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

[Vidyasankar Sundaresan]

I really don't wish to get into this thread, but would like to point out just a couple
of pertinent points. I am also forced to employ a device that I don't muchy prefer -
the use of capital letters to emphasize some words.

 

> > it is also pertinent to note that the original Valmiki Ramayana
> > itself has been seen in several ways by several people and we have so many
> > Ramayanam-s.... to further their cause.
> 
> How is it pertinent? There could be kAvyams, sthala purANams, and folklore
> versions. All of that does not become pramANa for Vedantic discussion. We
> have to stick to the Adi-kavi, Valmiki's version.


And it is Valmiki's Ramayana that reports that Rama considered himself a man, the 
son of Dasharatha. It is Brahma who tells Rama that he is indeed Narayana. This
episode, as recounted by Valmiki, points very nicely to one aspect of the vedAnta
tradition that is very conveniently overlooked nowadays - the role of the guru in
imparting Self-knowledge. 

 

> > Shankaracharya has used this term *नित्यशुद्धबुद्धमुक्तस्वभाव: *in the
> > Bhashyams quite often to refer to the Atman, Brahman. Has He used this
> term
> > to refer to the Jnani as well?
> 
> He uses the term often to refer to Brahman, Atma, and Ishvara (specifically
> also in the introductory part). In the Vishnu Sahasranama commentary also,
> Sri Bhagavatpada uses the term at the "putatma paramatma" line. For Jnanis,
> as far as I have seen, the Acharya never employs such a term. It is clear
> why it cannot be employed -- in the empirical level of reality that we are
> talking about, a Jnani was an a-Jnani in some previous birth, and samsAra


Please note that a jnAnI was an ajnAnI even in THIS birth, prior to the dawning
of jnAna. 

 

Nevertheless, jnAna consists in the ajnAnI realizing that s/he is really NOT an
ajnAnI and that s/he is in reality nitya, Suddha, buddha and mukta svabhAva.
The AtmA is not some THING out there to be acquired by an ajnAnI in order to
BECOME a jnAnI. The AtmA is the very self of the SAME person who was once
an ajnAnI and is now a jnAnI. As such, every being is always nitya, Suddha,
buddha and mukta by intrinsic nature, nothing else, whether one is a jnAnI or
an ajnAnI. All attributes to the contrary are falsely imagined by oneself. If the
term nitya-Suddha-buddha-mukta cannot be used with respect to the highest
jnAnI, there is no possibility of any advaita any more. Please bear this in mind
at all times. 

 

When you say "it is clear why it cannot be employed" you are going one step
beyond making a mere observation to the effect "it has not been employed"
with respect to the jnAnI. As for me, I doubt the latter case too. I am sure
that given time, I can dig up some citation or the other where Sankara
bhagavatpAda or another author does use the term with respect to the highest
jnAnI. However, I doubt if that will satisfy anybody here, as emotions seem to
be running high on every topic of discussion!

 

Regards,

Vidyasankar

     
 		 	   		  
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