[Advaita-l] Pitrupaksha questions

[Srikanta Narayanaswami]

?

A: To whom?

D: To the GYAnin.

A: As far as the GYAnin is concerned, it serves no purpose.

D: Then why should the shrAddha be performed?

[Now read this next bit carefully - JV]

A:  Because the relatives do have a duty to fulfil.  From the GYAnin's point of view, performance of shrAddha is of no use.  However, the relatives continue to have their duty to perform shrAddha.  Just because one becomes a GYAnin, one's relatives are not absolved of their duty. They are bound to perform those actions that the shAstra-s have prescribed for them.

There you are.  Quite "entertaining" isn't it?

Owing to your penchant for grasping the wrong end of the stick let me spell out what Swamiji is saying here.  If one is a jnani, karma is no longer of relevance.  Hence it is renounced in totality.  If one is not a jnani regardless of ones level of Vedantic book-knowledge, one is bound to ones duty.  This is nothing near gYAnakarmasamucchayavAda and thus your quote from the bhashya on Gita 4:18 misses the mark.


-- Jaldhar H. Vyas <jaldhar at braincells.com>
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I have given below answers for the excerpts of the postings from Sri Jaldhar vyas.
The above answers are being said out of context.What the question was is,if a seeker or an aspirant has reached the conviction that for him Karmas are of no use performing,should he continue to do the karmas.The answer from some is that leaving the kamya karmas,only nitya and the naimittaka karmas must be performed.SriShankara Bhagawath pada says,the nitya karmas since it does not give any phala they need be performed.I have said this in my previous posting.Thi now becomes the area of Jnananishta.since he has entered the dimension of Jnana,it doesnot create pratyavaya.Further,SriShankara says in his BG Bhashya that he is fit only to become a Jnananishta.
Hence he devotes himself to Jnananishta.The BG says,"Brahmarpanam Brahmahavih....It extols Jnana saying,
Na hi jnanaena sadrsham pavitraniha vartate.Further it says,"shraddhavan labhate Jnanam.If it is not so it would have said:"Na hi Karmena sadrsham",and "shraddhavan karoti kamah."But here the Bhagavan and sriShankara reiterates that Jnana is superior.If that were not so,there would be no motive for Moksha sastra.This is also substantiated by the Upanishads.
I would like to state here that I am not grasping the wrong end of the stick,as Iam pointing out the beginning of Jnana Khandha from Chapter 4 onwards.Infact this chapter is rightly titled"Jnana Yoga"otherwise,it would have been named as "Karma Yoga",if what you say is relevant here.
If one wants to progress in the path of Jnana marga,one has to study the Vedanthic granthas as per his Guruupadesha.Otherwise,one will be lost.If one is bound to do karma,then he will be bound by karma.This chapter totally rejects the theory that one must do one's duty(karma)for ever.Sri Shankara also stresses this at the end of Chapter 4,saying,the darkness cannot remove another darkness.Further,he says that non-performance of karma cannot create phala,because the performance itself being "asat"it cannot create any fruit."Na sato vidyate Bhavah".This is what Sri.Shankara Bhagawathpada states.
Regarding your contention that "it is not Jnana -karmasamuccaya vada,I want you to study again the beginning of SriShankara's commentary for the B.G 4.18 slokah"Karmani akarma yah pasyet....He says that a vrttikara
who is a Jnana-karma samuccayavadin says only nitya-naimittaka karmas must be performed.For this,SriShankara Bhagawath pada sstates the above siddhantha.As for you contention that the relatives also donot have any duty to perform.One will not stop studying vedantha books.he has to do the manana and Nidhidhyasana,till he attains Jnana.
N.Srikanta.

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