[Advaita-l] Sleep, tamas and brahman

[Bhaskar YR]

praNAms Sri Kalyan prabhuji
Hare Krishna

I have a question here. Does this talk of bIja shakthi in deep sleep occur in the BSB? Or is it confined to Mandukya bhashya? If you could give me any exact references in BSB, that would be helpful. Thanks.


Ø     Yes, at various places in sUtra bhAshya shankara talks about beeja Shakti in sushupti.  For example utkrAntAdigatyadhikaraNa in second chapter of sUtra..here bhAshyakAra clarifies, the seed or Shakti which is concocted by ignorance is in deep sleep.  Therefore it makes one to awake to the same individuality.  Elsewhere in sUtra bhAshya there is a statement by bhAshyakAra that even though there is a natural non-duality in sushupti the misunderstanding of brahman as jeeva is not nullified by correct knowledge therefore dvaita comes again as before.  I shall provide you the exact sUtra no.  coming Monday, after checking it this week end.


>  So, shruti / bhAshyakAra  while analyzing the sushupti avastha,  talks about both viewpoints i.e. existence of avidyA and absolute oneness of jeeva in sushupti  and contextually we have to reconcile both these seemingly contradictory statements.

How would you reconcile them?


Ø     As I said, the only way to reconcile these seemingly contradictory statement is, the jAgrat, svapna and sushupti should be treated and analyzed according to the experience in their respective domains and one should not infer the two other states from the stand point of the waking state by giving it special preference.  Anyway, we have to accept jnAnAbhAva type of avidyA in sushupti though sushpti in itself is ekamevAdviteeyaM.  Hence kArika differentiates between prAjnA and tureeya by saying prAjna will be tainted with agrahaNAtmaka avidyA and tureeya is free from all types of avidyA.  BTW, as I said earlier not knowing the thing does not mean it does not exist.  Shruti also saying the same thing, in sushupti you are upAdhi rahita (or upAdhi upashAnta) brahman but you don’t know that and to know that you have to do shAstra vihita sAdhana and that sAdhana definitely not taking sleeping pills ☺

Hari Hari Hari Bol!!!
bhaskar