[Advaita-l] How to begin studying Advaita Vedanta : post 1 of 3
sivasenani at yahoo.com
sivasenani at yahoo.com
Tue Jan 19 09:06:56 CST 2010
Pranam
Let me repeat what my guru said. Forget whether learning Sanskrit is required, even a Ph. D. In Sanskrit would find it difficult to fully digest what Bhagavatpaada wrote. Vedanta is quite distinct and different from the language.
Just like the Japanese modernized within one generation (30 yrs) and defeated a major European power (Russia) at war, for somebody like Ramana Maharshi learning the Sanskrit language is not required; they intuitively get the truth about the world. On the other hand Madhyamaadhikaaris and adhamaadhikaaris find knowledge of Sanskrit very useful chiefly for two reasons: the subject is tough enough, why not learn it in original esp. when all the technical terms anyhow retain their original form. For instance, adhyaasa (super imposition) to my knowledge is translated as adhyaasa in most Indian languages; maya, avidya, naisargika ... The list is pretty long and given in full in books with titles like vedanta paribhasha. Second, the two lower order of sadhakas require extensive sadhana; the mind is such a monkey that one needs external crutches to stay the course so people take up various programmes like vishnusahasranaama paarayaNa every ekaadaSI; rudra paaraayaNa every maasa Sivaraatri; or even daily prayers: om iti eka aksharam brahma or asau aaditya brahma. The idea of these regimens is to constantly remind oneself about the teaching of Veda. When you say Vishnu is the jnaana-jnaatri-jneyaroopa or that Rudra is the one who is standing, the one who is running etc (ie pervades the Universe), you really remind yourself of the essence of the teachings of Veda. Well, technically you can recite the thousand names of Vishnu or the Hymn to Rudra in English, but many find that their discipline slacken with English, Telugu etc. For those with that sort of mental discipline (where the buddhi is so firmly in control, the sadhana is anyways nearing the end), Sanskrit is not required; others find knowledge of Sanskrit useful as their sadhana becomes more meaningful.
Regards
Senani
Sent from BlackBerry® on Airtel
-----Original Message-----
From: "yajvan" <yajvan at san.rr.com>
Date: Tue, 19 Jan 2010 06:22:44
To: 'A discussion group for Advaita Vedanta'<advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org>
Subject: Re: [Advaita-l] How to begin studying Advaita Vedanta : post 1 of 3
hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~
Namaste Chetan,
Your point is well taken... Yet I would suggest 'true knowledge' comes from experience + knowledge . Look at the lineage of the wise . It is the knowledge that is offered and the experience of that knowledge. I am not suggesting one is in front of the other. One talks about the banana, sees a picture of it, knows perhaps its size, weight, chemical makeup, but the fullness of the knowledge comes with one bite of the banana. Both compliment each other for fullness (bhūman) completeness (samāpti) of the experience.
Now that said, my personal experience in learning saṁskṛt has been beneficial - by NO MEANS am
I even slightly accomplished in its proficiency, I am a novice at best, and a student (śiṣya) of this
most profound language /grammar/script. It has and is richly rewarding for me, for my level of development.
Now is learning saṁskṛt a requirement for advaita vedānta ? - I cannot not say.
Yet you give some good examples: You offer " Is it really necessary to know English to understand physics" - I would ask you to consider this point of view. To really appreciate Physics and make it a meaningful & rewarding experience it is good to know the formulas of that discipline.
When one talks of Force, the greater apperception of it is knowing Force = MA ( mass x acceleration).
Now we have a view at the essence of force. Like that , appreciation of the essence of advaita vedānta,
Being, brahman, may just take one through the path of saṁskṛt.
I will be interested in others' point of view.
pranams
ā ś ṇ ṃ ḥ ṁ ṅ ś ṭ ṛ ṣ ī ñ ū ṇ ḍ ḷ Ā Ś Ā Ī Į İ Ĩ Ņ Ń Ū śloka-s śāstra dhanyavāda
-----Original Message-----
From: advaita-l-bounces at lists.advaita-vedanta.org [mailto:advaita-l-bounces at lists.advaita-vedanta.org] On Behalf Of chetan nagaraja
Sent: Monday, January 18, 2010 8:05 PM
To: A discussion group for Advaita Vedanta
Subject: Re: [Advaita-l] How to begin studying Advaita Vedanta : post 1 of 3
Dear All,
Is learning sanskrit necessary, for understanding Advaita. Is it really necessary to know english to understand physics. Have not the Japanese invented quite a lot of technology with Japanese itself. Even Acharya Shanakara's "Bhaja Govindam" indicates the false value of language . To know Advaita is different and to Expereince Advaita is different. And finally it does not mean one cannot experience Advaita without first knowing it. True knowledge comes through experience. Hence I request the enlightneed ones on this list to explain to people like us who find sankrit difficult , the method to experience Advaita.
My humble pranams,
Chetan
On Mon, Jan 18, 2010 at 4:41 AM, yajvan <yajvan at san.rr.com> wrote:
>
> hariḥ oṁ
> ~~~~~~
>
>
> Regarding the study advaita vedānta , let me offer a point of view
> for your kind consideration.
> Let me also avoid long posts - so I will do this in 3 installments.
> Post 1 : An opinion why this advaita vedānta is relevant
> Post 2: catúr-liṅga ( 4 marks) of advaita vedānta
> Post 3: a brief conclusion
>
> For all posts, I look to be corrected and/or look to additional
> insights on all matters.
> I consider myself a śiṣya of this body of knowledge and take no
> special authority On the wisdom offered - it is on other great
> shoulders we stand.
>
> ______________________________________________________________________
> ________
>
> POST 1 of 3
>
> We know advaita अद्वैत means the following: a=not + dvaita = duality ,
> duplicity , dualism Also - advitīya = without a second , sole ,
> unique, matchless ( as in
> couple) from a + dvitīya a=not + dvitīya= second, couple, accompanied
> by, companion
>
> So , why such a big deal over this? What helps us better understand
> the value of this notion of this advitīya ?
>
> IMHO there are many reasons and I hope the members of this forum will
> continue to offer their views based upon the śāstra-s, yet one salient
> point for me comes from the bṛhadaraṇyaka upaniṣad -
> puruṣavidha-brāhmaṇa, 2nd śloka. It simply says the following:
> Any time there is a sense of 2, fear arises i.e. dvitiyad vai bhayam
> bhavati - Fear is born of duality.
> dvitiyad or dvitīya द्वितीय - 2nd or two , couple, bhayam or bhaya भय
> - fear , alarm dread apprehension ( rooted in bhī to fear for , be
> anxious about ) vai an emphasis and affirmation , generally placed
> after a word and laying stress on it (it is usually translatable by
> 'indeed' , 'truly' , 'certainly' ) bhavati or bhava भव arising or
> produced from , being in The implications of this truth is profound...
> we can talk of this if there is interest.
>
> praṇām
>
> End of Post 1.
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: advaita-l-bounces at lists.advaita-vedanta.org [mailto:
> advaita-l-bounces at lists.advaita-vedanta.org] On Behalf Of Jaldhar H.
> Vyas
> Sent: Sunday, January 17, 2010 1:05 PM
> To: A discussion group for Advaita Vedanta
> Subject: [Advaita-l] How to begin studying Advaita Vedanta
>
> Re: [Advaita-l] New members
> On Mon, 11 Jan 2010, Michael Shepherd wrote:
>
> > Jaldhar
> >
> > In the absence of an index for this site -- though new members could
> > pursue much through the existing system -- what would be you
> > personal recommendations for study of Advaita Vedanta other than the
> > obvious -- to find the apppropriate guru, or just to read Adi
> > Shankara's chief
> writings ?
> > Any book or online info that stands out for you ?
> >
>
> One should begin by getting atleast a little bit familiar with Sanskrit.
> I freely admit that mastery of the subject is hard work but even basic
> knowledge reaps great profits. As we often see on the list,
> translations can be inaccurate. Even if the translator is diligent
> (and alas not all of them are.) it can be hard to capture all of the
> nuances of a Vedantic concept in another language. If you know some
> some Sanskrit you will be better able to assess the quality of a
> translation. Probably the most easily available book is "Teach
> Yourself Sanskrit" by Michael Coulson, McGraw-Hill, ISBN:
> 978-0071468527
>
> You will also need a dictionary. I suggest V.S. Apte's "The Student's
> Sanskrit-English Dictionary", Motilal Banarsidass, 81-208-0044-1
>
> To get a handle on the history of Advaita Vedanta (Including the
> controversies that have recently preoccupied the list) I recommend
> "The Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies", edited by Potter et al., It
> has two volumes of interest, "Volume III: Advaita Vedanta Up to
> Samkara and His Pupils" and "Volume XI: Advaita Vedanta from 800 to
> 1200". (a third volume is planned covering 1200 to the present.)
> There is a bibliography volume but a more uptodate bibliography is
> maintained online at http://faculty.washington.edu/kpotter/xhome.htm
>
> For shastras, I have previously mentioned the 10 volume "Complete
> Works of Shankaracharya" published by Samata Books
> (http://www.samatabooks.com/) as being the canonical collection of
> Shankaracharya's works but it is Sanskrit only. The most readily
> available and generally good quality translations are those published by the Ramakrishna Mission.
>
> As for online resources, why www.advaita-vedanta.org of course!
>
>
> These recommendations are for learning the "facts" of Advaita Vedanta.
> But moksha comes from "experience" not facts alone. For that one
> should find a guru. It is not something you can get from books or the Internet.
>
> --
> Jaldhar H. Vyas <jaldhar at braincells.com>
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--
Chetan
"Existence is a festival, Celebrate it"
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