Shankara quotation - locus of ignorance

[Guest guest]

dennis-ji :

 

by chance were you looking for this quotation ?

 

brahmaiva sva-avidyayA badhyata iva, brahmaiva sva-vidyayA muchyata

iva.

 

[brahman Itself, owing to ignorance of Its own self appears to be

bound (in saMsAra). Brahman Itself, as a result of knowledge of Its

own self, appears to be released from saMsAra.]

 

well, dennisji where do u think i located this ? in our own dennisji's

web site - the article is by our own beloved subbuji on 'AVIDYA'

 

http://www.advaita.org.uk/discourses/teachers/avidyA_subrahmanian.htm -

 

 

i may be off the mark, however !

 

" Just by knowing a lump of clay one knows all objects made of clay,

so by knowing the one Brahman one knows (the real element of) the

whole phenomenal world. "

 

enjoy! Life is too short !

 

 

 

 

 

advaitin , " Dennis Waite " <dwaite wrote:

>

> Can anyone help me locate a Shankara quotation relating to the locus

of

> ignorance? He says something to the effect that although brahman

cannot have

> ignorance there is no locus other than brahman for it. I've spent

ages

> trying to locate it and I'm sure I only came accross it again a few

days ago

> - it's so frustrating!

>

> Best wishes,

> Dennis

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Can anyone help me locate a Shankara quotation relating to the locus of

ignorance? He says something to the effect that although brahman cannot

have

ignorance there is no locus other than brahman for it. I've spent ages

trying to locate it and I'm sure I only came accross it again a few days

ago

- it's so frustrating!

 

Best wishes,

Dennis

 

praNAms Sri Dennis Waite prabhuji

Hare Krishna

 

prabhuji, I donot want to onceagain open the can of worms by discussing the

locus of avidyA & get lost myself in the vicious circle of debate.....You

might be aware, recently, in Advaita-L list, I had a very bitter experience

in discussing the same topic...Below is only my understanding & would like

to clarify well in advance that this is not for further deliberations.

 

While dealing with the concept of avidyA, shankara had the subjective

nature of it in mind...In his work (adhyAsa bhAshya) shankara implies that

either we have to accept avidyA as subjective defect or we have to accept

that there is no avidyA at all...Because, he himself promptly admits in

adhyAsa bhAshya that anyOnyAdhyAsa (subject - object or asmatpratyaya-

yushmatpratyaya) is an *impossible* proposition since both are mutually

entirely different entities ( tamaH prakAshavat viruddha svabhAvayOH)...So,

when it is logically questioned holding the very nature of vishayi &

vishaya, it is better to admit that adhyAsa is not possible...shankara

clearly says *adhyAso mithyA iti bhavituM yuktaM* (it is but appropriate

to expect that there can be no adhyAsa or

superimposition). First of all who needs the clarification here about

Ashraya (locus) of avidyA?? obviously, brahmA cannot ask this question, &

jIva who is in baNdha, within vyavahAra can only pose this question...So,

if at all we are forced to accept the existence of avidyA that should be in

vyavahAra ONLY (naisargikOyaM lOka vyavahAra)..So, shankara concludes in

adhyAsa bhAshya that it is natural curve of human mind to proceed on this

assumption inspite of the uncompromising fact that it is a blunder to take

it for truth. In gIta & taitirIya upanishad bhAshya shankara exquisitely

says avidyA pertains to instrument & not to the *user* of the instrument.

 

Now, interestingly, elsewhere, shankara himself admits that brahman is the

*locus* & subject matter of avidyA!!! For example in bruhadAraNyaka

bhAshya (1-4-10) shankara says : " brahmaNi sAdhakatva kalpana ....apEshala

iti " . From the adhyArOpa-apavAda drushti here it is accepted that brahman

is the location of avidyA. But it should be noted that all this

attributions is just for the purpose of teaching the truth alone through

the method of adhyArOpa-apavAda. From the pAramArtika drushti, we cannot

say that avidyA & mAya are standing side by side with brahman :-))

 

Hari Hari Hari Bol!!!

bhaskar

 

PS : prabhuji, if you are interested, I shall forward my mail (which I had

written to Advaita-L list ) to you privately off the list. Kindly let me

know.

[Guest guest]

Thanks again for the quick response for help. I certainly didn't want to

start a new discussion on the topic (I recall the last one!).

Dhyanasaraswati-ji's suggestion was a good one - but not the one that I was

looking for. She will be amused to find that the actual location was even

more embarassing that her suggestion - it was quoted in 'Back to the Truth'!

Here it is:

 

" We agree that the Absolute is not the author of Ignorance and that it is

not deluded by it either. Even so, there is nothing other than the Absolute

which is the author of Ignorance, and no other conscious being apart from

the Absolute that is deluded by it. " from bRRihadAraNyaka upaniShad bhAShya

I.iv.10, quoted in The Method of the Vedanta: A Critical Account of the

Advaita Tradition, Swami Satchidanandendra Saraswati (Holenarasipur,

Karnataka, India), Translated by A. J. Alston, originally published by Kegan

Paul International, 1989. ISBN 0-7103-0277-0, edition now listed and

distributed by Shanti Sadan, <http://www.shantisadan.org/>

www.shantisadan.org.

 

Best wishes,

Dennis