[Advaita-l] Why "D. Gayatri" has been allowed to post to the list

Jaldhar H. Vyas jaldhar at braincells.com
Sat Sep 3 21:25:50 CDT 2016


[Was Re: [Advaita-l] Supremacy of Shiva over Vishnu]

List members who have patiently endured the recent flood of mails deserve 
a long overdue explanation as to why it has been allowed.

On Fri, 2 Sep 2016, Ravi Kiran via Advaita-l wrote:

> Thought Advaita is all about attaining liberation or mokSa or sadyo mukti
> (sarva dukha nivrutti and paramAnanda prApti) through jivAtma paramAtma
> ekatva ( paramArtha or advaita) jnAna in this very life (as far as
> spiritual aspirants are concerned).

Yes you are right but consider this:  jivatma paramatva ekatva is only 
possible by the cessation of all samkalpik karma.  And the only person who 
can do cease karma completely is the sannyasi.  Only the sannyasi and of 
all the grades of sannyasis, the paramahamsa is capable of mukti in this 
lifetime.

Have you taken sannyasa?  IF not, then all discussion we could conduct on 
this list no matter how low or lofty is theoretical only.  I do not single 
you out here for I am in the same boat.

So is joining advaita-l pointless?  No I think that theoretical 
discussions can still have value in that they are a preparation for the 
practice.  The fact is that much of the philosophical development of 
Advaita Vedanta has been as a result of critique from other darshanas, the 
Bauddha, Purvamimamsaka, Sankhya, Vaishnavas and other theists of various 
kinds, and now Indology.  So it is important for the sadhaka to get a good 
understanding of these other perspectives to get a better understanding of 
his own perspective.

As long as you are in samsara (and you cannot escape it by slogans but 
only by renunciation) you are bound by every relevant injunction of the 
Vedas and shastras.  If you are a Brahmana grhastha as a many list members 
are, learning dharma, teaching dharma, and defending dharma against its 
opponents is your bounden duty.  This cannot be foisted off onto 
"scholars" or acharyas.  For this purpose as well, one must be aware of 
the historical and philosophical bases of Advaita Vedanta.

One more reason:  The epitome of Advaita sadhana has been summarized as an 
contemplation (vichara) on the question "Who am I?" Well, no one of us has 
spontaneously generated.  "I" is in part a product of ones ancestry, 
environment, and other historical factors.  This too must be analyzed in 
depth.

"D. Gayatri" has been at times tedious and sophistic but at times has also 
provided geneuine food for thought.  It is for that reason I have allowed 
these threads to continue though perhaps not much longer.

On Sun, 4 Sep 2016, V Subrahmanian wrote:

> I am extremely shocked and sorry to find that such a blatant violation of
> the very purpose of this forum is taking place here initiated by a member
> who has been removed from another forum of Advaita recently for his
> misdemeanor and who operates with several aliases. 
>

Even before you alerted me to this I had my suspicions that person is not 
what they seem.  The ironic thing is that he is a Vaishnava, he has 
probably done more to sully the reputation of that which he claims to 
champion than any Advaitin ever could.

-- 
Jaldhar H. Vyas <jaldhar at braincells.com>


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