[Advaita-l] Gaudapada and Shankara hold the waking objects to be mithya

[Bhaskar YR]

praNAms Sri Venkatraghavan prabhuji
Hare Krishna

For the purpose of this discussion, I just have one question. How does the AchArya explain the first sentence of the adhyAsa bhAShya, which essentially says Atma anAtma adhyAsa is mithyAjnAna nimittah? It appears to me that in the view of Sri SSS, Atma anAtma adhyAsa is not mithyAjnAnanimittah but mithyAjnAnameva.


Ø     Perhaps you may get more clarity when you study Sri SSS’s original works.  In short as per my understanding (adhyAsa bhAshyArtha vimarshe in Kannada by Sri SSS) here mithyAjnAna is natural in the sense that the behavior which consists of taking one thing for another is unlearnt and quite evident from our day to day transactions from the very birth of an individual hence words like svAbhAvika, naisargika used in adhyAsa bhAshya.  One need not go to investigate the reason and explanations for this and one should not question such behavior and ascertain the validity of it.  It is avichArita siddha it is an in born tendency of the human being ( animals as well) it is spontaneous and required no special effort or required any special cause. The frame of reference for this adhyAsa is the day to day transactional world (lOkavyavahAra) and mithyAjnAna in this context is knowledge that is unreal or false knowledge mithyAbhUtaM tat jnAnam Sri SSS clarifies in one of his works).  So with this backdrop mithyAjnana nimittaH simply means caused by misconception, as said, mistaking one thing for another owning to the non-discrimination between the satya and anruta which is again all too natural.  Here only he takes vyAkhyAnakAra’s explanation for refutation.  And argues against statements like mithyA ajnAna (false ignorance, mithyA cha tad ajnAnam cha) and nimitta as ‘material cause’, the mithyA also taken as indescribable anirvachaneeya avidyA etc.).


  *   Sri SSS’s works like sugamA, mUlAvidyAnirAsa, prakriya pratyabhigjna etc. would shed more light on this.  Kindly study it in your free time prabhuji.  I am noway an authority to present correct perspective of Sri SSS.  Since nobody defending him in this list,  I am just taking the liberty to share whatever I know / understand from his works.


Hari Hari Hari Bol!!!
bhaskar