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Vedanta (3 of 4)
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Subject: Vedanta (3 of 4)
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From: manish@cadence.com (Manish Tandon)
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Date: Thu, 16 Mar 1995 22:27:38 GMT
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Apparently-To: alt-hindu@uunet.uu.net
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From news@cadence.com Thu Mar 16 17: 18:18 1995
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Newsgroups: alt.hindu
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Organization: Cadence Design Systems, Inc.
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Sender: news@cadence.com
namo om vishnu padaya krishna prasthaya bhu tale
srimate bhaktivedanta swamin iti namine
om ajnana timirandhasya jnananjana salakaya
caksur unmilitan yena tasmai sri- gurave namah
om brahman satyam jagan mithya
Brahman alone is (formless and unmanifested)
The advaita-vadins say:
viShaya: "jivabhuta sanatanah" BG 15.7 only refers to the cause of the jivas
and not jivas themselves. Krishna is saying a portion of myself
alone which is eternal having become a jeeva (jeeva bhuta : bhu (bhav)
is the root - bhavati is becoming - bhuta is became.
To this we reply:
samSaya: panditye capalam` vacah (Srimad-Bhagavatam 12.2.4)
"In the Age of Kali, one who is very clever at juggling words will
will be considered a learned scholar."
The word "bhuta" directly means "element" or "entity" for example
"mahato bhutasya" (Brahad-aranyaka Upanisad 2.4.10) refers to "the
Great (mahato) Reality/Entity (bhutasya)" and not something "that
having become great" as per your argument.
And not to forget the pancha-bhutah, the five elements which will be
"having become five" as per your dogma.
So "jiva-bhutah" directly means "the element/entity jiva" and
concequently "mamaivamso jiva-loke jiva-bhutah sanatanah" means
"The living entity - jivas are My eternally fragmented particles."
In fact, Krishna explicitly says (in chapter 2) that they always
exist as seperate entities.
BG 2.12 na tv evaham jatu nasam na tvam neme janadhipah
na caiva na bhavisyamah sarve vayam atah param
"Never was there a time when I (aham) did not exist, nor you (tvam),
nor all these kings (janadhipah); nor in the future shall any of
us (sarve) cease to be."
Note the use of double negatives, duality (aham, tvam, janadhipah,
sarve) and eva - certainly.
The existence of individual soul (jiva) is confirmed in the sruti:
Svetasvatara Upanisad (5.9)
balagra-sata-bhagasya satadha kalpitasya ca
bhago jivah sa vijneyah sa canantyaya kalpate
"When the upper point of a hait is divided into one hundred parts
and again each of such parts is further divided into one hundred
parts, each such part is the measurement of the dimension of the
spirit soul (jiva)."
Mundaka Upanisad (3.1.9) reaffirms this:
eso 'nur atma cetasa veditavyo yasmin pranah panchadha samvivesa
pranais cittam sarvam otam prajanam yasmin visuddhe vibhavaty esa atma
"The soul is atomic in size and can be percieved by perfect
intelligence. This atomic soul is floating in the five kinds of
air (prana, apana, vyana, samana, and udana - in the body), is
situated within the heart, and spreads its influence all over the
body of the embodied living entities. When the soul is purified
from the contaminations of the five kinds of material air, its
spiritual influence is exhibited."
Clearly state that atomic soul "anur atma" [jivatma] resides in every
body and thus "One alone is" is directly denied.
And it is not a case of One space either because there we create the
boundries/walls and think that space is divided, but in case of
jivas/anur-atmas the division is eternal and is acintya. Whereas the
walls we create will be destroyed in the course of time anyhow, the
individual jiva's existence wont "na caiva na bhavisyamah" and the
reason being that space is just a manifestation of His inferior
energy and is therefore non-permanent but the jivas are His superior
energy "anyam prakratim viddhi me param - jiva-bhutam" (BG 7.5) and
He is the source "janmady asya yatah"!!
The transmigration and method of liberation is also clearly described
Katha Upanisad (2.2.7)
yonim anye prapadyante sariratvaya dehinah
sthanum anye'nusamyanti, yatha karma, yatha srutam
"Some souls enter into a womb for embodiment; others enter staitonary
objects according to their deeds and according to their thoughts."
Svetasvatar Upanisad (6.18)
tam he devam atma-buddhi-prakasam mumuksur vai saranam aham prapadye
"To that Lord who is lighted by His own intelligence, do I, eager for
liberation, resort for refuge."
And that Lord is Krishna or Govinda is also very clear
Gopal-tapani Upanisad (1.35)
"tam ekam govindam sat-cit-ananda-vigraham"
The nature of the effect is same as that of the cause, since Krishna
is "sat-cit-ananda vigraham" we, His amsas also are sat-cit-ananda
by nature. This is why Vedanta-sutra is based solely upon cause and
effect "hetu-madbhih".
For the soul there is no birth (coming into being) or death "na jayate
mriyate va kadacit; na ayam butva bhavita va na bhuyah" BG 2.20
Katha Upanisad (1.2.18) says the same:
na jayate mriyate va vipascin nayam kutascin na babhuva kascit
ajo nityah sasvato yam purano na hanyate hanyamane sarire
That this soul in the body of the living entity ('nur atma or jivatma)
is completly dependent upon the Lord is also very clear:
Svetasvatar Upanisad (3.20)
anor aniyan mahato mahiyan atma guhayam nihito'sya jantoh
tam akratum pasyati vita-soka dhatuh prasadan mahimanam isam
Explicitly says "dhatuh prasadan" - only through the grace of the Lord
can the embodied atma realize the greatness of Lord.
The Upanisads therefore clearly distinguis between atma/jivatma and
brahmn but the mayavadis fradulently claim the two to be same and
therefore they misinterpret the Bhrad-aranyaka Upanisad "yatra sarvam
atma eva abhut" to imply that brahmn (One) alone is!!
Yajnavalkya is speaking to his wife and it is very clear that he is
saying "yatra sarvam atma eva abhut" - "where the atma alone is" to
mean that she, he, etc. as in the body won't be, rather would exist
as atma because that's what we all really are, "anur-atmas"!!!
If there is only One, why would sruti explicitly use two diffirent
words "atma" and "brahman"?
Why is there "anur atma" if there is only One atma that pervades all?
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Epilogue: The advaitans should look at some reliable and unbiased sanskrit
dictionary as opposed to some mayavadi forgery which says that
the root of bhuta is bhav hence jiva-bhuta means have become jivas.
The jivas are sanatanah and their constitutional position is to
serve the Lord. There is no question of mukti by denial.
Thus ends Part 3 of Shankaracharya's puppet show.
*** Om namo bhagvate vasudevaya - janmady asya yatah ***
