[Advaita-l] 'A selection from the Drona Parvan'

[V Subrahmanian]

2017-08-20 23:23 GMT+05:30 Aditya Kumar <kumaraditya22 at yahoo.com>:

>
>
>
>
> Shankara has cited a verse from the Mahabharata where Narayana addresses
> Narada: BSB 3.2.17:
>
>  तथा स्मृतिष्वपि परप्रतिषेधेनैवोपदिश्यते — ‘ज्ञेयं यत्तत्प्रवक्ष्यामि
> यज्ज्ञात्वामृतमश्नुते । अनादिमत्परं ब्रह्म न सत्तन्नासदुच्यते’ (भ. गी. १३ ।
> १२)
> <http://advaitasharada.sringeri.net/display/bhashya/Gita?page=13&id=BG_C13_V12&hl=%E0%A4%9C%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%9E%E0%A5%87%E0%A4%AF%E0%A4%82%20%E0%A4%AF%E0%A4%A4%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%A4%E0%A4%A4%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%AA%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B0%E0%A4%B5%E0%A4%95%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B7%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%AF%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%AE%E0%A4%BF%20%E0%A4%AF%E0%A4%9C%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%9C%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%9E%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%A4%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B5%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%AE%E0%A5%83%E0%A4%A4%E0%A4%AE%E0%A4%B6%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%A8%E0%A5%81%E0%A4%A4%E0%A5%87%C2%A0%E0%A5%A4%20%E0%A4%85%E0%A4%A8%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%A6%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%AE%E0%A4%A4%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%AA%E0%A4%B0%E0%A4%82%20%E0%A4%AC%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B0%E0%A4%B9%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%AE%20%E0%A4%A8%20%E0%A4%B8%E0%A4%A4%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%A4%E0%A4%A8%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%A8%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%B8%E0%A4%A6%E0%A5%81%E0%A4%9A%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%AF%E0%A4%A4%E0%A5%87> इत्येवमाद्यासु ।
> तथा विश्वरूपधरो नारायणो नारदमुवाचेति स्मर्यते — ‘माया ह्येषा मया सृष्टा
> यन्मां पश्यसि नारद ।’ (म. भा. १२ । ३३९  । ४५) ‘सर्वभूतगुणैर्युक्तं नैवं मां
> ज्ञातुमर्हसि’ (म. भा. १२ । ३३९ । ४६) इति ॥ १७ ॥
>
> BSB 1.1.20:
>
>  यत्तूक्तं हिरण्यश्मश्रुत्वादिरूपवत्त्वश्रवणं परमेश्वरे नोपपद्यत इति,
> अत्र ब्रूमः — स्यात्परमेश्वरस्यापीच्छावशान्मायामयं रूपं साधकानुग्रहार्थम्
> , ‘माया ह्येषा मया सृष्टा यन्मां पश्यसि नारद । सर्वभूतगुणैर्युक्तं मैवं
> मां ज्ञातुमर्हसि’ इति स्मरणात् ।
>
> In both the instances (of the same verse of MB cited by Shankara) the idea
> is: the creation that appears is illusory and Brahman ought not to be known
> to be endowed with creation.
>
> A : Yes, so it is Ajati.
>

DSV is the precursor to ajāti.

>
> So, when Narayana addresses Shiva and says that, it only means that Shiva
> is Parabrahman that is the adhiṣṭhānam, substratum, of the entire creation.
> And the latter is an adhyāropa in Parabrahman the substratum.
>
> A : So is it that Shiva (who resides in Kailasa)= Parabrahman/Turiya? Or
> is Shiva=saguna Brahman and Turiya=Nirguna Brahman? Or the same Nirguna
> Brahman/Turiya when associated with attributes is known as Saguna
> Brahman/Shiva?
>

When we say substratum it is Turiya.

>
>
> And Shankara has uses another Mahabharata verse(s) to say that it is only
> one, Advaitam, that is the purport of the scripture (MB): In the BSB 2.1.1:
>
>  महाभारतेऽपि च — ‘ बहवः पुरुषा ब्रह्मन्नुताहो एक एव तु’ इति विचार्य, ‘
> बहवः पुरुषा राजन्सांख्ययोगविचारिणाम्’ इति परपक्षमुपन्यस्य तद्व्युदासेन — ‘
> बहूनां पुरुषाणां हि यथैका योनिरुच्यते । तथा तं पुरुषं विश्वमाख्यास्यामि
> गुणाधिकम्’ इत्युपक्रम्य ‘ ममान्तरात्मा तव च ये चान्ये देहसंस्थिताः ।
> सर्वेषां साक्षिभूतोऽसौ न ग्राह्यः केनचित्क्वचित् ॥ विश्वमूर्धा विश्वभुजो
> विश्वपादाक्षिनासिकः । एकश्चरति भूतेषु स्वैरचारी यथासुखम्’ — इति सर्वात्मतैव
> निर्धारिता ।
>
> Shankara says: the mahabharata itself raises the question: Is it many
> selves or only one? and goes on to finally deny the many-ness and
> establishes one only advaitam that has 'become' the entire creation. So, it
> is one sentient being that has the entire creation as its 'object.'
>
> A : I think this passage is talking about the Sankhya/Yoga contention
> which assumes many Brahmans as there are many Jivas. The Vedanta position
> is there are many Jivas but only one Brahman. This is not DSV. In DSV,
> there is no multitude of Jivas to begin with.
>

There is no Brahman idea in Sankhya/yoga. The Vedanta position Shankara is
stating there is: no many-ness but one Consciousness only.