[Advaita-l] Accounting for Brahman appearing as the world

[V Subrahmanian]

On Thu, Sep 7, 2017 at 6:24 PM, H S Chandramouli <hschandramouli at gmail.com>
wrote:

> Namaste Sri Subrahmanian Ji,
>
> I  would not have written this but for the possibility of
>  misunderstanding of your post. Unfortunately it has happened even before
> my posting. Your post does not mention about the jagat being a vivarta in
> Brahman. I do hope it is not your understanding that jagat is not a vivarta
> in Brahman. If you agree, you may like to clarify your post.
>
> Please do not misunderstand. If you disagree with my post, it is fine by
> me.
>

Dear Sri Chandramouli ji,

I had implied that the jagat is a vivarta of Brahman by my words:

// It is not like a man becoming many by begetting children. This will
involve vikāra in the man and thus Brahman will be subject to vikāra,etc.
Since this is not the way Brahman becomes many,//

So, that which is not a vikāra of Brahman has to be vivarta alone. Actually
I wanted to explicitly say that but owing to some phone-call distraction I
sent the post without adding that. Nevertheless it is well known that the
nāma-rūpa upādhi is avidyakalpita and that which is avidyākalpita is not
real, both as cause and as effect:

BSB 2.1.33:

 न चेयं परमार्थविषया सृष्टिश्रुतिः ; अविद्याकल्पितनामरूपव्यवहारगोचरत्वात् ,
ब्रह्मात्मभावप्रतिपादनपरत्वाच्च — इत्येतदपि नैव विस्मर्तव्यम् ॥

Shankara says above: It is also that the creation-shruti passages are not
having the purport of teaching a real creation. It has for its content the
vyavahara having nāma rupa created by avidya. Also the creation-passages
have for their purport the teaching of brahmātmabhāva to the aspirant.

regards
subbu





>
> Regards
>
> On Thu, Sep 7, 2017 at 5:19 PM, V Subrahmanian via Advaita-l <
> advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote:
>
>> Accounting for Brahman appearing as the world
>>
>> Advaita holds that the world is an appearance of Brahman. All the entities
>> in the world are Brahman alone ultimately, appearing through  upādhi-s.
>> These upādhi-s are none other than the various forms of Māyā.
>>
>> In the Taittiriya Upanishad bhāṣya, Shankara while delineating on the
>> mantra portion 'बहु स्यां प्रजायेयेति’ 'I shall become many', explains as
>> to what really means Brahman's becoming many? It is not like a man
>> becoming
>> many by begetting children. This will involve vikāra in the man and thus
>> Brahman will be subject to vikāra,etc. Since this is not the way Brahman
>> becomes many, the answer to the question is: Brahman, through the medium
>> of
>> the nāma-rūpa combine, which is non-different from Brahman and remaining
>> in
>> Brahman in unmanifest form, becomes manifest in creation, and thereby
>> there
>> is the manifoldness in the world:
>>
>> ताभ्यां च उपाधिभ्यां ज्ञातृज्ञेयज्ञानशब्दार्थादिसर्वसंव्यवहारभाग्ब्रह्म ।
>> Tai.Up.Bhā.2.6.1
>>
>> Through these two upādhis of nāma and rūpa, Brahman comes to be looked
>> upon
>> as knower, known, knowing/knowledge, word, meaning, etc. and all vyavahara
>> involving these.
>>
>> Elucidating this, the commentary 'Vanamālā' by Sri Achyutakrishnananda
>> Tirtha, gives a fine account:
>>
>> तत्रायं विभागः - बुद्ध्युपाधिकं ब्रह्म ज्ञातृव्यवहारभाक्,
>> बुद्धिवृत्त्युपाधिकं ब्रह्म ज्ञानमिति व्यवहारभाक्, विषयोपाधिकं ब्रह्म
>> ज्ञेयव्यवहारभाक्, नामोपाधिकं ब्रह्म शब्दव्यवहारभाक्, सामान्यतो जडोपाधिकं
>> ब्रह्म अर्थव्यवहारभागिति । आदिपदं कर्मादिसङ्ग्र्हार्थम् । एवं
>> सर्वव्यवहारभाग्ब्रह्मेत्यर्थः ।
>>
>> Through the buddhi, intellect, as upādhi, Brahman is the knower (pramātṛ).
>> With the buddhivṛtti, mode of the intellect, as upādhi (pramāṇam), Brahman
>> is knowledge (knowing), with the object as upādhi, Brahman is the
>> known/knowable (prameyam), with name 'nāma' as upādhi, Brahman is all the
>> words in creation. With the overall inert, jaḍa, as upādhi, Brahman is the
>> meaning of all the words.  The 'etc.' of the bhāsya means 'karma, etc.'
>>
>> In the above everything in the creation is accounted for.
>>
>> Om Tat Sat
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