[Advaita-l] Bondage and Liberation,Logical ot illogical.

[Srikanta Narayanaswami]

Srikanta Narayanaswami <
srikanta.narayanaswami at yahoo.com> wrote:

> There had been comparison between Adwaita and Dwaita schools on the
> Mandukyopanishath Karika,
> "Anadi Mayaya suptah yada jivah prabhudhyate!
> Ajam anidram asvapanm adwaitam budhyate tada!!
>
> Madhwacharya says here,Maya is "Vishnu Maya".But,here, what is written
> here is "Maya"which is Maya of the Jiva.If it is 'Vishnu Maya" the Karika
> would have mentioned "Vishnu Maya".But,it states,Anadi Mayaya suptah yada
> Jivah prabhudhyate.
> N.Srikanta.
>

I do not think it is wrong to call this samsAra-sleep-causing power as
'viShNu mayA/icchA'.  In the Bh.gita 7.14 we have 'mama mAyA duratyayA' as
said by the Lord Himself.  Shankara comments: mama Ishvarasya svabhUtA ..'.
We can see Shankara commenting in the Kathopanishat as 'anAdi avidyayA
suptAH' for the mantra 'utthiShThata jAgrata...'.  So, in Vedanta there is
no difference between avidyA and mAyA.  It is One shakti. It would be
interesting to note that in the Br.up. 1.4.10 ('aham brahmAsmi') bhAShyam
Shankara takes up the question of 'How can it be that Brahman has
ignorance?' and replies: For we do not see any other sentient being other
than Brahman and hence it is apt to hold that Brahman Itself owing to its
own ignorance (mAyA/avidyA) appears as a jIva and It Itself owing to its
own realization appears as though liberated. And it should also be
remembered that this avidyA/mAyA that brings the jIvabhAva also creates the
IshvarabhAva too. Unless this 'order', scheme, is in place, as does the
shruti, the bandha-mokSha vyavahAra cannot be explained. For maintenance of
bandha there is required a karmaphala dAtA and for providing the means of
liberation we require the upadesha which is again initiated by Ishwara
(vedAntakRti).    Bondage and liberation and the 'order'/vyavasthA  are 'as
if' for it will be known upon realization that the shakti called
mAyA/avidyA itself is unreal at all periods of time.

As I had pointed out, the verse Madhwa cites for this says 'svApitaH' which
means: 'made to / put to sleep'.
____________________________________________________________________________
In his above posting sri.Subramanian says it is not wrong to call the samsara-sleep causing power as Vishnu Maya.But,here is the commentary of Sri.Shankara on this Karika I.16.:
"Yoyam samsari jivah sa ubhayalakshanena -tatvapratibhodharupena bijatmana anyatha grahana lakshanena ca anadikalapravrttena Maya lakshanena svapena mama ayam pitha,putroyam,napta,ksetram,grham,pashavah,aham esham svami,sukhi,duhki,kshayitoham,anena,vardhitasca,anena iti evam prakaran svapnan sthanadvayepi pashyan suptah yada  vedantartha tatva bhijnena paramakarunikena guruna "Nasi evam tvam  hetuphalatmakah kintu tat tvamasi"iti pratibhodhyamanah,tada evam pratibhudhyate!Katham?Nasmin bahyam abhyantaram va janmadi bhavavikarah asti! atah ajam "sabahyantaro hyajah "(Mu.II.1.2) iti sruteh"!sarva bhavavikaravarjitam iyyarthah!Yasmat5 janmadi karanabhutam na asmin avidyatamobijam nidra vidyate it anidram!Anidram hi tat Turiyam! ata eva asvapnam!Tannimitatvat anyathagrahanasya!Yasmacca anidram asvapnam  tasmat Ajam Advaitam Turiyam Atmanam bhudhyate tada!!
 
We see from the above,Sri.Shankara clearly explains what is Maya of the Jiva.It is not "Vishnu Maya"that is mentioned in the Karika,but Maya of the Jiva who is a "Samsari"as"Mama ayam pita,Putroyam,etc.
The translation of the commentary of Sri.Shankara is as follows:
"This Jiva who is a samsari,he is immersed in the seedsleep ,misapprehension sleep,this two fold beginningless seep which is in Mayaform,""He is myfather,he is my son,(he is my grandson,this is my farm,house,cattle,iam their Lord,Iam happy,sad,I am spoiled by him,I live by him',in this way who is asleep in both the states(in waking as well as dream),when having undestood the Truth of Vedantha,having waken up by a compassionate Guru as"You are not in the3 form of Hetu,phala,but You are that"so wakes up ,he understands.How?"In this ;Atman"there is no birth in both external or internal"(He is "Sa bahyantropyajah"(Mu.II..1.2)That is in this "atman"there is no birth externall or internally)He is without any "Bhavavikara"Because for thim there is no "Avidya"which covers him in the seedform.Therefore this is without sleep.Turiya is there is no sleep.Therefore it is "asvapna".Because it is that sleep which is the cause for the misapprehension.In this way, since
 he is sleepless ,dreamless He is the birthless "Adwaita.That Turiya who is "Adwaita"the jiva knows as His "Atman".
 
We see from the above,Sri.Shankara clearly differentiates "Maya"as the anadi which is begginninless as,the seed slep which is non=apprehension of the "truth'(tatva)and misapprehension of the Truth.SriShankara has not mentioned "VishnuMaya"as Madhwacharya does.SriShankara calls as "Avidya"which is in the "Atman".
N.Srikanta.