Part 13-Experiencing Bhagavath Ramanuja Yatiraja's Divine Works

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Part 13 - Experiencing Bhagavath Ramanuja Yatiraja's Divine Works

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After ThirOdhAnAnupapaththi, Bhagavath Ramanuja continues in

VEdArtha Sangraha with avidyA-swarUpa-anupapaththi,

nivruthyanupapaththi, nivarthaka-anupapaththi,

jgnyAtranupapaththi, sAmagrIanupapaththi and proves that

Advaita of SrI Adi Sankara is untenable. Of these, the ThirOdhAnAnupapaththi

was outlined in the previous posting.

The other anupapaththis will be taken up at a later stage.

With this posting, we will conclude refuting Advaita in VEdArtha

Sangraha.

 

The Advaita's Eka-jIva-vAdam is also untenable. Advaita holds

that only one body (sarIram) is having the Brahman who has got

bewildered by avidyA and has wrongly identified himself as

jIva. The Brahman is dreaming and that dream (illusion) is

jagath. In that dream, the Brahman sees various animated bodies,

which are without jIva. The body in which the Brahman is present

and dreaming is the only body with jIva (which is the

avidyA-covered-brahman). This is the Eka-jIva-vAdam of Advaita.

Further to " explain " this, the Advaita gives an example -

" A person dreams. He sees various persons and things in the

dream. Those characters in the dream are only illusion and the

bodies of them who he sees in dreams are without soul. Only he

who dreams is the reality. When he wakes up, he realizes this " .

By telling this, Advaita stresses that " Brahma Satyam Jagath

mithyA " " Brahman is the truth and the universe is

falsehood-illusion " .

 

Someone questions Advaita " Which is that body having soul? "

Advaita escapes by telling " That body cannot be pointed out " .

 

" Ekasmin SarIrasya thathra jIvasathbhAvasya cha na

kaschidviSEsha: | asmAkam thu swapnE drushtuSSarIrasya

thasminnAthma-sadbhAvasya cha prabOdha-vElAyAmabAdhithathvAth,

anyEshAm SarIrANAm thathgatha-jIvAnAm cha bAdhithathvAth thE

sarvE mithyAbhUthA: swaSarIramEkam thasmin jIvabhAvaScha paramArtha:

ithi viSEsha: "

 

Bhagavath Ramanuja Yatiraja criticizes the above dogma of

Advaita as follows:

 

Advaita has argued that only the Brahman is truth (reality)

and the universe (all chit and achit entities) is mere illusion.

In other words, Advaita has said that the universe is only

because of avidyA-sambandam with Brahman. Just like a person

who wakes up, realizes that all he saw in his dream are mere

illusion, the abhEda-tatva-jgnyAna leads to the realization

that everything except the Brahman is unreal. Only he who woke

up is real. Similarly, the Brahman who wakes up because of

abhEda-tatva-jgnyAna alone is real. The universe is thus unreal.

This dogma and explanation of advaita is not only untenable but

also the dogma itself is not suitable for advaita. The

explanation follows:

 

Just like the animated bodies that appear in the dream of

Brahman vanishes on its waking up, the body in which the

Brahman got bewildered, as jIva has to vanish and also the jIva.

This is because, in advaita, the body of dreaming Brahman and

the jIva-bewilderment of Brahman is also unreal. Otherwise,

their Eka-jIva-vAdam loses validity and becomes futile.

Therefore, advaita's imagination of " only one body with soul

and all other bodies without soul " is not fit to be told before

scholars.

 

In the case of Visishtadvaita, the universe is real. Therefore,

the dreaming jIvAthman's body and the jIvAthman (soul) are real

even after the waking up of the jIvAthman. Therefore, the

Eka-jIva-vAdam of advaita is contradictory to its own key points.

 

" SonyamEva thathvam " ithi vAkyEna thasyApi bAdhithatvAth idam bhrAnthimUlam

vAkyam ithi chEth, " sath advithIyam brahma " ithi

vAkyamapi bhrAnthimUlamithi thvayaivOktham |

 

The advaita has attempted to establish " nirviSEsha chin mAthram

Brahma " from the SAstra - VEda which is also an illusion for them.

According to advaita, the SAstra imparts the knowledge that the

only reality is Brahman and makes the entire universe as

illusion-unreal. Also, Advaita says that the nirviSEsha chin

mAthram Brahma is not rejected by another vAdam. Very unfortunately

for Advaita, the madyamika-bowdhda has propounded " SonyamEva

thathvam " . The madyamika-bowdhda has not accepted even this

nirviSEsha chin mAthram Brahma and he tells that nothing is reality.

To refute this madyamika-bowdhda-vAdam, advaita says that the

mAdyamika-bowdhda's words are only because of " bhranthi " -

utter confusion and bewilderment and they do not have a basis.

 

Advaita too has to be now grouped in bowdhda because are they

not telling the SAstra also to be unreal? According to them,

the SAstra is also because of bhranthi. Then, how is it possible

for advaita to establish nirviSEsha Chin mAthram Brahma through

SAstra? If they accept the bhrAnti-mUla-SAstra to establish

nirviSEsha Chin mAthram Brahma, then the mAdyamika-bowdhda's

words, which are also bhrAnti-mUlam reject Advaita and

establishes " SonyamEva thathvam " . The " SonyamEva thathvam "

cannot be rejected by advaita because mAdyamika-bowdhda has

rejected everything. Therefore advaita-vAda totally loses

validity.

 

Bhagavath Ramanuja concluded this discussion by

stating Vada-anAdhikAra-varNana for Advaitins.

 

'sarva-SUnyavAdina: brahama-vyathiriktha-vasthu-mithyAthva-vAdinascha,

swapaksha sAdhana-pramANa-pAramArthyAnabhyupagamEna abhiyuktai: vAdAnadhikAra

Eva prathipAditha:

 

" SarvadA sadupAyAnAm vAdamArga: pravarthathE |

adhikArOanupAyathvAth na vAdE SUnyavAdina: || "

ithi'

 

The mAdyamika-bowdhda and the advaitins have no right in

doing SAstra-vichAram and vAdam. The mAdyamika-bowdhda has

told that everything is unreal. The advaitins told that

everything is unreal except the nirviSEsha chin mAthram brahma.

Both have not accepted the SAstra-VEda as real. Therefore,

the bowdhda and advaitins have no right to participate in

debates. Both are not vaidikas.

 

Bhagavath Ramanuja finishes this debate and conclusively

establishes that the universe is real. The Advaita of SrI

Adi Sankara is thus clearly proved to be against the VEda

and is untenable. Thus the SAnkara-pUrva-pAksham is totally

refuted and rejected.

 

In the next posting, we will briefly see the pUrva-pAkshams of

BhAskara and Yadava-prAkAsa before we take up the second part

of VEdArtha Sangraha, which is " swa-matha-vistAram " .

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To be continued.. .

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Thanks & Regards

M.S.HARI Ramanuja Daasan (mshari)

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