[Advaita-l] Brahman is the Upadana kaarana, material cause, for the world - Srimad Bhagavatam

[Sudhanshu Shekhar]

Namaste V Subramanian ji,

SureshwarachArya beautifully puts it in BBV 1.4.371 which is quoted by
NeelakanTha:

अस्य द्वैतेन्द्रजालस्य यदुपादानकारणम्। अज्ञानं तदुपाश्रित्य
ब्रह्मकारणमुच्यते इति वार्तिकोक्तेरज्ञानमेव जगत्कारणं तच्च तुच्छम्।

So beautifully it has been explained that it is the pariNAmI ajnAna which
is the material cause of world.

And only by superimposing ajnAna in Brahman, Shruti states the causality of
Brahman.

NeelakanTha further says that ajnAna is tuchchha.

The mithyAtva of ajnAna is acceptable by logic. However, as per Shruti, it
needs to be accepted as tuchchha only. As VidyAraNya SwAmI puts it:

तुच्छानिर्वचनीया च वास्तवी चेत्यसौ त्रिधा।
ज्ञेया माया त्रिभिर्बोधैः श्रौतयौक्तिकलौकिकैः॥

Regards.



On Sun, 3 Sep, 2023, 10:48 pm V Subrahmanian via Advaita-l, <
advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote:

> There is a praise of Bhagavan in this chapter. Here, an illustration is
> also given saying that Bhagavan is the material cause for the world:
> Brahman is the material cause for the world just as clay is the material
> cause for the pot, i.e. the origin, sustenance and dissolution:
> श्रीमद्भागवतपुराणम्/स्कन्धः ८/अध्यायः ६
> https://sa.wikisource.org/s/zh5
> <
> https://sa.wikisource.org/s/zh5?fbclid=IwAR1LPo3BTH9pjVXu6tdm-blfHIPZp5HxoJZpf3h8G_pyeITufOFSahKQbf4
> >
> त्वय्यग्र आसीत् त्वयि मध्य आसीत्
> त्वय्यन्त आसीत् इदमात्मतंत्रे ।
> त्वं आदिरन्तो जगतोऽस्य मध्यं
> घटस्य मृत्स्नेव परः परस्मात् ॥ १० ॥
> This illustration is given in the sixth chapter of Chandogya Upanishad:
> यथा सोम्यैकेन मृत्पिण्डेन सर्वं मृन्मयं विज्ञातꣳ स्याद्वाचारम्भणं विकारो
> नामधेयं मृत्तिकेत्येव सत्यम् ॥ ४ ॥ 6.1.4
> Clay products such as pottery are not real. What is real therein is the
> clay, the material with which they are made.
> Thus the Bhagavatam points out the illusory nature of the world, the
> effect, of Brahman the material cause, by giving this Vedic illustration.
> To make it clear that Brahman does not undergo a transformation, vikaara,
> like clay, the Bhagavatam goes on to say:
> त्वं माययात्माश्रयया स्वयेदं
> निर्माय विश्वं तदनुप्रविष्टः ।
> पश्यन्ति युक्ता मनसा मनीषिणो
> गुणव्यवायेऽप्यगुणं विपश्चितः ॥ ११ ॥
> Brahman created the world and entered into it through its subservient
> Maayaa power. Although this world is created by the three qualities of
> Maya, the sages put them aside and realize Brahman, the Nirguna itself.
> Thus the main tenets of Advaita are clearly stated in these Bhagavatam
> verses.
> Om
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