[Advaita-l] BrahmaGYAna and jIvanmukti - 5 (Other References)
S Jayanarayanan
sjayana at yahoo.com
Thu Feb 1 19:54:09 CST 2007
I was wondering whether or not to write this, but anyway, here goes.
Suppose the distinction between steady and unsteady AtmaGYAna is not
advaitic, what would that imply? In the strength of the references
I've provided, it would mean that:
1) Apastamba, whose verse on Atma-vichAra is quoted by none other
than sureshvara, must be mistaken. Haradatta, the commentator
accepted by the tradition as authoritative on Apastamba, has to be
wrong.
2) The VivekachUDAmaNi as well as the commentary on it by
H.H. Chandrasekhara Bharati Mahaswamigal (H.H.), should be in error.
3) Ramana Maharshi didn't know what he was talking about.
4) Sankara for some strange reason must have spoken of effort to be
made after saMyag-GYAna in his commentary on BR^ihadaaraNyaka
upanishhad 1.4.7.
Last, but certainly not the least (arguably the most important
reference of all):
5) The BR^ihadaaraNyaka upanishhad 3.5.1, along with Sankara's
commentary on it, both of which speak of renunciation of desires
after AtmaGYAna, ought to be interpreted in a twisted manner because
the straightforward reading "just doesn't make sense".
Instead of the above mind-boggling possibilities, there is a simpler
explanation:
SWAMI SATCHIDANANDENDRA SARASWATI DID NOT COMPREHEND THE DIFFERENCE
BETWEEN STEADY AND UNSTEADY ATMAGYANA.
Now, regarding the pa~nchapAdikA:
It is quite obvious that both H.H. and Ramana Maharshi had great
respect for the VivekachUDAmaNi, as they've both commented on it.
Given that two of the greatest jIvanmuktas of the 20th century have
held this text in high esteem, we can safely assume that the
VivekachUDAmaNi is firmly placed in the advaita-vedAnta tradition. As
I've pointed out, the VivekachUDAmaNi actually follows the JMV quite
closely, and H.H. even quotes the JMV as an authority in his
commentary. It is therefore reasonable to say that the JMV is part
and parcel of the advaita-vedAnta tradition. The JMV in turn quotes
the pa~nchapAdikA as authority, which implies that the pa~nchapAdikA
has to be in line with the advaita-vedAnta tradition. QED.
Thanks,
Kartik
PS: I sincerely apologize if this email offends anyone. My aim is not
to offend, but only to point out a blatant inconsistency if one
doesn't take the JMV or the pa~nchapAdikA as being in line with
Sankara's works.
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