[Advaita-l] Whether darkness is bhava - Vivarana Prameya Samgraha of Shri Vidyaranya

[Bhaskar YR]

praNAms Sri rAghava prabhuji
Hare Krishna

There is no dRShTanta-dArshTAntika relation here. It's an independent discussion on the nature of tamaH which may be bAhya or antar (AdhyAtmika).


Ø     Again I really wonder, if the context is purely about darkness and its nature and nothing to do with brahma jignAsa, nature of avidyA as darkness and role of vidyA as light,  how  this general topic  could found  place in the advaita work !!??

In VPS btw, there is also a discussion that this tamaH is not the guNa tamas which is removable by rajas and sattva. This tamaH is a bhAvarUpa entity which is GYAna-nirvartyaM. I gathered this from a brief perusal.


Ø       If the tamaH rUpa avidyA is bhAva vastu or a positive entity or it has its own existence by taking the shelter in brahman itself  then any amount of vidyA would help us to eradicate an existing thing coz. jnana ( the  does not have the capacity to completely annihilate an existing nor it can create a new thing that does not have any prior existence.  Na tu pAramArthikaM vastu kartuM nivartayituM va arhati brahma vidyA clarifies bhAshyakAra.

I am afraid you are not going to be very happy to examine the elaborate reasons by Shri vidyAraNya regarding bhAvarUpatvaM and he takes his stand on Shruti and bhAShya alone.


Ø     It is really amazing to see, we the advaitins denying the very existence of even trimurthy-s and devAn devata-s, insisting they are mere buddhi parikalpitaM and they don’t exist as such.  But when it comes to avidyA we are comfortably attributing positive existence to it and giving the Ashraya to it in brahman itself 😊

But you are a seasoned veteran in arguing for the abhAvarUpAtvaM idea. :)


Ø     I am neither a seasoned nor a veteran I am still a tyro, but those who studied mUla and subsequent vyAkhyAna in the light of muLa observed that bhAvarUpa avidyA which got the fresh entry ONLY in vyAkhyAna,  which is neither jnAnAbhAva nor saMshaya nor vipareeta jnana, which has the locus in brahman,  is really a dangerous tumor needs to be nipped in bud 😊  But unfortunately, this avidyAtmaka anddhakAsura still playing comfortably on the AtmaikatvaM stage with all its colours and leela-s 😊

Hari Hari Hari Bol!!!
bhaskar