Chapter 1 General Introduction
1-2 PramAna VedAnta accepts six sources of knowledge called PramAna. Direct perception: Sense organs directly perceive and give information. Inference: It is an indirect knowledge of something not in the range of direct perception. There is knowledge of fire when smoke is seen. Presumption: Knowledge about something in the past by directly perceiving something different in the present. On seeing a wet street in the morning, there is knowledge of rain in the night. Comparison: It is knowledge of something derived by comparison. There is knowledge of a wild buffalo in the forest because it resembles the buffalo seen in the village. Non-cognition: Knowledge of the absence of something by non-cognition. Seeing a chair in a room gives the knowledge of the absence of an elephant in the room. Testimony: It is knowledge derived from written or spoken words. I read a Physics book Physics to get the knowledge of laws of motion.
Bhagavad Gita (Topic-wise)
Bhagavad Gita (TW) was self-published last year on Amazon. It was also posted on AV in a series of 26 parts. Part 1 Part 26 Each part has links to the preceding and the succeeding part. After completing the series, there was scope to improve the published book. The second edition has been self-published recently (on Kindle).
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Advaita in the Vedas – Rig Veda 6.47.18
There is a verse in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad which says,
Indra, through Maya, appeared as many forms. [1]
It has been quoted by both Gaudapada and Shankara to illustrate how, through the illusion of Maya, Brahman appears as many. With knowledge of Advaita, this illusion is dispelled.
The full verse says,
He shifted shape to match every shape, to manifest his shape. Indra, through Maya, appeared as many forms. his horses, hundreds and ten, are yoked.
Though quoted in Advaita literature, the verse is, itself, a quote — from the Rig Veda [2].
‘nididhyAsana’ – as Shankara explains – 2/2
Putting together 4.1.2, BSB and 1.1.6, muNDaka bhAShya, we can draw five conclusions from bhagavatpada prasthānatraya bhAShya prakriyA as given below:
- It is possible to get the Knowledge of the Self in just one hearing of the Vedic statement ‘That thou art’. But, to achieve this it has to be a highly eligible seeker.
- Those who have but a vague idea of the meaning of a text on hearing it once do come to shed their various misconceptions and understand it rightly after repeated hearings.
- There are some for whom the meanings of words ‘that’ and ‘thou’ are obscured by ignorance, doubt and misunderstanding. In their case merely hearing the text ‘That thou art’ will not yield Knowledge of its True meaning. A seeker can only understand the meaning of the sentence after understanding the meaning of the words in it. In case of such people, repeated hearing followed by reasoning upon them is needed to first get the true meaning of words.
- The Knowledge gained by the most well-qualified in one hearing and that gained by another seeker over repeated hearings is not different; i.e. there isn’t anything more to be done by either of them. Because gaining the Knowledge itself is “gaining” the Self (unlike in karma kANDa where knowledge about a ritual which bestows heaven will not by itself take the seeker to heaven. After knowing, the seeker has to perform the ritual and body has to fall off in course of time. Only after that, s/he may be taken to heaven).
- For most highly qualified seekers all it takes is one hearing alone. For the remaining seekers (including Svetaketu Aruni) it needs repeated attempts. But in every attempt what is needed is shravaNa+manana+nididhyAsana combined together.
Eight Upanishads (Topic-wise) Part1
It is a series of eight chapters. Chapter 1 General Introduction Chapter 2 Eight Upanishads- Introduction Chapter 3 Jagat Jiva Isvara Chapter 4 Bandha Chapter 5 Preparation Chapter 6 Jnana and Moksha Chapter 7 Brahma Sutra Bhasya Chapter 8 Vedic Practices
Chapter 1 General Introduction
1-1 Why should Upanishad be studied? A brief answer should suffice at this stage. The Upanishads, also called Vedanta, form the end parts of Vedas and contain Vedantic teaching. The Upanishads are one of the Trai-Prasthanas, the other two are Bhagavad Gita and Brahma Sutra. Trai means three and Prasthana means to go. It is held that to know the truth, one must take recourse to the said three scriptures. Upanishad is Sruti (revealed) Prasthana, Gita is Smriti (remembered) Prasthana and Brahma Sutra is logic (Nyaya) Prasthana. Brahma-sutra provides the logical foundation for Upanishadic teachings. Shankaracharya has written a commentary (Bhasya) on Brahma Sutra.
‘nididhyAsana’ – as Shankara explains – 1/2
[“nididhyAsana” is a very important and popular term in Advaita Vedanta. Every teacher tends to give his or her own interpretation of what it means as per his/her understanding and/or the philosophical school s/he belongs to. A sincere seeker in Shankara tradition, however, would like to know what “nididhyAsana” stands for according to Shankara.
To answer this, Shri Michael Ji kindly collected Shri Prasanth Neti Ji’s comments from several separate posts on the subject and turned them into a single post at the FB SAV Group. I feel it provides an authentic picture of how Shankara himself explicates the term. Both Shri Prasanth Ji and Michael Ji have been very generous in letting me post the Article here. I trust the Readers will find this post interesting and useful – ramesam.]
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Maitreyi asks her husband, Sage Yajnavalkya: Continue reading
Advaita in the Vedas – Rig Veda 4.27.1
Following on from the last post, another of Vamadeva’s mantras from the Rig Veda is quoted in the Upanishads:
It was said by the ṛsi:
“While in the womb I fully knew
The births of all the gods.
A hundred citadels of iron surrounded me.
A hawk, I flew out with speed.”
Vāmadeva said that while lying in the womb. [1]
The mantra in question is Rig Veda 4.27.1. Because of it, Vamadeva is sometimes known as a rishi who became liberated in the womb. However, this is not the full picture of the verse. For one, we have no explanation for why and how he became liberated.
Looking at the symbolism in the mantra shows its deeper truth and how Vamadeva “became immortal” through knowing Brahman [2]. Continue reading
Q.551 – Illusoriness of the world (again)
Q: Why exactly is the world considered illusory? In what sense is it illusory?
Objects change their form and so the form is unreal. We have ideas about objects but these are unreal being imagination only. The whole subjective world with a person as its center is born of imagination.
I can see that objects including the body-mind appear in this field of awareness and everything functions by itself. But the differentiation still exists. There is awareness and also its contents. So how are they illusory? Is it because they are dependent on awareness?
A: Advaita does not say that the world is illusory. (This is a mistranslation by some modern teachers.) Nor is it ‘imaginary’. The world is mithyā, which means that it derives its existence from Brahman. It is ‘name and form’ of Brahman just as we can say that a chair is name and form of wood.
Continue readingBhagavad Gita (Topic-wise) Pt26
7 Summary 2(13,15,16,22,46), 4(9,10,15 to 25,35 to 38,41,42), 6(45 to 47), 18 (62 to 66)
7-1: 2(13,15,16,22,46) Fear of death is common. Death happens when the subtle body leaves the gross body making it insentient. The subtle body has the property to manifest consciousness which the gross body lacks. Sri Krishna says that death is a change of state like a transition from childhood to youth, youth to old age, and from old age to death. After leaving the gross body at the time of death, the subtle body takes up a new gross body according to karmic law. It is rebirth as an infant. This transmigration of the subtle body is blessed by the all-pervasive Atma. In this sense, it is said that as a man discards worn-out clothes and wears new clothes, Atma discards the old body and takes up a new body. Knowing this cycle, a wise person is not deluded. Life is a flow and changes are inherent, such as hot-cold, pleasure-pain. It is a choiceless situation. As such, a person should endure them and need not unnecessarily suffer from agony and mental disturbance. He can then take up the spiritual path, gain knowledge, and be liberated.
Advaita in the Vedas – Rig Veda 4.26.1
If we have read the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, we may have come across the mention of a rishi named Vamadeva, who is said, upon realising Brahman, to have “become Manu and Surya”. They feature in 1.4.10,
In the beginning, Brahman was this. It knew only itself: “I am Brahman.” Through that it became all. Whichever of the devas woke up to it became that; whichever of the rishis, likewise; whichever of human beings, likewise. Seeing that, the rishi Vamadeva realised: “I have become Manu and Surya too.”
Why was Vamadeva’s statement considered significant enough to include and explain in the Upanishad? How does saying he has “become Manu and Surya” signify realisation of Brahman?