[Advaita-l] [advaitin] Re: Interesting comment by Udayanacharya

[Venkatraghavan S]

Namaste Subbuji,

Thanks for this. Some of the quotes from the SriDakshinamurtistotram book
whose extracts you pasted below, reminded me of a particular section from
the laghuchandrikA (the end of the chapter on mithyAtva mithyAtva) -

There, Sri gauDa brahmAnanda quotes a passage from the bauddhAdhikAra of
Udayana containing the प्रविश वा अनिर्वचनीयख्यातिकुक्षिं, तिष्ठ वा
मतिकर्दममपहाय and किमार्द्रकवणिजो वहित्रचिन्तया quotes referred to in your
email below.

Pasting it here, as it builds on the  subject of a non-advaitin's
understanding and respect for advaita.

If you read the text, Udayana is saying that the Buddhist must necessarily
concede that his shUnya has to be self evident, and if it is self evident,
he has entered the path of Vedanta (स्वतः सिद्धा चेदायातोऽसि मार्गेण).

Further, there has to be some relationship between shUnyatva, which is of
the nature of experience, and the world. What is it? If it is said that the
relationship is that because of which the world is revealed, such a
relationship cannot be real. However, due to ignorance, there can be a
subject object relationship between the two(तथापि
प्रपञ्चशून्यस्यानुभवमात्रस्य प्रपञ्चेन कः संबन्धः ? येनायं प्रकाशत इति
चेत्, वस्तुतो न कश्चित् संवृत्या तु गगनगन्धर्वनगरयोराधाराधेयभाव इव
विषयविषयिभावः)

If that is the case, one is accepting the anirvachanIya khyAti of the
advaitins. If one is unwilling to accept it, all one is left with is the
reality of external objects as stated by naiyyAyikas like
him. तस्मादनुभवव्यवस्थितावनात्मापि स्फुरतीत्यवर्जनीयमिति प्रविश वा
अनिर्वचनीयख्यातिकुक्षिं, तिष्ठ वा मतिकर्दममपहाय न्यायानुसारेण नीलादीनां
पारमार्थिकत्वे

He concludes with a rhetorical flourish saying - be that as it may, why
should the ginger seller concern himself with a vast export ship? (ie there
is no possibility for him to even thinking of a vast trade enterprise, when
he is trying to make his daily living) - तदास्तां तावत्, किमार्द्रकवणिजो
वहित्रचिन्तयेति.

Essentially he is saying that when he is dealing with mundane things like
setting right a dvaita system, talking of a deep topic like advaita is not
only beyond the scope of what he is seeking to achieve, it also undermines
his immediate task at hand, showing the deep respect that Udayana had for
advaita.

The laghuchandrikA text quoting from the Atmatattvaviveka and its
commentary by brahmAnanda is pasted below for reference (the image to text
converter is brilliant!) -

किंचोदयनाचार्याणां वेदान्तदर्शन एव महती श्रद्धा, बौद्धाधिकार एव हि
सर्वदर्शनानि निराकृत्य वेदान्तदर्शनमेव पुरस्कृतं तैः । तथाहि -
तत्रोक्तम्- '*अस्तु
तर्हि शून्यतैव परमनिर्वाणमिति चेन्न । सा हि यद्यसिद्धा, कथं तदवशेषं विश्वं
? परतश्चेत् सिद्धा, परोऽप्युपगन्तव्यः स च परो यदि संवृतिरेव,
विश्वशून्यतयोर्न कश्चिद्विशेषः, कथं तदप्यवशिष्येत ? असंवृतिश्चेत् परः परत
एव सिद्धा; अनवस्था । स्वयमसिद्धा चेत् कथं शून्यत्वमपि साधयेत् । स्वतः
सिद्धा चेदायातोऽसि मार्गेण । तथाहि - स्वतः सिद्धतया तदनुभवरूपं शून्यत्वादेव
न तस्य कालावच्छेद इति नित्यम् । अतएव न तस्य देशावच्छेद इति व्यापकम् । अतएव
निर्धर्मकमिति विचारास्पृष्टम् ; तस्य धर्मधर्मिभावमुपादाय प्रवृत्तेः । अतएव
तस्य विशेषाभाव इत्यद्वैतम् । प्रपञ्चस्यापारमार्थिकत्वादेव
निष्प्रतियोगिकमिति विधिरूपम् | अविचारितप्रपञ्चाक्षेपातु शून्यमिति व्यवहारः
। तथापि प्रपञ्चशून्यस्यानुभवमात्रस्य प्रपञ्चेन कः संबन्धः ? येनायं प्रकाशत
इति चेत्, वस्तुतो न कश्चित् संवृत्या तु गगनगन्धर्वनगरयोराधाराधेयभाव इव
विषयविषयिभावः । स च यथा नैयायिकैः समर्थयिष्यते तथैव
वेद्यनिष्टस्त्वसावस्मिन् दर्शन इति विशेषः । अविद्यैव हि तथा तथा विवर्तते,
यथानुभवीयतया व्यवह्रियते तत्तन्मायोपनीतोपाधिभेदाच्चानुभूतिरपि भिन्नेव
व्यवहारपथमवतरति, गगनमिव स्वप्नदृष्टघटकटाहकोटरकुटीकोटिभिः । तदास्तां तावत्,
किमार्द्रकवणिजो वहित्रचिन्तयेति । तस्मादनुभवव्यवस्थितावनात्मापि
स्फुरतीत्यवर्जनीयमिति प्रविश वा अनिर्वचनीयख्यातिकुक्षिं, तिष्ठ वा
मतिकर्दममपहाय न्यायानुसारेण नीलादीनां पारमार्थिकत्वे*' इत्यादि ॥


उक्तवाक्यानां संक्षेपेण व्याख्यानम् । *संवृतिः* भ्रमः । *शून्यत्वात्*
असङ्गत्वात्
। *तस्य* विचारस्य । *निष्प्रतियोगिकं* प्रपञ्चप्रतियोगिकत्वस्य स्वनिष्ठस्य
मिथ्यात्वेन तच्छून्यम् । *विधिरूपं* निर्विकल्पकधी- वेद्यम् ।
*अविचारितप्रपञ्चाक्षेपात्* यतः प्रपञ्चो विचारासहः, अतस्तस्य श्रुत्यादिना
निषेधः । *प्रकाशते* प्रकाश संबद्धः । *संवृत्या* अविद्यया ।
*विषयविषयिभावः* विषयिप्रतियोगिकं
विषयत्वं *नैयायिकैः* मादृशैः । *समर्थयिष्यते* प्रकाशस्य सतः तदीयतामात्र
निबन्धनः स्वभावविशेषो विषयतेत्यादिना निरूपयिष्यते । *तथा* तादृशः ।
तार्किकमते तादात्म्यान्यसंबन्धरूपोऽपि वेदान्तिदर्शने
तादात्म्यरूपस्तार्किकसंमतविषयतात्वविशेष्यतात्वादिविशेषयुक्त इति भावः ।
*वेद्यनिष्ठः* वस्तुनिष्ठः, नतु वित्तिनिष्टः । परस्पराध्यासानुरोधात्
वित्तितादात्म्यस्य वित्तिभिन्नेष्वेव कल्पितत्वात्, वित्तेः स्वप्रकाशत्वेन
वित्तिविषयत्वासंभवाच्च वित्तेस्तादात्म्यरूपा विषयतापि वित्तिभिन्नेष्वेव नतु
वित्ताविति भावः । *अस्मिन्दर्शने* वेदान्तिदर्शने । *तत्तन्मायेति* ।
मूलाविद्या पल्लवाविद्येत्यर्थः । *मायोपनीत* तत्तदुपाधीनां भेदादिति वा योजना
बोध्या । *वहित्रेति* । महानौकेत्यर्थः । यथा शूर्पादिपात्रे आर्द्रकाणि
स्थापयित्वा विक्रीणतो वणिजो वहित्रमनुपयुक्तम्, प्रत्युत कार्यविरोधि,
समुद्रगतवहित्रस्थस्यार्द्रकस्य तद्ग्राहकसकलसाधारणजनैर्दृष्टत्वाभावात् । तथा
द्वैतमतमेव परिष्कुर्वतो मम वेदान्तदर्शनमनुपयुक्तम् । द्वैतमतविरोधि च,
द्वैतखण्डनयुक्तीनां मिथ्यात्व ग्राहकमानस्य च तत्र पुरस्कारात्, तथापि
वहित्रमिव वेदान्तदर्शनं पुरुषधौरेयस्य परमप्रयोजनं साधयत्येवेति
वेदान्तदर्शने तदन्यसर्वदर्शनेभ्य उत्कर्षः आचार्याभिप्रेत इति ॥


Regards,
Venkatraghavan

On Tue, 20 Feb 2024, 21:13 V Subrahmanian, <v.subrahmanian at gmail.com> wrote:

>
>
> On Tue, Feb 20, 2024 at 4:12 PM Venkatraghavan S <agnimile at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>> Namaste Bhaskar ji,
>>
>>
>> However, the point remains that an eminent ancient tArkika holds that
>> advaita is the veda-naya and jaganmithyAtva is not a concept borrowed from
>> Buddhism, rather it is revealed in the Vedas themselves.
>>
>> Kind regards,
>> Venkatraghavan
>>
>
> Yes, the point is well stated. That an eminent ancient Naiyayika has said
> this is what matters. In the book 'Sridakshinamurtistotram Vol 1, page 614
> - 615 we have the topic 'Nyaya Vaisheshika' under the sub topic 'Other
> schools pointers to Brahmavidya'.  Excerpts from that book are copied here:
>
>
> (b) Nyaya and Vaiseshika
>
> Since, just as in the case of the Sankhyas etc, even according to the
> schools of Nyaya, Vaišesika etc., liberation results from knowledge, and
> from the standpoint of the liberated, the world characterised as non-Self
> does not exist apart from the individual, they too must necessarily admit,
> like the Sankhyas etc, the non-duality of Self and the illusory nature of
> the world. Liberation being coveted as more beneficial than the positions
> of Brahma, Indra etc, greatest happiness is in liberation though not
> explicitly stated as such They speak of the non-existence of knowledge as
> well in liberation, in this sense that there is no knowledge whatsoever of
> anything that is different from Atman like the mind, senses, body, objects
> etc, of the world. Consciousness that is Atman is absolutely nirvikalpaka
> 1.c., It has no objective characteristics and hence there is no knowledge
> categorised as a quality in their system That liberation ensues from right
> knowledge which dispels the illusory knowledge is expressed by their own
> sutras
> तत्त्वज्ञानान्निःश्रेयसाधिगम । दुःखजन्मप्रवृत्तिदोष मिथ्याज्ञानानामुत्त-
> रोत्तरापाये तदनन्तरापायादपवर्गः । ( 1-1-2)
> [Liberation results from the removal of the illusory knowledge, which in
> turn, results in the successive removal of defects (like attachment,
> repulsion etc.,), activity, birth and misery.]
>
>
>
>
> *Śri Udayanācārya, the great logician, when dealing with the Buddhist
> logicians points out the discrepancy in their sunyavada by such statements
> as-न ग्रामेदवधूय धियोऽस्ति वृत्तिः ।तद्वाधके बलिनि वेदनये जयश्रीः || *
>
> [Without an external object, there can be no knowledge relating to it
> Thumping victory crowns only the impregnable Vedantic set-up which alone
> shows that the external world is sublated only on the dawn of the knowledge
> of the Substratum.] and -
>
>
>
> *प्रविश वाऽनिर्वचनीयख्यातिकुक्षिम् तिष्ठ वा मतिकर्दममपहाय ।[Enter the fold
> of the anırvacaniyakhyati of the Vedantins or remain quiet by cleansing
> your mind of your untenable speculations.]*
>
> That his anxiety is particularly in saving people from atheism and in
> providing the ground for taking eventually to the Vedantic discipline, is
> made clear by the above statements as also by the statement— किमार्द्र
> कवणिजो वहित्रचिन्तया १ [What has a ginger-trader to do with a sea-going
> vessel ?] when comparing his own system with Vedanta.* Even the great
> logicians Gangeśopādhyāya and Raghunathabhaṭṭācārya *have made clear in
> the invocations respectively in their compositions that their sole purport
> is in Brahman of the Vedanta, which, though by Itself transcends the three
> gunas, appears to be associated with them because of upadhi and which is
> secondless, impartite Bliss and Consciousness-
>
> गुणातीतोऽपीशस्त्रिगुणसचिव: । and अखण्डानन्द वोधाय पूर्णाय परमात्मने ||
>
> Likewise, that the purport of* Annambhatta, the author of the
> Tarkasangrahadipikā* is also in Vedanta, is indicated by his choice of the*
> Mahāvākya ‘That thou art' to exemplify the Jahadajahallakṣaṇā* and his
> concluding statement in the Dipika that the purpose of the Tarkasangraha is
> in aiding manana i.e., contemplation on what is learnt from Śruti i.e.,
> śravana, as per the Śruti- आत्मा वा अरे द्रष्टव्यः श्रोतव्यो
> मन्तव्यो निदिध्यासितव्यः ।
> (Br. U. 2-4-5)
>
> It is worth studying the other pages in that book where similar views of
> eminent authors of* other darshanas *on Vedanta are cited.  The book can
> be accessed here:
> https://archive.org/details/SridaksinamurtistotramVolIByD.S.Subbaramaiya
>
> Read from page 611 onwards.
>
> warm regards
> subbu
>
>
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