[Advaita-l] In the Panchadashi, Vidyaranya cites Prahlada's Advaitic prayer in the Vishnu Purana

[V Subrahmanian]

Panchadashi: 7th Chapter:

*भोक्ता स्वस्यैव भोगाय पतिजायादिमिच्छति ।
एष लौकिकवृत्तान्तः श्रुत्या सम्यगनूदितः ॥ २००॥    (7. तृप्तिदीपप्रकरणम्)

*या प्रीतिरविवेकानां विषयेष्वनपायिनी ।त्वामनुस्मरतः सा मे हृदयान्मापसर्पतु
॥ २०२॥  (Prahlada in the Vishnu Puranam)*
इति न्यायेन सर्वस्माद्भोग्यजाताद्विरक्तधीः ।
उपसंहृत्य तां प्रीतिं भोक्तर्येवं बुभुत्सते ॥ २०३॥

200. The enjoyer desires to have a wife and so forth *for his own
pleasures. This popular notion has been well described in the
Brihadaranyaka Upanishad.*

202. The Shruti says that since the enjoyable objects are for the sake of
the enjoyer, they should not be loved for their own sake. Since the enjoyer
is the central factor, love should be given to him.

203. Prahlada prays in the Vishnu Purana: 'Let the unending love which the
undiscriminating have for transient objects, be not removed from me, O
Lord *but
directed towards Thee* so that I may have incessant flow of Thy
remembrance'.

204. Following this method an aspirant should become indifferent to all
enjoyable objects in the external realm and direct the love he feels for
them towards the Self and desire to know It.


It is significant that Vidyaranya chooses to place that prayer of Prahlada
from the Vishnu Purana in this context:

Prahlada has realized Brahman, Vishnu, as his own self, in the abheda mode.
Hence one's supreme love is for oneself and not any external entity. Those
on the path of realization must follow Prahlada and direct their love to
their own self, Atman.

विष्णुपुराणम्/प्रथमांशः/अध्यायः २०
https://sa.wikisource.org/s/1srk

एवं सञ्चिन्तयन् *विष्णुमभेदेनात्मनो* द्विज ।
तन्मयत्वमवाप्याग्र्यं   *मेने चात्मानमच्युतम् *।। १ ।।

विसस्मार तथात्मानं नान्यत् किञ्चिदजानत ।
अहमेवाव्ययोऽनन्तः परमात्मेत्यचिन्तयत् ।। २ ।।

या प्रीतिरविवेकानां विषयेष्वनपायिनी ।
त्वामनुस्मरतः सा मे ह्टदयान्माऽपसर्पतु ।। १९ ।।

*THUS meditating upon Vishńu, as identical with his own Self, Prahláda
became as one with him, and finally regarded himself as the divinity: he
forgot entirely his own individuality, and was conscious of nothing else
than his being the inexhaustible, eternal, supreme soul;* and in
consequence of the efficacy of this conviction of identity, the
imperishable Vishńu, whose essence is wisdom, became present in his heart,
which was wholly purified from sin.

19: may passion, as fixed as that which the worldly-minded feel for sensual
pleasures, ever animate my heart, always devoted unto thee."

The Shruti says that all objects are desirable/desired for the sake of the
desire/love for one's own Atman.  And since Prahlada has attained the
abheda buddhi, realization of identity with Brahman, the Self that Prahlada
is contemplating is the Atman that is non-different from Brahman.

The Upanishad too has its focus on the Atman that is the most loved, not as
an object, but as the subject.  This Atman, the Upanishad teaches, has to
be realized through the method of shravanam, mananam and nididhyasanam.
Naturally, this Atman cannot be something/someone different from the
seeker/bhokta.

That the world that is perceived is mithya is also taught by the Vishnu
Puranam. Sri Sridhara Swamin, in his commentary to the Vishnu Puranam cited
above, cites this verse from this very Puranam:

विष्णुपुराणम्/प्रथमांशः/अध्यायः २
https://sa.wikisource.org/s/1smu

ज्ञानस्वरूपमत्यन्तनिर्मलं परमार्थतः ।
तमेवार्थस्वरूपेण भ्रान्तिदर्शनतः स्थितम् ॥६॥

(In the absolute state, everything is Pure consciousness. That alone is
erroneously cognized as the objects of the world,)

Thus, the primary purport of the Vishnu Puranam is: brahma satyam, jagat
mithyā. jivo brahmaiva na aparah. (Brahman alone is real and the world is
unreal. The jiva is none other than Brahman.)


Brihadaranyaka Upanishad: 2.4.5

स होवाच न वा अरे पत्युः कामाय पतिः प्रियो भवत्यात्मनस्तु कामाय पतिः प्रियो
भवति । न वा अरे जायायै कामाय जाया प्रिया भवत्यात्मनस्तु कामाय जाया प्रिया
भवति । न वा अरे पुत्राणां कामाय पुत्राः प्रिया भवन्त्यात्मनस्तु कामाय
पुत्राः प्रिया भवन्ति । न वा अरे वित्तस्य कामाय वित्तं प्रियं
भवत्यात्मनस्तु कामाय वित्तं प्रियं भवति । न वा अरे ब्रह्मणः कामाय ब्रह्म
प्रियं भवत्यात्मनस्तु कामाय ब्रह्म प्रियं भवति । न वा अरे क्षत्रस्य कामाय
क्षत्रं प्रियं भवत्यात्मनस्तु कामाय क्षत्रं प्रियं भवति । न वा अरे लोकानां
कामाय लोकाः प्रिया भवन्त्यात्मनस्तु कामाय लोकाः प्रिया भवन्ति । न वा अरे
देवानां कामाय देवाः प्रिया भवन्त्यात्मनस्तु कामाय देवाः प्रिया भवन्ति । न
वा अरे भूतानां कामाय भूतानि प्रियाणि भवन्त्यात्मनस्तु कामाय भूतानि प्रियाणि
भवन्ति । न वा अरे सर्वस्य कामाय सर्वं प्रियं भवत्यात्मनस्तु कामाय सर्वं
प्रियं भवति । आत्मा वा अरे द्रष्टव्यः श्रोतव्यो मन्तव्यो निदिध्यासितव्यो
मैत्रेय्यात्मनो वा अरे दर्शनेन श्रवणेन मत्या विज्ञानेनेदं सर्वं विदितम् ॥ ५
॥

 Then Yajnavalkya said: "Verily, not for the sake of the  husband, my dear,
is the husband loved, but he is loved for the  sake of the self which, in
its true nature, is one with the  Supreme Self.  "Verily, not for the sake
of the wife, my dear, is the wife loved,  but she is loved for the sake of
the self.  "Verily, not for the sake of the sons, my dear, are the sons
loved, hut they are loved for the sake of the self.  "Verily, not for the
sake of wealth, my dear, is wealth loved,  but it is loved for the sake of
the self.  "Verily, not for the sake of the brahmin, my dear, is the
brahmin loved, but he is loved for the sake of the self.  "Verily, not for
the sake of the kshatriya, my dear, is the  kshatriya loved, but he is
loved for the sake of the self.  "Verily, not for the sake of the worlds,
my dear, are the worlds  loved, but they are loved for the sake of the
self.  "Verily, not for the sake of the gods, my dear, are the gods  loved,
but they are loved for the sake of the self.  "Verily, not for the sake of
the beings, my dear, are the beings  loved, but they are loved for the sake
of the self.  "Verily, not for the sake of the All, my dear, is the All
loved,  but it is loved for the sake of the self.  "Verily, my dear
Maitreyi, it is the Self that should be  realized - should be heard of,
reflected on and meditated upon.  By the realization of the Self, my
dear-through hearing,  reflection and meditation-all this is known.

बृहदारण्यकोपनिषत् 1.4.8:

तदेतत्प्रेयः पुत्रात्प्रेयो वित्तात्प्रेयोऽन्यस्मात्सर्वस्मादन्तरतरं
यदयमात्मा । स योऽन्यमात्मानः प्रियं ब्रुवाणं ब्रूयात्प्रियं
रोत्स्यतीतीश्वरो ह तथैव स्यादात्मानमेव प्रियमुपासीत स य आत्मानमेव
प्रियमुपास्ते न हास्य प्रियं प्रमायुकं भवति ॥ ८ ॥

The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad: 1.4.8:

8.    *This Self is dearer than a *son, dearer than wealth, dearer than
 everything else, because It is innermost. If one holding the Self  dear
were to say to a person who speaks of anything other than  the Self as
dear, that he, the latter, will lose what he holds  dear-and the former is
certainly competent to do so-it will  indeed come true.  One should
meditate upon the Self alone as dear. He who  meditates upon the Self alone
as dear-what he holds dear will  not perish.

Om Tat Sat