[Advaita-l] Significance of Mula Avidya

[Aditya Kumar]

​​Although we have gone down this road before, I'll still mention Naishkarmyasiddhikara's view that brahman's jIvatvam being due to avidyA, the kArya (jIva) cannot precede the kAraNa (avidyA), and therefore, jIva cannot be the locus of avidyA. If brahman is taken as the locus of avidyA, the objection is that there will be dvaita, but it is refuted by stating that the level of reality of yat-kinchid-bhAva-rUpa-avidyA and brahman are not the same.
A : Thanks for the reply Praveenji. But Bhamatikara categorically states that Brahman cannot be the ashraya. Without diving deep, we can simply say that - because it is an infinite series, we can never conclude which one precedes the other. Afterall, this is yet another proof that there is no causality ultimately. On the other hand, there are a lot of inconsistencies with Brahman as the ashraya. On top of my head - Brahman being real cannot be the locus of something that is neither real nor unreal. Further, if Brahman is the locus of Avidya, a Jiva cannot get liberation even after jnanodaya.  



​It remains in bijAvasthA, seed-form in suShupti.​
A : Thanks. I asked this because I remember reading somewhere that there is no Avidya whatsoever in deep sleep state. Not sure if there is such a view. 
gurupAdukAbhyAm,--Praveen R. Bhat
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