[Advaita-l] Fwd: {भारतीयविद्वत्परिषत्} श्रीशङ्करपञ्चदशी

[Vinodh]

Thank you for sharing the citation on bhakthi according to Shankara. It
matches with my understanding as well. 🙏

On Wed 1. Jun 2022 at 15:36, Michael Chandra Cohen <
michaelchandra108 at gmail.com> wrote:

> Namaste Viniodh,
> THanks for the citations. I wonder if Raghavarchar interprets Sankara
> bhakti along the lines of the Karika - I suspect not.
>
> FYI, here is AJ Alston (vol 6.105ff) on bhakti as Sankara taught:
>
> *The topic of devotion (bhakti) has already come up for discussion earlier
> at several places in the present work. Broadly speaking, Sankara was
> capable of taking two different lines of interpretation where the term
> ‘devotion’ (bhakti) occurred in the texts on which he was commenting. If
> the text considered devotion in isolation from knowledge — for instance if
> it spoke of the path of devotion or ‘bhakti yoga’ — he made it a
> preparatory and subordinate phase of the path leading to knowledge, or at
> best one which would lead to union with the Lord in the ‘indirect’ manner,
> after death. But his more typical course was to appropriate texts on
> devotion to the Lord and identify them with the path of knowledge. In fact
> he frequently refused to acknowledge any difference between devotion and
> spiritual knowledge at all (Cp. Gita bhasya 13.10, sa (bhaktir) hi jnanam).
> *
>
> *Saccidanandendra Svamin argued that Sankara is justified in taking the
> latter course both by the ancient texts and by the facts of the spiritual
> path (Sac, Glta-Sastrartha-Viveka, 123-126). Knowledge and devotion, he
> claims, are not two separate things, but one thing viewed under different
> ‘aspects’, as the power of the sun is one thing, though it may artificially
> be viewed as two separate things, heat and light. But knowledge and
> devotion are entirely inter-dependent. There cannot be knowledge of the
> true nature of the Lord through mere reasoning without the spirit of
> devotion. This is because the Lord is ‘the Self seated in the heart of all
> creatures and the Self is that which is dearer than a son, dearer than
> wealth, closer than anything else (Brhad. I.iv.8). And on the other side
> there cannot be devotion without knowledge. Of the four kinds of devotee
> mentioned in the Gita, the man of knowledge is the highest (Gita 7.18), as
> devotion is spiritual sensibility and not mere blind application of the
> will. When either knowledge or devotion are brought to their highest pitch
> they transcend themselves: the knower becomes one with the known, the lover
> one with the beloved ().*
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> *“”Those who pursue action receive the fruits of action from Me, and those
> who pursue knowledge receive the fruits of knowledge from Me. Hence even
> those who serve Me through the Yoga of Devotion (bhakti yoga) pass through
> stages to acquire spiritual knowledge and are eventually liberated through
> My grace. If liberation comes to those who perform the Yoga of Devotion,
> how much more certainly does it come to those who acquire a correct
> intuitive knowledge of the nature of the Self in this very life. Gita
> bhasya 15.l”*
>
>
>
>
>
> *“How, then, can the Lord be seen? Through devotion (bhakti). But through
> devotion to what? Devotion to nothing else. The phrase refers to that
> devotion which never swerves from the Lord. Devotion-to-none-other is that
> devotion whereby nothing other than Vasudeva is perceived by the senses or
> any organ of cognition. Through such devotion, O Arjuna, can I be known in
> this form —that is, in the form of the universe. I can be known from the
> traditional texts (sastra), and not only known from the texts but directly
> known in My true nature and can be ‘entered’ —that is, there can be
> liberation. *
>
> *And now the whole teaching of the Glta-Sastra is epitomized and summed up
> and stated for the sake of man’s highest good. ‘O Son of Pandu, whoever
> acts for My sake, has Me for his supreme goal, who is devoted to Me, free
> from all attachment, and who lives without enmity for any creature, he
> comes to Me’.... A servant works for his master’s sake, but he does not
> think of his master as his supreme goal which he will attain to after
> death.... ‘Devoted to Me’ means that he worships Me in every way with his
> whole being and with all zeal. ‘Without attachment’ means without servile
> love or affection for wealth, sons, friends, wife or relatives. ‘Without
> enmity for any creature’ means without any feeling of enmity even for those
> intent on inflicting grievous harm on him.  Gita bhasya 11.54 and 55.”*
>
>
> *Hence it has now been proved that total cessation of transmigratory life
> (samsara) ensues when there is devotion to knowledge derived from
> renunciation of all action. Gita bhasya 18.67 (intro.)*
>
> Katha Upanishat (2.23) says, " whom the Atman chooses, by him is He
> obtained; to him He reveals Himself". "when he who is devoid of desire
> motivated actions, through the grace of God, the supporter, sees the
> ParamAtman's glory, then does he become freed from sorrow"- KU 2.20.
>
>
>
>
> On Tue, May 31, 2022 at 11:20 PM Vinodh via Advaita-l <
> advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote:
>
>> Sri Michael,
>>
>> On the topic of dualists, I find a lot of comfort in the following
>> kaarikas
>> of Gaudapadacharya, in which he (and later Shankara in his bhashya) argues
>> that even though the dvaitins (of different dvaita philosophies) hold on
>> to
>> their view and find fault with others, Advaita has no conflict with them.
>> This is because Advaita admits the dvaita position from a maayika
>> standpoint.
>>
>> In the case at hand, for an Advaitin, having bhakti toward a particular
>> dvaitic name and form is no different from reflecting one’s Atma-svarupa,
>> the names and forms being no different from the Atma and being merely
>> illusory projections.
>>
>> स्वसिद्धान्तव्यवस्थासु द्वैतिनो निश्चिता दृढम् ।
>> परस्परं विरुध्यन्ते तैरयं न विरुध्यते ॥ १७ ॥
>>
>> svasiddhāntavyavasthāsu dvaitino niścitā dṛḍham |
>> parasparaṃ virudhyante tairayaṃ na virudhyate || 17 ||
>>
>> 17. *The dualists obstinately cling to the conclusions arrived at by their
>> own enquiries (as being the truth). So they contradict one another*;
>> *whereas
>> the* Advaitin *finds no conflict with them.*
>>
>>
>> अद्वैतं परमार्थो हि द्वैतं तद्भेद उच्यते ।
>> तेषाम् उभयथा द्वैतं तेनायं न विरुद्ध्यते ॥ १८ ॥
>>
>> advaitaṃ paramārtho hi dvaitaṃ tadbheda ucyate |
>> teṣām ubhayathā dvaitaṃ tenāyaṃ na viruddhyate || 18 ||
>>
>> 18. *As non-duality is the ultimate Reality*, *therefore duality is said
>> to
>> be its effect* (Kārya *or* Bheda). *The dualists perceive duality either
>> way* (*i.e., both in the Absolute and in the phenomena*). *Therefore the
>> non-dual position does not conflict with the dualist’s position.*
>
>
>>
>> On Wed 1. Jun 2022 at 05:19, Michael Chandra Cohen via Advaita-l <
>> advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote:
>>
>> > Sri V. Subramanian and all,
>> >
>> > S.S. Raghavachar is a Ramanuja guy. His preface to Sri Bhasya announces
>> > that the Sankara Sutra Bhasya idea of nirguna brahman as the ultimate
>> > teaching of Vedanta is wrong as, "it has been established conclusively
>> (in
>> > this text) that the supposedly higher teaching attributed to the text as
>> > its authentic purport is entirely without evidence"
>> >
>> >
>> https://archive.org/details/sribhashyaonthephilosophyofthebrahmasutrassraghavachar1986ocr/page/n11/mode/2up
>> >
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>