[Advaita-l] Jnana and Ajnana - a beautiful dialogue

Raghav Kumar Dwivedula raghavkumar00 at gmail.com
Sat Nov 9 20:14:01 EST 2019


Namaste Subbuji
Thanks for sharing that. Is it a dialogue with the Paramacharya of Kanchi
H.H. Sri Chandrashekarendra Saraswati Swamiji? An excerpt from a book?

Regarding the content about the distinction between GYAnam and GYAna vRtti
, with the latter alone being effectual in destroying aGYAnam while the
former being the very svarUpam if Atma merely illuminates both aGYAnam and
is not opposed to it per se, the following question arises.

There is view which was expressed earlier by a respected scholar on this
forum that the GYAna vRttis are sought to be continually cultivated even
for the 'higher order' of GYAnIs because there is a possibility of cyuti or
slippage even for them. So there is no respite. A kind of eternal vigilance
has to be maintained as the price of liberty. This is one viewpoint.

Is there any 'order' of GYAni for whom we can very literally assert that
sarvathA vartamAnopi he never slips or is vulnerable to a cyuti because he
has attained (understood) non-difference with GYAnam as Atma svarUpam? My
understanding is yes. But wanted to clarify this further.

Thank you
Om
Raghav

On Sat, 9 Nov, 2019, 7:28 AM V Subrahmanian via Advaita-l, <
advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote:

> PeriyavAL: Know that there are Guttu Shlokas in Bharatam (Mahabharata)?
>
> Myself: These are Guttu Shlokas because they were composed to reduce the
> speed of PiLLaiyar's (Ganesha's) writing.
>
> PeriyavAL: There is a Guttu Shloka in Gita! You know?
>
> Myself: Don't know.
>
> PeriyavAL: '*aj~nAnenanAvR^itaM j~nAnaM tena muhyanti jantavaH | j~nAnena
> tu tadaj~nAnaM yeSAM nAshitamAtmanaH ||*' (5.15,16)
>
> "Atma who is *jnAnarUpam* (in the form of knowledge) is veiled with
> *ajnAnaM* (ignorance). People are deluded because of that. If the
> *ajnAnaM* is
> destroyed by *jnAnaM*, Moksha will be attained."
>
> Isn't this doctrine puzzling, confusing? How can *ajnAnaM* veil *jnAnaM*?
> If it is veiled, how by that same *jnAnaM* will *ajnAnaM* be destroyed? --
> is the confusion. Vinayaka blinks. In those few seconds Vyasa has readily
> composed the *shloka*s of many chapters.
>
> For this puzzle that comes in the fifth chapter, he gives the answer in the
> tenth chapter!
>
> teshAmanukampArtham ahamaj~nAnajaM tamaH |
> nAshayAmi AtmabhAvastaH j~nAnadIpena bhasvatA ||
>
> To show mercy on the *bhaktA*s who always sing and think only about me and
> melt by those acts in their hearts, I as the *jnAna rUpi* (form of
> knowledge) enter the state of mind that remains *akhaNdAkAram* (not
> fragmentary, entire, whole) and is known as *AtmabhAvam* (state of the
> soul), reach the *prati-bimbam* (reflection), strengthen the *jnAnam* and
> set aside (the veil) of ignorance.
>
> (In other words, *svarUpa jnAnam* by itself will not set aside ignorance.
> It only notifies its presence. But if the same *svarUpa jnAnam* is
> reflected by the *mano vRutti* (mode/nature/state of mind) that results
> from continued experience of the state of meditation on the Vedanta Maha
> Vakhyas after studying and reflecting on them, that will immediately burn
> the ignorance. Even if the sun has the *svabhAva* (inherent nature) to burn
> cotton, it burns the cotton only when the rays touch it through a special
> lens!
>
>
> Read more:
>
> http://periva.proboards.com/thread/2491/kanchi-paramacharya-satsangam-shashtrartha-02#ixzz64gsvLt00
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