RE: Digest Number 1675

[Guest guest]

Jay:

"But my question was, When I am not making the mistake of mixing up the two

'I' and 'non-I' (Atman and anAtman) and there is no confusion or mixing up

of the two, then how can we say the two are still superimposed?"

 

D: When you are not making the mistake you know that there are not two so

the question does not arise.

 

Sadananda:

"he is not pre-programmed to act in a particular way unlike animals"

 

D: No. Animals are programmed only by their genes and a little parental

nurture possibly. Humans have all of their education, reading, thinking as

well as ethics and religions!

 

Best wishes,

 

Dennis

[Guest guest]

Dear Dennis-Ji,

>Jay: "But my question was, When I am not making the mistake of mixing up the

two

>'I' and 'non-I' (Atman and anAtman) and there is no confusion or mixing up

>of the two, then how can we say the two are still superimposed?"

>D: When you are not making the mistake you know that there are not two so

>the question does not arise.

 

I think the answer you have given that "the question does not arise" and the

answer

given in the web-page which Mr. Nair has suggested, differ.

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

 

Shri ShankarAchArya himself raises the same question of how anyone can

confuse between asmat ("I") and yushmat ("non-I") which are like night and day.

I have copied the para here.

 

In a manner that is classic of shankara's style, the author of the bhASyam

begins with an objection. The objection runs as follows: Atman is real, and is

the eternal subject I . Everything else is not real, and is perceived as a

separate object you (yuSmat). How is it possible to confuse or

superimpose(adhyAsa) the distinct concepts (pratyaya) of subject and object (the

"I" and the "you"), and related attributes (dharma's), as they are by nature as

different as night and day (tamah prakAshavat)? Such confusion should be

impossible (mithyeti bhavitum yuktam).

Shankara's reply runs as follows: TathA'pi anyonyasmin,.naisargiko'yam loka

vyavahAraha

 

But according to that web-page, the question of superimposition still arises

because of lOka-vyavahAra,

and human innate error (naisargika) and lack of discrimination (avivekena).

 

So, we can conclude from this that even though there is no confusion between

"I" and "non-I", super-imposition still persists anyways.

 

Thus, your thinking that "the question does not arise" is not inline with that

webpage information.

 

Correct me if I am wrong.

-

Dennis Waite

advaitin

Saturday, April 12, 2003 12:27 PM

RE: Digest Number 1675

 

 

Jay:

"But my question was, When I am not making the mistake of mixing up the two

'I' and 'non-I' (Atman and anAtman) and there is no confusion or mixing up

of the two, then how can we say the two are still superimposed?"

 

D: When you are not making the mistake you know that there are not two so

the question does not arise.

 

Sadananda:

"he is not pre-programmed to act in a particular way unlike animals"

 

D: No. Animals are programmed only by their genes and a little parental

nurture possibly. Humans have all of their education, reading, thinking as

well as ethics and religions!

 

Best wishes,

 

Dennis

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sponsor

 

 

 

 

Discussion of Shankara's Advaita Vedanta Philosophy of nonseparablity of Atman

and Brahman.

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