[Advaita-l] Debunking Drishti-Srishti Vada and Eka Jiva Vada - part 1

[V Subrahmanian]

On Wed, Jul 19, 2017 at 5:51 PM, Venkatraghavan S <agnimile at gmail.com>
wrote:

> All those who are at present considering
>
>> the SDV, an adhyaropa, as the truth, will have to eventually come to DSV,
>> naturally.   They may postpone the transition but can never avoid it.
>> There
>> are no 'this or that' alternative in Vedanta; it is 'only DSV' as the
>> ultimate path.
>> regards
>> subbu
>>
>> Dear Subbuji,
>
> Apologies for wading into this conversation - I have not been following
> the details of the various arguments, but could you please explain your
> statement that a person who holds on to srishTa drishTi has to necessarily
> come to drishTa srishTi before attaining moksha? I am not saying it is
> incorrect, I am only trying to understand.
>
> Could the order not be: 1) I see creation. 2) What I see is an appearance
> 3) Therefore there is no creation 4) I am all there is.
>

Dear Venkat ji,

Between 1 and 2 there has to be a link. That is the hetu drshyatvAt. And
the drshtanta is svapnavat. Even if one takes examples like mirage water or
magician's presentation, the mithyaatva element is unavoidable. The extra
inevitable prayojanam of the svapna drshtAnta is that it helps the seer to
see himself as the kAraNam of the seen jagat. It is for this reason that
this example is given. Unless one knows to see oneself as the kAranam of
the drshta prapancha, the paricchinnatva bhrama will not go. And this is
essential for receiving the anubhava of aham brahma. The upanishad speaks
the phala thereof as 'sarvAtmabhAvApatti' (Br.Up.1.4.10).  I shall give
just two examples of how this sarva kAraNatvam is taught for the
contemplation by the mumukshu:

एकमेव सदनेककारणं
कारणान्तरनिरासकारणम् ।
कार्यकारणविलक्षणं स्वयं
ब्रह्म तत्त्वमसि भावयात्मनि ॥ २६१ ॥  विवेकचूडामणिः

This is one of the some ten verses with the same refrain in the VC where
the aspirant is asked to contemplate 'Tat tvam asi'. The verses are filled
with examples, tarka. Here the One Sat, Brahman, is taught as the kAranam
of the multiple effects. It is known that the karanam pervades the karyam.
So, the vyApakatvam, in other words, Anantyam, is stressed here. This is
achieved through the dream example where the drashta is the adhishthAnam
for the drshyam. And it is well known that the kAranatvam is
vivartopadanatvam.

The other instance I want to show here is the Manishapanchakam second verse:

ब्रह्मैवाहमिदं जगच्च सकलं चिन्मात्रविस्तारितं
सर्वं चैतदविद्यया त्रिगुणयाऽशेषं मया कल्पितम् ।
इत्थं यस्य दृढा मतिः सुखतरे नित्ये परे निर्मले
चण्डालोऽस्तु स तु द्विजोऽस्तु गुरुरित्येषा मनीषा मम ॥2॥

Here the realized man expresses his anubhava as 'all this is imagined by me
through avidya of three gunas.'  I salute  the one of such firm
conviction....

It is stated by Shankara in the BGB and in the BSB that in all the adhyatma
shastra the statements of the Jivanmukta/Jnani's lakshana is for the reason
that it is for the mumukshu to contemplate on those lines, since those
lakshanas are yatnasAdhya, achievable by effort. The 'aham manurabhavam
sUryascha' expression of Vamadeva of his enlightenment, sarvAtmabhAva, as
Shankara says there, is also for enabling the aspirant to so simulate and
finally really experience.

Having said that, the BG 13.33:

यथा प्रकाशयत्येकः कृत्स्नं लोकमिमं रविः ।
क्षेत्रं क्षेत्री तथा कृत्स्नं प्रकाशयति भारत ॥ ३३ ॥
 भाष्यम्
<http://advaitasharada.sringeri.net/display/bhashya/Gita?page=13&id=BG_C13_V33&hlBhashya=%E0%A4%B0%E0%A4%B5%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%83#bhashya-BG_C13_V33>
यथा प्रकाशयति अवभासयति एकः कृत्स्नं लोकम् इमं रविः सविता आदित्यः, तथा
तद्वत् महाभूतादि धृत्यन्तं क्षेत्रम् एकः सन् प्रकाशयति । कः ? क्षेत्री
परमात्मा इत्यर्थः । रविदृष्टान्तः अत्र आत्मनः उभयार्थोऽपि भवति — रविवत्
सर्वक्षेत्रेषु एक एव आत्मा, अलेपकश्च इति ॥ ३३ ॥

Here, the Kshetrajna, the Knower, drashtA, observer, is One and the
kshetram, the seen, is bahu. The former is prakAshaka and the latter
prakAshya. This is what is there is the dream analogy. There is only one
knower and all the others jivas are the known. 'Jivas' means all the
mind-body complexes including that of the observer, for the BG itself has
taught that the mind-sense organs and the insentient objects and mental
modifications are all kshetram. So, the practice taught here is for the
aspirant to simulate the kshetrajna who 'knows',  'वेत्ति 'the entire
kshetram by not using the sense organs or mind but by mere chaitanya
prakasha.

Unless one knows one is vyApaka, not paricchinna, so as to pervade
everything that is anAtmA, including the other jivas who are only mind-body
complexes, including that of the aspirant's, it is impossible to arrive at
the aham brahma anubhava.

>
> Why would there have to be an intermediary step "Whatever I see is there
> because of my seeing" which would make DSV a necessary step before
> culmination. Once I conclude that what is seen is an appearance, why is it
> necessary to attribute an causal agent for that appearance? If no causal
> agency is needed, there is no necessity for drishTa srishTi to follow
> srishTa drishTi before moksha.
>

Here we have the anvaya-vyatireka tarka given by the shastram itself.
kAraNa sattve kArya sattvam, kAraNa abhAve kArya abhAva. Drk sattve drshya
sattvam drgabhAve drshyAbhAvah. Svapna is the best example for this. That
the seen, is the imagined kAryam of the seer as vivartopadana is also
taught, for example, in the manisha panchakam verse cited above. Hence the
causal element is indispensable in arriving at the advaita tattva avagati.
In fact in the Chandogya 6th chapter, Brahman, the Sat, is shown as the
jagatkAraNam and the tat tvam asi teaching nine times comes with the
refrain 'ऐतदात्म्यमिदं सर्वं तत् सत्यम् स आत्मा तत्त्वमसि..'  In the run up
to this, it is also established/demonstrated that the body-mind complex of
Shvetaketu too is a kAryam of Sat, through the elements. Thus, the
inclusion of the kAraNatvam, even of the mithyA drshya prapancha, is a
necessary element in the attaining of the advaita jnanam.

Thank you for raising the question. I am benefited by the occasion to say
the above few things.

warm regards
subbu

>
> Thank you.
>
> Regards,
> Venkatraghavan
>