[Advaita-l] [advaitin] The Upanishad and Shankara hold 'tamas' darkness, to be a 'thing.'

[Sudhanshu Shekhar]

Hari Om Chandramouli ji. Subbu ji.

//Because, for sense of sight to be functional, presence of light is
compulsory.//

The issue as to whether darkness is pramAtri-gamya or sAkshi-bhAsya is
dependent on whether the rUpa-jnAna of darkness is
indriya-sannikarsha-janya or not. If it is indriya-sannikarsha-janya, then
darkness should be accepted to be pramAtri-gamya.

I checked ChitsukhI and VivaraNa-upanyAsa.

*ChitsukhI *

रूपत्वे रूपवत्त्वे वा आलोकानपेक्षचक्षुजन्यज्ञानविषयत्वासंभवो वाधक इति चेत्,
मैवम्, आलोकविरोधिनस्तमसश्चालोकाभावव्यञ्जनीयतया
तन्निरपेक्षचक्षुर्विषयत्वोपपत्तेः

Pl see at
https://archive.org/details/chitsukhiyogindrananda/page/n93/mode/1up

The opponent argues that rUpa or rUpa-vat-vastu cannot have
chakshu-vishayavtva without prakAsha. And hence darkness cannot be stated
to have rUpa.

SiddhAnti answers that the abhivyakti of darkness, which is
prakAsha-virodhI, is contingent on prakAsha-abhAva and hence the
chakshu-vishayatva of darkness is not dependent on presence of prakAsha.

So, the rule that chakshu-vishayatva necessarily requires prakAsha is
accepted to be violated in case of darkness.

This clearly proves that darkness is chakshu-vishaya and consequently
pramAtri-gamya and not sAkshi-bhAsya.

*VivaraNa-upanyAsa*

The anumAna presented there is: तमः शब्द वाच्यो नाभावः,
स्वमात्रवृत्तिधर्मप्रकारकप्रतियोगिज्ञानाजन्यप्रत्यक्षविषयत्वाद्, घटवत्।

If you see here, tamas is presented as an object of pratyaksha like a
ghaTa. Since ghaTa is pramAtri-vedya and not sAkshi-bhAsya, we need to
accept darkness as pramAtri-vedya as well because only then it can be
stated to be pratyaksha ghaTa-vat.

Please present your views in this regard.

Regards.
Sudhanshu Shekhar.