[Advaita-l] Fwd: The concept of mAyA sItA

[V Subrahmanian]

2014-02-22 12:29 GMT+05:30 H S Chandramouli <hschandramouli at gmail.com>:

<< In the BGB 14.3 both Madhva and Jayatirtha allude to this.  For them
> Lakshmi can never be subjected to misery and therefore the misery undergone
> by sItA is only an appearance, a show, and not real.>>
>
> My understanding is that Sri Madhvacharya did not accept the concept
> of different levels of reality.


Even though it would appear that Mahdwa does not accept different levels of
reality, for building up the metaphysics of his system he has admitted two
levels of reality by the names: swatantra satyam and paratantra satyam.
 The former is represented by Brahman/ViShNu and the latter by everything
from Lakshmi/mAyA/prakRti downwards. The latter category derives its
reality/existence from the former.  Madhwa says this in his BGB 4.24:

*'*ब्रह्मार्पणमिति'। सर्वमेतद्ब्रह्मेत्युच्यते, *तदधीनसत्ता*
प्रवृत्तिमत्त्वात्; न तु तत्स्वरूपत्वात्। उक्तं हि'त्वदधीनं यतः सर्वमतः
सर्वो भवानिति'।

Dr.B.N.K.Sharma in his book ‘History of Dvaita Vedanta and its Literature:

//Everything in finite reality is grounded in the Infinite reality and
needs it for its *being and becoming*.//  p.62
*The dependence of the world of matter and the souls on Brahman is in the
sense that both are functioning at His will, which is the essential
condition and sustaining principle that invests them with their reality and
without which they would be but void names and bare possibilities.** //
(emphasis mine) (page 67)*



> There is nothing like appearance which is not real. Then how come they
> conceive of sita as appearence only and not real ? Please clarify.
>

Madhwa cites the following as pramANa for the idea that
prakRti/mAyA/lakShmI who is really beyond misery but appears to undergo
misery by Her own will, only to put on an appearance:

तथा हि सामवेदे शार्कराक्षश्रुतौ -- "विष्णोर्योनिर्गर्भसन्धारणार्था महामाया
सर्वदुःखैर्विहीना। तथाऽप्यात्मानं दुःखिवन्मोहनार्थं प्रकाशयन्ती सह विष्णुना
सा" इति। अतः सीतादुःखादिकं सर्वं मृषा प्रदर्शनमेव। तथा कूर्मपुराणे -- 'न
चेयं भूः' ब्र.सं.पु. तथा च सौकरायणश्रुतिः -- "अन्या भूर्भूरियं तस्य छाया
भूताऽवमा सा हि भूतैकयोनिः" इति। "अवाप स्वेच्छया दास्यं जगतां प्रपितामही"
इत्यनभिम्लानश्रुतिः। मत्स्यपुराणोक्तमपि स्वेच्छयैव।
Jayatirtha notes: मृषाऽयथार्थं प्रदर्शनं यस्य तत्तथा.  He also alludes to
the concept of mAyAsItA twice in the gloss.

Thus, the misery undergone by sItA as mAyAsItA and her servitude, dAsitvam,
to vAlmIki, are only appearances and not real.

So, if prakRti/LakShmI can put on an appearance of a miserable jiva,
without really getting jIvatvam/duHkhitvam, etc. and such  misery, etc. are
only mRShA pradarshanam, only an appearance, through the medium of svEcchA,
then Brahman too, by the medium of mAyA/avidyA, appear as a jIva/samsArin
and the jagat/jagadIshwara and such jIvatvam/samsAritvam/jagat/Ishwaratvam
etc. be mere appearances and not real.  This is the inescapable corollary
of the validation of the mAyA-sItA concept.

regards
subrahmanian.v



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