[Advaita-l] 'world' is not the mental creation of tiny soul !!

[V Subrahmanian]

On Fri, Mar 14, 2014 at 11:17 AM, Venkatesh Murthy <vmurthy36 at gmail.com>wrote:

> Namaste
> On Thu, Mar 13, 2014 at 5:58 PM, Bhaskar YR <bhaskar.yr at in.abb.com> wrote:
>
>
> Both sides in this argument have accepted Maayaa is responsible for
> Creation. But Sri SSS has also said Maayaa is Avidyaa Kalpitaa. Other
> Paryaaya Padas are Avidyaa Pratyupasthaapitaa and Avidyaakrutaa. In Sankara
> Vedanta Mimamsa page 79 SSS has said for Sutra Bhashya 1 - 4 - 3
> 'Atra Maayaa Shabdena Nirdishtaa Avidyaa Prtayupasthaapitaa Jagataha
> Praagavasthaa'.
>
> Most important SSS has accepted Maayaa, Shakti and Prakruti are
> Avidyaakalpita only. Sutra Bhashya 2 -1 - 14 was also referred by Swami
> Advayananda Saraswati explaining this when I met him. Sarvajnasya
> Ishwarasya Atmabhute Iva Avidyaakalpite Naama Roope
> Tattvaanyattvaabhyaam Anirvachaneeye Samsaara Prapancheebhute Sarvajnasya
> Ishwarasya Maayaa Shaktihi Prakrutihi
>
> Name and Form Naama Roopa is imagined because of Avidyaa. Name and Form
> is same as Maayaa, Shakti and Prakruti.


In  the Aitareya bhashya for the very second mantra Shakara raises a
question as to 'with what material does Brahman create'? This question was
raised because the first mantra said 'Brahman alone was, secondless, before
creation.'  And Shankara answers by saying: the nAmarUpa which is in
avyAkRta state should be admitted as the material, upAdAna kAraNam, for
creation.  In other words, it amounts to saying: avidyopAdAnam jagat. This
is what the traditional acharyas too hold.  This is because avidyA is the
root cause for nAmarUpa.  Thus, Shankara is not admitting /approving the
thinking that 'Brahman creates with no shakti/power'.  Shankara offers an
alternative to the above: Brahman itself appears as the world just as a
juggler himself appears as another...in the magic display.  In this
alternative, preferred by Shankara, by saying so explicitly, is the
vivartavAda enshrined.  In any case, the appearance is false and the one at
the basis of that appearance alone is real.

Vedanta insists on a chetanakAraNam for jagat, directly or indirectly.
 Whether one calls it Ishwara or jiva is purely for prakriyA purpose.  The
clinching factor is this:

The Chandogya upaniShad, while declaring the 'tat tvam asi' nine times,
each times declares: aitadAtmyam idam sarvam, tat satyam, sa Atmaa, tat
tvam asi.'.  The Sat, Brahman, is the mUlakAraNam, for the universe: Etat,
Sat, AtmA yasya jagataH, tat jagat aitadAtmyam.  This jagat has Sat for its
AtmA, upAdAna kAraNam.  And the upanishad says: That sat is the only Real,
Satyam, and the Self of the universe, and You, Shvetaketu jiva, are That.

Now, it is admitted, through the br.up. 1.4.10 that Brahman, knew itself,
and became sarvAtman.  In other words, asarvatvam and abrahmatvam were the
characters of its ignorance.  Now, with the knowledge of itself, Brahman
regained its brahmatva, sarvata status.  The Chandogya says: such sarvAtmA
Brahman are you, Shvetaketu.  If Brahman is admitted as the cause of the
Universe and therefore only SarvAtmA, Self of the Creation, there is
nothing that prevents in one admitting the Jiva too as the Cause of
Creation because the jivA, is none other than Brahman, and sarvAtmaa.
 Thus, the Upanishads themselves offer the solution to the question of
whether the jiva could be admitted as the cause of creation.  In fact, the
proper way is to hold Chaitanya alone to  be the cause of creation since
 this chaitanya alone, due to avidyA, did not recognize its brahmatva and
sarvatva and entertained abrahmatva/asarvatva notions.  That goes upon the
dawn of jnana.  Such a Jnani declares:

brahmaivAham idam jagat cha sakalam chinmAtra vistAritam
sarvam chaitad avidyayA triguNayA asheSham mayA kalpitam

This is the declaration of sarvAtmabhAva, enshrined in the Chandogya and
Brha.up. mahAvAkyas: tat tvam asi and aham brahma asmi.

regards
subrahmanian.v

regards
subrahmanian.v



> The Creation has happened because of the Prakruti. In the above statement
> Sarvajna Ishwara is not Aidyaa Kalpita Ishwara but Brahman only. That
> Avidyaa is the subjective misunderstanding of Jeeva. It is Adhyaasa in the
> Adhyaasa Bhashya. We can now say Jeeva's Avidyaa has produced Maayaa or
> Prakruti. From Maayaa the Creation has happened. Maayaa is Direct Creator.
> Jeeva is Indirect Creator.
>
> Brahman is Sarvajna because he knows all as Brahman. He does not know
> particular details of anything.
>
>
>
> >
> > Hari Hari Hari Bol!!!
> > bhaskar
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> --
> Regards
>
> -Venkatesh
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