[Advaita-l] [advaitin] Brahmakara vritti refuted

[Michael Chandra Cohen]

Namaste Subbuji,
It is great that you found these references to Brahma/akandhakara vritti. I
struggled without success to find source material. Here is Chatgpt's
translation of your link page:

*Investigation - Results*
*8 Results* *Śāstrasiddhāntaleśasaṅgraha - Third Section - Determination of
the Negation of Brahmajnāna*

"... However, the consciousness-light that has ascended that [state]
negates it. Even though by its nature it serves as the witness of ignorance
and other [mental modifications], and thus does not negate them, still,
when it is ascended through the *akhaṇḍākāra-vṛtti*, its capability to
negate them is justified. 'The sunlight, though illuminating grass, burns
the grass only when focused through a lens'..."

*Read further...*
*Sarvavedāntasiddhāntasāra-saṅgraha - Verse*

"...That *akhaṇḍākāra-vṛtti* is associated with the reflection of
consciousness. Having taken as its sole object the Supreme Brahman, which
is non-different from the Self..." (798)

*Read further...*
*Sarvavedāntasiddhāntasāra-saṅgraha - Verse*

"...It negates the ignorance residing in that [mental state], which is of
the nature of concealment. When ignorance is negated through the
*akhaṇḍākāra-vṛtti*..." (799)

*Read further...*
*Sarvavedāntasiddhāntasāra-saṅgraha - Verse*

"...The *akhaṇḍākāra-vṛtti* does not arise without reflection [on the
teaching]. Through hearing, reflection, and meditation, undertaken
continuously with intent..." (809)

*Read further...*
*Vedāntasāra*

"...(10) Thus, the meaning of the statement based on direct experience is
described. In this way, following the method of superimposition and
negation, the teacher purifies the meanings of 'That' and 'Thou', and upon
being instructed in the sentence with an undivided meaning, the qualified
student attains the *akhaṇḍākāra-vṛtti*, which is the mental modification
in the form of 'I am the infinite, ever-pure, intelligent, free, true,
blissful, and boundless Brahman.' This mental modification, accompanied by
the reflection of consciousness, takes as its object the unknown Supreme
Brahman and negates the ignorance present in it. Just as the destruction of
the cause of the cloth [i.e., the thread] leads to the destruction of the
cloth itself, similarly, upon the negation of the entire causal ignorance,
all its effects are negated, and with that, the *akhaṇḍākāra-vṛtti* is also
negated. There, the reflected consciousness, like the radiance of a lamp
being incapable of illuminating the sun’s radiance..."

*Read further...*
*Vivaraṇaprameyasaṅgraha - First Sūtra - First Section - Commentary*

"...Thus, due to the negation of humanity in that [context], the perception
of being human in the Self is an illusion. That is not so [in the case of
reality]; otherwise, if one were to apprehend 'a broken piece of a cow'
with the form of 'brokenness' imposed on the cow's attribute, and later
negate that as 'this is not a fragment,' then the perception of brokenness
would also have to be considered an illusion..."

*Read further...*
*Nyāyarakṣāmaṇi - First Chapter - First Section - Sūtra 17 - Commentary*

"...In expressions such as 'This is a pot' or 'This is a cloth,' the words
'pot' and 'cloth,' which are used in conjunction with the mind engaged in
such conceptualization, do not attain the state of *akhaṇḍākāra* [unbroken
cognition]. When the śruti declares negation through statements like 'Now
the instruction is—Not this, not this' (Bṛhadāraṇyaka 2.3.6), the mental
modifications that arose before are withdrawn..."

*Read further...*
*Kṛṣṇālaṅkāra*

"...According to this view, in the case of the individual self conditioned
by the mind and the consciousness limited by the object it reflects, the
non-difference is not manifested through mental modifications. Unlike the
*akhaṇḍākāra-vṛtti*, the mental modifications relating to objects like pots
cannot negate the conditioning adjuncts, and thus, since the distinguishing
adjuncts—namely the mind and its object—persist, the non-difference between
the individual self and Brahman does not manifest. This is the intended
meaning..."

*Read further...🙏🙏🙏*

On Tue, Feb 4, 2025 at 12:16 PM Sudhanshu Shekhar <sudhanshu.iitk at gmail.com>
wrote:

> Namaste Michael ji.
>
> How do you understand the following sentence from Chhandogya Upanishad
> bhAshya:
>
> अद्वैतज्ञानं मनोवृत्तिमात्रम्। That is -- advaita-jnAna is manO-vritti
> only.
>
> Translation by Swami Gambhirananda:
>
> //As the nondual realisation (advaita-jnAna) is a mere mental modification
> (manO-vritti), so also are the other meditations (upAsanA) forms of mental
> modifications.
>
> Herein lies their similarity.
>
> Objection: Where then, lies the difference between the nondualistic
> realisation (advaita-jnAna) and meditation (upAsanA)?
>
> Vedāntin: The nondualistic realisation demolishes the cognition of all
> such differences as agent, instrument, action and results, which are
> naturally superimposed on the actionless Self, just as knowledge in the
> form of imposition of a snake etc. on a rope etc. is destroyed by the
> realisation of the true nature of the rope etc. But meditation (upAsanA)
> means establishing a continuous flow of similar modifications of the mind
> in relation to some object as presented by the scriptures, (and)
> uninterrupted by any foreign idea. This is the distinction.//
>
> If you read this carefully Michael ji, it is clear that advaita-jnAna
> which leads to MOksha is stated unambiguously by BhAshyakAra to be a
> manO-vritti.
>
> This is what is referred to as akhaNDAkArA-vritti.
>
> Please note that there is no contradiction of this bhAshya-vAkya with the
> quotations provided by you which state that Brahman is not an object of any
> vritti. Brahman is aprameya, avishaya. However, since avidyA regarding
> Brahman is removed by this manO-vritti, Brahman is stated as vritti-vyApya.
> When avidyA regarding Brahman is removed by advaita-jnAna, which is nothing
> but a manO-vritti, the self-luminous Brahman reveals itself.
>
> Regards.
> Sudhanshu Shekhar.
>
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