DOCSLIB.ORG

S´Am.Kara's Advaita Ved¯Anta

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
S´Am.Kara's Advaita Ved¯Anta S´ AM. KARA’S ADVAITA VEDANTA¯ S´am. kara (c. 700 ce) has been regarded by many as the most authoritative Hindu thinker of all time. A great Indian Ved¯antin brahmin, S´am. kara was primarily a commentator on the sacred texts of the Vedas and a teacher in the Advaitin teaching line. This book provides an introduction to S´am. kara’s thought which takes this as a central theme. The author develops an innovative approach based on S´am. kara’s ways of interpreting sacred texts and creatively examines the profound interrelationship between sacred text, content and method in S´am. kara’s thought. The main focus of the book is on S´am. kara’s teaching method. This method is, for S´am. kara, based on the Upanisads’. own; it is to be employed by Advaitin teachers to draw pupils skilfully towards that realization which is beyond all words. Consequently, this book will be of interest not only to students and scholars of Indian philosophy, but to all those interested in the relation between language and that which is held to transcend it. J. G. Suthren Hirst is Lecturer in South Asian Studies at the University of Manchester. Her interest in teaching and learning at all levels informs her research on the Ved¯anta school of Indian philosophy, on Hindu texts and on gender and religion in South Asia and the diaspora. ROUTLEDGECURZON HINDU STUDIES SERIES Series editor: Francis X. Clooney, SJ The RoutledgeCurzon Hindu Studies Series, in association with the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies, intends primarily the publication of constructive Hindu theological, philosophical and ethical projects aimed at bringing Hindu traditions into dialogue with contemporary trends in scholarship and contemporary society, and with the particular concerns of Hindus living in India and abroad today. The series also invites proposals for annotated translations of important primary sources and studies in the history of the Hindu religious traditions. EPISTEMOLOGIES AND THE LIMITATIONS OF PHILOSOPHICAL INQUIRY Doctrine in M¯adhva Ved¯anta Deepak Sarma A HINDU CRITIQUE OF BUDDHIST EPISTEMOLOGY Kum¯arila on perception The ‘Determination of Perception’ chapter of Kum¯arila Bhat.ta’s. S´lokav¯arttika Translation and commentary John Taber S´ AM. KARA’S ADVAITA VEDANTA¯ A way of teaching J. G. Suthren Hirst S´ AM. KARA’S ADVAITA VEDANTA¯ A way of teaching J. G. Suthren Hirst First published 2005 by RoutledgeCurzon 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by RoutledgeCurzon 270 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10016 This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2006. “To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.” RoutledgeCurzon is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group © 2005 J. G. Suthren Hirst All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data A catalog record for this book has been requested ISBN 0-203-00192-3 Master e-book ISBN ISBN 0-415-35549-4 TO ALL THOSE FROM WHOM I HAVE LEARNED CONTENTS Series editor’s preface x Preface xii Acknowledgement xiii Abbreviations xiv Introduction: studying the teacher 1 Identifying the teacher 1 Method in studying S´am. kara 4 The shape of the study 8 1 The teacher himself 11 The views of S´am. kara’s pupils 11 The traditional lives 13 The quest for S´am. kara the teacher 17 S´am. kara’s major works 19 Questions of authenticity 22 Dating S´am. kara’s life 25 S´am. kara’s historical background 26 The rise of devotion 26 The intellectual climate 29 2 The need for the teaching 32 The human condition 32 The commentator’s task 36 Knowledge and ritual action 37 The fit pupil 41 The one to be known 45 vii CONTENTS 3 The source of the teaching 49 Methods of acquiring knowledge 49 The nature of scripture 52 N¯ar¯ayana,. founder of the teaching tradition 57 Interpreting scripture 59 On reason and personal experience 64 4 The methods of the teaching 69 The Upanisadic. basis of S´am. kara’s teaching methods 69 Questioning 70 Renunciation 74 Examples 76 Story 80 Interiorization 83 The framework of superimposition and elimination 85 5 The context of the teaching: the world of name and form 89 Ultimate and conventional truth 90 Origination stories 95 Name and form (n¯amar¯upa) 97 The clay–pot example 103 The rope–snake 105 Magician and magical illusion 109 Complementarity and mutual restriction 113 6 The context of the teaching: the Lord 116 The debate about the Lord 116 The higher and lower brahman 118 The Lord and the cosmos 123 The place of Vis.nu. 129 The context of the Lord 135 7 The language of the teaching 138 The wider context 140 Tat tvam asi (‘You are that’) in BSBh 4.1.2 141 Neti neti (‘Not thus, not thus’) in Br. Up Bh 2.3.6 143 Satyam. jñ¯anam anantam. brahma (‘Brahman is reality, consciousness, infinite’) in Tait Up Bh 2.1.1 145 viii CONTENTS Tat tvam asi (‘You are that’) in Upade´sas¯ahasri¯ Metric Chapter 18 151 8 The end of the teaching 161 The methods at work: S´am. kara’s commentary on the Taittiriya¯ Upanis.ad 161 Remaining problems? 168 Corrective readings 169 The culmination of the teaching 173 The supersession of the teaching 175 What remains? 176 Summarizing the argument 177 Is duality overcome? 180 The study of S´am. kara the teacher 182 Glossary 188 Notes 193 Bibliography 225 Index 236 ix SERIES EDITOR’S PREFACE The RoutledgeCurzon Hindu Studies Series, published in collaboration with the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies, intends primarily the publication of constructive Hindu theological, philosophical and ethical projects. The focus is on issues and concerns of relevance to readers interested in Hindu traditions in particular, yet also in the context of a wider range of related religious concerns that matter in today’s world. The Series seeks to promote excellent scholarship and, in relation to it, an open and critical conversation among scholars and the wider audience of interested readers. Though contemporary in its purpose, the Series recognizes the importance of retrieving the classic texts and ideas, beliefs and practices of Hindu traditions, so that the great intellectuals of these traditions may as it were become partners in the conversations of today. Deepak Sarma’s Epistemologies and the Limitations of Philosophical Inquiry, and John Taber’s A Hindu Critique of Buddhist Epistemology: Kumarila on Perception were fitting first volumes in this new Series. It is equally appropriate that Jacqueline Suthren Hirst’s S´am. kara’s Advaita Vedanta: ¯ A Way of Teaching is now published as a third volume. This book is about a key figure in a Hindu – Brahmanical, Advaita – tradition, the great seventh–eighth-century thinker named S´am. kara. Although he is often described as a philosopher or theologian, Hirst is right in describing S´am. kara’s unique contribution in appropriate apophatic language near the end of her study: ‘not untextual’, ‘not unphilosophical’, ‘not socially and politically ungrounded’, and ‘not ungrounded in experience’. Or to put it positively and in other words: S´am. kara is a teacher for whom texts, ideas, social context, and experience matter, all in relation to the dynamics of the teacher–student relationship. There is an enormous bibliography related to the work of S´am. kara, and anyone venturing to add to it today must manage both to appropriate the mass of prior interpretation and yet also to speak freshly. Hirst’s exceptionally integral appreciation of S´am. kara leads us on a tour of his major writings, his key insights, and also what has been said about him in India and in the West. All of this is fruitfully focused on the notion of S´am. kara as a teacher, an x SERIES EDITOR’S PREFACE identification that rings true in terms of the project evidenced in his writings and of the traditional appellation of him as S´am. kar¯ac¯arya, ‘S´am. kara the revered teacher’. To use pedagogical issues as the lens through which to see S´am. kara offers us a vivid sense of his whole project in terms of what it all is for. By a plan that will be accessible to the student not deeply familiar with S´am. kara’s works, yet sure also to hold the attention of scholars deeply familiar with S´am. kara and the key writings attributed to him, Hirst explores the key dimensions of the teaching dynamic: the need for teaching (Chapter 2), its source (Chapter 3), methods (Chapter 4), contexts (Chapter 5, name and form; Chapter 6, the Lord), its language (Chapter 7), and its culmination or end (Chapter 8). Hirst is consciously aware that her own book – along with her related articles and lectures – is itself a work of teaching, a reading of texts and a clarification of ideas that is also aimed at drawing the reader into the work of thinking through the Ved¯anta project of S´am. kara. S´am. kara’s Advaita Vedanta ¯ is an appropriately rich, reflective and fresh addition to the S´am.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Disclaimer: Please Note This Is Only a Raw Translation for the Purpose of Dec 2014 Parayan, Please Do Not Circulate Or Share
    Disclaimer: Please note this is only a raw translation for the purpose of Dec 2014 parayan, please do not circulate or share. Aptavani 3 [CH 7 ] A Series of Questions About the Self! Difference, Based on Veils of Ignorance! Questioner: Does the body exist on the basis of the Self (Atma) or does the Self (Atma) exist on the basis of the body? Dadashri: If the Self (Atma) is there, then the body „stands‟ (lives). Questioner: The Atma of an agnani (one without Self-realization), the Atma of a Gnani (One with Self-realization) and the Atma of One who has attained moksha (final liberation); what is the difference in the energies of these three? What can the Siddhas (absolutely liberated Ones) do? The omniscient One (Sarvagnya) can do whatever He wishes. Dadashri: The Atma of the agnani appears to be in bondage (bandhan), whereas the Atma of the Gnani is in freedom-bondage (abandha-bandha). From certain perspectives, it appears to be bound, and from other perspectives, it appears to be unbound. Whereas the absolutely liberated Ones (Siddha Bhagwanto) always remain free (abandha), they remain in moksha only. The absolutely liberated Ones are no longer in a position to „do‟ anything. Only One (Gnani Purush) with a body (dehadhari) can do whatever He wishes. The energy of the absolutely liberated Ones is completely developed, but it is of no use to anyone. Questioner: By its swabhaav (inherent nature), by its gunadharma (intrinsic properties that have a specific function), (the Self) is indeed the same; then on what basis is there a difference in the energies? Dadashri: That difference is on the basis of avaran (veil of ignorance).
    [Show full text]
  • June 1998 This Makes One Attain the State Of
    June 1998 This Makes One Attain the State of Vitaragata EDITORIAL The one who remains in a state of vitarag (absolute, as the Knower only) is able to make others recognize the state of vitaragata (total absence of attachment and abhorrence). Where in the world can true vitaragata be seen? If there is dehadhyas (belief that ‘I am the body), there is attachment-abhorrence, kashay (anger-pride-deceit-greed), then conduct full of attachment- abhorrence is only seen. Otherwise, if an example of vitaragata is present, then others like it will indeed follow! Vitaragata cannot be accomplished through efforts. It is when you see and identify such vitarag people that it begins to arise within you. In worldly life only greed-money-sexuality-illusory attachment-pride-prestige are to be seen. The societal influence has become so strong that one makes an effort only to move towards these things. Vitaragata cannot be acquired by running away from all of this into the jungle or deep into Himalayas. Vitaragata is an internal state, which remains in spite of being in worldly interaction. When One attains the Gnan (Knowledge of the Self), dweshbhaav (view of abhorrence) comes to an end becomes vitadwesh (free from abhorrence). No matter how much anybody insults or harms him, the intent of taking revenge within him has completely dissolved. And further, as one keeps settling every favorable or unfavorable circumstance or person with equanimity, the stage of vitaragata begins accordingly. Ultimately one enters the state of absolute vitaragata. In the present compilation of Gnani Purush Dadashri’s speech, different incidents of worldly interaction, detailing of the characteristics (lakshan) of vitaragi Purush (One who is absolutely enlightened) are described.
    [Show full text]
  • Kartikeya - Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia
    קרטיקייה का셍तिकेय http://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/k%C4%81rtikeya/index.html का셍तिकेय كارتِيكيا کارتيکيا تک ہ का셍तिकेय کا ر یی http://uh.learnpunjabi.org/default.aspx Kartikeya - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kartikeya Kartikeya From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Kartikeya (/ˌkɑrtɪˈkeɪjə/), also known as Skanda , Kumaran ,Subramanya , Murugan and Subramaniyan is Kartikeya the Hindu god of war. He is the commander-in-chief of the Murugan army of the devas (gods) and the son of Shiva and Parvati. Subramaniyan God of war and victory, Murugan is often referred to as "Tamil Kadavul" (meaning "God of Tamils") and is worshiped primarily in areas with Commander of the Gods Tamil influences, especially South India, Sri Lanka, Mauritius, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Reunion Island. His six most important shrines in India are the Arupadaiveedu temples, located in Tamil Nadu. In Sri Lanka, Hindus as well as Buddhists revere the sacred historical Nallur Kandaswamy temple in Jaffna and Katirk āmam Temple situated deep south. [1] Hindus in Malaysia also pray to Lord Murugan at the Batu Caves and various temples where Thaipusam is celebrated with grandeur. In Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, Kartikeya is known as Subrahmanya with a temple at Kukke Subramanya known for Sarpa shanti rites dedicated to Him and another famous temple at Ghati Subramanya also in Karnataka. In Bengal and Odisha, he is popularly known as Kartikeya (meaning 'son of Krittika'). [2] Kartikeya with his wives by Raja Ravi Varma Tamil காத
    [Show full text]
  • Three Texts on Consciousness Only
    THREE TEXTS ON CONSCIOUSNESS ONLY dBET Alpha PDF Version © 2017 All Rights Reserved BDK English Tripit aka 60-1, II, III THREE TEXTS ON CONSCIOUSNESS ONLY Demonstration of Consciousness Only by Hsüan-tsang The Thirty Verses on Consciousness Only by Vasubandhu The Treatise in Twenty Verses on Consciousness Only by Vasubandhu Translated from the Chinese of Hsiian-tsang (Taisho Volume 31, Numbers 1585, 1586, 1590) by Francis H. Cook Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research 1999 © 1999 by Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai and Numata Center for Buddhist Translation Research All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transcribed in any form or by any means —electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise— without the prior written permission of the publisher. First Printing, 1999 ISBN: 1-886439-04-4 Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 95-079041 Published by Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research 2620 Warring Street Berkeley, California 94704 Printed in the United States of America A Message on the Publication of the English Tripitaka The Buddhist canon is said to contain eighty-four thousand different teachings. I believe that this is because the Buddha’s basic approach was to prescribe a different treatment for every spiritual ailment, much as a doctor prescribes a different medicine for every medical ailment. Thus his teachings were always appropriate for the particu­ lar suffering individual and for the time at which the teaching was given, and over the ages not one of his prescriptions has failed to relieve the suffering to which it was addressed.
    [Show full text]
  • Jagadguru Speaks: Shankara, the World Teacher
    Jagadguru Speaks Page 1 of 2 Jagadguru Speaks: Shankara, the World Teacher There are many kinds of people in the world. Their life style is formed in accordance with their own samskaras . Only the one who can show all of them the way to lead a righteous life can be called a Jagadguru . There is no doubt that Adi Sankara was such a Jagadguru . Sankara gave upadesa in jnana to those who wished to tread the path of knowledge. In his works, he has given extensive advice on jnana . For those people who could not go along the jnana marga , he taught karma yoga . His valuable advice to chant the Vedas daily and do the prescribed karmas was meant for those following the path of duty. For those who were unable to follow this advice, he prescribed the way of bhakti . As he said, such people will find it useful to recite the Gita and Vishnusahasranama and think of Hari at all times. The paths of karma , bhakti and jnana are thus conducive to man’s welfare. Adi Sankara who prescribed these various yogas for all people is indeed worshipful. The very remembrance of him is bound to bestow good to all. file://C:\journal\vol1no3\jagadguru.html 9/7/2007 Jagadguru Speaks Page 2 of 2 With absolutely no doubt in my mind, I bow to Sankara Bhagavatpada who, like Lord Siva, was always surrounded by four disciples. file://C:\journal\vol1no3\jagadguru.html 9/7/2007 From the President, SVBF Page 1 of 2 From the President, SVBF Greetings.
    [Show full text]
  • The Realm of Enlightenment in Vijñaptimātratā: the Formulation Of
    THE JOURNAL OF THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF BUDDHIST STUDIES EDITOR-IN-CHIEF A. K. Narain University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA EDITORS Heinz Bechert Leon Hurvitz Universitdt Gottingen, FRG UBC, Vancouver, Canada Lewis Lancaster Alexander W. MacDonald University of California, Berkeley, USA Universite de Paris X, Nanterre, France B.J. Stavisky Alex Way man WNIIR, Moscow, USSR Columbia University, New York, USA ASSOCIATE EDITOR Stephan Beyer University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA Volume 3 1980 Number 2 CONTENTS I. ARTICLES 1. A Yogacara Analysis of the Mind, Based on the Vijndna Section of Vasubandhu's Pancaskandhaprakarana with Guna- prabha's Commentary, by Brian Galloway 7 2. The Realm of Enlightenment in Vijnaptimdtratd: The Formu­ lation of the "Four Kinds of Pure Dharmas", by Noriaki Hakamaya, translated from the Japanese by John Keenan 21 3. Hu-Jan Nien-Ch'i (Suddenly a Thought Rose) Chinese Under­ standing of Mind and Consciousness, by Whalen Lai 42 4. Notes on the Ratnakuta Collection, by K. Priscilla Pedersen 60 5. The Sixteen Aspects of the Four Noble Truths and Their Opposites, by Alex Wayman 67 II. SHORT PAPERS 1. Kaniska's Buddha Coins — The Official Iconography of Sakyamuni & Maitreya, by Joseph Cribb 79 2. "Buddha-Mazda" from Kara-tepe in Old Termez (Uzbekistan): A Preliminary Communication, by Boris J. Stavisky 89 3. FausbpU and the Pali Jatakas, by Elisabeth Strandberg 95 III. BOOK REVIEWS 1. Love and Sympathy in Theravada Buddhism, by Harvey B. Aronson 103 2. Chukan to Vuishiki (Madhyamika and Vijriaptimatrata), by Gadjin Nagao 105 3. Introduction a la connaissance des hlvin bal de Thailande, by Anatole-Roger Peltier 107 4.
    [Show full text]
  • Sanatana Dharma)
    Aarsha Vani (Voice of Sanatana Dharma) June 2019 Volume: 5 Issue: 05 GURUVĀṆI “The pseudo intellectuals with their extremist adaptations, labeled the culture and way of living in Bhārata dēśa, as Hindu Religion. Anything that is ‘Bhāratīya’ – all forms of knowledge, civilization, traditions, and customs etc., are termed as narrow minded, orthodox and uncivilized. But, the holistic and altruistic study of all the ancient and modern history across the world distinctly promulgate the great truth, ‘the one and only religion that has religious tolerance is the Hindu Religion’.” – Samavedam Shanmukha Sarma. INSIDE THIS ISSUE Dear Readers, Namaste. Scriptures declare that Lord Title Page# Brahma should be worshipped in this month 1 Kalau Gaṅgaiva Kēvalam 1 of Jyestha. ‘How to reach the abode of 2 Siva Padam – ippaṭṭidā sāmī! nī nā sambandhamu 2 Brahma’ explains the spiritual sadhana ṣṭ 3 Jyē ha: 2 required to attain Satyaloka. 4 Worship Brahma in the month of Jyēṣṭhā 2 Brahmasri Dr. Samavedam Shanmukha 5 Agni Tīrtham – Badarī Kṣētram 3 Sarma garu’s article on ‘Not to get into self- 6 ‘Future’ of Bhārata lies in it’s ‘Past’ 4 deception’, describing about religious 7 Garuḍa Mahā Purāṇa 5 conversions and the treacherous mindset of 8 Major Festivals in This Month 6 others, is thought-provoking and awakening 9 The Eternal - Vivāha Vyavastha 8 for moderates. Sadguru Sri Sivananda 10 Vandēhaṁ Śītalāṁ Dēvīṁ... 9 Murthy garu’s article to journey into the past and embrace it more, for a bright future is 11 Who can reach Satya lōka i.e. the abode of Brahma? 10 an eye-opener about the glorious culture of 12 Śiva jñānaṁ - Nīlakaṇṭhamaham Bhaje 11 Bhārata and the eternity of Sanatana 13 Hindu Dharma – Form, Nature of the Divine 12 Dharma.
    [Show full text]
  • Aptavani 13 Purvardh
    Draft Copy Disclaimer: Please note this is only a raw translation for the purpose of Dec 2015 Parayan Please do not circulate or share. Aptavani 13 Purvardh Table of Contents Dedication ........................................................................................................................................... 6 Editorial ............................................................................................................................................... 7 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................. 10 [1.1] How is the Prakruti Formed? ................................................................................................ 10 [1.2] Prakruti, is in the Form of a Result! ..................................................................................... 12 [1.3] Prakruti Unfolds In Accordance With How It Was Bound! ................................................. 13 [1.4] See the Prakruti as Flawless! ................................................................................................ 14 [1.5] The Various Inherent Natures of Prakrutis! .......................................................................... 15 [1.6] Control Over Prakruti Can Be Attained! .............................................................................. 16 [1.7] Cleanse the Prakruti This way! ............................................................................................. 18 [1.8] Knower-Seer of the Prakruti!
    [Show full text]
  • Jagadguru Sri Jayendra Saraswathi Swamiji an Offering
    JAGADGURU SRI JAYENDRA SARASWATHI SWAMIJI AN OFFERING ॎश्रीगु셁भ्योनमः P.R.KANNAN,M.Tech. Navi Mumbai Released during the SAHASRADINA SATHABHISHEKAMCELEBRATIONS of Jagadguru Sri JAYENDRA SARASWATHI SWAMIJI Sankaracharya of Moolamnaya Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham Kanchipuram August 2016 Page 2 of 152 भक्तिर्ज्ञानंक्तिनीक्ततःशमदमसक्तितंमञनसंतुक्तियुिं प्रर्ज्ञक्तिेक्ततसिंशुभगुणक्तिभिञऐक्तिकञमुक्तममकञश्च। प्रञप्ञःश्रीकञमकोटीमठ-क्तिमलगुरोयास्यपञदञर्ानञन्मे तस्यश्रीपञदपेभितुकृक्ततररयंपुमपमञलञसमञनञ॥ May this garland of flowers adorn the lotus feet of the ever-pure Guru of Sri Kamakoti Matham, whose worship has bestowed on me devotion, supreme experience, humility, control of sense organs and thought, contented mind, awareness, knowledge and all glorious and auspicious qualities for life here and hereafter. Acknowledgements: This compilation derives information from many sources including, chiefly „Kanchi Kosh‟ published on 31st March 2004 by Kanchi Kamakoti Jagadguru Sri Jayendra Saraswati Swamiji Peetarohana Swarna Jayanti Mahotsav Trust, „Sri Jayendra Vijayam‟ (in Tamil) – parts 1 and 2 by Sri M.Jaya Senthilnathan, published by Sri Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham, and „Jayendra Vani‟ – Vol. I and II published in 2003 by Kanchi Kamakoti Jagadguru Sri Jayendra Saraswati Swamiji Peetarohana Swarna Jayanti Mahotsav Trust. The author expresses his gratitude for all the assistance obtained in putting together this compilation. Author: P.R. Kannan, M.Tech., Navi Mumbai. Mob: 9860750020; email: [email protected] Page 3 of 152 P.R.Kannan of Navi Mumbai, our Srimatham‟s very dear disciple, has been rendering valuable service by translating many books from Itihasas, Puranas and Smritis into Tamil and English as instructed by Sri Acharya Swamiji and publishing them in Internet and many spiritual magazines.
    [Show full text]
  • Getting Real with Advaita Vedānta: Receiving Bradley J. Malkovsky's
    Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies Volume 31 Celebrating Rāmānuja at 1000: The Heritage and Promise of the Study of Rāmānuja Article 27 in a Christian-Hindu Comparative Theology 2018 Getting Real with Advaita Vedānta: Receiving Bradley J. Malkovsky’s Gifts of Grace Reid B. Locklin St. Michael's College, University of Toronto Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.butler.edu/jhcs Recommended Citation Locklin, Reid B. (2018) "Getting Real with Advaita Vedānta: Receiving Bradley J. Malkovsky’s Gifts of Grace," Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies: Vol. 31, Article 27. Available at: https://doi.org/10.7825/2164-6279.1704 The Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies is a publication of the Society for Hindu-Christian Studies. The digital version is made available by Digital Commons @ Butler University. For questions about the Journal or the Society, please contact [email protected]. For more information about Digital Commons @ Butler University, please contact [email protected]. Locklin: Getting Real with Advaita Ved?nta: Receiving Bradley J. Malkovsky Getting Real with Advaita Vedānta: Receiving Bradley J. Malkovsky’s Gifts of Grace Reid B. Locklin St. Michael’s College, University of Toronto I recently had the pleasure of spending time volume, through painstaking study of with Joël Dubois’s rich study The Hidden Lives Śaṅkara’s commentaries and significant field of Brahman.1 This work, I was delighted to work. But he also, just as importantly, places discover, begins on its first page with the himself in a lineage of great sages whose academic equivalent of a colophon with number includes our own beloved Bradley J.
    [Show full text]
  • Circularidad Cognitiva En La Filosofía Sāmkhya
    CIRCULARIDAD COGNITIVA EN LA FILOSOFÍA SĀMKHYA Juan Arnau Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (España) Recibido: 20-07-2012 Aceptado: 13-04-2013 Resumen: El artículo se dedica al análisis de las teorías cognitivas y la hermenéutica de la filosofía sāmkhya, uno de los seis sistemas ortodoxos de la tradición brahmánica. Para ello se utilizan como fuentes primarias dos textos sánscritos: la Sāmkhyakārikā (s. IV) y el Tattvakaumudī (s. IX). Tras una breve introducción, se analizan los componentes del mundo físico según el sāmkhya, la circularidad cognitiva en un mundo hecho de sensaciones, los problemas epistemológicos que esto plantea y algunas cuestiones acerca de la naturaleza de la conciencia. Palabras-clave: Sāmkhya; Filosofía sánscrita; teoría cognitiva; hermenéutica. Abstract: The article is dedicated to the analysis of the cognitive theories and hermeneutics of the Sāmkhya philosophical System, one of the six Orthodox systems of the Brahmanical tradition. For this purpose two Sanskrit texts are used as primary sources: the Sāmkhyakārikā (s. IV) and the Tattvakaumudī (s. IX). After a brief introduction, the article discusses the components of the physical world according to the sāmkhya, the cognitive circularity in a world made up of sensations, the epistemological problems posed by this and some issues about the nature of consciousness. Key-words: Sāmkhya, Sanskrit Philosophy, hermeneutics, Cognitive Theory. Preliminares. El primero de los grandes sistemas filosóficos del periodo clásico se debe al sāmkhya1, la llamada “escuela de la enumeración”. El prestigio del número, [1] Podemos encontrar referencias a esta escuela ya en las primeras upanişad (Chāndogya 800-600 a.EC), hasta las más tardías (Kat ha, Sêvetāśvatara 400-200 a.EC).
    [Show full text]
  • Did Sri Shankara Establish the Six Sects?
    1 Did Sri Shankara establish the six sects? (Translated to English from the original Kannada article https://adbhutam.files.wordpress.com/2021/06/shankara-shanmata-kan.pdf By Sri K.Sathyanarayana) There is a general belief that Sri Shankara BhagavatpAda established the six sects namely Shaiva, VaishNava, ShAkta, Soura, GANapatya and SkAnda. The dieties respectively worshipped in these sects are Shiva, VishNu, Devi, Surya, GaNapati and Skanda. The purport is that the followers of those sects may meditate on the respective diety as ParaBrahma and attain liberation. Sri Shankaracharya AshTOttara (108 names used to worship Shankara) contains the name to the effect that the Acharya established the six schools. But there is no direct mention of the fact in any well-known text. As such, there is also a school that says there is no relation at all between Sri Shankara BhagavatpAda and these six sects. In this article, we explore the relation between Sri Shankara BhagavatpAda and these six sects, mainly on the basis of PrasthAna traya BhAshya. Shaiva Sri Shankara has cited the ShvetAshvatara Upanishat in many contexts. One example: ‘ स कारण ं करणाधिपाधिपो न चास्य कधिज्जधनता न चाधिपः’ (श्व.े उ. ६ । ९) इधत च ब्रह्मणो जनधितारं वारिधत । Brahma sUtra BhAshya 2.3.9. This sentence states: ‘There is no prior cause for Brahman, whatsoever.’ In this Upanishat, Rudra is stated to be the Para Brahman, the cause for the universe. Here is an elaboration of this Upanishat on the aspect of Rudra being the Brahman: https://adbhutam.wordpress.com/2021/03/09/the-advaitins-shanti-mantra- shvetashvatara-up-and-a-glimple-of-the-shiva-purana/ 2 VaishNava: On several occasions in various BhAshyas, Sri Shankara has mentioned VishNu / nArAyaNa as Para Brahman: ‘ अति सक्षं पे धिि ं �णध्वु ं नारािणः सवधव िद ं परु ाणः । स स셍कव ाले च करोधत सवं सहं ारकाले च तदधि भिू ः’ इधत परु ाण े ; भ셍वद्गीतास ु च — ‘ अहं कृ त्स्नस्य ज셍तः प्रभवः प्रलिस्तथा’ (भ.
    [Show full text]