[Advaita-l] Ramana Maharshi - Advaitin or Neo Advaitin?

[Raghav Kumar]

On 20-Sep-2016 5:49 pm, "Kripa Shankar via Advaita-l" <
advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote:
>
> ‎Namaste
>
> Interesting article about Ramana. This mig‎ht explain so many aspects
about Neo-Advaita and the confusion around. Further, this corresponds to
the recent campaign of Rajiv Malhotra.

Can you please clarify whether you broadly agree with Rajiv Malhotra's
approach or not? Yes or No?

>This may also explain why Ramana is saying there is no reincarnation.
>
The above statement that Sri Ramana Maharshi denied reincarnation is not
true. Sri Ramana Maharshi either denied both incarnation and reincarnation
together; or he accepted both as provisionally true. Please see the extract
below from 'A Sadhu's Reminescences'. By Sadhu Arunachala pages 54 and 55.
Extract begins "As I have stated above, for an Advaitin there is no such
thing as re-incarnation. Egos being completely impermanent, what is there
to re-incarnate? Bhagavan would always deny that anybody is born now,  so
how could such be re-born? “Search and find out if you are born now,” he
would instruct us. However,  for such as believed in the actuality of the
ego he did concede re-incarnation. One night in the Hall there was some
talk about reincarnation. Just as Bhagavan was getting up from his couch to
go for his evening meal, I, as a joke, said, “But Alan Chadwick has not
been born before.” “What, what did he say?” asked Bhagavan sharply. “He
said that he had never been born before,” someone wrongly interpreted. Of
course I had not said that at all. I had meant that whatever form the ego
took formerly it had never had the name and form Alan Chadwick, but had
been some entirely different person. But Bhagavan replying to the wrong
interpretation quickly replied, “Oh, yes he had been, for what has brought
us all together here AGAIN?” He never asked us what had brought us to him,
but what had brought us AGAIN to Arunachala. He had so completely
identified himself with the Mountain. '

One of the characteristics of 'neo-advaita' is presumably,  ALWAYS talking
at the pAramArthika level alone. Then we can say a given teacher has one of
the neo-advaita traits. Now if a teacher sometimes talks at the vyAvahArika
level and sometimes at the pAramArthika level that is perfectly fine. Sri
Ramana Maharshi sometimes says reincarnation is there and sometimes he says
its not there, therefore we may need to examine the context and the
adhikArI in which the acceptance and denial of reincarnation are talked
about. This has already been mentioned by Bhaskar ji. It appears you did
not follow his explanation.


>
> ‎Regards
> Kripa
>
> ‎---
> Vyasaya Vishnu roopaya Vyasa roopaya Vishnave
> Namo vai Brahma nidhaye Vasishtaya namo namaha
>   Original Message
> From: Bhaskar YR
> Sent: Tuesday 20 September 2016 4:44 PM
> To: Kripa Shankar; A discussion group for Advaita Vedanta
> Subject: RE: [Advaita-l] Ramana Maharshi - Advaitin or Neo Advaitin?
>
> praNAms Sri Kripa Shankar prabhuji
> Hare Krishna
>
> My query i‎s simple. There are so many concepts like shrAddha, Creation
theory, Karma etc
>
> > yes, in the shruti, dharma shAstra etc. we will find plenty of
references with regard to shrAddhAdi karma, creation, karma etc. for the
jignAsu-s who are yet to realize that ultimate truth that there is no
creation, no jeeva, nor mukti nor bandha.
>
> Why pick up reincarnation, why mix up vyavahara and paramaartha and why
to take pain to explain again that nothing holds in absolute terms when it
is said already many times. Kim punaha?
>
> > don’t you think shruti and bhAshya themselves an admixture of these
dual viewpoints?? 're-incarnation' is one of those topics. And in this
particular context ramaNa might have taken this topic and clarified his
stand from the highest view point. To do apavAda first we have to know what
is adhyArOpita, is it not prabhuji. Kindly see kArika maraNe sambhave
chaiva gatyAgamanayOrapi and shankara bhAshya on that it would clear from
this that exit, going away, reincarnating are all from the stand point of
imputation and nothing real in 'real' sense.
> ‎
> Hari Hari Hari Bol!!!
> bhaskar
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