[Advaita-l] Question about Sri Vidyaranya's JMV & jnani matra

[Bhaskar YR]

praNAms Sri Anand Hudli prabhuji
Hare Krishna

Shankara's sUtrabhAShya 4.1.15 provides an indication to the concept of avidyAlesha that is further explained by later advaitins. bAdhitamapi mithyAjnAnaM dvichandrajnAnavat saMskAravashAt kaMcitkAlamanuvartata eva.
Even after its sublation, the false ignorance may continue for a while due to impressions (saMskAra), as the (continuance) of two moons (for a person whose defective eyesight has been just corrected).

As far as continuance of the body for the jIvanmukta, Shankara says: kathaM hyekasya svahRdayapratyayaM brahmavedanaM dehadhAraNam cApareNa pratikSheptuM shakyeta, if a person has a  feeling in his heart of Brahman realization and (still) holding a body, how can it be denied by another person?

>  IMHO, whenever we are interested to know the intended meaning of statements like this, we have to keep in mind that whether bhAshyakAra saying all this on behalf of all jnAni-s and their real fate even after samyak jnana or just answering the doubts of ajnAni-s who are still seeing the jnAni with his BMI and questioning his actions.    That you have clarified in one of your replies to Sri Srinath Vedagarbha prabhuji.  Here it is :

// quote // 

No, there is no advaitahAni. All discussion of jIvanmukti is at the vyAvahArika level, since in reality, there is no seeker, no bondage, and no liberation. Since we are talking now at the vyAvahArika level, there will be duality, i.e. avidyA, avidyAlesha, prArabdha, etc. Nothing wrong here.

// unquote //

>  From your above statement it is quite conspicuous that whatever talks we are having about jnAni's BMI, his prArabdha, his avidyA lesha, his rAga-dvesha etc. hold good only in avidyA vyavahAra where ajnAni-s still seeing the dehadhAraNa of jnAni and his actions and attributing him rAga-dvesha etc. due to avidyA lesha.  But from the absolute point of view, jnAni though looking as 'dehavAn' he is ashareeri only and he is brahman in this very life itself.  As your goodself know, in sUtra bhAshya samanvayAdhikaraNa bhagavatpAda clarifies : shareere patite ashareeratvaM syAt ??  na jeevataH iti chet??  Na sashareeratvasya mithyAjnAna nimittatvAt, na hi AtmanaH shareerAtmAnAbhilakshaNaM mithyAjnAnaM muktvA anyataH sashareeratvaM shakyaM kalpaetuM, nityaM ashareeratvaM, akarma nimittatvAt ityavOchAmaH.  shareeratvaM (upAdhitvaM) is mithyAjnAna kalpitaM anything which relates to shareera, karma, avidyA, avidyA lesha etc. is not for the jnAni but for the onlookers who are still seeing the 'body' of the jnAni.  

Madhusudana follows Citsukha in asserting that avidyA has more than one power, and that only some powers get destroyed by jnAna. He lists three powers (shakti) of avidyA, namely  the power to produce an illusion that the phenomenal world is the paramArtha (prapance pAramArthikatvAdibhramahetushakti), the power that produces the capacity for practical efficiency (arthakriyA) in the phenomenal world (prapance arthakriyAsamarthatvasampAdakashakti), and the power to produce illusions of things that are capable of being objects of immediate perception (aparokShapratibhAsayogyArthAbhAsajanikAshakti). Of these, the first two powers cease upon dawn of knowledge of Brahman. The third power, however, continues until the falling off of the body, and corresponds to the vikShepa shakti as explained by later advaitins.

>  As I told earlier, if the jnAni is really having the lesha of avidyA in the form of vikshepa then he cannot be paripUrNa jnAni, in the paripUrNa jnAni, ONLY jnana will be there and there is no place for ajnAna / avidyA nor for its lesha. BhashyakAra clearly says no place for vidyA and avidyA in a same person at the same time :  na cha vidyAvidye ekasya purushasya saha bhavataH, virOdhAt tamaH prakAshAviva and jnAni will not have even an iota of vipareeta pratyaya like rAga dvesha kiM cha na cha vipareeta pratyayO vidyAvataH utpadyate...But what we are seeing today!!??  Even after samyaK jnana, jnAni due to avidyA lesha / prArabdha karma ( which is not only mere continuation of body) he would get really get rAga-dvesha ( not merely from the onlookers point of view) and it is indeed the fate of jnAni.  bhAshyakAra put aside all these postulations by saying : ihaiva brahmaiva san brhmApyeti na shareerapAtOttarakAlaM  it has to be so because : tasmAT mithyApratyaya nimittatvAt sashareeratvasya siddhaM jeevatOpi vidushOshareeratvaM.  Hence elsewhere bhAshyakAra says tattvamasi jnana would happen here in this very life not maraNAnantaraM.  All these paramOnnati not at all possible if the socalled jnAni has even an iota of avidyA, if he has avidyA (let that be any part of it, BTW, avidyA is ekarUpa it does not have any part says bhAshyakAra) then he is avidyAvanta ONLY not Atmaikatva jnAni. Shankara very clearly says even vAlAgramapi avidyA if one has then he is avidyAvanta only and he has asarvAtma bhAva.  So, IMHO, attributing the avidyA lesha in the paripUrNa jnAni is utterly disgraceful in Advaita vedAnta.  

>  prabhuji kindly pardon me if you find my persistence is fussy.   

Hari Hari Hari Bol!!!
bhaskar