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

[Kripa Shankar]

Namaste Raghav 

Yes, I agree with Rajiv Malhotra. 

The question of adhikara bedha does not arise here, in my opinion. It is plain and simple adhyaropa apavada. We do not teach two different things for dull and the bright ones. 
‎
‎In order to negate something, we must acknowledge that something exists, even for uttamottama adhikaris. How can we negate something which never existed? Not only Ramana, most neo Advaitins say that there is nothing like reincarnation and karma. 

Regards 
Kripa ‎

‎---
Vyasaya Vishnu roopaya Vyasa roopaya Vishnave 
Namo vai Brahma nidhaye Vasishtaya namo namaha 
  Original Message  
From: Raghav Kumar
Sent: Tuesday 20 September 2016 10:37 PM
To: A discussion group for Advaita Vedanta; Kripa Shankar
Subject: Re: [Advaita-l] Ramana Maharshi - Advaitin or Neo Advaitin?
‎




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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