The gist of Sri Bhashyam on "chatussootri" by Dr.NSA

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MAHA POORVAPAKSHA : THE GREAT OBJECTION :

(This objection is by the advaitin)

 

1. THE ONLY REALITY IS BRAHMAN :

 

Brahman is pure consciousness and is opposed to all

differences. This is divested of all qualities. All

differences of plurality of knowers, objects of

knowledge, acts of knowledge are all superimposed on

that one Brahman. The Upanishads teach this reality.

"In the beginning, there was that only which is the

one without a second", " That which is not seized,

which has no eyes or ears, no hands or feet, which is

all pervading, permanent, most subtle, the

imperishableHe who is without parts, without

Actions, without fault, without taintYou cannot see

the seer of the sight", "You cannot think of the

thinker of the thought", "Brahman is Bliss", "All

this verily the self", He who see any difference here

goes from death to death". Hosts of such Shruti Vakyas

declare that Brahman alone is reality and there is

not second thing other than that. Even the Puranas

especially the Vishnu Purana declares the same

truth. Undifferentiated Brahman is the sole reality

and everything else is unreal.

 

2. WHAT IS UNREALITY ? :

 

Falsehood or mithyathwa is that which is appearing in

the present and which is destroyed by the cognition

of the real. The example is the

"Rope - Serpent". The serpent is a false appearance in

the rope and when the ropeness of the rope is known

it is eliminated. Similarly, the entire world with

all its differences of God, men, creatures and

immovable matter are wrongly imagined in the one

non-second Supreme Brahman. The appearance

of plurality is due to beginningless avidya or

nescience. The Shrutis and Smritis point out to this

kind of beginningless avidya which cannot

be defined either as something that is or something

that is not.

 

3. TERMINATION OF AVIDYA BY TRUE KNOWLEDGE :

 

This avidya comes to an end when the knowledge of

oneness of the undifferentiated Brahman is realised.

The scriptures declare this also -

"He who sees this does not see death", "He sees this

as one."

 

When he beholds that which is high and low, the knots

of the heart become united and all doubts are solved

and all his karma become destroyed.

 

There are various authorities in the scriptures that

declare that Brahman is the only one and non second

being of the nature of pure knowledge or

consciousness.

 

"Sathyam, Jnanam, Anantham Brahama",

 

"Vijnanam (knowledge), Anandam is Brahman"

 

"Let one meditate upon one as the self"

 

Thou art That "

 

"I am Thou Oh ! Holy Deity and Thou art me".

 

"What I am that is He"

 

What He is that I am "

 

The sutrakara also affirs the same think in Sutra 4 -

1 - 3.

 

The Vakyakara also supports this view. So it is quite

proper to entertain the view that bondage which is

unreal will be destroyed along with its root cause by

the realisation of oneness of the Brahman and the

Atman.

 

4. SCRIPTURE OR SASTRA IS MORE POWERFUL THAN

PRATYAKSHA OR PERCEPTION :

 

It may be objected that the termination of the view of

difference is opposed to the evidence of perception.

How can Sastrajnana eliminate difference which is

within the experience of all. To this, we answer as

follows :

 

When we have the illusion of a snake in a rope, if we

get the knowledge that this is a rope and not a

serpent, that knowledge sets aside the

serpent which is perceived. In the same way, the

knowledge that this is Brahman and not the universe

sets aside all differences. It may be

further objected that there is contradiction between

two perceptions in the example, but the conradiction

between Sastra and Pratyaksha is not like that. Sastra

is based on perception. To this we ask like this -

What is the cause of this kind of sublation between

two equal cognition's ?

 

REPLY - The first one is caused by a defective cause

whereas the other is not so.

 

We say that the same consideration holds goods between

Sastra and Pratyaksha.

Example : The flame seems one to perception, but on

the ground of observation that the different particles

of the vick and the oil are consumed in succession, we

infer that there are many distinct flames

succeeding one another. Here we accept that inference

is valid and pratyakasha is sublated by that. Even so

pratyaksha is contradicted by scriptures that expound

the oneness of Brahman.

 

5. DUALITY TEXTS ARE CONTRADICTED BY UNITY TEXTS :

 

The analogy of the apacchadanyaya is to be followed in

deciding the meaning of the scriptures. As in that

analogy the earlier one is sublated by the later one.

Here also the earlier texts referring to duality are

sublated by the later texts that teach oneness of

Atman and release from bondage by realising it. These

unity texts cancel the duality texts.

 

6. THE SAGUNA AND NIRGUNA TEXTS :

 

To continue..........

 

Pranamams

dAsI

padmini

 

 

 

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