welcome KR
On Thu, 9 May 2024 at 22:29, 'Bala N. Aiyer' via KeralaIyers < [email protected]> wrote: > Wonderful article with lots of information, though some of we know, it is > better to read and remind us all about it. There are lot of "typo errors" > that need to be corrected. > > Bala N. Aiyer > > > On Thursday, May 9, 2024 at 09:16:32 PM CDT, Rajaram Krishnamurthy < > [email protected]> wrote: > > > > 'Philosophy based on the Upanishads'. > > I A layman takes the term ior philosophy in general. But the fact is > that it is only one among the several classical systems of philosophy that > developed in ancient and medieval India. Based on the interpretation of the > Upanishads, there are many schools of Vedanta such as Advaita Vedanta, > Dvaita Vedanta, Visishtadvaita Vedanta, Dvaitadvaita Vedanta and > Shuddhadvaita Vedanta. > > The earliest of them is Advaita Vedanta, expounded by Sankaracharya. Adi > Sankara is, however, not the pioneer of the doctrine of Advaita. The > earliest formulations of Advaita appear in the Mandukya Karika written by > Goudapadar. > > This text purports to summarise the teachings of the Mandukya Upanishad, > one of the l0 major Upanishads. Goudapadar was the guru of Govinda Bhagavat > pada. Adi Sankara was Govinda Bhagavat pada’s disciple. Sankara called > Goudapadar his Parama guru (grand teacher). > > Upanishads preach the philosophy of Brahman. Sankaracharya established > that the Upanishads speak of the philosophy of 'unity in diversity'. He > said: "All souls are one and the same. And they are identical with the > Brahman, the supreme reality". Thus, he established that the crux of > Upanishadic teaching is that of universal oneness. > > Shankaracharya established his Advaita system refuting the doctrines of > flourishing systems of the time . His sharp intellect, and clear and > penetrating mind eclipsed many doctrines put forward by intellectual giants > such as Kumarila Bhatta, Nagarjuna, Dharmakirti and Vasubandhu. With his > towering personality, he established the supremacy of his system of > philosophy over the schools of Buddhism and Purva Mimamsa. His writings are > acclaimed for their clarity and simplicity. Writes Dr S. Radhakrishnan, in > 'Indian Philosophy' (Volume II), "It is impossible to read Sankara's > writings, packed as they are with serious and subtle thinking, without > being conscious that one is in contact with a mind of a very fine > penetration and profound spirituality. Whether we agree or differ, the > penetrating light of his mind never leaves us where we are. For Samksara, > as for some of the greatest thinkers of the world, Plato, and Plotinus, > Spinoza and Hegel, philosophy is the austere vision of eternal truth, > majestic in its freedom from the petty cares of man's paltry life." > > The term, Advaita', means 'non-dualistic'. Sankaracharya holds that > according to Upanishadic teaching no positive attributes can be predicated > of reality; one can say what it is not. That is why Upanishads talk of the > supreme > reality as neti neti ('not this, not this'). The crux of his teaching is > the oneness of individual souls (atman) and Brahman, the supreme reality: > jeeva > brahma aikya. He proves that this truly is the purport of all Upanishads. > > There is a famous hemistich in Sanskrit that puts in a nutshell the entire > gamut of Shankaracharya’s philosophy. It goes so: > > Brahma satyam jagan mithyaa jeevo brahma eya na apat-jarah. > > It means: the only reality is Brahman the external world is Mitya (just an > appearance though based on reality). > > The individual soul is not different from Brahman. This statement is > simple, yet profound. To comprehend the statement, one needs to know a few > terms. For Sankara, satyaam (relied means 'that which is never sublated, > it means that a thing can be called lusion/appearance. It does not mean > 'non-existent, in fact, Sankara holds that the illusory perception is not > baseless. {KR Maya means not in absentia, but perishable all) It is > based on reality. But it cannot be categorically specified either as > existent or non-existent. It is a dream-like experience. While dreaming the > experience appears to be real. It may trigger feelings such as fear > resulting in sweating and the like. But once awakened, the experience > ceases to be real or existent. Sankara does not sweepingly deny the > reality of the external world. He, thus, differs from Vijnanavada of > Buddhism. > > Sankaracharya accepts almost all the epistemic tools enunciated by > Bhatta Mimamsaka. Bhatta Mimamsa is a major school of Indian philosophy. It > is a branch of a system called Mimamsa. It is called Purva Mimamsa as > well (by the way, Vedanta is Uttara Mimamsa; Purva Mimamsa deals with, the > initial part of Vedic literature whereas Vedanta deals with the latter > part). This system has the ritualistic interpretation of Vedas as its main > concern. It has developed theories on verbal comprehension that baffles > even modern linguists and philosophers. Of language. This system has two > major branches – those propounded by Prabhakara and Kumarila Bhatta. The > former is called Praabhaakara Mimamsa and the latter Bhatta Mimamsa. > > Sankara accepts all the six means of valid knowledge (pramanas) put > forward by Kumarila. They are pratyaksha (direct perception), anumaana > (inference), upamaana (comparison), shabda (verbal testimony), arhthaapami > (postulation or derivation of a fact from two non-congruent facts) and > anupalabdhi (non-perception or the perception of absence). The saying, > uyauahaare bhaattanayah, is popular when one speaks of the epistemic tools > accepted by followers of Advaita Vedanta. For empirical reality we go by > Bhatta Mimamsaka’ s epistemic analysis, Advaita philosophers declare. > > What is empirical reality? Sankaracharya speaks of three levels of > reality- absolute reality empirical or pragmatic reality and the apparent > reality. Absolute reality, Paramarthikam sattra, is that the experience of > which is never negated by another cognition at any point of time. Brahman > alone is the absolute reality, according to Advaita. Empirical reality is > called uyaauahaarika sattaa. It does not have a metaphysical reality. It > may be sublated later by a better experience of reality. All our worldly > experiences come under this head. It is similar to the dream experience. > The apparent reality is called Praatibhasika sattaa. It is only > imaginary/erroneous and not real. The erroneous perception of a snake in a > piece of rope caused by mild darkness is a classic example for this. > > What is the ultimate goal of Advaita studies? Mahat is > liberation, according to Advaita Vedanta? How can one overcome the pains > 4nd pleasures that are unavoidable in Samsara The system proclaims that the > ultimate goal is the realisation of Brahman. It is the realisation, the > total conviction, that one's self is not different from Brahman, the simple > nature of which is boundless bliss. That is, the real conviction that one > is identical with the supreme reality the proper cognition of jeeua brahma > aikya (identity of Mind-dual souls with the Brahman), is the supreme goal > to be attained. But mind it, once you each this stage you are certain to > lose yourself. For, the system maintains that one who has realised Brahman > gets merged into it (Brahmavid brahmaiva bhavati) is the dictum). That is > why the Dvaita philosopher and the followers of Bhakti ask then, what is > the charm in your philosophy? If you are unable to enjoy the boundless love > and grace of God, then why all the pains and struggles of intellectual > exercise? > > Everything is futile. If the ant becomes one with the sweetmeat, then > how can it relish anymore? The Advaitin's answer is simple: this is your > real nature and it is boundless bliss. To understand that one who realises > Brahman becomes no one other than itself, we should know what is > Brahman-The Upanishads Proclaim that no Positive attribute can be > predicated about Brahman. It is devoid of any attribute Nirguna. It eludes > expression and comprehension. Thus, it is beyond the reach of mind and > speech. Yato Vaacho nivrutanthe, apprapya manasaa saha, proclaim the > Upanishads. It can be defined or pointed out only metaphorically. All the > Mahavakya of the Upanishads like tat tvam asi are mere attempts to > express it metaphorically. It can be explained like this: it is > sat-chid-aananda. (KR This Ananada is not colloquial mundane happiness as > wrongly quoted by someone) > > This is not a literal statement. If it were, it would mean that > Brahman can be expressed. Now what is sat-chid-aananda It means that > Brahman is absolute existence, absolute consciousness and absolute bliss. > These are not its attributes but the very nature. 'When You express or > comprehend something, it is implied that the thing is limited. But Brahman > is boundless. If every soul is nothing but absolute bliss then how come all > living beings undergo Perpetual pain and Pleasure in mundane life? It is > here the concept of Maya comes into play. MAYA is the potency of Brahman. > It’s focus and object are also Brahman. It is neither existent nor > non-existent. Thus, it is beyond any kind of definition. To Put in lucid > terms, it is ignorance or auidya (the doctrine is deep and demands > technical understanding; theoretically both are not identical). Avidya > has two forms I - cosmic ignorance of Moola – auidya and individual > ignorance or Thoola avidya. Maya has two kinds of innate Powers – that The > Upanishads proclaim that no positive attribute can be predicated about > Brahman. It is devoid of any attribute of covering the real nature of > things and that of projecting illusory attributes on them. They are called > avarana shakti and vikshepa shakti respectively. Maya veils the unity of > Brahman and projects this phenomenal world of variety upon it. Hence for > the realisation of Brahman, one has to remove ignorance. > > Ignorance automatically disappears at the dawn of knowledge. > Hence knowledge alone can bring in emancipation. The stand that knowledge > alone brings absolute emancipation is one of the unique features of. > Shankaracharya’s Advaita philosophy Gnananda eva thu kaivalyam). He > vehemently opposes the theory that atma and jnaana (knowledge) together > constitute the cause of complete liberation. According to him, all the > karmas enjoined by the Vedas and other scriptures go to puri$/ the mind and > thus pave the way for Proper knowledge. But they cannot lead to Kaivalya. > The consistent learning of the Maha vakyas like Tat tvam asl proclaimed by > the Veda in the enjoined way (Shravana), proper and deep analysis leading > to conviction of their meaning (manana) and contemplation leading to > realisation (Nidhidyasanam) together constitute the modus operandum for the > realisation of Brahman. > > Another cardinal Point of Advaita Vedanta is the Brahma > vivartavaada. It is the doctrine that the external world is just an > illusory appearance of Brahman. The theory stands in opposition to the > Prakrti parinaama vaada of the Sankhya system of philosophy (it maintains > that the external world is the transformed state of Prakṛti and the Brahma > parinaama vaada (this world is the transformed state of Brahman) of the > pre-Sankara school of advaihtin. > > One may ask what is Ishvara’s role or status in the scheme of Advaita > Vedanta? Ishvara is called saguna brahman in contrast with the nirgunatva > (atttibuteless nature) of Brahman. The Brahman reflected in Maaya is > Ishvara. Tradition ascribes many devotional compositions praising many > deities to Sankaracharya. The Saundaryalahari, the Kanakadhaara stotra and > the Dakshina Moorthi Stotra are some of them. Scholastic stand is that many > of the voluminous corpus of stotra compositions ascribed to him could have > been born of his pen. > > He might have written some of these devotional songs for the benefit > of the layman. This goes hand in hand with the establishment of monasteries > at different corners of the country for the propagation of his philosophy. > Besides the commentaries on the major Upanishads, the Brahmasutras and the > Bhagauadgeetha, Sankaracharya is known to have written several independent > works such as the Upadesha- sahasre elucidating the doctrine of the Advaita > Vedanta. Various scholars defended and amplified Shankaracharya’s > doctrines. Thus the system branched into two schools - the Vivarana > school and the Bhaamati school. > > The former gets its name from the work named Vivarana written by > Prakasatman. It is a commentary on the Panchapaadika, which in turn is a > commentary on the Brahmasutra Bhashya of Sankaracharya. The Bhamati school > gets its name from a work of the same name written by Vachaspati Misra, a > polymath of the ninth/lOth century. > > A voluminous corpus of literature has come down from many later > scholars. Among them, the Vedantaparibhasha written by Dharmaraja > Adhvareendra and the Vedantasaara written by Sadananda are considered as > introductory texts dealing with logical and epistemological aspects. And > the Advaita Siddhi (authored by Madhusudana Sarasvathi) and the Laghu > Chandrika commentary (authored by Brahmaananda) are the best-known > polemical works on Advaita. > > Sankaracharya never claimed that his is a new philosophy. Instead, he > emphasised the fact that his doctrine was nothing other than Upanishadic > teaching. Upanishads taught that behind the differences seen in the > phenomenal world, there is one unchanging reality. They implicitly > preached, "Love every living being as your own self, because the whole > universe is one. Do not hurt any living being in any way, for, thereby you > will be injuring yourself. The best way for liberation is self- negation > and sacrifice." > > Shankaracharya’s towering personality, along with his wonderful > philosophy, has exercised a strong influence on many generations. The > philosophy has influenced many later developments - be it the practical > Vedanta of Swami Vivekananda, or the Vicharamarga of Ramana Maharshi, or > the progressive ideals of social reformers such as Keshab Chandra Sen and > Narayana Guru, or the writings and Practical revolutionary measures of > great leaders of the Indian national movement. > > His acceptance of the phenomenal world, more or less, resembles the > 'subjective idealism and the 'relativity arguments' of Bishop Berkley. And > the 'transcendental idealism' of Immanuel Kant bears some resemblance to > Brahmavivartta-vada of Sankaracharya. An advocate of universal harmony, Adi > Sankara ranks among the greatest intellectuals ever. And his philosophy > implies the timeless concept of unity in diversity. > > Vivekovo i ro gyo gunoti rekooc chuddhotvomoosodyo mono vimuktyoi > bhovotyoio buddhimoto mumuksos toobhyom drdhobhyoom bhovitovyomogre > > (When the mind has been made pure through discrimination and > dispassion, it turns to liberation. Hence, the wise seeker of liberation > must first strengthen these qualities,) - From Vivekachoodamani > > K Rajaram IRS 10524 > > -- > On Facebook, please join https://www.facebook.com/groups/keralaiyerstrust > > We are now on Telegram Mobile App also, please join > > Pattars/Kerala Iyers Discussions: https://t.me/PattarsGroup > > Kerala Iyers Trust Decisions only posts : https://t.me/KeralaIyersTrust > > Kerala Iyers Trust Group for Discussions: > https://t.me/KeralaIyersTrustGroup > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "KeralaIyers" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/keralaiyers/CAL5XZopqUPohFvU%3DfprVwMS5fgVbeLm4jYcGr69%2BysaVKLms3A%40mail.gmail.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/keralaiyers/CAL5XZopqUPohFvU%3DfprVwMS5fgVbeLm4jYcGr69%2BysaVKLms3A%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > > -- > On Facebook, please join https://www.facebook.com/groups/keralaiyerstrust > > We are now on Telegram Mobile App also, please join > > Pattars/Kerala Iyers Discussions: https://t.me/PattarsGroup > > Kerala Iyers Trust Decisions only posts : https://t.me/KeralaIyersTrust > > Kerala Iyers Trust Group for Discussions: > https://t.me/KeralaIyersTrustGroup > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "KeralaIyers" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/keralaiyers/765443298.825735.1715311745375%40mail.yahoo.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/keralaiyers/765443298.825735.1715311745375%40mail.yahoo.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. 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