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

[Akilesh Ayyar]

On Fri, Apr 12, 2019 at 10:57 PM S Jayanarayanan via Advaita-l <
advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote:

> 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)
>

This seems hard to square with BrU 4.4.23:

"This is the eternal glory of a knower of Brahman...He becomes sinless,
taintless, free from doubts, and BrAhmana (knower of Brahman). This is the
world of Brahman, O Emperor, and you have attained it--said Yajnavalkya."

Sankara writes in commentary on this verse:

"Such a man becomes in this state a BrAhmana...Before living in this state
of identity with Brahman, his BraHmanahood was but figurative. This
identity with the Self of all is the world of Brahman, the world that is
Brahman, in a real, not figurative, sense... Janaka, thus identified with
Brahman--helped on to this state by Yajnavalkya--replied, 'Since you have
helped me to attain the state of Brahman, I give you, sir, the empire of
Videha...The topic of the knowledge of Brahman is finished, together with
its offshoots and procedure as well as renunciation. *The highest end of
man is also completely dealt with. This much is to be attained by a man,
this is the culmination, this is the supreme goal, this is the highest
good. Attaining this one achieves all that has to be achieved and becomes a
knower of Brahman. This is the teaching of the entire Vedas*."



>
> Regards,
> Kartik
>
>
>
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