[Advaita-l] [advaitin] Does SSSS subscribe to drsti-srsti vada?

[V Subrahmanian]

On Thu, 15 May 2025, 5:12 pm 'Bhaskar YR' via advaitin, <
advaitin at googlegroups.com> wrote:

> praNAms
>
> Hare Krishna
>
>
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> The above highlighted observation is contradicted by Shankara and
> Gaudapada:
>
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>
>    - No not at all really!!  Both shankara and gaudapAda clearly says
>    jagat is NOT just jeeva mAnasa pratyaya…OTOH Ishwara hetuka srushti is
>    vedAnta maryAda insists bhAshyakAra.  Seeing IT in ‘in’ and ‘out’ is what
>    gaudapAda too emphasizes.
>
>
>
>
> https://adbhutam.wordpress.com/2017/07/29/the-world-is-mind-alone-shankaracharya/
>  (the details of the bhashya are there in this post)
>
>
>
> In both the Mundaka Upanishad bhashya and the Mandukya Karika bhashya,
> Shankara asserts that the world is dependent on the mind by default and
> even reasons: when the mind is active, the world is cognized and when the
> mind is not active, in deep sleep and samadhi, the world is not cognized.
>
>
>
>    - But don’t you prabhuji-s are the vociferous advocators of mithyA
>    vastu darshana in sushupti also??  And unconditionally accepting the
>    existence of bhAva rUpa / kAraNAvidyA in sushupti??  You have place for
>    avidyA but you don’t have the place for Ishwara srushti!!??  Quite strange
>    indeed!!  Please note shankara refuted the buddhist’s vijnAnavAda (the
>    school which says ‘mind all” and nothing outside).  In one of his works Sri
>    SSS clearly says :  the universe is NOT an illusion according to bAdarAyana
>    as explained by shankara.  vyavahAra (human procedure in common life) has
>    its own criterion for testing the reality and unreality.  It is the
>    Buddhists who deny reality to external objects.  The vijnAnavAdin says that
>    the object is identical with the idea, since both of them are experienced
>    to gether.  But shankara draws our attention to the principle :  it is on
>    the evidence or want of evidence of some valid means of knowledge that we
>    have to determine the conceivability or the inconceivability of the
>    existence of a thing and NOT vice versa.  (sUtra bhAshya 2-2-28).  It is no
>    doubt bhAshyakAra every now and them insisted to realize the essential
>    identity of the jagat with brahman.
>
>
See how Shankara contradicts SSS:

In the sandhyadhyadhikarana where dream is discussed in the BSB, at the end
Shankara says:

न च वियदादिसर्गस्याप्यात्यन्तिकं सत्यत्वमस्ति । प्रतिपादितं हि
‘तदनन्यत्वमारम्भणशब्दादिभ्यः’ (ब्र. सू. २ । १ । १४) इत्यत्र समस्तस्य
प्रपञ्चस्य मायामात्रत्वम् । प्राक् तु ब्रह्मात्मत्वदर्शनात् वियदादिप्रपञ्चो
व्यवस्थितरूपो भवति । सन्ध्याश्रयस्तु प्रपञ्चः प्रतिदिनं बाध्यते — इत्यतो
वैशेषिकमिदं सन्ध्यस्य मायामात्रत्वमुदितम् ॥ ४ ॥

This means: The creation of the world made of akasha, etc. (Atmana akashah
sambhutah, akashaad vaayuh...Ishwara srushti) does not have absolute
reality. This has been established in the BSB 2.1.14 Arambhanadhikaranam
that the entire world is nothing but mere maya. Before samyag jnana the
world of akasha etc does have an order. But the world of the dream
undergoes negation everyday. For this reason alone the unreality of the
dream world has been especially stated by the sutrkara to be unreal. (What
this means is the world of the waking made of akasha etc. will undergo
baadha upon samyag jnana.)

From the above commentary of Shankara what comes out is:

The Upanishad, based on the chandogya statement: vacharambhanam vikaro
namadheyam, mrittiketyeva satyam, holds the world, a product of upadana
kaaranam Brahman, as mithya.

Badarayana, Veda Vyasa, the sutrakara, based his sutra stated above, on
this Upanishad and therefore holds the world of akasha etc to be mithya.
The sandhyadhikarana also implies this as we know from Shankara's
statement.

Gaudapada has cited copious shruti passages to hold that the creation
shrutis do not teach a real differentiated creation, but they are only aids
to teach the Ajaativaada of no creation ever took place. He uses the term
ajaati.

Sureswaracharya in both the Bhashyavartikas has held the world to be mithya:

Brihadaranyaka vartika: There is simply not end to the vartika shlokas that
establish the mithyatva of the Ishwara created world. There are many shruti
passages cited in these sample verses, apart from reasoning:

तदेवानुप्रविश्येति तत्त्वं यत्पारमार्थिकम् ।।
सच्च त्यच्चादिकां भित्तिं मोहात्प्रापदिति श्रुतिः ।। ४४५ ।।

न चापि त्रयसद्भावे मिथ्याज्ञानं जगत्यपि ।।
मोहमात्रप्रयुक्तत्वान्न सामान्यात्स्मृतेश्च तत् ।। ४४६ ।।
बृहदारण्यकोपनिषद्भाष्यवार्तिकम्
……… अयं मेयः प्रामातांऽहं मानमेतदितीक्षणे ।।
मिथ्याज्ञाने जनस्तुष्टः स्वप्नमायेन्द्रजालवत् ।। ६४८ ।। …
अतस्तद्व्यभिचारेण नामरूपक्रियात्मनाम् ।।
अकृत्स्नव्यपदेशेन मिथ्याज्ञानत्वमुच्यते ।। ६७२ ।।
…… तं परादादिति तथा प्रतीच्यज्ञानकल्पितम्
।।मिथ्याज्ञानापनुत्त्यर्थमात्मैवेत्यब्रवीच्छ्रुतिः ।। ६९७ ।।
द्गष्टुर्दृष्ट्या न चानाप्तोऽनात्मा कश्चित्प्रसिध्यति ।।
मिथ्याज्ञानमतोऽनात्मा ह्यात्माज्ञानसमुत्थितेः ।। १३८३ ।।
ननु जाग्रत्स्थलोकानां मिथ्यात्वं प्राक्प्रपञ्चितम् ।।अविद्यामात्रहेतुत्वं
पाणिपेषप्रबोधनात् ।। २८८ ।। ………
अन्तर्यामी तथा साक्षी सर्वज्ञश्चेत्यविद्यया ।।मिथ्याध्यासैश्च
तत्कार्यैरप्रमेयं प्रमीयते ।। १० ।। ………
यत्राज्ञातात्मतत्त्वात्माऽविद्यासंवीतशेमुषिः ।।तत्र मिथ्याग्रहग्रस्तो
द्रष्टृदृश्यादिभेदधीः ।। ४५३ ।।
अज्ञातं संशयज्ञातं मिथ्याज्ञातमिदं जगत्
।।तदेतदित्यनूद्यैतत्तत्तत्त्वमवबोध्यते ।। १३७ ।। ……
स्वतोऽनानात्मकेऽज्ञानाद्यन्नानात्मसमीक्षणम् ।।मिथ्याज्ञानमनात्माभं मोह
इत्युपदिश्यते ।। ६२ ।
साक्षितत्त्वापरिज्ञानात्तद्विरुद्धार्थकल्पनम् |
साक्षिसाक्ष्यादिमिथ्याधीस्तत्त्वज्ञानान्निवर्तते || ४४४ || …
अतस्मिंस्तद्ग्रहात्सर्वं मिथ्या स्यात्सविकल्पकम् | असंपृक्तस्य सम्यक्त्वं
स्वरूपेणावभासते ||………
मिथ्यादर्शनदोषित्वान्मिथ्यादर्शनकारणम् || मृत्योर्मृत्युमसावेति यो नानेवेह
वीक्षते ||………
हि द्वैतमित्येवं यत्र त्वस्येति च श्रुतिः || नानात्वदृष्टेर्मिथ्यात्वं
स्वयमेवावदत्पुरा || ६७८

>
>
> Hence, cognition is creation - dristi sristi vāda - is explicitly accepted
> as the śāstra dristi by Shankara and Gaudapada. The loka drishti is denied
> by them as avidya kalpita and the shastra drsti is accepted as the one
> contradicting the loka dristi.  In fact in the Bh.Gita verse 2.69 bhashya
> says it all: the distinction between the loka drsti and sastra dristi, that
> is, the sastra dristi contradicting/negating the loka dristi. There are
> many more instances of such a view of Shankara.
>
>
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> Ø     There is nothing to prove in 2.69 geeta verse that world is mere
> construction, OTOH, how pramAtru, prameya and pramANa distinctions are
> avidyA Kalpita, how shAstra being the untya pramANa removes the very
> knowership etc.  there is absolutely nothing to prove Ishwara srushti is
> mental construction of tiny jeeva’s mind.  I am really surprised to see
> this totally irrelevant reference from geeta bhAshya!!.  It deals mainly
> about ajnAni-s rAga dvesha and jnAni-s dvandvaateeta stable mind.
>

It's not mere knowership that is removed, but also the prameya, knowables,
the world, that's also negated by samyagjnana:

यस्यां ग्राह्यग्राहकभेदलक्षणायामविद्यानिशायां प्रसुप्तान्येव भूतानि जाग्रति
इति उच्यन्ते, यस्यां निशायां प्रसुप्ता इव स्वप्नदृशः, सा निशा
अविद्यारूपत्वात् परमार्थतत्त्वं पश्यतो मुनेः ॥ 2.69 yaa nishaa
sarvabhutaanaam...

Graahya = the world. Graahaka = pramana and pramatru.  All are avidya
kalpita.

This is the Siddhanta of the Upanishads Badarayana, Gaudapada, Shankara and
Sureshwara.

Om tat sat
subbu

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> Hari  Hari Hari Bol!!!
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> bhaskar
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