[Advaita-l] JAGAT MITHYATVAM IN ADVAITA - A CONCLUSION - part -1

[Sunil Bhattacharjya]

Namaste,

The Ajativada verse in Bhagavad Gita II-19 , which is the same as used by Gaudapada in Mandukya-karika II-6, says it all that there has been the Brahman alone in the beginning and He alone is at the end and there is none else in between. So all the Jagat as experienced under the influence of Maya vanishes the moment one gets out of the grip of Maya.  Thus the reality of Jagat is untenable and it is best said by calling the Jagat as Mithya. However,this is easier said than realized, while remaining within the world of Maya. Only the sthitaprajna, who is able to control the mind to desist desires of the senses, and does the Manana and Dhyana, (i.e.,in the yoga-yukta state) can get truly convinced of this truth.

Regards,
Sunil KB

Regards,
Sunil KB



--------------------------------------------
On Thu, 4/28/16, V Subrahmanian via Advaita-l <advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote:

 Subject: Re: [Advaita-l] JAGAT MITHYATVAM IN ADVAITA - A CONCLUSION - part -1
 To: "Bhaskar YR" <bhaskar.yr at in.abb.com>, "A discussion group for Advaita Vedanta" <advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org>
 Date: Thursday, April 28, 2016, 11:00 AM
 
 On Thu, Apr 28, 2016 at
 3:45 PM, Bhaskar YR via Advaita-l <
 advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org>
 wrote:
 
 > praNAms
 > Hare Krishna
 >
 > First of all, before quoting the shruti
 and bhAshyakAra, I would like to
 > quote
 couple of references from my parama guruji Sri SSS from one
 of his
 > articles published in 2014 from
 adhyAtma prakAsha kAryAlaya in monthly
 >
 magazine adhyAtma prakAsha and another one from his minor
 work 'brahma
 > vidyA'.  I am
 just reproducing the first one i.e. article in adhyAtma
 > prakAsha  as it is written in Kannada 
 :
 >
 > // quote //
 >
 > haagaadare
 tattvajnAnavAdamelAdarU prapanchavu mithyeyendu tOruvudO
 illavO
 > ??  Aga mAtra idu mithyeyaagi
 tOralu kAraNavenu??  endu yaaraadaru shankisa
 > bahudu.  idakke uttaravenendare,
 nijavaagi yaavaagalu prapanchavu
 >
 mithyavendu kaaNisuvude illa.  ekendare Atmanannu bittare
 prapanchavembudu
 > bereyaagi
 iruvudilla.  ajnAnigaLige avara paramAtma svarUpavu
 tiLiyadu.
 > Addarinda avaru
 bhinabhinnaraagiruva jeevarugaLannu alli avarugaLu
 > vyavaharisuttiruva prapanchavannu
 kaaNuttiruttaare.  Adare avaru
 >
 AtmasAkshAtkAravannu padedare " idellavu Atmane"
 emba shrutiya arthavannu
 >
 managANuttaare.  Aga avarige prapanchavu Atmane Agi
 biduvudarinda adu
 > paramasatyavaagi
 biduttade.
 >
 >
 Addarinda "jagattu mithyeye?? "?  emba prashnege
 katta kadeya uttaravu
 > yaavadaayitu?? 
 adu taaniruva paramArtha rUpadalli Atmane, brahmave.
 > Addarinda adu nijavaagiye satyavaagide
 hIge nOdidare yaavadondU mithyave
 >
 alla.  ajnAnigaLige tOruttiruva brahma bhinnavaada
 jagattembudu illave
 > illa; Addarinda
 adannu satyavendaagali, mithyavendaagali vingadisuvudakke
 > kaaraNavilla.
 
 
 
 The above
 conclusion is contradicted by Shankara, in BGB 2.16 end:
 
 त्वमपि
 तत्त्वदर्शिनां
 दृष्टिमाश्रित्य शोकं
 मोहं च हित्वा
 शीतोष्णादीनि
 नियतानियतरूपाणि
 द्वन्द्वानि
 *विकारोऽयमसन्नेव
 मरीचिजलवन्मिथ्यावभासते
 *इति
 मनसि
 निश्चित्य तितिक्षस्व
 इत्यभिप्रायः।।
 
 Translation by Swami
 Gambhirananda:
 
 Therefore,
 you too, by adopting *the vision of the men of realization
 *and
 giving up sorrow and delusion, forbear
 the dualities, heat, cold, etc. some
 of
 which are definite in their nature, and others inconstant ,
 mentally
 being convinced that this
 (phenomenal world) is changeful, *verily unreal
 and appears falsely like water in a
 mirage.//*
 
 The Kannada
 translation of the above line of the bhashyam by Sri SSS:
 
 //nīnū antaḥ
 tattvadarśigaḷa dṛṣṭīyannu āśrayisikoṇḍu
 śokavannū mohavannū
 biṭṭu
 śītosṇagaḷu muntāda niyatarūpavāgiyū
 aniyatarūpavāgiyū iruva
 dvandagaḷannu
 'idu kāryavāddarinda bisilukudureya nīrinante asatte
 āgiddu
 husiyāgi toruttide' endu
 manassinalli niścayisikoṇḍu taḍeduko endu
 abhiprāya.//
 
 Sri SSS has very correctly translated the
 bhashya: the way in which the
 Jnani sees the
 world, its transformations: as the mirage water even
 though
 non-existent, asat, yet appears
 unreal. The Kannada word for that is
 'husiyāgi toruvudu'.  So, according
 to the translation, the Jnani will see
 the
 world, its transformations, as a mere appearance, knowing
 that it does
 not exist really.
 
 Someone can kindly reproduce
 here Sri SSS's translation for  the following
 bhashya sentences too, especially the 4.1.19
 BSB.
 
 
 In
 the BSB 4.1.15 Shankara clearly says:
 
 बाधितमपि तु
 मिथ्याज्ञानं
 द्विचन्द्रज्ञानवत्संस्कारवशात्कंचित्कालमनुवर्तत
 एव
 ।
 [Even after
 having been annulled, sublated, the mithyājnānam,
 false-knowledge, like the two-moon perception,
 will certainly continue for
 some time.]
 BSB 4.1.19
 
 ननु सत्यपि
 सम्यग्दर्शने यथा
 प्राग्देहपाताद्भेददर्शनं
 द्विचन्द्रदर्शनन्यायेनानुवृत्तम्,
 एवं
 पश्चादप्यनुवर्तेत — न,
 निमित्ताभवात् ।
 Objection:  Even when the right realization is
 there, just as perception of
 difference,
 bheda darshanam, persists till the fall of the body (of
 the
 Jnani), let it (perception of bheda)
 continue even after death?
 [For this
 objection Shankara answers,
 उपभोगशेषक्षपणं हि
 तत्रानुवृत्तिनिमित्तम्,
 न च तादृशमत्र
 किञ्चिदस्ति । [The exhaustion of
 experience of prarabdha  alone is the limit
 for such continuance (of bheda
 darshanam).
 Such prarabdha is no longer there after the body falls.
 Thus, Shankara explicitly says that the Jnani
 perceives the mithyā world,
 with the
 knowledge that it is mithya.  That is why he is giving the
 analogy
 of (1) the mirage water - where the
 water appearance is continuing to be
 perceived but the knowledge that it is mithya
 is also there and (2) the
 two-moon
 perception where owing to an ocular disease, a person
 perceives
 two moons while he knows that it
 is only one.  These two analogies, for
 Shankara, are to explain the state of the
 Jnani's perception of the world
 of
 multiplicity, while he knows that it is mithyā.
 
 This topic was discussed long
 ago, in 2009, and an article available here
 was the outcome of that:
 https://adbhutam.wordpress.com/2009/07/30/the-enlightened-eminently-engage-in-empirical-endeavours/
 
 regards
 vs
 
 
 > jagattendaadaru kareyiri,
 brahmavendaadaru kareyiri; iruvudu Onde Ondu
 > adviteeyavAda paramArtha satyavu. 
 adakkinta bereyaagi yaavadondU iruvade
 >
 illa.
 >
 > // unquote
 //
 >
 > Those who can
 read and understand Kannada, above two paragraphs are
 > self-explanatory.  And those who donot
 know Kannada the gist of above
 >
 observation of Sri SSS is about  jnAni's perception of
 jagat after the
 > svarUpa jnana.  Sri
 SSS poses a question here : After realization whether
 > this jagat become mithyA for the jnAni?? 
 And why this jagat would become
 > mithyA
 for the jnAni only after realization??  For this Sri SSS
 clarifies :
 > THERE IS NOTHING LIKE
 MITHYA PRAPANCHA AT ANY POINT OF TIME  because
 > prapancha (jagat) does not deviate from
 brahman and does not exist apart
 > from
 brahman.  Only ajnAni-s due to their parichinna jnana would
 see the
 > various jeeva-s and manifold
 objects and transactions.  When they realize
 > they would come to know that 'all this
 is Atman only'.  Therefore, Sri SSS
 > in second pyara concludes :  For the
 question : is this jagat mithyA??  The
 >
 ultimate answer is :  that (jagat) in its sadrUpa
 (paramArtha rUpa) Atman
 > only brahman
 only.  Therefore this (jagat) is REAL, FOR THAT MATTER
 THERE
 > IS NOTHING THAT CAN BE CALLED 
 'MITHYA'.  For the ajnAni-s this jagat would
 > appear bhinna from brahman (separate from
 brahman), that which does not
 > exist at
 all.  Therefore no need for exercise like tattvAnyatvAbhyAm
 for
 > this avidyA kalpita jagat. 
 Whether you call this jagat or brahman what is
 > there is ONLY one and that is paramArtha
 satya there exists nothing apart
 > from
 it.
 >
 > And Sri SSS
 further clarifies in brahma vidye (again a Kannada book)
 at
 > the end quotes one shruti vAkya :
 brahma dAshA brahma dAsA brahmaiveme
 >
 kitavAH and advises that realization of this universal truth
 (sarvatrika
 > satya) is the parama
 purushArtha jnana, janma sAphalya jnana.  Those who
 > attain this jnana is dvija Sri SSS quotes
 manu here.
 >
 > And in
 his various prakaraNa works like jeevanta vedAnta,
 anubhava
 > paryanta vedAnta, mAndUkya
 rahasya vivruttiH, shAnkara vedAnta,
 >
 Misconceptions about shankara vedAnta etc.  Sri SSS deals
 with this subject
 > and clarifies that
 sarvAtmakatvaM is what is advocated in shankara's
 > Advaita vedAnta and jagan mithyatvaM is
 not an essential criterial to
 > arrive
 this truth.
 >
 > In the
 next part we shall look into the shruti and shankara bhAshya
 (
 > which I have already covered in my
 previous mails) to this effect.
 >
 > Hari Hari Hari Hari Bol!!!
 > bhaskar
 >
 >
 >
 >
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