[Advaita-l] Sattva, Rajas, Tamas - Maayaa/Prakriti and Avidya - Shankara

[V Subrahmanian]

Thanks Sudhamshu ji, for the detailed explanation. The same with the
repeated Bhashya usage - अविद्यालक्षणा to refer to Maya/Prakriti.

regards
subbu

On Mon, Oct 2, 2023 at 4:33 PM Sudhanshu Shekhar via Advaita-l <
advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote:

> Namaste V Subramanian ji.
>
> MAyA and prakriti are unambiguously stated to be triguNAtmikA. There is no
> confusion here.
>
> In PTB, avidyA is not so directly stated to be triguNAtmikA. The usage for
> prakriti/MAyA (which is triguNAtmikA) is always
> avidyAtmikA/avidyA-lakshaNA.
>
> However, there should not be any confusion here because the word 'Atmak'
> means 'mAtra'.
>
> For e.g. sadAtmaka Brahman is san-mAtra Brahman. न खलु ब्रह्मणः *सदात्मकस्य
> *कुतश्चिदन्यतः सम्भव उत्पत्तिराशङ्कितव्या । कस्मात् ? अनुपपत्तेः ।
> *सन्मात्रं
> *हि ब्रह्म । न तस्य सन्मात्रादेवोत्पत्तिः सम्भवति, असत्यतिशये
> प्रकृतिविकारभावानुपपत्तेः ।
>
> sanmAtra and sadAtmak are one and the same. SImilarly, avidyAtmikA and
> avidyA-mAtra are one and the same. Therefore, avidyA is same as MAyA and is
> triguNAtmikA.
>
> Shiva-gItA (from Padma purANa) says in 9.4 directly establishing the
> triguNAtmikA nature of avidyA -
>
> अनिर्वाच्या महाविद्या त्रिगुणा परिणामिनी।
> रजः सत्वं तमश्चेति तद्गुणाः परिकीर्तिताः।।
>
> The identity of avidyA and mAyA is obvious by the usage of word
> avidyA-AtmikA. There is no other meaning possible.
>
> Some people cite GItA bhAshya 7.4 to distinguish avidyA and avyakta (which
> is same as mAyA/prakriti) because the bhAshya uses avidyA samyuktam
> avyaktam. I too used to have same doubt couple of years back. After all, if
> A+B is stated, how can A and B be same. But this doubt also resolves on
> careful perusal of bhAshya.
>
> अहङ्कारः इति अविद्यासंयुक्तमव्यक्तम् । यथा विषसंयुक्तमन्नं विषमित्युच्यते,
> एवमहङ्कारवासनावत् अव्यक्तं मूलकारणमहङ्कार इत्युच्यते.
>
> ahamkAra refers to avyakta coupled with avidyA. Just as food coupled with
> poison is called poison, similarly avyakta possessing ahamkAra-vAsanA is
> called primal cause ahamkAra.
>
> Here, AchArya says ahamkAra = avyakta +avidyA. Then He uses food-poison
> analogy. Thus, poison = food + poison. So, logically, the correct usage
> should be -- avyakta (food) + avidyA (poison) is referred by the word
> avidyA (poison). But, AchArya has stated "avyakta+avidyA" to be referred by
> the word ahamkAra.
>
> People ignore such a crucial point and imagine useless things.
>
> The correct understanding is -- ahamkAra is avidyAtmaka-avyaktam (poison).
> How come? avidyAtmaka-avyaktam is akin to food. How can it be poison?
> Because it is coupled with ahamkAra-vAsanA (poison).
>
> All AchAryAs have held avidyA-samyuktam-avyaktam to be avidyAtmaka-avyaktam
> which is in sync with all other bhAshya-vAkyAs. And the food-poison analogy
> is .. ahamkAra is ahamkAra-vAsanA-vAsita-avidyAtmaka-avyaktam i.e.
> ahamkAra-vAsanA-vishishTa-avidyAtmaka-avyaktam.
>
> Thus, ahamkAra = avidyAtmaka-avyaktam (food) + ahamkAra-vAsanA (poison).
>
> BhAshya, smriti, logic all point to the identity of avidyA and mAyA. I was
> foolish enough couple of years back to hold their distinction. That
> emanated from insufficient study which was assumed by me to be sufficient
> 😀
>
> The word avidyA is used to explain the jnAna-virodhI nature of avidyA.
> Because it is sublated by vidyA, it is called avidyA. It is called mAyA to
> demonstrate its non-existential (yA mA sA mAyA) and also deluding nature
> (like that by magic).
>
> Synonyms serve this purpose only. To indicate different aspects of same
> thing. Aditya and DivAkar are same thing -sun. They indicate different
> aspects of Sun. That is it.
>
> Regards.
> Sudhanshu Shekhar.
>
>
>
> On Mon, Oct 2, 2023 at 10:23 AM V Subrahmanian via Advaita-l <
> advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote:
>
> > In the following are some quotes, from Shankara, where both Maya/Prakriti
> > and Avidya are stated to be endowed with Trigunas - sattva, rajas and
> > tamas.
> >
> > If Shankara were to clearly demarcate maya/prakrit from avidya, he should
> > not be using the Trigunas in connection with both maya/prakriti and
> avidya.
> > In other words Shankara would be at fault to use the Three gunas in
> respect
> > of both prakrit/maya and avidya.  But he uses that.  That shows that for
> > Shankara maya and avidya are both of the same non-distinguishable nature.
> > The Gita shastra is very clear that the means to moksha is going beyond
> the
> > three gunas: 14th Chapter. That means, the Gita specifically says, one
> has
> > to transcend maya/avidya. The Gita does not make a difference between the
> > means to transcend maya and the means to transcend avidya/ajnana.     The
> > constituents of maya and avidya are sattva, rajas and tamas.  It would be
> > impossible for anyone to distinguish between how the three gunas
> constitute
> > maya and how they constitute avidya.
> >
> >
> > श्रीमद्भगवद्गीताभाष्यम्अष्टादशोऽध्यायःश्लोक ४१
> >
> > ………सर्वः संसारः क्रियाकारकफललक्षणः सत्त्वरजस्तमोगुणात्मकः
> अविद्यापरिकल्पितः
> > समूलः अनर्थः उक्तः, वृक्षरूपकल्पनया च ‘ऊर्ध्वमूलम्’ (भ. गी.………
> >
> >
> > श्रीमद्भगवद्गीताभाष्यम्अष्टादशोऽध्यायःश्लोक ४१ - भाष्यम्
> >
> > ………। ‘स्वभावः कारणम्’ इति च कारणविशेषोपादानम् । एवं स्वभावप्रभवैः
> > प्रकृतिभवैः सत्त्वरजस्तमोभिः गुणैः स्वकार्यानुरूपेण शमादीनि कर्माणि
> > प्रविभक्तानि ॥ ………
> >
> >
> >  त्रिगुणात्मिकां स्वां मायां मूलप्रकृतिं   Gitabhashya
> >
> >
> > प्रकृतिं स्वां मम वैष्णवीं मायां त्रिगुणात्मिकाम् , यस्या वशे सर्वं जगत्
> > वर्तते, यया मोहितं सत्………
> >
> >
> > कथं पुनः दैवीम् एतां त्रिगुणात्मिकां वैष्णवीं मायामतिक्रामति इत्युच्यते —
> >
> > सर्वभूतानि कौन्तेय प्रकृतिं त्रिगुणात्मिकाम्
> >
> >
> >  मम माया त्रिगुणात्मिका अविद्यालक्षणा
> >
> >
> > प्रकृती ईश्वरस्य — त्रिगुणात्मिका
> >
> > प्रकृतिश्च त्रिगुणात्मिका सर्वकार्यकरणविषयाकारेण परिणता
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>
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