[Advaita-l] Samnyasa and Sankara's position?

[S Jayanarayanan]

Akilesh Ayyar ayyar at akilesh.com wrote:
 
> > most ideal atmosphere for doing the brahma jignAsa is available mostly  in
> >  sannyasa Ashrama but bhAshyakAra does not deny the jnana to the
> > gruhastha-s vidura-vyAdha, kings like janaka, arjuna.
> >
> 
> Yes, these examples are persuasive as to Sankara's overall view. But in the
> Aitaraya excerpts *specifically* he seems to be saying something different.
> He poses no exceptions and does not soften his language. He does not say
> it's merely *beneficial* to take sannyasa; he says in no other station is
> sadhana *possible*.
> 
> It's also says -- and this is very interesting -- that a jnani, whatever
> his ashrama was before, *always* becomes a sannyasi, because to stay a
> householder requires desire that is no longer present post-jnana.
> 
> Again, these are very cut-and-dry, definitive statements.
 
 
Sankara does not accept Vidura and Janaka as *muktas*, only as GYAnIs;
as sannyAsa is a requirement for mukti (or mokSha), not GYAna.
 
There is absolutely no contradiction here:
 
  Vidura, Janaka: gRRihasthas and GYAnimAtras (NOT jIvanmuktas)
  yAGyavalkya: vidvat-sannyAsin and sthitapraGYa (jIvanmukta)
 
Regards,
Kartik