[Advaita-l] [advaitin] SSSS on the controversy between mulav7idya and abhavarupa - directly and simply explained as per SSSS

[Venkatraghavan S]

Namaste Sudhanshu Ji,
Thank you for sharing your understanding of NS 3.7.

Re "Further, he accepts that there is some ajnAna different from
mithyA+jnAna
[something not accepted by him when he says
avidyA=mithyA-jnAna=jnAna-abhAva] and hence jnAna (avabodha) can remove
Atma-anavabodha. [तस्मान्मिथ्याज्ञानव्यतिरेकेण नाज्ञानं नाम वस्त्वस्ति
ज्ञाननिवर्त्यत्वमिति वचनं साहसमात्रमिति भावः]"

Can you explain how you read तस्मान्मिथ्याज्ञानव्यतिरेकेण नाज्ञानं नाम
वस्त्वस्ति to mean that there is some ajnAna different from mithyA+jnAna?
Doesn't it say the opposite - that apart from mithyA jnAna there is no such
thing called ajnAna?

Regards,
Venkatraghavan


On Mon, 26 Aug 2024, 20:53 Sudhanshu Shekhar via Advaita-l, <
advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote:

> Namaste Venkatraghavan ji.
>
> //Jnanottama, an early 12th century commentator, interprets this section
> quite differently in his ChandrikA commentary to the NS. In fact, the words
> that Sri SSS takes to be the siddhAntin's are interpreted by Sri Jnanottama
> to be of the pUrvapakshI!//
>
> I have not checked the ChandrikA. I follow ChitsukhAchArya commentary on NS
> by DakshiNAmUrti MaTh. It is obvious that NS 3.7 is in response to the
> pUrvapkshI, who holds that avidyA is jnAna-abhAva. That view is countered
> by AchArya by propounding the bhAvarUpatva of avidyA.
>
> In NS 3.6, it was told by siddhAntI that AtmA-anAtmA-viveka-jnAna is not
> enough for realization and mahAvAkya-janya-jnAna is required. This is so
> because AtmA-anAtmA-viveka-jnAna presumes bheda. It is result of a
> knowledge which has bheda as vishaya. Thus, siddhAntI says:
> 1. AtmA-anAtmA-viveka-jnAna is also ajnAna-kArya.
> 2. Through mahAvAkya-janya-jnAna, which has only Brahman as vishaya, avidyA
> is negated completely.
>
> In response to this statement by siddhAntI, pUrvapakshI asks --
>
> 1. avidyA is jnAna-abhAva. How can there be avidyA-kArya (how can avastu
> avidyA have samsAra-kAraNatvam)?
> 2. Further, there is no such entity as AtmA-anavabodha (ajnAna) different
> from mithyA+jnAna. When it is thus absent, how at all are you saying it to
> be removed by (mahA) vAkya-jnAna?
>
> In answer to these two queries, NS 3.7 propounds, by bringing the concept
> of ajnAta-sat, that both these objections are ill-founded on account on
> bhAvarUpa-ajnAna which is different from mithyA+jnAna. ajnAta-sat is to be
> understood by bringing in BBV 1.4.371, wherein it is stated that the
> kAraNatva of ajnAna is superimposed in Brahman. Since, this is held by
> siddhAntI that ajnAta-sat is stated as kAraNa only on account of kAraNatva
> of bhAvarUpa-ajnAna, both the objections of pUrvapakshI stand resolved.
>
> SSS ji has accepted the view of pUrvapakshI that avidyA is jnAna-abhAva.
>
> However, 1. for avidyA-kArya, he says -- avidyA is not the kAraNa,
> ajnAta-sat is kAraNa. [एवं च अज्ञानस्याभावात्मकस्य कथं कारणत्वम् ?
> इत्याक्षेपः परिहृतो भवति । अज्ञातसत एव कारणत्वाभ्युपगमात् ।]A sort of
> self-contradiction.
> Further, he accepts that there is some ajnAna different from mithyA+jnAna
> [something not accepted by him when he says
> avidyA=mithyA-jnAna=jnAna-abhAva] and hence jnAna (avabodha) can remove
> Atma-anavabodha. [तस्मान्मिथ्याज्ञानव्यतिरेकेण नाज्ञानं नाम वस्त्वस्ति
> ज्ञाननिवर्त्यत्वमिति वचनं साहसमात्रमिति भावः]
>
> So, in a nutshell, there is a khichdi made by SSS ji in accepting some
> portion of pUrvapkshI, rejecting his own position (in adhyAsa bhAshya) of
> non-acceptance of Atma-anavabodha different from mithyA+jnAna, and then
> accepting the kAraNatva of ajnAta-sat but rejecting the kAraNatva of
> ajnAna, which is impossible.
>
> Regards.
> Sudhanshu Shekhar.
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