[Advaita-l] ***UNCHECKED*** Re: Sakshi Pratyaksham and Avidya Vritti

[V Subrahmanian]

On Tue, Jan 19, 2016 at 3:52 PM, Venkatraghavan S via Advaita-l <
advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote:

> 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?
>

Sakshi is always understood as 'antahkarana sakshi.'  Any knowledge, both
yathaartha or ayathaartha, valid and erroneous, have to take place in the
antahkaranam only.

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.
>

By definition, the dream state is the one where although the gross body and
sense organs are dormant, the antahkaranam is awake.  The Mandukya mantra
is there for this, which says, the the 19 organs are functioning, but these
are of the vasana type. So, the dream happens while the mind is awake.

In the Panchadashi it has been shown that even the deep sleep experience of
sukha and ajnana are 'captured' by avidyavrtti but requiring the anandamaya
kosha to be alive.  Only then, he says, that it is possible for the person
to recall that experience upon waking, thru the vijnanamaya kosha.  So, he
says, even in sushupti it is not the antahkaranam is 'wholly' dormant; a
segment is awake: anandamayakosha.

regards
vs

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