Adhyaropa? Apavaada or the Method of Deliberate Superimpositionand Negation.

[Guest guest]

The Sruti

passages appropriately show that the world is non different from

Brahman (Vacharambhana Sruti of the Chandogya, for example).  This

step culminates in the appreciating of the Absolute Advaitic nature

of Brahman, Shantam, Shivam, Advaitam, as the Turiya is taught in the

Mandukyopanishad.  This is the 'apavada' or the negation of what was

superimposed deliberately earlier.

 

praNAms Sri Subramanian prabhuji

Hare Krishna

 

Thanks for penning  an excellant article on our traditional methodology  of

teaching *adhyArOpa apavAda*...It is no doubt that on the nirvikAri

parabrahman *the causehood* has been superimposed...shankara in

AraMbhaNAdhikaraNa sUtra bhAshya quite elegantly explains this by saying

that there is *nothing* which may be called as an effect (pot)  for it is

only a name, unreal and what is known as  cause (clay) is the ONLY real

thing.  As you said above, shruti also upholds this view by declaring

*vAchAraMbhaNam vikAro nAmadhEyaM mruttikEtyEva satyaM*..Further, kArika

too  beautifully explains this by asserting "birth/creation etc. etc. are

taught as a doctrine by the wise ones to those who hold to the view that

objects exist because of their appearance and its practical efficiency

(vyAvahArika drushti) and for those who are always afraid of that which is

unborn"....

 

Thanks onceagain for your nice write-up.

 

Hari Hari Hari Bol!!!

bhaskar

[Guest guest]

praNAms Sri Subramanian prabhuji

Hare Krishna

 

VS prabhuji:

 

'That which is devoid of all duality is described by adhyaropa and apavada'

i.e.,

by superimposition and negation, by attribution and denial.'Bhashya

on the Bhagavadgita Chapter 13 verse 13 (tr. by Alladi

M.Sastry).unquote. The earlier sentence of the Bhashya in English

is: 'Though what is caused (in Kshetrajna) by upadhis is illusory,

still it is spoke of - in the words that 'It has hands and feet

everywhere'- as though it were an attribute of the Knowable, only

with a view to indicate Its existence.' unquote.

 

bhaskar :

 

Interesting point here to be noted is shankara explicitly saying that

*sarvataH pANipAdaM* is *adhyArOpa* & sarvEndriya guNAbhAsaM, sarvEndriya

vivarjitaM etc. as *apavAda* This proves that Atman is ever *nirvikAri &

nirvishEsha* giving us no room to think that it has multiple limbs &

indriya-s!!!...& shAstra deliberately doing this superimposition to teach

us unobjectifiable (apramEya) & attributeless (nirguNa)

parabrahman..Shankara makes this point very clear in his prashnOpanishad

bhAshya while talking on *shOdasha kalA puruSha.  He says "atyanta

nirvishEShE hi advayE shuddhE tattvE na shakyaH adhyArOpamaNtarENa

pratipAdya pratipAdanAdi vyavahAraH kartum iti kalAnAm prabhavastityapyayA

ArOpyantE avidyA vishayaH*...how clear & lucid it is!! is it not?? without

keeping the dualistic vyAvahArik drushti how can we define undefinable

Atman??  shAstra with great compassion on us adopting this method &

attributing upAdhi-s to explain upAdhi rahita, nirvishEsha brahman...When

shAstra itself employing this method to teach parabrahman we cannot

question it by using our mundane & conditioned intelligence..

 

VS prabhuji:

 

As an aside point, let me mention something amusing.  Swami

Paramarthanandaji once mentioned that in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad

there is a very long discussion just on the origin of the pot.  It is

known as 'ghaTabhAshyam'!]

 

bhaskar:

 

Yes, there is an elaborated discussions on ghatAkAsha & mahAkAsha at

various places in shankara's prasthAna trayi bhAshya...another example is

his gItA bhAshya.  On the BG verse, *na asatO vidyAtE bhAvO..na abhAvO

vidyatE sataH* commentary bhagavadpAda deals with this *pot & clay* topic

comprehensively & explains the role of kArya-kAraNa prakriya very

effectively...He says since all kArya-s (effects) as such after examination

reveals the fact that they are nothing but its cause..kArya in the form of

name & form is *asat*..(sarvOvikAraH kAraNa vyatirEkENa anupalabdEH

asaN...)at the end he beautifully explains further that even clay as the

*cause* of the pot is also asat since this clay as an effect is not

appearing different from its cause!!! He says *mrudAdi kAraNasya cha

tatkAraNa vyatirEkENa anupalabdE asatyaM*...

 

Hari Hari Hari Bol!!!

bhaskar