[Advaita-l] "One subjectivity" and "No creation" reference to Advaita

[V Subrahmanian]

A couple of years ago, there was a seminar on Buddhism, organised jointly
by the Maha Bodhi Society and the Karnataka Sanskrit University, at the
Institute of World Culture, B.P. Wadia Road, Basavanagudi, Bangalore.
Speaking at the seminar, senior Madhva scholar  Dr. D. Prahladachar (who is
now the head of the Vyasraja Matha) observed: "Both Buddhists and Advaitins
admit the mithyatva of the world. The Advaitins say the substraturm of the
world, which is but a superimposition, is Brahman as propounded by Vedanta.
Buddhists do not admit any eternal substratum."

Here is a file containing an essay by Sri SSS on the comparative study of
Advaita and Buddhism.  Gaudapadacharya's Karika and Nagarjuna's work are
the texts.  This is in English:

https://adbhutam.files.wordpress.com/2021/01/advaita-and-buddhism-sss.pdf

The idea that nothing is ever created is established by Sri Gaudapadacharya
based on the Upanishads:

Gaudapada in the 3rd chapter says:
मृल्लोहविस्फुलिङ्गाद्यैः सृष्टिर्या चोदितान्यथा ।
उपायः सोऽवताराय नास्ति भेदः कथञ्चन ॥ १५ ॥ 3.15
15 The scriptural statements regarding the creation, using the examples of
earth, iron and sparks, are for the purpose of clarifying the
understanding.Multiplicity does not really exist in any manner.
ननु यद्युत्पत्तेः प्रागजं सर्वमेकमेवाद्वितीयम् , तथापि उत्पत्तेरूर्ध्वं
जातमिदं सर्वं जीवाश्च भिन्ना इति । मैवम् ,
अन्यार्थत्वादुत्पत्तिश्रुतीनाम् । पूर्वमपि परिहृत एवायं दोषः —
स्वप्नवदात्ममायाविसर्जिताः सङ्घाताः,
घटाकाशोत्पत्तिभेदादिवज्जीवानामुत्पत्तिभेदादिरिति । इत एव
उत्पत्तिभेदादिश्रुतिभ्य आकृष्य इह
पुनरुत्पत्तिश्रुतीनामैदम्पर्यप्रतिपिपादयिषयोपन्यासः
मृल्लोहविस्फुलिङ्गादिदृष्टान्तोपन्यासैः सृष्टिः या च उदिता प्रकाशिता
कल्पिता अन्यथान्यथा च, स सर्वः सृष्टिप्रकारो
जीवपरमात्मैकत्वबुद्ध्यवतारायोपायोऽस्माकम् , ....तस्मादुत्पत्त्यादिश्रुतय
आत्मैकत्वबुद्ध्यवतारायैव, नान्यार्थाः कल्पयितुं युक्ताः । अतो
नास्त्युत्पत्त्यादिकृतो भेदः कथञ्चन ॥
The gist of the above bhashya is: If it is held that before creation the
Unitary Brahman alone was, post-creation there is the multiplicity caused
by the manifold jivas. In other words, before creation there was advaita,
post-creation there is dvaita. This objection/doubt was already settled in
the earlier discourse: The creation-shrutis have a different purport (than
conveying the idea that multiplicity is created). Just as multiplicity is
experienced when a person dreams, being projected by that very single
person... and just as many pot-spaces are observed owing to many pots being
created, even though only one space is there really...
Shankara has cited the above kārikā in the Sutra bhāṣya as well and also in
the Br.up.Bhaṣya in the same context.
The Ratnaprabha for BSN 2.1.14 at the end quotes a verse in this
connection: कृपणधीः परिणाममुदीक्षतेक्षयितकल्मषधीस्तु विवर्तताम्  (source
not provided). [‘The unprepared aspirant understands only the ‘creation,
transformation’ scheme whereas the one who has purified his mind of all
dross is able to appreciate the ‘transfiguration’ vivarta of Atman/Brahman
as appearing as the world and jIva-s.’]
In Kārikā 4.41:

उपलम्भात्समाचारादस्तिवस्तुत्ववादिनाम् ।
जातिस्तु देशिता बुद्धैरजातेस्त्रसतां सदा ॥ ४२ ॥
 भाष्यम्
<http://advaitasharada.sringeri.net/display/bhashya/Mandukya?page=4&id=MK_C04_K42&hlBhashya=%E0%A4%B8%E0%A4%AE%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%9A%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%B0%E0%A4%BE#bhashya-MK_C04_K42>
यापि बुद्धैः अद्वैतवादिभिः जातिः देशिता उपदिष्टा, उपलम्भनमुपलम्भः, तस्मात्
उपलब्धेरित्यर्थः । समाचारात् वर्णाश्रमादिधर्मसमाचरणाच्च ताभ्यां हेतुभ्याम्
अस्तिवस्तुत्ववादिनाम् अस्ति वस्तुभाव इत्येवंवदनशीलानां दृढाग्रहवतां
श्रद्दधानां मन्दविवेकिनामर्थोपायत्वेन सा देशिता जातिः तां गृह्णन्तु तावत् ।
वेदान्ताभ्यासिनां तु स्वयमेव अजाद्वयात्मविषयो विवेको भविष्यतीति ; न तु
परमार्थबुद्ध्या । ते हि श्रोत्रियाः स्थूलबुद्धित्वात् अजातेः अजातिवस्तुनः
सदा त्रस्यन्ति आत्मनाशं मन्यमाना अविवेकिन इत्यर्थः । ‘उपायः सोऽवताराय’ (मा.
का. ३ । १५)
<http://advaitasharada.sringeri.net/display/bhashya/Mandukya?page=3&id=MK_C03_V15&hl=%E0%A4%89%E0%A4%AA%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%AF%E0%A4%83%20%E0%A4%B8%E0%A5%8B%E0%A4%BD%E0%A4%B5%E0%A4%A4%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%B0%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%AF>
इत्युक्तम्
॥
The specifying of varṇāśrama, etc. is intended to those who are no doubt
endowed with faith, but have not raised themselves up to the grasping of
the mukhya vedānta prakriyā: ajāti. The terms Shankara uses here:
mandaviveki, shthūlabuddhi are noteworthy. Thus, DSV is the prakriyā for
the uttamādhikāri and SDV is the one for the beginner, who by adhering to
that, will graduate to DSV by default.
regards
subbu

On Mon, Sep 27, 2021 at 7:59 PM Kaushik Chevendra via Advaita-l <
advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote:

> Another issue of budhuism addressed in the bsb is that,if the world is a
> working of the internal mind and objects are impressions made on the mind
> like a dream,then the existence of the object precedes the impression of
> it.
>
> On Mon, 27 Sep, 2021, 5:04 pm Bhaskar YR, <
> bhaskar.yr at hitachi-powergrids.com>
> wrote:
>
> > praNAms
> >
> > Hare Krishna
> >
> >
> >
> >    - Kindly pardon me, I don’t want to go deep into it as my knowledge in
> >    Buddhism is quite poor (almost nil) and what I read about buddhism is
> only
> >    what is available in advaita works😊  So cannot authoritatively say
> >    anything about doctrine of Buddhism according to their accepted
> authentic
> >    works.  If I am right, even in the Buddhism also they will accept the
> >    existence (astitvaM).  The existence of shUnyatvaM.  And in
> vijnAnavAda too
> >    they accept the existence of constructive imagination of external
> object by
> >    chitta (mind).  The kArikAkAra too attributes the existence of
> external
> >    objects to kampana (vibration) of chitta.  Samanvaya needs to be done
> with
> >    the help of shruti, yukti and anubhava.
> >
> >
> >
> > Hari Hari Hari Bol!!!
> >
> > bhaskar
> >
> >
> >
> > Namaste sir.
> >
> > You have given quite an excellent response. From your post it seems to be
> > that the dualists contention is true. Probably the scholars will have to
> > shed light on this.
> >
> > In my opinion the difference between the shunya and brahman is existence.
> > In the sense that shunya is absence of anything. Whereas in av there is
> > absence of anything other than brahman.
> >
> >
> >
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