[Advaita-l] Fwd: [advaitin] nAma-rUpa and nAma-rUpa-bIja

[Venkatraghavan S]

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Venkatraghavan S <agnimile at gmail.com>
Date: Thu, Aug 22, 2024 at 10:34 AM
Subject: Re: [advaitin] nAma-rUpa and nAma-rUpa-bIja
To: <advaitin at googlegroups.com>
Cc: A discussion group for Advaita Vedanta <
advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org>


Namaste Sudhanshu ji,

Thank you for this very good analysis of nAma rUpa and nAma rUpa bIja. It
is an excellent summary of the association of avidyAtmaka with respect to
the bIja and avidyA-kalpita, avidyApratyupasthApita with respect to
nAma-rUpa across the bhAShya.

A few other references which I didn't see in the table below, which I am
including for the sake of completion.

1) From BSB 1.4.3 itself - अविद्यात्मिका हि बीजशक्तिरव्यक्तशब्दनिर्देश्या
परमेश्वराश्रया मायामयी महासुषुप्तिः, यस्यां स्वरूपप्रतिबोधरहिताः शेरते
संसारिणो जीवाः । He also says here, that such a bIja shakti which is
avidyAtmikA is destroyed by knowledge - विद्यया तस्या बीजशक्तेर्दाहात् ।

2) BGB 8.20 पूर्वोक्तात् भूतग्रामबीजभूतात् अविद्यालक्षणात् अव्यक्तात् ।

3) KenopaniShad 1.4 - अथो अपि अविदितात्
विदितविपरीतादव्याकृतादविद्यालक्षणाद्व्याकृतबीजात् - Here again the
reference of avyAkRta as avidyAlakshaNa, which is the bIja for vyAkRta (ie
nAma-rUpa-bIja).

*Conclusion*  -  In BSB 1.4.3, he says this bIjashakti which is
avyakta-shabda-nirdeshyA is avidyAtimkA. In BGB.20 he says avyakta is
avidyAlakshaNa and Kena 1.4 he says avyAkRta is avidyAlakshaNa. The same
avyakta is called avidyAtmaka and avidyAlakshaNa - *the use of the lakshaNa
is in the sense of Atmaka only*.

4) Elsewhere in BGB 12.3 he says - तथा च अविद्याद्यनेकसंसारबीजम्
अन्तर्दोषवत् मायाव्याकृतादिशब्दवाच्यतया ‘मायां तु प्रकृतिं विद्यान्मायिनं
तु महेश्वरम्’ (श्वे. उ. ४ । १०) ‘मम माया दुरत्यया’ (भ. गी. ७ । १४) इत्यादौ
प्रसिद्धं यत् तत् कूटम् , तस्मिन् कूटे स्थितं कूटस्थं तदध्यक्षतया ।

*Conclusion* - The samsAra bIja which is avidyA, etc is referred to as
avyAkRta, mAyA etc. *This shows that Atmaka in avidyAtmaka means
avidyA-mAtra only *- because this bIja, this avyakta, is referred as
avidyAtmaka in the BSB 1.4.3 and as *avidyA itself* in BGB 12.3
(avidyAdi-aneka-samsAra-bIjam...avyAktRtAdi-shabda-vAcyatayA).

5) The explanation of the usage of bIja with respect to avyakta can be
found in the case of the kaThopaniShad 1.3.11 - महतोऽपि परं सूक्ष्मतरं
प्रत्यगात्मभूतं सर्वमहत्तरं च अव्यक्तं सर्वस्य जगतो बीजभूतमव्याकृतनामरूपं -
avyakta is called bIja because it is the bIja of the world, being of the
nature of avyAkRta-nAma-rUpa.

*Conclusion* -  Such a bIja which is of the nature of avyAkRta nAma rUpa,
which is avidyAtmaka, meaning avidyAmAtra, can never be of the nature of
jnAna abhAva.

6) In the mANDUkya kArika 1.6, he says that the rajju-sarpa is avidyakRta
and mAyAbIja-utpanna - रज्जुसर्पादीनामविद्याकृतमायाबीजोत्पन्नानां - thus
the rope-snake is a product of avidyA, and is born from the mAyA-seed.
Therefore, avidyA is the mAyA-bIja, the bIja which is mAyA. The samAsa
mAya-bIja is karmadhArya - mAyA eva bijah, not ShaShThI tatpuruSha, i.e.
mAyAyAh bIjah.

Why? Because in the KathopaniShad 1.3.11, he says avyaktam is bIja-bhUtam.
Therefore the interpretation of the samAsa mAyA-bIja in the mANDUkya kArikA
has to be as karma-dhAraya only and not ShaShThI tatpuruSha.

Thus we can see very clearly through a study of the breadth of the prathAna
traya bhAShya that  Shankaracharya uses the term avidyA, avidyAtmaka and
avidyAlakshaNa to the various synonyms of mAyA such as avyakta, avyAkRta,
mAyA, prakRti, avyAkRta-nAma-rUpa etc.

The terms avidyAkRta, avidyApratyupasthApita etc are used with the products
of avidyA, the vyAkRta-nAma-rUpa.

Kind regards,
Venkatraghavan