[Advaita-l] What is the difference between Maya and avidhya ?T

[Praveen R. Bhat]

Namaste Venkatraghavanji,

On Fri, Sep 23, 2016 at 5:41 PM, Venkatraghavan S via Advaita-l <
advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote:

>
> JnAni being embodied is only from an ajnAni's perspective.


Even jnAnI's mukti is from ajnAnI's perspective only, in pAramarthika there
being no bandha or mukti. Why that, even jnAni's body is seen belonging to
the jnAnI as prArabdha by the ajnAnI, just as the latter considers his own
body to be his own.


> From jnAni's
> perspective, he was not, is not, will not be embodied.


If a jnAnI has a perspective, that is also superimposed by an ajnAnI.
However, all that is perceived has to be explained. So jnAnI having sharIra
as prArabdha, he is seen to take care of it as sharIradharma.



> This distinction of
> jIvanmukti and videhamukti are all from vyAvahArika standpoint only.


His upAdhi would limit the jnAnaphala based on his level of niShThA, hence
the categories even for jnAnIs and videhamukti as a stage where upAdhi no
longer limits in any way.


> A
> jnAni considers himself as nityamukta.


Once again, the very idea of jnAni "considering" something indicates
jIvabhAva, individualization, which means avidyAlesha.

On another point you had made earlier:

> Same way for avidyA too. Whether it
> is bhAva rUpa or abhAva rUpa, when jnAna arises it ceases to be. (and it
> never was nor will be).

Anything that is abhAvarUpa cannot and does not have to cease to be on rise
of jnAna since it was never there. Moreover, if anything abhAvarUpa can
cause a problem then what is to stop it from doing anything else? We will
have no say against Buddhists shUnyavAda then! Ergo, the na~n in avidyA is
virodhArthe na~n, which means that which opposed vidyA, not abhAvarthe as
in not being there at all. The same counter to Buddhism works here, if you
say avidyA *is* bhAvarUpa, the *isness* is the basis for its presence, and
its virodha, so it cannot not be at all. So the sampradAya says yatki~ncit
bhAvarUpa.


Kind rgds,
--Praveen R. Bhat
/* Through what should one know That owing to which all this is known!
[Br.Up. 4.5.15] */