[Advaita-l] Shankara's BSB 2.1.14 remark gets an authentication

[V Subrahmanian]

This short story, of about a minute, rendered in Kannada by a Madhva
scholar (in the video linked)

https://drive.google.com/file/d/142XwgJtSIGLONJQL6-UmnWUG9_LRuz9V/view?usp=sharing


demonstrates a point Shankara makes in the Brahma Sutra Bhashya 2.1.14.  In
order to explain the idea that 'a mithya vastu can bring about a real
effect and the Veda that is not paaramarthika satya can generate real
liberating knowledge that is unsublated, abaadhya, on the analogy of a man
dying because of entertaining a strong doubt that he has consumed poison.'
   In the video the story is: A man encounters the Devataa in charge of
decimating a huge population by inflicting a deadly disease (something like
Corona).  She tells him 'I am going to take the lives of 3000 people by
this disease.' The man resigned to the idea that divine will can't be
altered, goes away. A few days later he encounters that devataa and
questions: You had said your target is 3000 lives but 30,000 have died in
the pandemic.'  She replies: I stuck to my target but all those extra
deaths are due to their assuming that they have contacted the disease.'
http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/workers-panic-as-lizards-tail-is-found-in-breakfast/article8623198.ece

Workers panicked after they heard that a colleague had found a lizard’s
tail in his breakfast plate in a private industry in the Naubad industrial
area here on Thursday.

As the news spread, around 30 workers vomited thinking that they too might
have consumed “poison”.

“They were all admitted to hospital and discharged in a few hours. They are
all healthy and fit, and will soon return to work,” factory manager Rajesh
Rao said.

A team of Health Department officers visited the unit and gave tips on
handling such situations, District Health and Family Welfare Officer
Baburao Hudgikar said.//

regards
subbu