[Advaita-l] Vikalpa, Savikalpa, and Nirvikalpa

[V Subrahmanian]

2012/8/23 श्रीमल्ललितालालितः <lalitaalaalitah at lalitaalaalitah.com>

>
> On Tue, Aug 21, 2012 at 11:01 PM, V Subrahmanian
> <v.subrahmanian at gmail.com>wrote:
>
> > योऽप्ययमौपनिषदात्मप्रतिपत्तिप्रयोजनः समाधिरुपदिष्टो वेदान्तेषु ’आत्मा वा
> > अरे द्रष्टव्यः श्रोतव्यो मन्तव्यो निदिध्यसितव्यः’
> >
>
> At this place vAchaspati's explanation is wrong.
>


> The bhAShya says that for Atmapratipatti(which is the meaning of
> draShTavyaH) samAdhi is enjoined.
> How could द्रष्टव्यः mean samAdhi ? See bR^ihadAraNyakam 2.4.5 तस्मादात्मा
> वा अरे द्रष्टव्यो दर्शनार्हः ।
>

वाचस्पतिवाक्यमेवमस्ति - द्रष्टव्य इति समाधेरुपदेशः इति ।

Pl. see below: (Shankara gives two explanations for the word 'draShTavyaH',
both grammatically correct and contextually appropriate)
तस्मादात्मप्रीतिसाधनत्वाद्गौणी अन्यत्र प्रीतिः, आत्मन्येव मुख्या  ।
तस्मादात्मा वै अरे द्रष्टव्यो दर्शनार्हः, * दर्शनविषयमापादयितव्यः*;श्रोतव्यः
पूर्वमाचार्यत आगमतश्च;पश्चान्मन्तव्यस्तर्कतः;ततो निदिध्यासितव्यो निश्चयेन
ध्यातव्यः;एवं ह्यसौ दृष्टो भवति श्रवणमनननिदिध्यासनसाधनैर्निर्वर्तितैः
। *यदैकत्वमेतान्युपगतानि, तदा सम्यग्दर्शनं
ब्रह्मैकत्वविषयं प्रसिदति, नान्यथा श्रवणमात्रेण  ।

*This *'prasIdanam'* is what means actual sAkShAtkAraH.  For this samAdhi
is prescribed.

The sutra is: समाध्यभावाच्च .  The Bhashya says:

*योऽप्ययमौपनिषदात्मप्रतिपत्तिप्**रयोजनः समाधिरुपदिष्टो वेदान्तेषु* ’आत्मा
वा अरे द्रष्टव्यः श्रोतव्यो मन्तव्यो निदिध्यसितव्यः’ ’सोऽन्वेष्टव्यः स
विजिज्ञासितव्यः’ (बृ. २.४.५) ’ओमित्येवं ध्यायथ आत्मानम्’ (मुण्ड. २.२.६)
इत्येवंलक्षणः, सोऽप्यसत्यात्मनः कर्तृत्वे नोपपद्येत। तस्मादप्यस्य
कर्तृत्वसिद्धिः।। ३९ ।।


This आ*त्मप्रतिपत्तिप्**रयोजनः समाधिरुपदिष्टो वेदान्तेषु *prayojanaH word
along with the sUtra/bhashya word samAdhi is at the background of the
Bhamati.  AtmapratipattiH is not got by mere shravana and manana as
Shankara says in the Br.Up.bhashya.  And these two also do not qualify to
be called 'samAdhi' , a sutra word. So Nididhyasana is the only word that
can be related to samAdhi.  Since nididhyAsana is also defined/explained as
'dhyAnam' by the Br.Up.Bhashya itself, the pratipattiH of Atman has to be
linked to samAdhi on the strength of the above sutra bhashya.  That is what
the bhAmati has done. The prayojanaH of pratipatti is taught to be samadhi
as per the Bhashya on the strength of the sutra.  Bhamati takes all this
into consideration to say that 'drashTavyaH'
(darshanam/pratipattiH/sAkShAtkAra/AtmadhIH) is (for which) samAdhi
upadesha is there in the Upanishads (not in the yoga shAstra).


Sri Sachidanandendra Saraswati SwaminaH in the Book 'gItAshastrArtha
vivekaH' has established beyond doubt that the dhaaraNa/dhyAna/samAdhi of
the Patanjali system is applicable/taught in the Bh.Gita 6th chapter.  He
has shown the one-to-one correspondence and said that the Gita shastra too
teaches chittavRttinirodha culminating in samAdhi and AtmajnAnam.  The only
difference is in the content of samAdhi between the Gita and the yoga
shastra.  I have posted details of this book in an article in this forum in
the past.


'samAdhi' can be found in the BG 2nd chapter 'sthitaprajnasya kA bhAShA,
samAdhisthasya..' where the jnani is spoken of.  Since samAdhi is that
state where the sAkShAtkaaraH takes place it is called so in the bhAmati.
The other practices of dhAraNA and dhyAna (nididhyAsanam) precede samAdhi
where alone the culmination, vastu mAtra nirbhAsanam svarUpashUnyamiva'
takes place, it is called so: drashtavyaH = samaadhi upadeshaH.



> Now nididhyAsana means dhyAna which is not same as samAdhi. So, samAdhi is
> not enjoined here.
>

We  have to take the sUtra and Shankara bhashya as authority.
समाधिरुपदिष्टः वेदान्तेषु says Shankara giving upanishadic passages as
proof.  I have also shown several other passages in this category.

If someone says that samAdhi is just dhyAna with intensity; then I've no
> problem.
>

Exactly.  That is what the Bhamati shows by citing the Yoga sutra too that
bring out the difference between dhyAna and samAdhi...

// यथाहुः - ’तदेव ध्यानमर्थमात्रनिर्भासं स्वरूपशून्यमिव स्माधिः’ इति ।
सोऽयमिह कर्तात्मा समाधावुपदिश्यमानः आत्मनः कर्तृत्वमवैति इति सूत्रार्थः। //
Note the word 'tadeva'.  Dhyanam itself when taken to a higher level is
samAdhi and here alone the AtmapratipattiH takes place, as the BhAshya says
and the sUtrakAra intends.

The sutra and the bhAshya, AtmapratipattiH, tadartham samAdhiH is quite in
order.  It does not explicitly say nididhyasanam but emphasizes on
draStavyaH.

Vivekachudamani:
अतीवसूक्ष्मं परमार्थतत्त्वं न स्थूलबुद्ध्या प्रतिपत्तुमर्हति ।
समाधिनाऽऽत्यन्तसुसूक्ष्मवृत्त्या ज्ञातव्यमार्यैः अतिशुद्धबुद्धिभिः  .  is
based on the shruti: sUkShmayA sUkshmadarshibhiH.  One can note the word
pratipattiH here too, just as in the sUtra Bhashyam.

>
> Moreover, see this from bR^ihadAraNyakam 1.4.7
>
> अपरे वर्णयन्ति -
> पासनेनात्मविषयं विशिष्टं ज्ञानान्तरं भावयेत् । तेनात्मा ज्ञायते ।
> अविद्यानिवर्त्तकञ्च तदेव , नात्मविषयं वेदवाक्यजनितं विज्ञानम् ।
> - इति ।
> एतस्मिन्नर्थे वचनान्यपि - विज्ञाय प्रज्ञां कुर्वीत , द्रष्टव्यः श्रोतव्यो
> मन्तव्यो निदिध्यासितव्यः , सोऽन्वेषटव्यः स विजिज्ञासितव्यः । इत्यादीनि ।
> न । अर्थान्तराभावात् ।
>
> This is explained as
> आत्मवस्तुस्वरूपसमर्पकैरेव वाक्यैस्तत्त्वमस्यादिभिः श्रवणकाल एव तद्दर्शनस्य
> कृतत्वात् , द्रष्टव्यविधेर्नानुष्ठानान्तरं कर्त्तव्यम् ।
>
> After refuting need of Atma-viShyaka-saMpraGYAta-samAdhi, bhAShya negates
> need of nirodha-samAdhi :
> अथापि स्यात् - चित्तवृत्तिनिरोधस्य वेदवाक्यजनितात्मविज्ञानादर्थान्तरत्वात्
> तन्त्रान्तरेषु च कर्त्तव्यतयावगतत्वात् विधेयत्वम् इति चेत् ।
> न । मोक्षसाधनत्वेनानववगमात् । न हि वेदान्तेषु
> ब्रह्मविज्ञानादन्यत्परमपुरुषार्थसाधनत्वेनावगम्यते ।
>

All this is said with regard to the adhikArI for whom the aparoksha jnanam
has taken place upon just shravaNam.  Such is the uttamAdhikArin. How do we
conclude so?  From the bhashyam itself:

वाक्यजनितात्मज्ञानस्मृतिसंततेः

 श्रवणविज्ञानमात्रादर्थान्तरत्वमिति चेत्, न; अर्थप्राप्तत्वात् ---
*यदैवात्मप्रतिपादकवाक्यश्रवणादात्मविषयं
विज्ञानमुत्पद्यते**,* तदैव

 तदुत्पद्यमानं तद्विषयं मिथ्याज्ञानं निवर्तयदेवोत्पद्यते;
आत्मविषयमिथ्याज्ञाननिवृत्तौ
च तत्प्रभवाः स्मृतयो न भवन्ति

 स्वाभाविक्योऽनात्मवस्तुभेदविषयाः; अनर्थत्वावगतेश्च --- आत्मावगतौ हि
सत्याम् अन्यद्वस्तु अनर्थत्वेनावगम्यते,

 अनित्यदुःखाशुद्ध्यादिबहुदोषवत्त्वात् आत्मवस्तुनश्च तद्विलक्षणत्वात्;
तस्मादनात्मविज्ञानस्मृतीनामात्मावगतेरभावप्राप्तिः;

 पारिशेष्यादात्मैकत्वविज्ञानस्मृतिसंततेरर्थत व भावान्न विधेयत्वम्।
शोकमोहभयायासादिदुःखदोषनिवर्तकत्वाच्च तत्स्मृतेः ---

 विपरीतज्ञानप्रभवो हि शोकमोहादिदोषः; तथा च 'तत्र को मोहः' 'विद्वान्न बिभेति
कुतश्चन' 'अभयं वै जनक प्राप्तोऽसि'

'भिद्यते हृदयग्रन्थिः'  इत्यादिश्रुतयः।

And Shankara says this:

....न ह्यात्मविज्ञानतत्स्मृतिसंतानव्यतिरेकेण चित्तवृत्तिनिरोधस्य साधनमस्ति।

From this it is clear that the above is said ON the condition that the
arisen aatmasAkShAtkAraH has already resulted in the natural uninterrupted
flow of AtmasmRti. In other words, the adhikArin that Shankara has in mind
here is such a one for whom the sAkShAtkAra takes place just upon
shravaNam.  And it immediately results in the 'stopping of all
anAtmapratyaya vRttis' automatically. *For such a one only* Shankara says
there is no need for a mukti upAyaH other than Atma jnanam and certainly
not chittavRtti nirodhaH, for this jnAni has automatically accomplished the
continuous flow of AtmasmrtisantatiH and chittavRttinirodhaH has naturally
taken place for him.

But that is not the adhikArin that is normally encountered.  Most
adhikarins are required to undergo shravaNa, manana and nididhyAsanam.

For, Shankara says, as we saw already in this bhashyam: ONLY when all the
three are practiced does the Atmadarshanam/pratipattiH takes place and not
otherwise.  Shankara reiterates this in the BSB 4.1.1.
One will see the corresponding thoughts of the BhAshyakAra in the
Brahmasutrabhashya 4.1.1 आवृत्त्यसकृदुपदेशात्.
//अत्रोच्यते - भवेदावृत्त्यानर्थक्यं तं प्रति यस्तत्त्वमसि इति सकृदुक्तमेव
ब्रह्मात्मत्वमनुभवितुं शक्नुयात् । यस्तु न शक्नोति तं प्रत्युपयुज्यत
एवावृत्तिः । तथाहि ...तथाच श्रोतव्यो मन्तव्यो निदिधासितव्यः’  इत्यादि
दर्शितम् ।  ...येषां पुनर्निपुणमतीनां सकृकुक्तमेव
तत्त्वमसिवाक्यार्थमनुभवितुमिति तान्प्रत्यावृत्त्यानर्थक्यमैष्टमे ।
...तस्मात्परब्रह्मविषयेऽपि प्रत्यये तदुपायोपदेशेष्वावृत्तिसिद्धिः ।

We have also seen how Shankara has defined 'dhyAnam' in the Bh.G. verse
ध्यानेनात्मनि पश्यन्ति ..

All this shows that Shankara's utterances might appear to be inconsistent/
contradictory, etc.  But when we see the context at each place we will be
able to appreciate that what He says has a specific sense in a specific
context.

Shankara, at the beginning of the Chandogya Bhashyam says:
उपासनं तु यथाशास्त्रसमर्पितं किञ्चिदालम्बनमुपादाय
*तस्मिन्समानचित्तवृत्तिसन्तानकरणं
तद्विलक्षणप्रत्ययानन्तरितमिति... ।*  (how is this not chittavRttinirodhaH
that Sri SSS has established in the Bh.Gita 6th chapter context?)
तान्येतान्युपासनानि सत्त्वशुद्धिकरत्वेन वस्तुतत्त्वावभासकत्वात्
अद्वैतज्ञानोपकारकाणी ...सुसाध्यानि इति पूर्वमुपन्यस्यते । Anandagiri says
here: समानजातीयप्रत्ययसन्तानकरणं विच्छिद्य विच्छिद्य ध्यानिनोऽपि सिध्यति
इति विशिनष्टि...


> You wrote :
> bhAmati is saying the last means is dhyAna and its culmination is samAdhi
> which is sAkShAtkAra or Atmadarshanam.
>
> samAdhi is not sAxAtkAra. At most it can be a means of sAxAtkAra.
>

I agree that it is in this sense alone the sutra/bhashya and bhaamati use
that word.  samAdhi is that state where the AtmapratipattiH takes place.

>
> Moreover, GYAna is not vidheya as it is not puruSha-tantra. So, if samAdhi
> means darshana then it can't be enjoined.
>

AtmasvarUpa jnAnam is nityam and therefore not vidheya.  But the
Atmapratipattih (the vRttijnAnam) is vidheya.  तादृशवृत्तिस्तु ज्ञानसाधनैः
श्रवणादिभिः उत्पादनीया ।  अत एव सा वृत्तिः अविद्यां नाशयित्वा स्वयमपि
नश्यतीति अद्वैतशास्त्रमर्यादा । अत एव च भाष्ये ’औपनिषदात्मप्रतिपातिप्रयोजनः
समाधिः’ इत्युक्तम् ।

>
> And if darshana means samAdhi, then there will be no word left to show
> that Atman is to be experienced(द्रष्टव्यः).
>

I have already shown the bhashya (Br.Up.) where draShTavyaH is explained
also as दर्शनविषयतामापादयितव्यः.  Here is surely a function, kriyA,
involved.  And therefore to say that the darshanakriyA takes place in the
samAdhikriyA will not be out of context.
Bhamati says द्रष्टव्य इति समाधेरुपदेशः । [तद्दर्शनार्थं =
तत्प्रतिपत्त्यर्थं समाधिः उपदिष्टा उपनिषस्तु इति भाष्यवाक्यमनुसृत्यैव]

ऒम्