[Advaita-l] Binary nature of Jnana

[Praveen R. Bhat]

Namaste Venkatji,

Pls accommodate my jumping back midway again!


> > It is clearly brought out here that Realization is coterminous with
> > hearing of the mahAvAkya. Hence hearing of the mahAvAkya again during the
> > repetitious shravaNa is essential for Realization.
> >
> Yes, agreed. I don't think Vichara Sagara would disagree with this.
>

I feel you wouldn't disagree, but I would like to point out to others who
may be reading translations where shravaNa is translated as hearing! That
is a yaugika artha, taken with the meaning of the dhAtu shR. Yet, most of
us know that the word shravaNa is vichArAtmaka in sampradAyarUDhi (or
elsewhere, defined that it takes away pramANasaMshaya and manana is needed,
defined as taking away prameyasaMshaya). To clarify, I don't think VS would
really agree that just "hearing" the mahAvAkya results in aparokShajnAna.
In the case of dashamastvamasi also, the situation should be conducive such
that say the 9 are counted and immediately the 10th is lined up next who is
counted and stated to be the 10th. Just like the verb asti w.r.t. an
avyavahita viShaya gives rise to aparokShajnAna, not parokSha, IMO, asi
also could give rise to parokShajnAna, such as the understanding that
"(this person is saying that) I am the 10th" and not "I am the 10th". Just
like in any conversation, we might say "I know what you are saying, but I
just don't get how". That is parokSha, not aparokSha. Only when you "get
it", it is aparokSha, akin to the light bulb glowing on the head in
cartoons! :-)

kaThabhAShya comes to mind, where only hearing the same vAkya, one student
doesn't understand, another understands opposite to what is stated, yet
another understands differently, and kaschit dhIra gets it right! To
conclude, only when it is vichArAtmaka, not only hearing, shravaNa of
mahAvAkya results in aparokShajnAna.

gurupAdukAbhyAm,
--Praveen R. Bhat
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