[Advaita-l] Question about Sri Vidyaranya's JMV & jnani matra

Bhaskar YR bhaskar.yr at in.abb.com
Tue Mar 26 03:16:24 EDT 2019


//Some days later the police caught the thieves and brought them before Sri Bhagavan, and an officer asked Him to identify the one who had beaten Him on that night. Sri Bhagavan at once replied with a smile, 'Find out whom I beat [in a previous birth], for it is he who has beaten me now!'. He never denounced the criminal!//

This is what traditional Advaita would say about prarabdha karma for a Jnani. Swami Vidyaranya has said this alone. It is not for the bystanders to say this; it is the Jnani himself who says this.

praNAms Sri Subbu prabhuji
Hare Krishna

As you know,  we both have unwritten agreement that we should not discuss vedAnta as we are,  in certain very important aspects of advaita not on the same platform 😊  So, below quote, which was duly supplied by my hari bandhu ( he often helps me when I am in office and need info. From web) is not for any debate or further discussion, just want to share that when bhagavaan ramaNa specifically being asked about jnAni’s prArabdha his answer was quite unambiguous. Here is that relevant quote :

// quote//
Master: Yes, Ishwara and the jnani are the same because they are free from "I" and "mine". The jnani is himself Ishwara, the totality of the jivas [individual souls] and also the cosmos.

Question: Bhagavan says that when one attains enlightenment all the three karmas [sanchita, prarabdha and agamya] cease to be. But in Kaivalya Navanitam it is stated that the jnani will experience only prarabdha karma [karma being worked out in this lifetime]. Why does it say this?"

Ramana: Prarabdha is the rule prior to the attainment of Self-realisation. As such, even after the attainment of Self-realisation, a jnani appears to be experiencing prarabdha in the sight of onlookers. There are several examples which are commonly used to explain this: an electric fan goes on spinning for some time even after it is switched off; a burnt rope looks like a rope but it cannot be used to tie anything; a tree that has been felled looks just like a living tree but it is no longer alive; peas which are roasted still look like peas but they cannot sprout.

The prarabdha of a jnani can be compared to examples such as these. When other people look at a jnani it seems to them that he is experiencing prarabdha, but from the jnani's own point of view there is no prarabdha at all.

Question: In the hindu scriptures it is stated that even the jivamukta [liberated while still alive] will behave according to his prarabdha karma. Why is Bhagavan telling us that a jnani [one who is enlightened] has no prarabdha?

Ramana: For the jnani, there is neither scriptures nor prarabdha. Questions like this have no relevance for the jnani. All these rules in the scriptures were created only for the ajnanis [those who are not enlightened]. Let me give you an example. Let us say that a man has three wives. When the man dies who will agree with us if we say that only two of his former wives are widows. It is not correct that all three of them are widows? Likewise, for the jnani all the three kinds of karma are non-existent. Prarabdha is only for those who see this problem and ask question about it.
//unquote//
I know according to you this is not in line with traditional thinking.  But bhagavan atleast in this context quite clear in his stand if not he is an authority in orthodox Advaita sampradaya.

Hari Hari Hari Bol!!!
bhaskar


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