[Advaita-l] Binary nature of Jnana

[Raghav Kumar Dwivedula]

Namaste Venkatraghavan ji
Regarding what you wrote viz.,


>
> I don't mean pratibandha nivRtti occurs coterminous, as a rule, with
> mahAvAkya shravaNa. I believe you are saying that as a rule, aparoksha
> jnAna + pratibandha nivRtti occurs only coterminous with mahAvAkya
> shravaNa.
>
> I am looking for some pramANa for such a rule, but I cannot seem to find
> it. There are examples in shAstra where pratibandha nivRtti happens much
> after mahAvAkya shravaNam, even where there is no opportunity for mahAvAkya
> shravaNam when the pratibandha kshaya happens - e.g. vAmadeva, etc.
>
>
>
Two points to consider.
1. In cases where the nivRtti occurs with awareful recollection (smRti) of
the Guru's mahAvAkyopadesha, it would seem logical and tenable. In such
cases, the vAkyArtha sphuraNa happens by the avAntara cause or mediation of
the smRti of the words heard earlier as opposed to the words being heard
from the outside afresh. (This is akin to the joke told by Pujya Swamiji
being understood later while taking a shower etc., which occurs with
awareful recollection of the words of the joke heard earlier.) My
understanding is that this kind of a case is not under dispute and such
awareful recollection coterminous with the final nivRtti of obstacles
leading to the paripakva GYAnam/avagati is logical.

2. Independent of the above point 1, there is another point here. If it can
be shown that Vamadeva etc had no recollection of the words of any earlier
shravaNam etc., and without any such mediation by past smRti, the
obstacle-free GYAnam seemingly "spontaneously" arises, that would be quite
remarkable. (We could take absence of evidence of any such recall by him in
the womb, as evidence of absence but that would not be good logic. Sri
Ramana Maharshi too comes to mind but there are scholars who suggest a
workaround in his case like the later interaction with shrotriyas etc. - an
explanation not entirely satisfactory - but let's leave aside his example.)

My current understanding is that the option 2 is acceptable and would be
similar to this laukika example. "A person has been suffering from chronic
acute headache for a few days. Then he is given a pill late at night when
he is drowsy and goes back to bed. In the morning he is free of headache
but has no idea how he got rid of it". The medicine worked but he has no
clear recollection of what he took or when he took it. Similar examples of
general anaesthesia can also be given.

In such cases of obstacles-free GYAnam not coterminous with a final
shravaNam,  arising at a later date, their outer verbal expression may not
entirely be structured and conform strictly to traditional pedagogy but
that does not take away their GYAnam in any way - the shabda pramANa idea
may be underplayed by them.


Om
Raghav






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