[Advaita-l] [advaitin] RE: Gaudapada and Shankara hold the waking objects to be mithya

[Bhaskar YR]

praNAms Sri Subbu prabhuji
Hare Krishna

Your objections are against Gaudapada and Shankara, to say it plainly.


  *   This conclusion from your side is not at all new to me prabhuji 😊

You are refuting what Gaudapada and Shankara have said in no uncertain terms in the karika and bhashya and are citing a different verse which is not what is being discussed.


  *   I hope I don’t have to remind you that one kArika is pUraka to another and it is not mAraka 😊


Even there, the verse you cite, it is the message that the Jnani aught to see the Tattva by giving up what is 'atattva', which has been termed 'avitathaa' in the verse under discussion.


Ø     It has been already explained in kArika and bhAshya what is atattva and what is tattva from the jnana paripUrNa drushti and how atatva is mere imagination ONLY in the conditioned mind of ajnAni.  There is no anAtma vastu that can be called and recognized aloof from Atman.  If that is the case (Atma and anAtma) shruti would have asserted you are sAkshi to anAtma vastu and you are Atman / sAkshi to that anAtma vastu and stopped there itself.  But shruti does not stop there!! It also says AtmaivedaM sarvaM, brahmaivedam vishwaM, satyanchAnrutaM cha satyamabhavat yadidaM kiMcha etc.  So if one ignores these crystal clear declarations of shruti holds some references selectively to prove the whole universe is mere imagination of conditioned jeeva,  I don’t think they are doing any justice to veda mAta in general and bhagavatpAda vAkya in particular.  And to say the least they are fit to be branded as vijnAnavAdins.

If Gaudapada and Shankara should be saying what you are suggesting, then they should not have uttered the words:

avitathaa iva lakshitaaH:  (the waking world of objects) it is wrongly understood as real

and Shankara should not have said: तथेमे जाग्रद्दृश्या भेदाः आद्यन्तयोरभावात् वितथैरेव मृगतृष्णिकादिभिः सदृशत्वाद्वितथा एव ; तथापि अवितथा इव लक्षिता मूढैरनात्मविद्भिः ॥


Ø     Multiplicity in pratyagAtman due to conditioning adjuncts holds the key here to understand the jAgrat prapancha, Svapna prapancha, sushupti avastha and avasthAteeta tureeya and to the best of my ability I have already explained how the waking world is imaginary when it is perceived from upAdhi parichinna drushti.  Anyway, you being a saMpradAyin better know how to do samanyavaya of these statements keeping the Atmaikatva drushti.

Thus, you are faulting Gaudapada and Shankara for not presenting the Vedanta as per your understanding and liking. And you are suggesting what they aught to have said instead.


Ø     All these perceptions and subjective opinions on others who are not singing their song according to the tunes of tradition are quite natural prabhuji since these socalled traditionalists have already declared themselves as authorities and sitting in judgmental seat and freely passing the verdicts on others 😊 I am not at all offended by your verdict prabhuji.  You have every right to pass your opinion on me 😊 And finally please note the ekatva of brahman and realizing this ekatvaM in everything is not my own invention, it is shruti, shankara and shankara sampradaya knowers from 1% saying this 😊

Hari Hari Hari Bol!!!
bhaskar