[Advaita-l] Pitrupaksha questions.

[Shyam]

Pranams

You write

> While discussing we must not forget that Sri
> shankara i his commentaries has also discussed the place of
> Jnana in our daily performances.


"place of Jnana in our daily performances"

What does this mean? Please explain.

Hari OM
Shyam

--- On Fri, 9/30/11, Srikanta Narayanaswami <srikanta.narayanaswami at yahoo.com> wrote:

> From: Srikanta Narayanaswami <srikanta.narayanaswami at yahoo.com>
> Subject: [Advaita-l] Pitrupaksha questions.
> To: "advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org" <advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org>
> Date: Friday, September 30, 2011, 5:06 AM
> Please read the very beginning of the
> kaThopanishat. Naciketas first questions his father about
> the quality of ritual gifts being given (old,
> non-productive cattle). Only then does he go to Yama. 
> 
> > 2)You are wrongly quoting me in the choice of
> Purohits.You have just picked up sentences without seeing
> the context.
> 
> No, I am absolutely going by what you wrote in your earlier
> mails. Again, your experience with
> the priests at your mother's funeral rites is, I think,
> unfortunate. I, on the other hand, have seen
> nothing but very high quality of SraddhA, expertise and
> behavior on the part of purohita-s and
> dAna recipients whom I have come across. In any case, lack
> of dedication, expertise etc. or an
> abundance of these qualities on the part of one or even a
> hundred or thousand purohita-s are
> quite independent of the philosophical positions involved
> here. I object to (a) your denigration
> of all mImAMsaka-s as "parasites" or commercially minded,
> and (b) your blanket statements
> regarding karmA and jnAna that do not properly take
> adhikAra into account.
> 
> > 4)while it is the duty of the advaita list is to
> highlight Advaita siddhanta,I find there is more emphasis on
> only karma
> >and the rituals,which will not take us further.So,there
> should be more space for discussing the topics on Jnana.
> 
> That again is a very different problem of perception. While
> I wouldn't say that every list member
> here is focused only on jnAna, I think the list discussions
> by and large serve the purpose for the
> existence of this list. In any case, if you have concerns
> about this, the answer lies not in the kind
> of attack that you have done on vaidika karmA, its
> performance and its ritual specialists. What
> most of your respondents have found unacceptable in your
> posts is your rejection of vaidika karmA
> even within its own proper sphere of applicability. I think
> you will find that no one finds any fault
> with the statement that moksha is not a result of any
> karmA. However, dharma is a separate
> purushArtha from moksha and that is what you don't seem to
> account for.
> 
> 
> > 5)My discussions on SriShankaraBhagawath pada and the
> importance of studying and assimilating the books by Sri
> shankara Bhagawathpada stems from the reply of some of the
> list subscribers who stick to their point of view
> irrespective of me pointing out on the contrary.These list
> members seem to stick to their views even if it is brought
> to their notice the Sri Shankara's upadesha on these
> relevant points.They seem to stick to only the Karma
> siddhantha which is not any where found in the Bhagawath
> pada's bhashyas.
> > 
> 
> If you read carefully through the most recent responses to
> you from, say Sri Praveen Bhat or 
> Sri Krunal Makwana, to name just a couple of these list
> members, it is very clear that they do
> NOT stick to karma siddhAnta, but they do not think that
> you correctly represent Sri Sankara
> bhagavatpAda's views on the matter either. And it so
> happens that a number of others see it
> the same way, but then, the opportunity to exchange views
> is what this list's purpose is. I don't
> think any of us here should have any illusions that others
> always have to change their views
> based on what we write. But we should always be open to the
> notion that we are perhaps
> wrong about some things and be open to the possibility of
> being corrected. If it happens, well
> and good, but such an event should be based on the inherent
> strengths of the arguments and
> ____________________________________________________________________________________________
> To Vidya shankar
> I am seeing from your posting above,that you are repeating
> the same answers you are saying,I would like to bring to
> your attention on a proper perspective.What I am saying is
> this:
> From the discussions that we find in the B.G and the
> commentary of Shankara(I hope you are following that.
> In the B>G verse on the performance of
> karmas,nitya,naimittaka,Sri shankara has the following
> discussions.whether nitya,naimittaka karmas have to be
> performed,he takes into question a vrttikara (Chapter 4,I
> have quoted earler the full discussions on this topic)that
> nitya,naimittika karmas must be performed,the discussion is
> on this.
> Sri shankara(I hope we have SriShankaraBhagawath pada as
> our Guru,if it is any other guru,I will not bother to answer
> that question),says that there is no pratyavaya dosha.If it
> is not for pratyavaya dosha then it is not for other
> karmas.this is what I have said.Has it been followed.
> Mr.Vidya shankar,I take strong exception to what you have
> commented on my mother,s funeral.If you have seen exception
> priests then it is your lookout.You are free to feed them
> and give danas etc.and make them fat.But,that is beside the
> point.I would like to point out to you that there is not
> even an iota of dedication on the purohit class.If it is not
> so then what is the purpose of performing the obsequies on
> the part of the karta.You are just closing your eyes to what
> is being performed.It is not gifts wemust give to the
> Purohits,but its eficient and proper performance!
> Few years ago,the funeral was being performed by arranging
> a funeral pyre and mantra etc.Now,everything is over with
> the press of a button.What if it is there!We have buttons by
> our side for every thing. we have Cell phones,pagers,on the
> part of Purohits who perform many funerals and shraddhas on
> a single day!What we are missing are Conveyor belts,which
> move the corpses in the same fashion as products in a
> factory.
> SriShankara never hoped to have such a set up as this.The
> importance he gave is not for karma as some of the postings
> suggest,but to realise the place of Jnana.If karmas are
> meant to be the be all and the end of Hindu dharma,no one
> will be left to follow the dharma.The Jnana khanda is also
> Vaidika,it is not non-vaidika.Infact,it is deeper than the
> karma kandha.Iam not attacking Vaidika on that basis.I find
> in most of the postings as quoted by you,I am seeing only
> performance of karmas,only on the perfornce and not on its
> sifnificance and a greater understanding!From the responses
> of Krunal makwana,Pravin Bhat and also your response,I am
> seeing that they are not giving significance to Sri shankara
> Bhagawathpada's,since they are giving emphasis only to
> karmas and their performance.If it were so we would not have
> seen these discussions in his commentary.Every time I point
> out this,they are quick to respond to my view points.
>  
> By what you write,it seems you are bent on changing my
> views,much less to put the discussions on a proper
> perspective.While discussing we must not forget that Sri
> shankara i his commentaries has also discussed the place of
> Jnana in our daily performances.It is actually karmas he
> derides in his commenataries.otherwise,if it is blind
> performace of karmas,then his writings on Jnana would be of
> no use.I still hope that the list follows Srishankara as a
> Guru!
> N.Srikanta.
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