Guest guest Posted August 25, 2008 Report Share Posted August 25, 2008 Dear All, Namaste. I am with ajnana again. In the Vedanta Sara it is explained that ajnana has two powers. They are aavarana and vikshepa. vikshepa is seeing one thing as another. This is easily comprehensible. But, what is aavarana? VS explains in the following way: " Just as a small patch of cloud, by obstructing the vision of the observer, conceals, as it were, the solar disc extending over many miles, similarly ignorance, though limited by nature, yet obstructing the intellect of the observer, conceals, as it were, the Self which is unlimited and not subject to transmigration. " (VS, Trans by Sw. Nikhilananda, Pg 38) How the covering or aavarana happens? Also, The nimitta and Upaadana KaaraNas of the prapancha are these ajnana only. Can anyone explain this to me? If there is a posting regarding this already, please let me know the post number. With regards, Anupam. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 25, 2008 Report Share Posted August 25, 2008 But, what is aavarana? praNAms Hare Krishna Shankara in gIta bhAshya (13-2) uses the word *AvaraNAtmakatvAt* while explaining avidyA. Shankara further says it is tAmasa pratyaya pertaining to the intellect or antaHkaraNa. but it is a matter of regret that later vyakhyAnakAra-s explained it other way round and propagated the theory that avdiyA's AvaraNa shakti covers the brahman or our true svarUpa. Hari Hari Hari Bol!!! bhaskar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 25, 2008 Report Share Posted August 25, 2008 Dear Anumpam I have extracted the following from the " Introduction to Advaita Vedanta" from the web site www.advaita-vedanta.org for your information. This introduction covers all the jargons of advaita vedanta, as I already suggested you to go through. Subrahmanya UH There are two powers associated with mAyA - AvaraNa shakti and vikshEpa shakti. That power which covers the nature of paramAtman- Real, consciousness and blissful -is the AvaraNa shakti; that power which projects or superimposes the jagat over the Atman is vikshEpa shakti ( 'vikshipati' is to throw ). These two powers are the two faces of ajnyAna. AvaraNa shakti: As an example, a small or finite patch of cloud appears to cover the entire Sun from the sight of the seer. Similarly the ajnyAna, though limited, has the power to cover the infinite Atman by covering the intellect of the seer. AjnyAna is limited, inert and tamas. Atman is infinite, consciousness and full. How can such an ajnyAna cover the conscious Atman? The answer is in the example of the cloud above. The cloud does not have any effect on the Sun itself; the sun continues to shine. The cloud does not cover the sun, but the sight of the seer. Similarly, though the Atman is ever consciousness, the AvaraNa caused by ajnyAna, by covering the intellect prevents the jIva from the experience of the Atman. It is an apparent cover, impacting the seer and not the Atman. The jIva thus experiences doership, enjoyement, pain and pleasure etc. vikshEpa shakti: In the example of the rope and snake, the rope itself is the kArya of ajnyAna (rope itself is a superimposition due to ajnyAna). So in reality, the ajnyAna cannot cover the rope. What it is covering is the jnyAna of the seer. In the darkness, it not only covers the svarUpa of the rope (Brahman), but also superimposes a snake in the rope. This is the vikshEpa shakti. vikshEpa is that power by which the ajnyAna not only covers Brahman, the Reality, but also superimposes the jagat. - anupam srivatsav advaitin Monday, August 25, 2008 2:43 PM Aavarana and Vikshepa Shaktidvayam. Dear All,Namaste. I am with ajnana again.In the Vedanta Sara it is explained that ajnana has two powers. Theyare aavarana and vikshepa. vikshepa is seeing one thing as another.This is easily comprehensible. But, what is aavarana? VS explains inthe following way:"Just as a small patch of cloud, by obstructing the vision of theobserver, conceals, as it were, the solar disc extending over manymiles, similarly ignorance, though limited by nature, yet obstructingthe intellect of the observer, conceals, as it were, the Self which isunlimited and not subject to transmigration." (VS, Trans by Sw.Nikhilananda, Pg 38)How the covering or aavarana happens?Also, The nimitta and Upaadana KaaraNas of the prapancha are theseajnana only. Can anyone explain this to me? If there is a postingregarding this already, please let me know the post number.With regards,Anupam. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 25, 2008 Report Share Posted August 25, 2008 AvaraNa shakti: As an example, a small or finite patch of cloud appears to cover the entire Sun from the sight of the seer. Similarly the ajnyAna, though limited, has the power to cover the infinite Atman by covering the intellect of the seer. AjnyAna is limited, inert and tamas. Atman is infinite, consciousness and full. How can such an ajnyAna cover the conscious Atman? The answer is in the example of the cloud above. The cloud does not have any effect on the Sun itself; the sun continues to shine. The cloud does not cover the sun, but the sight of the seer. Similarly, though the Atman is ever consciousness, the AvaraNa caused by ajnyAna, by covering the intellect prevents the jIva from the experience of the Atman. It is an apparent cover, impacting the seer and not the Atman. The jIva thus experiences doership, enjoyement, pain and pleasure etc. praNAms Hare Krishna Bit free time at office...Hence continuous mails :-)) I think there is a problem (flaw !!??) in the above explanation...first it is said avidyA's avaraNA shankti has the power to *cover* the infinite Atman...and in explanation it's been said that it is covering the intellect of the seer...So, it is absurd to say avidyA has the power to cover the infinity...It can only cause the problem to the seer of the sun..it does not anyway mean that sun is covered by cloud...IMO, when it is clear that cloud is the obstacle in the way of seer, that obstacle pertains to ONLY seer not to the sun who is millions of light years away from the piece of cloud...In the dAshtrAntika, if we say brahman/consciousness is covered by avidyA AvaraNa shakti, this shakti cannot be destroyed by any amount of effort by jIva coz. this ajnAna is sticking to brahman itself :-)) So, to be on the safer side, it is better to say that there exists ignorance in our indriya/ antaHkaraNa with regard to outer objects..When we have the knowledge of that object we say that knowledge arised in my mind & my ignorance is gone...This is very much in our lOkAnubhava (day to day experience) & yukti sammata (logical)...No one say that when I know the object /thing the encompassed or covered avidyA on that thing is removed...this is quite absurd... Moreover, if we strictly go by shankara vedanta, avidyA is not a shakti. The word shakti of brahman which sometimes shankara calls as *mAya* which in turn conjured up by avidyA (avidyAkalpita)... Hari Hari Hari Bol!!! bhaskar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 25, 2008 Report Share Posted August 25, 2008 Dear Sri Subramanya ji and Bhaskar Ji, Namaste. Thanks for the responses. I understand the simile of cloud and the sun that is given in the text. But, my question is that the vikshepa shakti causes dualities, whereas the non-dual Brahman is the only Truth. What is the role of aavarana shakti in this case? I am unable to find any role of it anywhere. For Example: Brahman + vikshepa shakti = duality Brahman + aavarana shakti = ????? With regards, Anupam. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 25, 2008 Report Share Posted August 25, 2008 advaitin , " anupam srivatsav " <anupam.srivatsav wrote: > > Dear Sri Subramanya ji and Bhaskar Ji, > > Namaste. Thanks for the responses. > I understand the simile of cloud and the sun that is given in the > text. But, my question is that the vikshepa shakti causes dualities, > whereas the non-dual Brahman is the only Truth. What is the role of > aavarana shakti in this case? I am unable to find any role of it > anywhere. praNAms Anupam-ji, Clouds do two things: hide the Sun and make us believe something else is the Sun. Remember that when the Sun is present, we do not imagine something else is the Sun. The former power is called aavaraNa and the latter vikshepa. They are considered as the two powers of maya/avidya. For us seekers, aavarana is always present in all three states: waking, dreaming and dreamless-sleep. But vikshepa is present only in the first two, while the the dreamless-sleep contains only pure aavaraNa. In mandukya upanishad, the former is called ignorance. The latter is called error. praNAms to all Advaitins Ramakrishna Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 25, 2008 Report Share Posted August 25, 2008 Anupamji - praNAms Here is my understanding. Vishepa shakti as you have identified is the projecting power of maaya at the total level and avidya at local level. aavarNa shakti - is clouding the understanding that I am the one who is projecting this entire unvierse at global level or at local level as in dream. When I am dreaming I forget that I am the one who is projecting using my waking mind the dream world of plurality and take myself to be tiny subject in my own dream and look the dream world separate from me. That is the ignorance that I do not know who I am and because of this avaraNa, I take myself to be local entity - jiiva at the waking state and dream subject in the dream state and sleeper in the sleep state - that is called moha or delusion. Illusion is vishepa - projeting many - delusion is taking the projeced plurality is reality and that is aavarana and occurs due to as though covering my knowledge of who I am. All the discussion of course is at the level of jiiva or the one who is clouded. From Brahman point there is neither illusion nor delusion. From Iswara point one can look at it as his vaibhavam or leela vibuuti. Hari Om! Sadananda--- On Mon, 8/25/08, anupam srivatsav <anupam.srivatsav wrote: anupam srivatsav <anupam.srivatsavRe: Aavarana and Vikshepa Shaktidvayam.advaitin Date: Monday, August 25, 2008, 8:38 AM Dear Sri Subramanya ji and Bhaskar Ji,Namaste. Thanks for the responses.I understand the simile of cloud and the sun that is given in thetext. But, my question is that the vikshepa shakti causes dualities,whereas the non-dual Brahman is the only Truth. What is the role ofaavarana shakti in this case? I am unable to find any role of itanywhere.For Example:Brahman + vikshepa shakti = dualityBrahman + aavarana shakti = ?????With regards,Anupam. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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