[Advaita-l] Ego, Mind and Body of a Jnani

[V Subrahmanian]

Namaste.

It is true that a Tattvavit will not have the 'erroneous' identification of
the nature of 'I am this' or 'This is mind'.  Yet, a jivanmukta who is
undoubtedly with a body-mind apparatus and in vyavahara can and does have a
'knowledgeable' identification with the body or the mind or the intellect
purely for the purpose of vyavahara. And this identification alone makes
jivanmukti a possibility.

Consider these two cases:

1.  //He who imagines the characteristics of the
body and organs to be his own, who has self-identification with the body
and the organs, and who, through ignorance, believes the activities to be
his own-, he thinks,* 'I am the doer of those diverse activities.'//*

[quoted from the Gitabhashya excerpt provided by you]

2. In the Bhagavadgita Bhashya, while writing the introduction,  Shankara
says:  tadidam gitAshAstram samasta-vedArthasArasamgrahabhUtam
durvijneyaartham.  .....viruddha anekaarthatvena loukikaiH
gRuhyamANamupalabhya *aham* vivekato artha nirdhAraNArtham samkShepato
vivaraNam* kariShyAmi.*

 [Though, to afford a clear view of its teaching, the Gita has been
explained word by word and sentence by sentence, ....by several
commentators, still* I have found* that to the laity it appears to teach
diverse and quite contradictory doctrines.  *I propose,* therefore, t*o
write a brief commentary with a view to determine its precise meaning. ] //
*
Quote No. 1 is an example of an ajnani's expression of the ego.
Quote No.2 is an example of a jnani, in this case, Shankara Himself, giving
expression to the ego.  In both the cases the use of 'I' is there.  Both the
cases refer to some action.

Supposing someone asks in an open assembly holding up a sentence from
Shankara's Brahma Sutra Bhashya:  'Whose is this sentence?  Who has said
this?'.  Supposing  Shankaracharya is in that assembly of scholars, He would
certainly reply:  'That is My sentence.  I have said that in the context of
Sutra No 1.1.4'.   By this much Shankaracharya would not become an ajnani.


A detailed artile on the above topic, centering on the ego of a Jnani, is
posted now which may please be read for further quotes and observations.

Best regards,
subbu


On Mon, Jul 12, 2010 at 10:41 AM, S Jayanarayanan <sjayana at yahoo.com> wrote:

> --- On Sat, 7/10/10, V Subrahmanian <v.subrahmanian at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > Shri Shankaracharya has set at rest
> > all doubts and disputations that might
> > arise / have arisen among seekers regarding this issue:
> >
>
> Sankara undoubtedly holds that the sthitapraGYa/GYAnI does NOT have an ego!
> I'm actually amazed that you think otherwise!
>
> Vide Sankara's giitaa Bhashhya 3.27-28 (courtesy of Gita Supersite
> http://www.gitasupersite.iitk.ac.in/ ):
>
> ---
> ..3.27..
> prakRRiteH prakRRitiH pradhaanaM sattvarajastamasaaM guNaanaaM
> saamyaavasthaa tasyaaH prakRRiteH guNaiH vikaaraiH kaaryakaraNaruupaiH
> kriyamaaNaani karmaaNi
> laukikaani shaastriiyaaNi cha sarvashaH sarvaprakaaraiH
> ahaMkaaravimuuDhaatmaa
> kaaryakaraNasaMghaataatmapratyayaH ahaMkaaraH tena vividhaM
> naanaavidhaM muuDhaH aatmaa antaHkaraNaM yasya saH ayaM
> kaaryakaraNadharmaa kaaryakaraNaabhimaanii avidyayaa karmaaNi aatmani
> manyamaanaH tattatkarmaNaam ahaM kartaa iti manyate..
> yaH punarvidvaan -
>
> ..3.28..
> tattvavit tu mahaabaaho. kasya tattvavit? guNakarmavibhaagayoH
> guNavibhaagasya karmavibhaagasya cha tattvavit ityarthaH. guNaaH
> karaNaatmakaaH guNeshhu vishhayaatmakeshhu vartante na aatmaa iti matvaa na
> sajjate saktiM na karoti..
> ---
>