[Advaita-l] Shankara and DrishTi-SrishTi vAda - eka jeeva vaada

[Anand Hudli]

Dear Shri Chandramouliji,

>* Is it the contention that liberation is possible ultimately ONLY through
*>* DSV ? I have not come across such a claim anywhere else. Or is it the *>*
contention that >DSV is superior to SDV ? If yes question arises in what *>*
way ? Ultimate result is the same for both. Namely Liberation. And there is
*>* no difference in the nature of >such Liberation. *>

There is no doubt that realization happens only through instruction
of upaniShad vAkyas by the Guru (shravaNa), manana, and nididhyAsana,
regardless of what theory of explanation of the world one may subscribe to.
There is also no doubt that certain preparation has to be done before one
reaches that stage. It is here that various theories of the world help in
getting rid off misconceptions, mental blocks, etc. Without the removal of
these mental blocks, the philosophy of advaita may remain just that - a
mere philosophy with no impact on one's life. It is easy to say Jagat is
MithyA but to what extent does one understand it is the question. Else,
that person's competence will be similar to the example given by VidyAraNya
in the PanchadashI. A man heard that some prize was being given for knowing
the vedas. He tried to claim the prize saying, "I know there are four
vedas". There are many prakriyAs for this preparation, with the caveat that
not all of them are suitable for all the people. Some may seem to be
shortcuts, but they are immensely difficult for common people.
dRShTi-sRShTi-vAda is one of them. One must bear in mind that shortcuts are
often risky and dangerous to careless people!

Regarding DSV/ekajIvavAda, not just PrakAshAnanda but even the AchAryas of
the vivaraNa school have shown a definite leaning towards it. Commenting on
the nRsiMhottaratApanIya upaniShad text, "ihedaM sarvaM dRShTvA",
VidyAraNya says,"iha pratyagAtmani idaM sarvaM jagaccharIracatuShTayarUpaM
dRShTvA sRShTvA dRShTireva hi sRShTiH ityarthaH", thus accepting the
dRShTireva sRShTiH principle. Again, in his summary called the
brihadAraNyakabhAShyavArtikasAra, VidyAraNya says darshana is itself sRShTi:
yena yad dRshyate tattu tena sRShTaM svakarmaNA|
dRshyasya bhrAntirUpatvAt darshanaM sRShTirucyate||

In the anubhUtiprakAsha, VidyAraNya makes these decisive statements in the
9th chapter (shlokas 46-50)called kauShItakIshAkhopaniShadvivaraNa. A
king's palace has a main door and a back door, also called the secret door
(choradvAra as VidyAraNya puts it). If you try to meet the king through the
main door, there are many formalities to be observed, a tedious
process. However, a true svAmibhakta, devoted to the king, can quickly have
the meeting with the king, passing through the secret back door. In a
similar fashion, one who intensely desires AtmAnubhUti will quickly achieve
it through dRShTi-sRShTi-vAda.
alpadvAre svAmibhakto haThAd rAjAnamIkShate|
dRShTisRShTyAnubhUtyarthI vettyAtmAnam tathA haTHAt||

Therefore, the king ajAtashatru instructed bAlAki regarding the
dRShTi-sRhTi-vAda in order to make him realize Brahman quickly.
tasmAdihAjAtashatrurbAlAkeravilaMbataH|
pratyagbrahmatvabodhArthaM dRShTisRShTimavocata||

The Sanskrit original of anubhUtiprakAsha is available at:
http://dli.serc.iisc.ernet.in/handle/2015/495871

Anand