[Advaita-l] Brahma satyam jagan mithya - in Gaudapada Kārikā

[V Subrahmanian]

The Advaitic central message of Brahma satyam jagan mithya' is brought out
clearly in the following verse of the Gaudapada Kārikā:

आत्मसत्यानुबोधेन न सङ्कल्पयते यदा ।
अमनस्तां तदा याति ग्राह्याभावे तदग्रहम् ॥ ३२ ॥

<http://advaitasharada.sringeri.net/display/bhashya/Mandukya#bhashya-MK_C03_K32>
कथं पुनरयममनीभाव इत्युच्यते — आत्मैव सत्यमात्मसत्यम् , मृत्तिकावत् ,
‘वाचारम्भणं
विकारो नामधेयं मृत्तिकेत्येव सत्यम्’ (छा. उ. ६ । १ । ४)
<http://advaitasharada.sringeri.net/display/bhashya/Chandogya?page=6&id=Ch_C06_S01_V04&hl=%E0%A4%B5%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%9A%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%B0%E0%A4%AE%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%AD%E0%A4%A3%E0%A4%82%20%E0%A4%B5%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%95%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%B0%E0%A5%8B%20%E0%A4%A8%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%AE%E0%A4%A7%E0%A5%87%E0%A4%AF%E0%A4%82%20%E0%A4%AE%E0%A5%83%E0%A4%A4%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%A4%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%95%E0%A5%87%E0%A4%A4%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%AF%E0%A5%87%E0%A4%B5%20%E0%A4%B8%E0%A4%A4%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%AF%E0%A4%AE%E0%A5%8D>
इति
श्रुतेः । तस्य शास्त्राचार्योपदेशमन्ववबोध आत्मसत्यानुबोधः । तेन
सङ्कल्प्याभावात्तन्न सङ्कल्पयते दाह्याभावे ज्वलनमिवाग्नेः यदा यस्मिन्काले,
तदा तस्मिन्काले अमनस्ताम् अमनोभावं याति ; ग्राह्याभावे तत् मनः अग्रहं
ग्रहणविकल्पनावर्जितमित्यर्थः ॥
In the above verse/bhāṣya Shankara says: the Ātman alone is real, satyam,
and all else which is the experienced/dṛśyam is mithyā. For establishing
this the previous verse 3.31 is to be looked into where it was demonstrated
through anvaya-vyatireka logic: when the mind is active there is dvaita
anubhava and when it is not active there is no such anubhava.

मनोदृश्यमिदं द्वैतं यत्किञ्चित्सचराचरम् ।
मनसो ह्यमनीभावे द्वैतं नैवोपलभ्यते ॥ ३१ ॥

<http://advaitasharada.sringeri.net/display/bhashya/Mandukya#bhashya-MK_C03_K31>
रज्जुसर्पवद्विकल्पनारूपं द्वैतरूपेण मन एवेत्युक्तम् । तत्र किं प्रमाणमिति,
अन्वयव्यतिरेकलक्षणमनुमानमाह । कथम् ? तेन हि मनसा विकल्प्यमानेन दृश्यं
मनोदृश्यम् इदं द्वैतं सर्वं मन इति प्रतिज्ञा, तद्भावे भावात् तदभावे
चाभावात् । मनसो हि अमनीभावे निरुद्धे विवेकदर्शनाभ्यासवैराग्याभ्यां *रज्ज्वामिव
सर्पे लयं गते *वा सुषुप्ते द्वैतं नैवोपलभ्यत इति अभावात्सिद्धं
द्वैतस्यासत्त्वमित्यर्थः ॥
After using the rajju-sarpa analogy for the above tarka Shankara in the
next verse 3.32 cited first above, quotes the śruti pramāṇa:
  मृत्तिकावत् , ‘वाचारम्भणं विकारो नामधेयं मृत्तिकेत्येव सत्यम्’ (छा. उ.
६ । १ । ४)
<http://advaitasharada.sringeri.net/display/bhashya/Chandogya?page=6&id=Ch_C06_S01_V04&hl=%E0%A4%B5%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%9A%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%B0%E0%A4%AE%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%AD%E0%A4%A3%E0%A4%82%20%E0%A4%B5%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%95%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%B0%E0%A5%8B%20%E0%A4%A8%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%AE%E0%A4%A7%E0%A5%87%E0%A4%AF%E0%A4%82%20%E0%A4%AE%E0%A5%83%E0%A4%A4%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%A4%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%95%E0%A5%87%E0%A4%A4%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%AF%E0%A5%87%E0%A4%B5%20%E0%A4%B8%E0%A4%A4%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%AF%E0%A4%AE%E0%A5%8D>
इति
श्रुतेः ।
He says just as the śruti teaches that the clay, that is the basis of the
various clay-product manifestation, is alone real, so too, the Ātman alone
is real while the duality based on mind-manifestation is unreal.
Anandagiri while commenting on the bhāṣya for the 3.31 verse says:
यथा मृद्भावे नियतभावो मृन्मात्रो घटादिरित्यनुमानमारचयति - द्वैतमिति ।
Just as in the presence of clay the clay-products which invariably appear
are noting but clay..is the anumānam.
In the gloss for the the next verse 3.32 Anandagiri applies the clay-clay
products analogy at a higher level:
यथा घटशरावादिष्वसत्येषु मृत्तिकामात्रमनुस्यूतं सत्यमिष्यते,
तथैवानात्मस्वसत्येष्वात्ममात्रं सत्यमेष्टव्यम् ।
तत्सत्यमित्यवधारणादेवकारस्य दृष्टान्तनिविष्टस्य दार्ष्टान्तिकेऽनुषङ्गात् ।
उक्ते दृष्टाने प्रमाणमाह - वाचारम्भणमिति ।
Anandagiri says: Just as in the analogy of pot, etc. that are unreal, clay
alone is held to be real, so too while the anātman is unreal, the Ātman
alone is real. The 'evakāra' in the kārikā  for the ātmasatyam, is as per
the śruti-evakāra. The pramāṇa for the analogy is the vācārambhaṇa śruti.
Thus, we have from the above texts the following conclusions:

   1. The vācārambhaṇa śruti is used at two levels, both for showing the
   mithyātva of the kāryam and the satyatva of the kāraṇam: (a) the mind is
   the kāraṇam while its modifications are kāryam. The former alone is satyam
   and the latter mithyā. (b) Atman alone is satyam and the dvaitam (triggered
   by the mind) is asatyam.
   2. While Shankara does not use the vācā śruti in the 3.31, yet
   Anandagiri uses the śruti-based analogy of clay, clay-products.
   3. While Shankara just mentions the mṛttikā satyatvam in the 3.32
   bhāṣya, Anandagiri completes it by bringing out the ghaṭa,etc. products and
   the satya-mithyā aspects of the cause and effect.
   4. The Taittiriya bhāṣya sāmyam is there in this bhāṣya too: There,
   Shankara had said for Brahman's 'Satyam' lakshanam, that which undergoes
   vikāra is mithya, anṛtam, and Sat alone is satyam, by invoking the vācā
   śruti. Here, in the mandukya, Shankara uses the same vācā śruti for the
   Satyatvam of Atman, just as mṛttika's satyatvam.
   5. Shankara uses the rajju-sarpa analogy, yukti, in 3.31 and uses the
   vācā śruti to substantiate.


Om Tat Sat