[Advaita-l] FW: ​Re: [advaitin] A talk on avidyA by Manjushree

[Bhaskar YR]

praNAms
Hare Krishna

Before this issue ( shankara used avidyA and mAya as paryAya/samAnArthaka) taking extra wings out of equation I have to clarify as per Sri SSS : “ shankara, the prasthAnatraya bhAshyakAra IS NOT using avidyA and mAyA as synonyms”.  In fact this is what he is insisting in the katha shruti bhAshya instroduction :  people might get into delusion that as per shankara both avidyA and mAya are one and the same but that is not the case.  Before saying Although the AchArya has indeed used at some places the terms avidyA and mAyA as synonymous terms.

In this very introduction Sri SSS explained what is avidyA as per shankara (infact that forms the first para and  Sri chandramouLi prabhuji translated from the middle of the second para.  I don’t think Sri SSS assuming anything on his own for not treating avidyA and mAya as one by bhAshyakAra, infact he himself quotes the sUtra (1-4-3) wherein in that adhikaraNa (sAnkhyA-s pradhAna has been discussed and how shareera to be treated as avyakta and how hiraNyagarbha shareera to be treated as mAya etc.) So contextually he may use both avidyA and mAya alternatively but as per bhAshyakAra avidyA is subjective and has been explained as the natural tendency of the mind to superimpose the self and the non-self (AtmAnAtma -satyAnruta mithuneekaraNaM) on each other (adhyAsa bhAshya and in the first para of this introduction Sri SSS says this) and mAya is the name given to prakruti or name and form in seed form (beeja rUpa) which gives rise to all the different vyakta nAma rUpa.  It definitely requires a careful study of whole adhikaraNa to understand the real purport of the sUtra 1-4-3 and after that reader would be convinced that this is not mere concoction of Sri SSS to hoot his own horn but OTOH he is trying to convey the real purport of that adhikaraNa bhAshya.

Hari Hari Hari Bol!!!

Bhaskar YR