[Advaita-l] Bh.Gita verse 18.73 - Was Arjuna an 'aparoksha Jnani'? - Part 3

[V Subrahmanian]

Namaste Dear Murali,

In the analysis that is being presented in a series, the basic view is that
Arjuna had not become enlightened and thereby got liberated from samsara,
within the Bhagavadgita context.  The Gita teaching closes, in this view,
with Arjuna gaining only paroksha jnanam, mediate knowledge of the atma
tattva.

According to scripture, this much knowledge will not result in the person
getting liberated from samsara.  This knowledge, though certainly required,
will have to be further fine-tuned and converted into aparoksha jnanam
without any pratibandhakas, obstacles.  When this is accomplished alone one
is really liberated from samsara.  Only such a mukta will not transmigrate
to other loka-s after death.

Since Arjuna's knowledge is not of this kind, as per this analysis, his
going to naraka or svaraga is not contradictory.  He has no samshaya or
viparyaya about the atma tattvam.  This is not tantamount to his gaining
aparoksha sAkshAtkara of the clearly understood atma tattva.
In other words we could put it this way:  paroksha jnanam is:
'Atman/Brahman is thus.'  It can even express itself as:  'According to the
Guru and the scripture, my true nature is thus'.  On the other hand,
aparoksha jnana expresses itself as: 'I am thus'.  Only when such an
unshakable conviction arises as to one's own ever-liberated nature one will
know for oneself that one is liberated and no birth has been ever for him.
And only such a one will not transmigrate to other loka-s after death.

To sum up, the 'samyagdarshana' of Arjuna is paroksha jnana and not aproksha
jnana.  Paroksha jnana is also 'right perception' but not sufficient enough
to liberate the person just upon gaining this.  It is 'right perception'
because it is not falsified by any other knowledge later.  It is only
confirmed by aparoksha jnanam. It is valid and forms the basis for intense
nididhyasanam to culminate in the samyagdarshana called aparoksha jnanam.
This is the tenor of the analysis that is being presented.

Regards,
subbu

On Tue, Jun 29, 2010 at 9:50 PM, Murali Karamchedu <murali_m_k at msn.com>wrote:

>
> >It is, therefore clear that right knowledge, samyagdarsana, or mastering
> the
> >Self, at least in the form of paroksha jnana was needed by him and the
> Lord
> >wonderfully imparted it and eradicated Arjuna’s delusion. *Arjuna’s
> Paroksha
> >jnana is not just some superficial knowledge of the Self.  It is a clear
> >knowledge devoid of samsaya and viparyaya.
>
> How are we to understand Arjuna's stay in naraka, and then svarga, after
> his
> death in light of this samyagdarshana?In the mahabharata, after
> Yudhishtira's
> bath, and shedding his mortal body, when Yama takes him by naraka,
> Yudishtira
> encounters Arjuna there. So, there is clearly a 'going somewhere' after
> death
> in this kind of jnana, and is distinct from the characterization of not
> going
> anywhere after jnana.
>
> Regards,
> Murali Manohar
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