[Advaita-l] the qualification to be an advaita guru

[Raghav Kumar]

Namaste ...

 Pertaining to the following doubt:
whether a Guru can be a brahmaniShTha without sAstra-vicAra...
<  and one more doubt here...can a person become brahmanishTa without any
knowledge of shAstra??  >

 Its very interesting that bhAShyakAra himself says "yes" to the above
question and goes to great lengths to justify why shravana etc are not the
only means for jnAnam. He says that brahmajnAna can take place through
independent alternative means like tapas, shraddha, past-karma etc etc. TOO.
(Brihadaranyaka bhashya 1.4.2)

 The pUrvapakshI actually (sounds like the siddhAntI) and asks "how can
jnAna arise spontaneously (in the case of prajApati) without sastra-upadesha
(i.e., teaching of the pramANa through words.) ?

 bhAShyakAra says - "naimittikAnAm kAryANAm nimittabhedonekadhA vikalpyate,
tathA nimitta-samucchayaH...tamasi vinAlokena chakSU-rUpa-sannikarSho
naktamcharANAm rUpajnAne nimittam bhavati. mana eva rUpa-jnAna-nimittam
yoginAm"
Paraphrased as :

(Any effect that has a cause may also occur through other alternative causes
or even a mixture of different causal factors ,which work together to give
rise to the effect. For example, normally we assume that rUpa-jnAnam, the
perception of form and color is possible only thorugh the pramAna of the
eyes in the presence of visible light. But nocturnal creatures (have a
different type of sense organ) whereby they can see even in the absence of
visible light. Similarly YogIs can get valid knowledge of forms and colors
directly through the mind, without even employing the eyes.)

 bhaShyakAra's implication is that there may be more than one means/process
to get visual perceptual knowledge. (we cannot say that eyes ALONE are the
pramANa which can give us perceptual knowledge and that too only in the
presence of visible light; the yogis can see directly with the mind; without
employing the eyes.)

 He says
( "evameva atmaikatvajnAne api kvacid janmAntara-kRtam karma nimittam
bhavati, yathA prajApateH, kvacid tapo nimittam, "tapasA
brahma-vijijnAsasva" (taittiriya upaniShad), kvacid ..."shraddhavAn
labhate jnAnam" , "drShTavyah shrotavyaH nidhidhyAsitavyaH" ...)
Paraphrased as:
Similarly (as in the case of the cakShuH-pramAna) even in the case of
brahmAjnAna, for some person janmAntara-kRta-karma (certain actions done in
the past birth) may be the cause, for some others tapas may be the cause,
for others  jnAna takes place through shraddha etc. .


( ityAdi shruti-smRtibhyaH ekAntajnAnalAbha-nimittatvam shraddha-prabhRtInAm
adharmAdi-nimitta-viyoga-hetutvAt")
Translation - Thus many shruti and smritis may be adduced to show that
shraddha etc., can be the cause of gaining brahmajnAnam, since these
(other) means (like tapas, shraddha etc) destroy the various obstacles
(pratibandha-kShaya) which prevent jnAna from taking place.


(shravana-manana-nidhidhyAsanAnAm cha sAkShAt jneya-viSayatvAt )
and ofcourse vedAnta-shravaNa-manana-nidhidhyAsana too is the cause of jnAna
since they directly deal with subject of Brahman


It is noteworthy that bhAShyakAra by givng the example of *alternative means
of perception (like the yogis can "see' with the mind)* gives independent
and complete status to these other means like tapas, shraddhA etc and not as
merely a means of getting antaHkaraNa shuddhi.  He does not also resort to
the device that - a person must have done enough shravaNam in the last birth
and is only now getting the result through these other alternative means.
While it is indeed true that shravaNam etc provides a nice and clearcut path
to atma-jnAnam, the great number of sages, avadhutas, saints etc who graced
the Indic civilisation (who, we gather from their words and compositions
etc) talked and lived profound advaita without studying elaborate bhAShya
and sanskrit etc, *their number is far too large for them to be set aside as
exceptions* to the rule that shravanam alone confers brahmajnAnam.


Raghav



F*rom:* Kathirasan K brahmasatyam at gmail.com

*To:* A discussion group for Advaita Vedanta <
advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org>
*Sent:* Wednesday, 10 August 2011 7:57 AM
*Subject:* Re: [Advaita-l] the qualification to be an advaita guru

Namaste Bhaskarji,

As per shankara, shAstra is the ONLY pramANa to
become brahmanishTa or brahmajnAni...how can a person become brahmanishTa
without the aid of antya pramANa??  or to become brahmanishTa,
shAstrAdhyayana, shravaNa, manana & nidhidhyAsana not a necessary
sAdhana??.>

Perhaps you can read Brahma Sutra Bhashya 1.3.38 where Shankara says that
the rise of jnana cannot be prevented if preparation was sufficient in
previous lives. And also Brhadaranyaka Upanishad Bhashya 1.4.2 where again
he mentions that the removal of obstacles can result in Jnana if Jnana had
not been the direct cause. Hope this helps.

Kathirasan


On Wed, Aug 10, 2011 at 7:57 AM, Kathirasan K <brahmasatyam at gmail.com>wrote:

> Namaste Bhaskarji,
>
> Pertaining to the following doubt:
>
> <  and one more doubt here...can a person become brahmanishTa without any
> knowledge of shAstra??  As per shankara, shAstra is the ONLY pramANa to
> become brahmanishTa or brahmajnAni...how can a person become brahmanishTa
> without the aid of antya pramANa??  or to become brahmanishTa,
> shAstrAdhyayana, shravaNa, manana & nidhidhyAsana not a necessary
> sAdhana??.>
>
> Perhaps you can read Brahma Sutra Bhashya 1.3.38 where Shankara says that
> the rise of jnana cannot be prevented if preparation was sufficient in
> previous lives. And also Brhadaranyaka Upanishad Bhashya 1.4.2 where again
> he mentions that the removal of obstacles can result in Jnana if Jnana had
> not been the direct cause. Hope this helps.
>
> Kathirasan
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