Question on Superimposition

[Guest guest]

Namaste

 

Shantibhaiji asks about Superimposition. This is actually the

central point of advaita. The postings on this list are more

than full of this subject. I dare not start explaining this anew

now. But I will give Shantibhaiji some tips to make a start.

 

Message No.6073 of Sadanandaji starts explaining this from

scratch. And the subject is continued through several several

posts from there. Actually Sadanandaji took up the subject of

Brahmasutra bhashya by Sankara and has elaborately explained

from the beginning. He in fact prefixes his explanations on

Superimposition by dwelling on pramANa (authority) and anumAna

(Inference) in his earlier posts before starting

'Superimposition'. All this is available in the files section of

the Messages Part of the following site:

advaitin

 

In order to go to the messages part you have to just sign up

with your ID.

 

In fact the sanskrit word for superimposition is adhyasa.

Sankaracharya thought it important to dwell on this subject

intensely in his introduction to his Sutra bhashya. This

introduction is the famous adhyasa bhashya. The elaborate notes

on this through Sadananda's posts are very readable but you

may have to read them little by little.

 

Alternatively you can start with post #14021 by Reidy on

Superimposition and follow the thread. But again you will see

both Sadanandaji and other members go back to the fundamental

posts on adhyasa bhashya mentioned above.

 

Either way you have touched a live wire. Enjoy! Just to satisfy

my vanity as your closest friend on this list I add the

following paragraph of mine for your consumption. But I write

this with great trepidation, because the subject is so

profound and subtle that I can trip very easily; but I am

confident that the 'trippings' will be corrected by the

stalwarts on this list.

 

The Self is self-effulgent. The intellect is non-effulgent. But

it appears to be effulgent owing to the proximity of effulgence,

namely, the Self. The agency of 'knowing' and 'not knowing' is

superimposed on the Self, which is entirely devoid of any action

or change. This is just like our saying 'The Sun is the

illuminator of the whole world'. The Sun does not 'do' any such

thing. It 'is' just there. That is all. Consisting of nothing

but pure light, it stands as existent only and in the proximity

of things illuminated. It is therefore the ignorant who

superimpose the agency of action of illuminating things on the

sun when they are illumined by it. Similarly the agency of

action of knowing objects is superimposed, in relation to the

manifestation of objects like the intellect, on the Self which

is of the nature of pure Consciousness. The latter is devoid of

all change, it is free from all attributes, and is the witness

of all intellects and their modifications. It does nothing but

stand in the proximity of the objects of knowledge as pure

Consciousness. It is a knower or non-knower in no other way.

So the statement 'I do not know that I am the Self', is a

superimposition of Ignorance on the 'I' which is really the

Self. The question of whence came this superimposition, who is

the villain that does this superimposition, how do we get rid of

this superimposition, -- all this constitutes the complex study

of adhyasa.

 

praNAms to all advaitins

profvk

 

 

 

=====

Prof. V. Krishnamurthy

My website on Science and Spirituality is http://www.geocities.com/profvk/

You can access my book on Gems from the Ocean of Hindu Thought Vision and

Practice, and my father R. Visvanatha Sastri's manuscripts from the site.

 

 

 

New DSL Internet Access from SBC &

http://sbc.

[Guest guest]

Namaste Shanti,

 

I would like to recommend the following excellent article,

written by Sri Subhanu Saxena:

http://www.advaita-vedanta.org/articles/adhyasa_bhashyam.htm It

deals with Shankara´s introduction (Adhyasa Bhashyam) to his

Brahma Sutra Bhashya, where the meaning of superimposition

(adhyasa) is explained.

 

Warm regards

Stig Lundgren

 

> Namaste

>

> Shantibhaiji asks about Superimposition. This is actually the

> central point of advaita. The postings on this list are more

>

[Guest guest]

Namaste

 

Thank you Stig, for pointing out a wonderful article on

adhyAsa-bhASHya. I just read it. It is really superb. In fact

every student of advaita should read it. Thanks, once again.

 

praNAms to all advaitins

profvk

 

=====

Prof. V. Krishnamurthy

My website on Science and Spirituality is http://www.geocities.com/profvk/

You can access my book on Gems from the Ocean of Hindu Thought Vision and

Practice, and my father R. Visvanatha Sastri's manuscripts from the site.

 

 

 

New DSL Internet Access from SBC &

http://sbc.

[Guest guest]

Note from the moderator: May I request you not to include the entire message of

ProfVK while replying his message. This time, I have deleted that portion and I

don't have time to do this editing everytime! Thanks in advance for your

cooperation and understanding.

 

Dear Professor: Thank you respected friend. I have noted all references you

recommended and shall read them carefully. Your analogy of "sun being just

there" made me understand the concept of superimposition of ignorance clearly.

Mr.Lundgren also sent me a reference and I have just printed out all seven pages

of it to study slowly. Both of you have put this novice on the right track and I

thank you.

Regards

Shanti

-

V. Krishnamurthy

Namaste

 

Message No.6073 of Sadanandaji starts explaining this from

scratch. And the subject is continued through several several

posts from there. Actually Sadanandaji took up the subject of

Brahmasutra bhashya by Sankara and has elaborately explained

from the beginning.

[Guest guest]

My dear noble devotee of Sri Sankara

Bhagavatpujyapada,

 

Thank you very much for your information on adhyasa to

Shanti garu.

 

May I request you to kindly let me know whether you

have come across a text called Vruththi Prabhakaram.

 

I am interested to know more about adhyasa, for

example, jnanadhyasa.

 

I remember to have read that adhyasa can be divided

into arthadhyasa and jnanadhyasa with further

classification of arthadhyasa into svarupadhyasa and

samsargadhyasa.There are further divisions of

svarupadhyasa.Also, jnanadhyasa is divided into two

categories: dierect and indirect.I know about the

details of svarupadhyasa but not about jnanadhyasa.

 

I will be thankful to you if could let me know the

details of this jnanadhyasa .

 

Thank you very much.

 

Yours in Sri Sankara Bhagavatpujyapada,

 

Chilukuri Bhuvaneswar

 

 

 

--- Stig Lundgren <slu wrote: > Namaste

Shanti,

>

> I would like to recommend the following excellent

> article,

> written by Sri Subhanu Saxena:

>

http://www.advaita-vedanta.org/articles/adhyasa_bhashyam.htm

> It

 

 

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