[Advaita-l] A Vedantic message

[V Subrahmanian]

2017-09-13 15:47 GMT+05:30 Kalyan via Advaita-l <
advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org>:

> Dear Sri Subbuji
> //Prakriti is the parinami upadana karana and Brahman is the vivartopadana
> karana.//
>
> The above view seems to be contradicted by Shankara in his BSBh 1.4.26,
> where brahman itself is treated as the parinami upadana karana -
> आत्मकृतेः परिणामात् ॥ २६ ॥ भाष्यम्इतश्च प्रकृतिर्ब्रह्
> म, यत्कारणं ब्रह्मप्रक्रियायाम् ‘तदात्मानं स्वयमकुरुत’ (तै. उ. २ । ७ ।
> १) इत्यात्मनः कर्मत्वं कर्तृत्वं च दर्शयति — आत्मानमिति कर्
> मत्वम् , स्वयमकुरुतेति कर्तृत्वम् । कथं पुनः पूर्वसिद्धस्य
> सतःकर्तृत्वेन व्यवस्थितस्य क्रियमाणत्वं शक्यं सम्पादयितुम्
> ? परिणामादिति ब्रूमः — पूर्वसिद्धोऽपि हि सन्नात्मा विशेषेण
> विकारात्मना परिणमयामासात्मानमिति । विकारात्मना च परिणामो मृ
> दाद्यासु प्रकृतिषूपलब्धः ; स्वयमिति च विशेषणान्निमित्तान्तरानपेक्षत्वमपि प्रतीयते ।
> ‘परिणामात्’ इति वा पृथक्सूत्रम् । तस्यैषोऽर्थः — इतश्च प्
> रकृतिर्ब्रह्म, यत्कारणं ब्रह्मण एव विकारात्मना परिणामः सामा
> नाधिकरण्येनाम्नायते ‘सच्चत्यच्चाभवत् । निरुक्तं चानिरुक्तं च’ (तै. उ. २ ।
> ६ । १) इत्यादिनेति ॥ २६ ॥
> 26. (Brahman is the material cause) on account of (the Self) making
> itself; (which is possible) owing to modification.Brahman is the material
> cause for that reason also that Scripture--in the passage, 'That made
> itself its Self' (Taitt. Up. II, 7)--represents the Self as the object of
> action as well as the agent.--But how can the Self which as agent was in
> full existence previously to the action be made out to be at the same time
> that which is effected by the action?--Owing to modification, we reply. The
> Self, although in full existence previously to the action, modifies itself
> into something special, viz. the Self of the effect. Thus we see that
> causal substances, such as clay and the like, are, by undergoing the
> process of modification, changed into their products.--The word 'itself' in
> the passage quoted intimates the absence of any other operative cause but
> the Self.
> The word 'parinâmât' (in the Sûtra) may also be taken as constituting a
> separate Sûtra by itself, the sense of which would be: Brahman is the
> material cause of the world for that reason also, that the sacred text
> speaks of Brahman and its modification into the Self of its effect as
> co-ordinated, viz. in the passage, 'It became sat and tyat, defined and
> undefined' (Taitt. Up. II, 6).
> Your comments are welcome.
>

The important input from Shankara was already provided by me:

That such a shakti has to be admitted by the Vedantin as otherwise the
Brahman of the Vedanta cannot even be the creator (since Brahman is
nishkriyam) is stated by Shankara in BSB 1.4.3:
परमेश्वराधीना त्वियमस्माभिः प्रागवस्था जगतोऽभ्युपगम्यते, न स्वतन्त्रा । सा
चावश्याभ्युपगन्तव्या ; अर्थवती हि सा ; न हि तया विना परमेश्वरस्य
स्रष्टृत्वं सिध्यति, शक्तिरहितस्य तस्य प्रवृत्त्यनुपपत्तेः ।

So, the above passages you cite from the BSB are to be read along with the
1.4.3 cited by me. It is Brahman with the shakti that is the cause which is
said to 'undergo' pariṇāma. One can also see the BGB 9.10 in this regard:

Shankara introduces the verse thus: 'I create the lot of beings' and 'I am
completely unattached' are two apparently contradictory statements of the
Lord, which is being settled here:

तत्र ‘भूतग्राममिमं विसृजामि’ (भ. गी. ९ । ८)
<http://advaitasharada.sringeri.net/display/bhashya/Gita?page=9&id=BG_C09_V08&hl=%E0%A4%AD%E0%A5%82%E0%A4%A4%E0%A4%97%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B0%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%AE%E0%A4%AE%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%AE%E0%A4%82%20%E0%A4%B5%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%B8%E0%A5%83%E0%A4%9C%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%AE%E0%A4%BF>
 ‘उदासीनवदासीनम्’ (भ. गी. ९ । ९)
<http://advaitasharada.sringeri.net/display/bhashya/Gita?page=9&id=BG_C09_V09&hl=%E0%A4%89%E0%A4%A6%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%B8%E0%A5%80%E0%A4%A8%E0%A4%B5%E0%A4%A6%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%B8%E0%A5%80%E0%A4%A8%E0%A4%AE%E0%A5%8D>
इति
च विरुद्धम् उच्यते, इति तत्परिहारार्थम् आह —

मयाध्यक्षेण प्रकृतिः सूयते सचराचरम् ।
हेतुनानेन कौन्तेय जगद्विपरिवर्तते ॥ १० ॥
 भाष्यम्
<http://advaitasharada.sringeri.net/display/bhashya/Gita?page=9&id=BG_C09_V10&hlBhashya=%E0%A4%AE%E0%A4%AF%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%A7%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%AF%E0%A4%95%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B7%E0%A5%87#bhashya-BG_C09_V10>
मया अध्यक्षेण सर्वतो दृशिमात्रस्वरूपेण अविक्रियात्मना अध्यक्षेण मया, मम
माया त्रिगुणात्मिका अविद्यालक्षणा प्रकृतिः सूयते उत्पादयति सचराचरं जगत् ।
तथा च मन्त्रवर्णः — ‘एको देवः सर्वभूतेषु गूढः सर्वव्यापी
सर्वभूतान्तरात्मा । कर्माध्यक्षः सर्वभूताधिवासः साक्षी चेता केवलो
निर्गुणश्च’ (श्वे. उ. ६ । ११)
<http://advaitasharada.sringeri.net/display/bhashya/svt?page=6&id=SV_C06_V11&hl=%E0%A4%8F%E0%A4%95%E0%A5%8B%20%E0%A4%A6%E0%A5%87%E0%A4%B5%E0%A4%83%20%E0%A4%B8%E0%A4%B0%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B5%E0%A4%AD%E0%A5%82%E0%A4%A4%E0%A5%87%E0%A4%B7%E0%A5%81%20%E0%A4%97%E0%A5%82%E0%A4%A2%E0%A4%83%20%E0%A4%B8%E0%A4%B0%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B5%E0%A4%B5%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%AF%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%AA%E0%A5%80%20%E0%A4%B8%E0%A4%B0%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B5%E0%A4%AD%E0%A5%82%E0%A4%A4%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%A8%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%A4%E0%A4%B0%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%A4%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%AE%E0%A4%BE%C2%A0%E0%A5%A4%20%E0%A4%95%E0%A4%B0%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%AE%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%A7%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%AF%E0%A4%95%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B7%E0%A4%83%20%E0%A4%B8%E0%A4%B0%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B5%E0%A4%AD%E0%A5%82%E0%A4%A4%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%A7%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%B5%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%B8%E0%A4%83%20%E0%A4%B8%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%95%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B7%E0%A5%80%20%E0%A4%9A%E0%A5%87%E0%A4%A4%E0%A4%BE%20%E0%A4%95%E0%A5%87%E0%A4%B5%E0%A4%B2%E0%A5%8B%20%E0%A4%A8%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%B0%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%97%E0%A5%81%E0%A4%A3%E0%A4%B6%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%9A>
इति ।
हेतुना निमित्तेन अनेन अध्यक्षत्वेन कौन्तेय जगत् सचराचरं व्यक्ताव्यक्तात्मकं
विपरिवर्तते सर्वावस्थासु ।
So it is the hand of prakriti that is invariably required in creation by
Brahman; without that the creatorhood of Brahman is impossible.
regards
subbu


> RegardsKalyan
>