bAdha

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Since the discussion on bAdha is still going on, I thought I would add the

following details.

 

'bAdha' is a technical term in advaita vedAnta which is used in a specific

sense by all writers on advaita from Sri Sankara onwards. The actual

definition of this term is given in vedAntaparibhAshA which is the

authoritative work on such matters. (vedAntaparibhAshA has been posted on my

website www.geocities.com/snsastri). The following is the definition:--

 

The destruction of an effect is of two kinds. In one the destruction is

together with that of the material cause, and in the other the material

cause remains intact. The first is *bAdha *or sublation,* *and the second is

*nivRtti *or cessation*.* The cause of the first is the realisation of the

truth of the substratum, brahman for, without that, Nescience, which is the

material cause, is not removed. The cause of the second is the rise of a

contrary mental modification, or the removal of defects, like the cessation

of a pot by the blow of a club, in which case the material cause of the pot,

namely, clay, still remains. Another example is, when a person first sees a

snake in a rope and subsequently thinks that it is not a snake, but a

crooked stick. In this case also the material cause, ignorance of the rope,

remains and so there is only nivRtti or cessation of the illusion of a

snake, and not bAdha. If he realizes that it is only a rope, then there is

bAdha because the ignorance of the substratum, rope, has also been removed.

 

 

The same definition has also been given in vivaraNa of prakASAtman and in

vivaraNaprameyasangraha of svAmI vidyAraNya. The definition is:

 

ajnAnasya svakAryeNa saha tattvajnAnena nivRttiH bAdhaH-

 

This has been translated by G.Thibaut as follows:--

 

" Sublation (bAdha) is the termination, by means of the cognition of truth,

of Nescience together with its effects " .

 

It follows from the above that when brahman is realized there is bAdha or

sublation of Nescience along with its effect, the world.

 

advaita vedAnta has, like any other science, its own terminology and

consequently its own technical terms. The meaning of such technical terms

has to be understood by seeing in what sense writers in samskrit on advaita

have used them. Other such technical terms are upAdhi, prAjna, etc. The term

'upAdhi' has a totally different meaning in NyAya philosophy from that given

to it in advaita. The word 'prAjna' has a meaning in mANDUkya upanishad

which is quite different from the dictionary meaning. All this is already

known to most members, but I am stating this only for the information of

beginners in advaita.

 

S.N.Sastri