[Advaita-l] Tattvabodha of Adi Sankaracharya - 2

[K Kathirasan]

Namaste

Drawing comparisons between happiness experienced through preyas and shreyas needs to be very careful. When we use a phrase like eternal happiness very loosely, people who find happiness in dharma, artha and kama may assume that the happiness gained in moksha is something hedonic, which is not. While the attempt to compare is certainly reasonable, it has to be done with clarity. 

Kathirasan K




> On 20 Oct 2019, at 1:52 AM, S Jayanarayanan via Advaita-l <advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote:
> 
> (Continued from previous post)
> 
> 
> Introduction to tattvabodha
> 
> In the pursuit of life every being searches
> for happiness (sukha praapti). Getting education
> getting a job acquiring wealth becoming famous
> etc.  are all some examples of the limitless
> desires of all humans in general. As one desires
> to obtain what one wants one also desires not
> to get what one does not want! Not getting what
> is wanted and/or getting what is not wanted
> result(s) in sorrow and so one likes to get rid
> of the resulting sorrow (dukha nivrtti). Thus
> the happiness that one seeks should be unalloyed
> happiness (dukham-free-sukham) eternal
> happiness (nitya sukham) and infinite or limitless
> happiness (niratiSaya sukham). When one
> wonders as to how to acquire such a happiness
> a question arises is it at all possible to "acquire"
> such a happiness?!
> 
> When we analyse the nature of beings
> we generally observe two types of properties.
> The properties/characteristics are explained by
> a popular example of the process of heating
> water. Water is kept on a vessel and heated with
> a flame. The nature of water is "cold" and the
> nature of flame is "heat". During the process of
> heating, the vessel acquires the heat of the flame
> first and then the water in the vessel. Or the
> heat of the hot-water is acquired from the flame.
> Hot water loses its heat once the flame is
> removed. Coldness of the water and the heat of
> the flame are natural or intrinsic to them
> respectively and are called as intrinsic properties
> (svarupa lakshana). The intrinsic property does
> not depend on external conditions and is eternal.
> The heat of the water is borrowed from the name
> and is lost by change of external conditions
> namely removal of the name. Thus the heat of
> the water is an acquired or borrowed property
> and is ephemeral.
> 
> Given the above analysis the term
> "acquisition" of nitya sukham is a misnomer
> because it can not depend on any external
> conditions. This leads to the answer for the
> tempting question of why one should pursue to
> the learning of Vedanta! Vedanta teaches that
> the true nature of beings is divine and eternal
> happiness. That means true happiness is not
> something that needs to be "acquired" but is
> intrinsic to all beings.
> 
> The term "Vedanta" literally means that
> which is (kept physically at) the end of Vedas
> (vedasya anta); logically also it is the ultimate
> knowledge that one would seek! As mentioned
> earlier tattva Bodha is a primer that helps us to
> understand the elements of Vedanta. Vedas have
> two logical sections - Karma kanda and jnana
> kanda. The Karma kanda sections contain
> Samhitas, Brahmanas, and Aranyakas. The jnana
> kanda sections deal with Vedanta and contain
> the upanishads and brahma sutras. The terms used
> in these vedantic sections are not defined but
> only statements are made. For example
> upanishadic statements such as prajnanam
> brahma (Consciousness is Brahman); tat-tvam-asi
> (That Thou art); aham-brahma-asmi (I am
> brahman); ayam atma brahma (this Self within is
> brahman) are given in various upanishads. The
> words used in such statements like "atma",
> "brahma", "tat" etc. have packed in their
> mysterious depths endless suggestions and
> imports that an ordinary student in spite of a
> complete study of the upanishads may not be
> able to handle them properly! Explortion and
> understanding of the suggestiveness in these
> mystic words are not at all obvious to the
> unprepared student and so the student needs a
> special orientation. This is gained through the
> careful study of the prakriya (or prakarana) texts
> such as Tattvabodha!
> 
> Tattva Bodha deals with several queries
> in prose form. Scholars believe from the context
> and contents that Adi Shankara had authored it
> though the authorship is not explicit from the
> text itself. Tattvabodha is presented as a fictitious
> dialogue between the teacher and student. For
> the purpose of our understanding, the subject
> matter can be logically divided into five sections
> as follows:
> 1. Introduction (Upodhgata)
> 2. Analysis of the individual (Jiva or Atma
> vicAra OR Atma vicAra)
> 3.  Analysis of creation (Srushti vicAra)
> 4. Analysis of identity between Jiva and Isvara
> (Jiva Isvara vicAra) and the
> 5. Fruit of knowledge of Atman (jnAnaphalam).
> 
> 
> (Continued in next post)
> 
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