the way in which language operates is laid out. One might ask as to why so much needs to be written (the Vakyapadiya is roughly of 2,000 verses, nearly triple of Gita). The problem is this: in reality there is no difference amongst the knower, known and knowledge - and yet language operates only with this differentiation. This is the reason why Brahman is beyond words. Language is our only tool to describe this Brahman, who is beyond language. It is to explain how language operates that Bhartrihari examines each category of word and sentence as a whole. After Bhartrihari, MaNDanamiSra wrote SphoTasiddhi. After that Grammarians like Bhattoji Dikshita wrote separately on the Prakriya (Siddhantakaumudi) and Aarthika (Sabdaratna). KoundabhaTTa (VaiyaakaranabhuushaNa, BhuushaNasaara), Hari Dishita (Sabdaratna) and NageSabhaTTa (Manjuushaa, SabdenduSekhara, ParibhaashenduSekharaa etc.). More about this tradition can be known from Vol. V of Potter's "Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies"
What is SphoTa? स्फुटीभवति अस्मात् अर्थः इति स्फोटः अर्थप्रत्यायकः is one definition. That is, SphoTa is the one which makes meaning clear as the meaning bursts forth from this. A simpler way of expressing the same is स्फोटो वाचकः, that is that which expresses the meaning is SphoTa. Another definition is स्फुट्यते व्यज्यते वर्णैः इति स्फोटो वर्णाभिव्यङ्ग्यः, that is SphoTa is what is made manifest by Varnas (both definitions are from Paninidarsanam of Sarvadarsanasangraha). I will try to explain this in a dialectic form below:
A: Sabda is held to be nitya by Mimaamsakas, Vedantins and VaiyaakaraNas. B: What is this nityatva? After all, the moment we say a word, it perishes immediately. A: Sabda is not the sound described in modern Physics, but that entity which is made manifest by various letters etc. B: Okay, what is that which is made manifest by the various letter?A: Let me given an instance. If I say "he has *doopa* ", what is understood?B: Oh, that he has "doopa" is what is understood.A: What is "doopa"? B: I don't know.A: So, even when a sound is uttered, meaning is not conveyed/B: Yes, because I don't know what "doopa" is. A: Precisely. Communication happens only when the speaker and listener share a common knowledge. The speaker wants to communicate an idea. This idea is an integral whole at the first stage and finds expression through SphoTa, which is then articulated and conveyed to the listener through what are called sounds by modern Physics (and Sabda by naiyaayikas etc.). Here the speaker wants to communicate that "he has thirst", or that "he is thirsty". "Doopa" is the word used in the Telangana maandalika of Telugu for thirst. However before he finds individual words in the sentence, the entire sense of the sentence flashes in his mind. The stage where this idea is not split into individual words etc. is SphoTa. Now when the listener receives the series of sounds, these manifest the exact SphoTa that had flashed in the speaker's mind. Of course, this can happen only when they share a common knowledge. The above two definitions correspond to SphoTa from the Speaker's point of view, and the Listener's point of view, respectively.B: But, how do we say that there is an integral idea in the mind which later gets expanded.A: Okay, let us examine the process by which anything is expressed. Maybe writing is a good example in modern times. When we want to write an essay, an article or anything, the first stage is that of contemplation, say over a cup of coffee. Suddenly, at some moment an idea forms, which we then quickly develop, sometimes on a paper napkin. These points on the paper napkin then are moulded into an essay etc.B: Yeah, we all have our Eureka moments.A: Yes, that is why we say that artha bursts forth, flashes - all at once. (This intuition is called Pratibhaa). Then it is articulated, i.e. expanded. This is the process of expressing it. Reverse is the process of comprehending it. We can look at a sentence or a paragraph for long and struggle to grasp it, but suddenly, in a flash, the meaning dawns upon us.
Some people say that SphoTa is the second stage of Vaak, i.e. Madhyamaa. Others say that it applies to all stages. The four stages of Vaaak are Paraa, Pasyantee, Madhyamaa and Vaikharee. Vaikharee is the spoken language. Madhyamaa is the stage at which the meaning is clear, but not expressed in individual words or varnas and PaSyantee is the level of consciousness. Paraa is the stage accessible only to Yogins, it is the universal consicousness. Some identity Sabda = SphoTa at the level of Madhyamaa, others at PaSyantee and yet others at Paraa. By the way, it is not only Grammarians who admit the four stages of Vaak; many others like Saivas, followers of Tantra, and even many Advaitins do, but they have their own explanations.
I hope this helps.
RegardsN. Siva Senani