[Advaita-l] Fwd: Looking for reference of a shloka

[jaldhar at braincells.com]

I would translate it like this:

"The samskaras of form are the same as intelligence, as is  passion and 
disgust; and fear is founded on the basis of intelligence, therefore the 
knower is pure and unafraid."


On Thu, 19 Nov 2020, Girish Aj via Advaita-l wrote:

> I could not get the full import of the shloka.
> What does shankaracharya mean??
> 1. What does he equate intelligence to? Samskara and roopa?

Intelligence (dhI) is the means by which perceptual information is known 
through the senses.  What is actually perceived is dependent on the form 
of the perceiver.  For instance a pilot may have much better vision than 
say someone who has lived in a cave all their life.  An eagle will have 
better vision than even the best human etc.  These forms are the result of 
the accumalation of samskaras over countless lifetimes.  But dhI itself is 
an instrument.  It is the Atman, the knower who is the witness who 
"operates" intelligence as it were.  Without the atman, intelligence would 
consist only of reactions to sense stimuli.


> 2. What is the reference to raha, dvesh and bhaya?

These varieties of rAga and dvesha are caused by sensory stimulus.  It is 
dhI which interprets the stimuli.  For instance I do not eat meat for an 
intellectual reason (i.e. dharma) but it is also gives me physical 
feelings of disgust.  An American might also become a vegetarian for 
ethical reasons but the smell, sight etc. might not give the same reaction 
because he is more used to it.  Fear is a possible reaction to these 
feelings caused by the senses.  So fear is also based on dhI only.

But the Atman is beyond all this.  When one knows completely, i.e. without 
delusion or misunderstanding, there is no fear or other such mental 
perturbations.  The reason this is taught is to refute those thinkers who 
believe that Brahman itself is the locus of ignorance.


> 3. What does one hold on to intellectual wealth or atma jnana?
>

The intellect and its fruits are necessary as the priors to Atma jnAna but
ultimately they too must be renounced as false.

-- 
Jaldhar H. Vyas <jaldhar at braincells.com>