[Advaita-l] Question on adhyaasa

[V Subrahmanian]

Since we are discussing the topic 'Adhyasa', it would be of interest to see
here a collection of shlokas on Adhyasa in the Srimadbhagavatam:

https://adbhutam.wordpress.com/2011/02/24/adhyasa-demonstrated-in-the-bhagavatam/

A part of the article:

श्रीगुरुभ्यो नमः
Sri Shankaracharya has demonstrated in the adhyAsa bhAShya that / how
‘adhyAsa’ is the cause of samsara.  In the BhAgavatam, BhagavAn Veda VyAsa,
through the medium of BhagavAn Krishna, demonstrates adhyAsa with a couple
of examples:

The uddhavagItA Chapter 17 concluding portions contain the relevant verses:

प्रकृतेः एवम् आत्मानम् अविविच्य अबुधः पुमान्।
तत्त्वेन स्पर्शसंमूढः संसारं प्रतिपद्यते॥५०॥

The ignorant man, failing to rightly discriminate thus  the Atman from the
prakRti, is deluded by the sense-objects and goes from birth to birth.

The adhyAsabhAShya words:  इतरेतराविवेकेन …नैसर्गिकोऽयं लोकव्यवहारः is what
is meant in the above verse.

सत्त्वसङ्गात् ऋषीन् देवान् रजसा असुरमानुषान्।
तमसा भूततिर्यक्त्वं भ्रामितः याति कर्मभिः॥५१॥
Swayed by his past karma, a man through his attachment to sattva becomes a
sage or a god, under the influence of rajas, an asura or a man, and under
the influence of tamas a ghost or a beast.

नृत्यतो गायतः पश्यन् यथैव अनुकरोति तान्।
एवं बुद्धिगुणान् पश्यन् अनीहः अपि अनुकार्यते॥५२॥

Just as a man watching a band of dancers or singers imitates them
(spontaneously at least in the mind) so the Atman, even though without
activity, is moved to imitate the attributes of the buddhi (intellect).

Here the इतरेतर-अध्यासः is spoken of.  adhyAsa is अन्यत्र अन्यधर्मावभासः
the manifesting / perceiving of the attributes of object ‘x’ in object ‘y’
(and vice versa too).  In this verse the attributes of the dancers/singers
that constitute the ‘other’ / different / object/ viShaya (for the one who
watches the performance who is really the viShayI / the subject) are taken
upon himself and he identifies himself with the dancers/singers and he too
engages in dancing/singing, at least in the mind. Even so, the Atman takes
upon itself, as though they are its own, attributes belonging to the
non-Atman, the anAtman, buddhi.  Atman is niShkriya, asanga.  Yet, the
kriyaa of the buddhi is superimposed on the Atman and one comes to think ‘I
act/deliberate/think etc.

Please read the rest in the link:

https://adbhutam.wordpress.com/2011/02/24/adhyasa-demonstrated-in-the-bhagavatam/


regards

subbu


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