[Advaita-l] [advaitin] Shankara accepts BhAvarUpa ajnana BSB 4.1.15

[V Subrahmanian]

On Thu, Aug 31, 2023 at 10:06 AM Bhaskar YR via Advaita-l <
advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote:

> praNAms
> Hare Krishna
>
> This "onlooker" thing is not mentioned anywhere.
>
> >  However jnAni's bhOktrutva, katrutva, pramAtrutva etc. are just in the
> eyes of onlookers and jnAni's realization fetch him the knowledge that he
> is ashareeri only since ashareeratvaM is svAbhAvika in Atma jnana.
> (Su.bh.1-1-4).  lOkavyavahAra sAmAnyadarshanena tu loukikaiH ArOpita
> kartrutve bhikshAtanaadau karmaNI kartA bhavati.


This statement does not imply that the Jnani is in the conception of the
onlookers.  What the above vaakya means is:  While the Jnani himself is
free of kartrutva bhoktrutva abhimana, it is the others who posit these on
him.  That is why this Bh.Gita itself says:  nava dvaarE purE dEhi naiva
kurvan na kaaRayan.  It does not say the Jnani is not alive at all.   In
the Gita 4.21 bhashya Shankara says:  शरीरस्थितिमात्रप्रयोजनं
केवलशब्दप्रयोगात् ‘अहं करोमि’ इत्यभिमानवर्जितः शरीरादिचेष्टामात्रं लोक
दृष्ट्या कुर्वन् नाप्नोति किल्बिषं ।  The Jnani will be engaged in just
that much activity that is required to sustain the body and that too with
the 'I am not the doer' attitude.  Shankara gives the clinching statement
here: He body mind complex activity is seen by the others and they think
that he is acting. For the Jnani's attitude the Gita itself says the last
word: guNA guNEShu vartante iti matvA.  indriyANi indriyArtheShu.... the
bondy-mind-organs complex interacts with the outside world of sound etc.
but the Jnani knows that the Atman is ever the non-actor.

Thus, the stated Gita bhashya does not imply that the Jnani is in the
perception of others. In the BSB Shankara has given an open challenge to
anyone to question the Jnani's firm conviction that he is Brahman and at
the same time he is enlivening a body:  *अपि च नैवात्र विवदितव्यम् —*
ब्रह्मविदा
कञ्चित्कालं शरीरं ध्रियते न वा ध्रियत इति । कथं हि एकस्य स्वहृदयप्रत्ययं
ब्रह्मवेदनं देहधारणं च अपरेण प्रतिक्षेप्तुं शक्येत ? श्रुतिस्मृतिषु च
स्थितप्रज्ञलक्षणनिर्देशेन एतदेव निरुच्यते । तस्मादनारब्धकार्ययोरेव
सुकृतदुष्कृतयोर्विद्यासामर्थ्यात्क्षय इति निर्णयः ॥ १५ ॥

So far none has had the courage to respond to this challenge.

That even srishti vaakyas are arthavada is borne out by Gaudapada:

मृल्लोहविस्फुलिङ्गाद्यैः सृष्टिर्या चोदितान्यथा ।
उपायः सोऽवताराय नास्ति भेदः कथञ्चन ॥ १५ ॥  3.15

The shruti-s that teach creation are not meant to affirm any difference
(jiva -Ishvara, jiva-jiva, etc.) but to teach the Advaita tattva to the
seekers. Thus while the fundamental creation shruti itself is arthavAda, it
follows that everything from saguna brahman, all upasanas, puranas,
avataras, bandha moksha vyavastha, etc. are all arthavadas.

//If that is not the case and if we still want to  paste AL to brahma jnAni
/ jeevanmukta then it is as good as saying:  brahman is having the AL 😊//

Shankara has 'pasted' avidya lesha (also called samskara by Shankara)  to
the Jnani.  So, whoever objects/criticises avidya lesha are in the same
breath criticizing Shankara and faulting him for using the term samskara.
No one can succeed in giving a different meaning to the term samskara used
by Shankara than avidya lesha. If someone thinks the term avidya lesha is a
defect to a Jnani, then Shankara is also not free from that fault.

warm regards
subbu






> So it is only in the eyes of onlookers who cannot conceive the idea of
> jnAni beyond BMI would think that he is having individual body, mind and
> intellect.  Whereas shruti's declaration is : vidvAn sa ehaiva brahma
> yadyapi 'dehavaaniva lakshyate sa brahmaiva san brahmApnOti.  If that is
> not the case and if we still want to  paste AL to brahma jnAni /
> jeevanmukta then it is as good as saying:  brahman is having the AL 😊
>
> Hari Hari Hari Bol!!!
> bhaskar
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