Real and the Unreal.(The seven impossible Tenets)

[Guest guest]

Hari OM!

 

Dear all,

 

The seven impossible tenets as Ramanuja claims. Hope this will help

us to discuss more about Reality.

 

I.The nature of Avidya. Avidya must be either real or unreal; there

is no other possibility. But neither of these is possible. If Avidya

is real, non-dualism collapses into dualism. If it is unreal, we are

driven to self-contradiction or infinite regress.

 

II. The incomprehensibility of Avidya. Avidya is neither real nor

unreal but incomprehensible, {anirvachaniya.} All cognition is either

of the real or the unreal: the it flies in the face of experience,

and accepting it would call into question all cognition and render it

unsafe.

 

III. The grounds of knowledge of Avidya. No pramana can establish

Avidya. Advaita philosophy presents Avidya not as a mere lack of

knowledge, as something purely negative, but as an obscuring layer

which covers Brahman and is removed by true Brahma-vidya. Avidya is

positive nescience not mere ignorance. Ramanuja argues that positive

nescience is established neither by perception, nor by inference, nor

by scriptural testimony. On the contrary, Ramanuja argues, all

cognition is of the real.

 

IV. The locus of Avidya. Where is the Avidya that gives rise to the

(false) impression of the reality of the perceived world? There are

two possibilities; it could be Brahman's Avidya or the individual

soul's {jiva.} Neither is possible. Brahman is knowledge; Avidya

cannot co-exist as an attribute with a nature utterly incompatible

with it. Nor can the individual soul be the locus of Avidya: the

existence of the individual soul is due to Avidya; this would lead to

a vicious circle.

 

V. Avidya's obscuration of the nature of Brahman. The true nature of

Brahman is somehow covered-over or obscured by Avidya. Ramanuja

regards this as an absurdity: given Brahman is pure self-luminous

consciousness, obscuration must mean either preventing the

origination of this (impossible since Brahman is eternal) or the

destruction of it.

 

VI. The removal of Avidya by Brahma-vidya. Avidya has no beginning,

but it is terminated and removed by Brahma-vidya, the intuition of

the reality of Brahman as pure, undifferentiated consciousness. But

Ramanuja denies the existence of undifferentiated {nirguna} Brahman,

arguing that whatever exists has attributes: Brahman has infinite

auspicious attributes. Liberation is a matter of Divine Grace: no

amount of learning or wisdom will deliver us.

 

VII. The removal of Avidya. the bondage in which we dwell before the

attainment of Moksa is caused by Maya and Avidya; knowledge of

reality (Brahma-vidya) releases us. Ramanuja, however, asserts that

bondage is real. No kind of knowledge can remove what is real. On the

contrary, knowledge discloses the real; it does not destroy it. And

what exactly is the saving knowledge that delivers us from bondage to

Maya? If it is real then non-duality collapses into duality; if it is

unreal, then we face an utter absurdity.

 

Sri Gurubhyo Namaha!

 

With Love & OM!

 

Krishna Prasad

[Guest guest]

--- Krishna Prasad <rkrishp99 wrote:

 

Shree Krishna Prasad - Prof. Grimes has done very scholarly analysis of

these seven untenables and published a book with that title- I gave

reference to that book recently.

 

Hari OM!

Sadananda

 

=====

What you have is destiny and what you do with what you have is self-effort.

Future destiny is post destiny modified by your present action. You are not only

the prisoner of your past but master of your future. - Swami Chinmayananda

[Guest guest]

Hari OM!

 

Dear Sadaji,

 

Thanks for the reference, Your artcile itself posted by Profji is

really enlightening. Will look for Prof.Grimes book.

 

With Love & OM!

 

Krishna Prasad

 

advaitin, kuntimaddi sadananda

<kuntimaddisada> wrote:

> --- Krishna Prasad <rkrishp99> wrote:

>

> Shree Krishna Prasad - Prof. Grimes has done very scholarly

analysis of

> these seven untenables and published a book with that title- I gave

> reference to that book recently.

>

> Hari OM!

> Sadananda

>

> =====

> What you have is destiny and what you do with what you have is self-

effort. Future destiny is post destiny modified by your present

action. You are not only the prisoner of your past but master of your

future. - Swami Chinmayananda