[Advaita-l] Sakshi Pratyaksham and Avidya Vritti

[Venkatraghavan S]

Namaste all,
Recently Sri Chandramouli ji and Sri Sadananda ji referenced the ongoing
Vichara Sagara classes conducted by Swami Paramarthananda. I listened to
the class recently and had a doubt, hope someone can clarify.

First प्रत्यक्षं was defined as the process of knowledge where there is a
direct संबंध (contact/connection) between the ज्ञान विषय (object of
knowledge) and ज्ञान वृत्ति (knowledge thought).

Then प्रत्यक्षं was divided into three types, ऐन्द्रियकं, शाब्द, साक्षि.
SadAji has explained this in an email sent a few days ago.

The specific topic I had a question about was साक्षि प्रत्यक्षं. There, two
kinds of साक्षि प्रत्यक्षं were discussed - one where व्यावहारिक सत्य विषय
ज्ञानं was produced using अन्तः करण वृत्ति, and another where प्रातिभासिक
विषय ज्ञानं was produced by अविद्या / कारण शरीर वृत्ति.

Emotions are व्यावहारिक सत्यं, and their knowledge is साक्षि प्रत्यक्षं,
produced using अन्तःकरण वृत्ति.  मिथ्या सर्पं  in रज्जुसर्पं,  मिथ्या रजतं
in शुक्तिरजतं etc. are प्रातिभासिक सत्यं, and their knowledge is also
साक्षि प्रत्यक्षं, but produced using अविद्या वृत्ति.

The questions I had were:
1) For साक्षि प्रत्यक्षं where अविद्या वृत्ति reveals the object, does the
location of ज्ञान विषय and ज्ञान वृत्ति have to be the कारण शरीरं, or is it
possible for the विषय to be in the अन्तःकरणं, but the ज्ञान वृत्ति is in
the कारण शरीरं?
2) If there is a requirement that both have to be in the कारण शरीरं, then
it would mean that dreams, which have प्रातिभासिक सत्ता would be located in
the कारण शरीरं, not अन्तः करणं (because प्रातिभासिक विषय are revealed by
अविद्या वृत्ति located in the कारण शरीर). This does not seem intuitively
correct.

If anyone can provide some clarity, it would be most helpful.

Regards,
Venkatraghavan