bAdhA

[Guest guest]

Dear Shri Dennis,

 

You have said in the case of dream there does not seem to be any substrate.

advaita vedAnta holds that there can be no prAtibhAsika appearance without a

substrate of a higher order of reality. So, for the dream objects also there

is a substrate. Please see para 154 of my translation of Madhusudana

Sarasvati's Siddhantabindu at

 

www.geocities.com/snsastri/siddhanta.pdf

 

There he states the two views that are prevalent and says both are

acceptable. In the subsequent paras he discusses these views in detail. Thus

it is clear that there is a substrate for the dream also. The dream

experiences are therefore not in any way different from the experience of

rope-snake or shell-silver as far as their nature as prAtibhAsika satta is

concerned. It follows that the term 'bAdhA' applies to dream objects also.

 

Regards,

 

S.N.Sastri

 

 

 

 

 

Seriously though, if Sri Shankara has used the word in this way, then that

must be acceptable (effectively by definition). I would not have thought of

doing so from a logical point of view. It seems to me that the sublating

concept must somehow 'contain' the sublated, i.e. must still be talking

about the same thing but provide a more comprehensive and reasonable

explanation. To put this another way, I find it natural to talk about the

rope-snake being sublated once the rope is realized because both actually

have the rope as adhiShThAna but in the case of the dream, there does not

seem to be any substrate - the whole thing was just a concoction of the

mind. The snake can still be at least imagined - one can, perhaps half-close

the eyes or return in darkness and still make out the hooded head and forked

tongue. But once one has awoken, there is simply no way to see anything of

the dream-that-was; it all dissolves and 'leaves not a rack behind'.

 

Best wishes,

 

Dennis

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

H.N.Sreenivasa Murthy

Pranams to all.

 

What is the relevance and significance of badhA to Atmaj~JAna?

How has Sri Shankara dealt about this in his commentaries and how he

has defined and explained? In my opinion highlighting these points

the beginners as well as sincere mumukshus will be vastly benifitted.

I request the learned members to give a thought to this.

 

With warm and respectful regards,

Sreenivasa Murthy