[Advaita-l] ***UNCHECKED*** Extremely powerful reasoning for 'Aham Brahmasmi' in the Bh.Gita

[V Subrahmanian]

On Sat, Oct 21, 2023 at 11:02 AM Sudhanshu Shekhar <sudhanshu.iitk at gmail.com>
wrote:

> Namaste,
>
> //When we say Jiva is Kshetra, the question that would arise is: Is jiva
> jaDa since the chapter defines kshetra as jaDa, which alone requires an
> agent other than itself to reveal/illumine it.//
>
> If jIva is defined as AbhAsa i.e. chit-AbhAsa, then it is mithyA. MithyA
> is jneya. Anything jneya is kshetra. It will be Jada as well.
>
> In HastAmalakIya bhAshya:
> अत्रोच्यते — बोधो हि नाम चैतन्यमभिप्रेतम् ; न च ज्ञानं चैतन्यम् ,
> जन्यज्ञानस्य ज्ञेयत्वेन घटादिवज्जडत्वात् । ज्ञेयं हि ज्ञानम् , घटज्ञानं मे
> जातं पटज्ञानं मे जातमिति साक्षादनुभूयमानत्वात् ।
>
> In Advaita Siddhi,
>
> धर्मिभूतमुखादिनैरपेक्ष्येण तद्धर्मभूतरूपादिप्रतिबिम्बादर्शनात् ,
> प्रतिबिम्बस्याव्याप्यवृत्तित्वनियमेन लौहित्यस्य स्फटिके
> व्याप्यवृत्तिप्रतीत्ययोगाच्च । लौहित्ये स्फटिकस्य त्वारोपे तस्य
> प्रतिबिम्बत्वम् , स्फटिके लौहित्यारोपे तु तस्य मिथ्यात्वमिति विवेकः ।
> (Advaita Siddhi)
>
> AbhAsa is always mithyA. Pratibimba is not mithyA.
>
> So, in case of AbhAsa-vAda, jIva is AbhAsa. AbhAsa is mithyA. Kshetra is
> mithyA. Hence, it will be bAdha-sAmanAdhikaraNya if we are to say "jIva is
> Kshetrajna" or "jIva is Brahman" just as "kshetra is Brahman".
>
> //As jivas we do not experience that we are jaDa, being revealed by an
> external agent; on the other hand we experience that we are sentient and it
> is we that reveal objects (including our body-mind complex, after we are
> exposed to Vedanta).  //
>
> The chit-AbhAsa in ahamkAra does reveal objects but is itself revealed by
> sAkshI. That is to say, sAbhAsa-ahankAra is revealed by
> avidyA-upahita-chaitanya which is sAkshI. The revealing by jIva is known as
> vyavasAya whereas revealing of (jnAta, jneya and jnAna) all three together
> is anuvyavasAya. So, jIva is also known/revealed by sAkshI.
>
> We do feel that we are Chetan. But a little enquiry shows that what we
> take to be ourselves is also a mere jneya.
>

Namaste

It is actually on the basis that the kshetrajna chaitanya that
perceives/reveals/knows the kshetram that it is called 'vEttaa' and hence
the kshetrajna. And this kshetrajna is identified with Brahman in the
second verse of the 13th chapter Gita. There alone in the bhashya there is
a distinction made between the known avidya and the knower/revealer Atma.
The jneya part of 'ourselves' is the body-mind complex, which is already
included in the definition of the kshetram in the same chapter and the
jnAtA/avabhAsaka is what is the kshetrajna identified with Brahman.

Regards
subbu

>
> Regards.
>
> On Sat, 21 Oct, 2023, 10:03 am V Subrahmanian, <v.subrahmanian at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>>
>>
>> On Sat, Oct 21, 2023 at 4:14 AM Sudhanshu Shekhar <
>> sudhanshu.iitk at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> Namaste V Subramanian ji.
>>>
>>> JIva is Kshetrajna can be understood in two ways:
>>>
>>> 1. JIva is kshetra. And there is bAdha-sAmanAdhikaraNya resulting into
>>> jIva being stated kshetrajna.
>>>
>>
>> Namaste
>>
>> When we say Jiva is Kshetra, the question that would arise is: Is jiva
>> jaDa since the chapter defines kshetra as jaDa, which alone requires an
>> agent other than itself to reveal/illumine it.  As jivas we do not
>> experience that we are jaDa, being revealed by an external agent; on the
>> other hand we experience that we are sentient and it is we that reveal
>> objects (including our body-mind complex, after we are exposed to
>> Vedanta).
>>
>> regards
>> subbu
>>
>>
>>
>>>
>>> Just as "world is Brahman", similarly "jIva is Brahman".
>>>
>>> Here, jIva is AbhAsa which is mithyA and is sublated completely through
>>> the statement "jIva is Brahman".
>>>
>>> 2. JIva is pratibimba. Pratibimba is Satya. Here, "jIva is Kshetrajna"
>>> is mukhya-sAmAnAdhikaraNya.
>>>
>>> Here, the vAchya-artha of jIva is NOT within kshetra. In the previous
>>> model, vAchya-artha of jIva (the AbhAsa) will come within the purview of
>>> kshetra.
>>>
>>> ========
>>>
>>> Thus, when jIva is stated to be Kshetrajna, depending on the model of
>>> AbhAsa and pratibimba, we have to take as to whether the vAchya-artha of
>>> word jIva will be kshetra (mithyA) or non-kshetra (Satya).
>>>
>>> Regards.
>>>
>>>
>>>>
>>>>