[Advaita-l] Regarding the Pancharatra, Shankara is one with Purvamimamsa

[V Subrahmanian]

On Thu, Jul 19, 2018 at 3:29 PM, Kalyan <kalyan_kg at yahoo.com> wrote:

> I am not sure what is your point.
>
> Not only sankhya, but other schools of vedanta like bhedabheda,
> dvaita,v-advaita also accept that there are many selves.
>
> What I want to point out here is that there is no unanimity on whether the
> MB (or even Shrutis) are teaching one self or many selves. So I am  not
> sure why sankhya alone is being specially pointed out.
>

The doctrine of Vedanta for Shankara (when there were no schools such as
dvaita, v-advaita, etc. were not there) is where only one Atman appears as
many through ignorance-upadhis.  For Shankara, according to the Brahma
sutras, all schools that accept multiple souls, absolute reality of world,
etc. are un-vedantic. These schools are refuted in the Brahma sutras. MB,
MS, BG etc. are the ones that comply with this Vedantic view. So, according
to advaitins, all schools such as dvaita, v-advaita, etc. that came after
Advaita are all only different versions of the Sankhya, vaisheshika, yoga,
etc. that were refuted in the BS.  These schools might claim support in the
Veda, MB, etc. That is not the concern of advaita. For Shankara these are
all bheda vaadins. Shankara has also said in the Br.Up. bhashya:  all
vaadins who take Upanishads as pramana are jiva-ishvara aikya vaadins. That
also shows that in his time the non-advaitic schools of the present day
were not there during Shankara's time.

vs

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> On Thursday, July 19, 2018, 3:15:40 PM GMT+5:30, V Subrahmanian <
> v.subrahmanian at gmail.com> wrote:
>
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> 2018-07-19 13:49 GMT+05:30 Kalyan <kalyan_kg at yahoo.com>:
>
> //Thus Shankara clearly brings out the idea that the Mahabharata is not
> upholding the Kapila's doctrine of many selves. //
>
>
> http://www.sacred-texts.com/ hin/m12/m12c050.htm
> <http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m12/m12c050.htm>
>
> "Rudra said, 'Self-born thou art. ***Many are the Purushas that have been
> created by thee***. Others again, O Brahma, are being created by thee. The
> Infinite Purusha, however, of whom thou speakest, is one and single. Who is
> that ***foremost of Purushas***, O Brahma, that is being meditated by thee?
>
>
> "Brahma said, 'O son, ***many are those Purushas of whom thou speakest***.
> The one Purusha, however, of whom I am thinking, ***transcends all
> Purushas*** and is invisible.
>
>
> The ***many Purushas*** that exist in the universe have that one Purusha
> as their basis; and since that one Purushas is said to be the source
> ***whence all the innumerable Purushas have sprung***, hence all the
> latter, if they succeed in divesting themselves of attributes, become
> competent to enter into that one Purusha who is identified with the
> universe, who is supreme, who is the foremost of the foremost, who is
> eternal, and who is himself divested of and is above all attributes."
>
> ....
>
>
> Vaisampayana said, In the speculations of the ***Sankhya and the Yoga***
> systems ***many Purushas*** have been spoken of, O jewel of Kuru's race.
>
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> The catch is here:  //  speculations of the ***Sankhya and the Yoga***
> systems ***many Purushas*** have been spoken of, // It is the
> speculation.    And here:
>
> // The ***many Purushas*** that exist in the universe have that //one
> Purusha as their basis; and since that one Purushas is said to be the
> source//   ***whence all the innumerable Purushas have sprung***, hence all
> the latter,// if they succeed in divesting themselves of attributes,
> //become competent to enter into *that one Purusha *who is identified
> with the universe, who is supreme, who is the foremost of the foremost, who
> is eternal, and who is himself divested of and is above all attributes."///
>
> This is the Advaita of one purusha.
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