[Chaturamnaya] The Foundations of Adhyāsa - 1 (Introduction to the study of Adhyāsa)

[S Jayanarayanan]

 A significant portion of Sankara’s Works (especially the famous Commentary, Brahma Sūtra Bhāṣya or BSB) deals with “Adhyāsa”
or Superimposition (of the Body on the Self). This series will discuss the various facets of Adhyāsa: what it is, how it is
known or experienced, and why Advaitins lay stress on its removal. The Argument that the Self is not the Body (hereafter
“The Argument”) is a central concept in Advaita Vedānta – indeed, all schools of Vedānta – and Advaitins everywhere ought
to be aware of the reasons for the rejection of the Body as the Self.
 
Nowadays, scientists can explain so many phenomena, including bodily processes, using the framework of physical laws.
Medical science routinely presents us with new insights into the workings of the material Body. It makes one wonder if
these scientific advances disprove the existence of the Self as distinct from the Body; or at the very least, cast doubt
on the view of Advaita Vedānta concerning the eternal Ātman.
 
One can also ask the question: Is the entirety of Advaita Vedānta based on faith? If so, it is no different from religions
like Christianity or Islam that rely upon their own revelations, whose veracity is altogether uncertain. This series will
take such queries seriously, and explain in some detail as to how the fundamentals of Advaita Vedānta are rock-solid
within logical reasoning, thus distinguishing it from other “religions” that lack any such firm philosophical basis.
 
Sankara and other Advaitins discard the possibility that Consciousness can be derived from or attributed to the Body, in a way
that is acceptable to modern minds. Scientists now consider the Problem of Consciousness to be a serious obstacle to Science,
and since this is also one of the problems that has taxed the greatest philosophers, this series will (hopefully) shed some
light on Sankara's genius in highlighting it as the key problem of Advaita Vedānta.
 
Thus, there are at least two reasons for the study of The Argument:
 
1) Practical reason: Many believe, “It is possible that the Body is the Self.”
But the reality is, “It is IMPOSSIBLE for the Body to be the Self”!
This fact should be established and lodged deeply in the heart of the spiritual aspirant. As Sankara says in his BSB 3.3.54,
“It is to drive in a peg” – i.e. to drive home the point to the disciple, that The Argument is studied.
 
2) Theoretical reason: It is all too common to find people discussing Science in the context of religion, and how the sum total
of all Advaita Vedānta is accepted by “faith”. This is false. If Sankara agreed that the fact, “The Body is not the Self” is known
only via faith, why does he not quote even a single scriptural statement in his BSB 3.3.54? He proves that the Body is not
the Self using nothing but experience and reasoning, with no appeal to any scripture whatsoever!
 
Although Sanskrit is the language of Sankara, many do not speak it fluently, hence The Argument will be presented in plain English,
with only occasional use of Sanskrit. The Argument may be contained in a multitude of Advaita Vedānta texts, but the one used here
will be Sankara’s BSB, specifically the passage 3.3.53-54. The translation of the BSB will closely follow the one by George Thibaut.
 
 
(To be Continued)
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