[Advaita-l] Does Brahman's svaprakAshatvam make it mithyA?

[V Subrahmanian]

On Mon, Apr 17, 2017 at 9:29 PM, Venkatraghavan S via Advaita-l <
advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote:

> Namaste Chandramouliji,
>
>
>
> In the same chapter of advaita siddhi, there is another vikalpa where
> drishyatvam is taken as asvayamprakAshatvam.
>
> svaprakAsham here is defined as स्वप्रकाशत्वं हि स्वापरोक्षत्वे
> स्वातिरिक्तानपेक्षत्वम् | the requirement for nothing else to directly know
> a thing apart from itself is svaprakAshatvam.


Dear Venkat ji,

I have a doubt in the above translation: स्वप्रकाशत्वं हि स्वापरोक्षत्वे
स्वातिरिक्तानपेक्षत्वम् |  Does this not mean: For being directly
apprehended/known (स्वापरोक्षत्वे), it does not require any other entity
apart from itself (स्वातिरिक्तानपेक्षत्वम् ? In other words the Self does
not need any extraenous pramāṇa/instrument for being known; it is
self-effulgent.  Eg. dīpaḥ dīpāntaram nāpekṣate avagamāya.

The translation given above appears to allow for an interpretation thus:
The svaprakāśa vastu X does not require anything apart from itself (X) to
directly know Y. I am not saying that you have meant this; you must have
very well meant what I say in the earlier para. But the wording of the
translation can give an interpretation that I am pointing to.

Or is it that I have not grasped the idea correctly?

Your comments are welcome.

warm regards
subbu


> upahita Brahman requires a
> vritti to know it, so by that account it is not svaprakAsham. I don't know
> if bhAmati comes to the same conclusion.
>
> Regards,
> Venkatraghavan
>
>