AW: Vedanta Shastra Pramana

[Guest guest]

> -----Ursprungliche Nachricht-----

> Von: atmachaitanya108 [stadri]

> Now as far as your claims, or rather the claims of so-called

> 'scholars' like Nakamura, Das Gupta, B.N.K.Sharma, as well as

> 'followers of Shankara' like Dr Rajmani Tigunait, as well as Swami

> Baktivedantas', Iscon site,that:

>

> 1)Gaudapada was probably a Buddhist

> 2)Shankara was a hidden Buddhhist

> 3)Shankara was the founder of 'Impersonal Vedanta' and

> before him Vedanta was 'Personalistic'

> 4)Shankaras concept of Reality was the 'same as' or 'very

> close' to the Emptiness concept of the Buddhists

>

> are very serious charges, and all those who claim to be Advaita

> Vedantins, and all those who claim to be follow Shankaras Tradition,

> shoud either provide a response to these charges or begin studying

> Nargarjuna and Chandrakirti, for they are the true representatives of

> Sunya Vada.

> I await the rebuttle of these charges by the other learned

> members of this site, dedicated to a Discussion of 'Shankaras

> Advaita'.

 

Yes I agree that those are very serious charges!

 

I am not a scholar but I agree that I have studied a bit by the grace of my

teacher. Now I remember my own uncle (my father's own brother) who had

renounced his life for ISCON and came back again to this world, used to

fiercely debate that all of us -- i.e. our family who follow Sri Adishankara

with utmost faith --- are "mayaavadis". We used to have debates when I was

19 years old! When I say all that is there is Brahman --- he used to say

"Still.... beyond all this consciousness there is my beautiful Krishna" :-)

 

It has created interest in me on why we are labelled as Mayavadis.

Fortunately, my home town Guntur is literally 1 hour away from the place

where the greatest Mayavada buddhism exponents Acharya Nagarjuna had once

lived, where he did set up a great Buddhistic University! I had access to

some books, so I had studied Nagarjuna's mayavada... and it is not, in what

ever I understood from my study, what Sri Adishankara advocates!

 

1. Neither our guru Sri Shankara nor Gaudapada are Buddhists. I think it

is a mistake which we are making by reading *too much* in-between the lines

of their teachings. And such approach to study their teachings will yield

no results. Those who are deluded will always see deluded meanings in

wisemens words.

 

I can understand it... clearly! For example, I am born as a Hindu. I feel

proud that I am allowed with free thinking in my religion. In our religion,

we are taught to treat all beings and non-beings equally... And I have

studied Islam with pure acadamic interest for 4 years, while living at the

heart where Islam has started (Jeddah, Saudi Arabia). Can somebody lable me

as a Muslim in coming history for my sympathy for the followers of that

religion? My own parents, being orthodox brahmins, always celebrate

Christmas saying that the world has been blessed with one of the greatest

saints! Does that make the future historians label my parents as

Christians?

 

We have to understand that the times when Sri Shankara lived, Buddhism is

the most popular religion. Just like the English language.... If I write

in English many people will understand... If I write in my mother tongue

Telugu how many will be able to understand? So what Shankara did is the

same. He tried to make those followers of Buddha understand in their own

terms!

 

 

2. Sri Adishankara has clearly stated that Brahman alone is *real*. He did

not say Brahman is also Maya! Saying that he replaced the word "sunya" for

"Brahman" is like comparing apples with orranges! Brahman is not Sunya. If

at all there was something in our Shankara's vision, that was pure sympathy

towards Buddhists. That does not make him a hidden buddhist!

 

 

Hari Om.

 

Yours,

Madhava