[Advaita-l] [advaitin] Unambiguous statement of Akhandakara vritti in the Gita Bhashyam

[Raghav Kumar Dwivedula]

Namaste Venkat ji
Thank you for your post. I remember our Acharya ji once quoted this avagati
paryantam jnAnam passage...

My understanding is that the idea of paryantam is that the there is a phase
where the word jnAnam (cognition) cannot be denied but avagati is not yet
completed.

Sri Swami Paramarthananda ji uses the words sapratibandhaka-jnAnam and
apratibandhaka-jnAnam for the very same two ideas of jnAnam as cognition
and then culminating in avagati or as the gIta puts it paripakva-jnAnam.

The latter alone constitutes avidyA-nivRtti.

Is the above tenable?

Om
Raghav

On Tue, 11 Feb, 2025, 2:33 pm Venkatraghavan S via Advaita-l, <
advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote:

> Thank you Subbuji. In the jijnAsA-adhikaraNam (BSB 1.1.1), Shankaracharya
> makes a far reaching statement about the ultimate object of enquiry. He
> says:
>
> अवगतिपर्यन्तं ज्ञानं सन्वाच्याया इच्छायाः कर्म, फलविषयत्वादिच्छायाः ।
> ज्ञानेन हि प्रमाणेनावगन्तुमिष्टं ब्रह्म ।
> The object of desire indicated by the suffix -san [in the word jijnA-sA
> (the desire to know)], is jnAna (cognition) that ultimately culminates in
> avagati, for every desire must have an object. Verily, that which is
> desired to be realised is Brahman, which is known by a cognition (jnAnena)
> arising from valid means of knowledge (pramANena).
>
> The fact that Shankara distinguishes jnAna from avagati indicates that
> there is a jnAna which is *different* to the avagati, and such a jnAna
> which culminates in avagati is the object of an enquiry into Brahman
> (brahmajijnAsA). The jnAna is born from a pramANa.
>
> Later advaitins have termed such a jnAna as akhaNDAkArAvRtti, and have
> explained avagati as the vRtti-abhivyakta-chaitanya - i.e. the
> consciousness that shines self-effulgent upon the cessation of avidyA as a
> result of the vRtti.
>
> The ratnaprabhA explains the two terms (items in bold from the bhAShya):
> आवरणनिवृत्तिरूपाभिव्यक्तिमच्चैतन्य*मवगतिः* *पर्यन्तो*
> ऽवधिर्यस्याखण्डसाक्षात्कारवृत्ति*ज्ञान*स्य तदेव *जिज्ञासायाः कर्म,* तदेव
> *फलम्* ।
> *avagati* is consciousness that is manifested as a result of the
> destruction of avidyA, *paryanta* means culminating, *jnAna* refers to the
> vRttijnAna is the direct impartite cognition of the identity of the self as
> Brahman, that alone is the object of *jijnAsA*, that is itself the result
> of *jijnAsA*.
>
> So what does the brahma-avagati accomplish, that it is so
> desired? ब्रह्मावगतिर्हि पुरुषार्थः, निःशेषसंसारबीजाविद्याद्यनर्थनिबर्हणात्
> ।
> The realisation of Brahman is verily the ultimate human aim - for it is the
> cause of the destruction of the evils of samsAra that have avidyA as their
> seed.
>
> It is very clear that Shankaracharya says that the knowledge that leads to
> the realisation of Brahman is born out of a pramANa (shruti, specifically
> the mahAvAkya) - ie the akhaNDAkAra vRtti is born from the shruti
> mahAvAkya.
>
> The purpose of the akhaNDAkAravRtti is not the revelation of Brahman - for
> Brahman is self-effulgent, rather it is the removal of avidyA, which
> obscures the true nature of the Atma as Brahman.
>
> Kind regards,
> Venkatraghavan
>
>
>
> On Mon, Feb 10, 2025 at 6:57 PM V Subrahmanian <v.subrahmanian at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> > In the Bhagavadgita 2nd ch. we have this verse 21:वेदाविनाशिनं नित्यं य
> > एनमजमव्ययम् ।
> > कथं स पुरुषः पार्थ कं घातयति हन्ति कम् ॥ २१ ॥
> >
> > 2.21 O Partha, he who knows this One as indestructible, eternal,
> birthless
> > and undecaying, how and whom does that person kill, or whom does he cause
> > to be killed! [This is not a question but only an emphatic denial.-Tr.]
> >
> > श्रीमद्भगवद्गीताभाष्यम्द्वितीयोऽध्यायःश्लोक २१ - भाष्यम्
> >
> > …
> >
> > अविक्रिय एव सन् बुद्धिवृत्त्यविवेकविज्ञानेन अविद्यया उपलब्धा आत्मा
> > कल्प्यते, *एवमेव आत्मानात्मविवेकज्ञानेन बुद्धिवृत्त्या विद्यया *
> > * असत्यरूपयैव* परमार्थतः अविक्रिय एव आत्मा विद्वानुच्यते । विदुषः………
> >
> > Shankara says that this vRtti is not absolutely real, but unreal: asatyA.
> > This is no doubt vidyA, right / samyag jnanam.
> >
> > Translation by Swami Gambhirananda: What is highlighted is the
> translation
> > of the Bhashya for the component 'vRtti' that has for its content the
> > Discriminative knowledge:
> >
> > As on account of the lack of knowledge of the distinction between the
> Self
> > and the modifications of the intellect, the Self, though verily
> immutable,
> > is imagined through ignorance to be the perceiver of objects like sound
> > etc. presented by the intellect etc., in this very way,* the Self, which
> > in reality is immutable, is said to be the 'knower' because of Its
> > association with the knowledge of the distinction between the Self and
> > non-Self, which (knowledge) is a modification of the intellect.*
> >
> > Anandagiri says: The Atman itself, in association with the Discriminative
> > knowledge-bearing vRtti, is called the 'Jnani'. (In contrast, the Atman
> > itself, in association with the ignorance-propelled illusory connection
> > with objects is known as the knower of objects.
> >
> > तेनात्मोपलब्धा कल्प्यते। तच्चाविद्याप्रयुक्तमिथ्यासंबन्धनिबन्धनं
> > तथैवाध्यासिकसंबन्धेन* ब्रह्मात्मैक्याभिव्यञ्जकवाक्योत्थबुद्धिवृत्तिद्वारा
> > विद्वानात्मा व्यपदिश्यते* नच मिथ्यासंबन्धेन
> > पारमार्थिकाविक्रियत्वविहतिरस्तीत्यर्थः।
> >
> > Thus, we have in the Bhashyam an irrefutable instance of akhaNDAkAra
> vRtti
> > stated.
> >
> > warm regards
> >
> > subbu
> >
> >
> >
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