BY: SUN STAFF
Jan 4, CANADA (SUN) —
Tattva Sandarbha
by Srila Jiva Goswami
SECTION THIRTY-EIGHT
Moreover, if the upadhis are empirically real and thus limit Brahman (Pariccedavada), or if they are the medium of reflection for Brahman (Pratibimbavada), they cannot be abandoned merely by acquiring knowledge of oneness (of the jiva and Brahman). And if it is assumed that the influence of that Brahman will be the cause (in removing the upadhis), then their view agrees with ours.
Sri Jiva Toshani Commentary
Srila Jiva Gosvami exposes further defects in accepting the upadhis as empirically real. The monists hold that by becoming educated through the Sruti, the jiva becomes free from bondage to the upadhis. That is the meaning of the sruti statements:
tat tvam asi, "Thou art that"
tadatmanameva vedaham brahmasmi, "It knew Itself as, 'I am Brahman'" (Brihad 1.4.10)
tattvamasyadivakyebhyah jnanammokshasya sadhanam, "The means to liberation is the knowledge arising from dictums such as: Thou art that" (B.Naradiya 35.68)
brahmaveda brahmaiva bhavati, "He who knows that Brahman becomes Brahman" (Mundak 3.2.9).
tarati sokamatmavit, "The knower of the Self transcends grief."(Chan. 7.1.3)
Hence the Mayavada school claims liberation is achieved through knowledge and the scriptures seem to agree. Indeed the Sruti says, tameva viditva ati mrityumeti, nanya pantha vidyateyanaya (Svet. 3.8,5.15), "Knowing Him alone one transcends death, there is no other way to crossover." And in Bhagavad-gita (4.37) Lord Krishna says:
"As a blazing fire turns firewood to ashes, O Arjuna, so does the fire of knowledge burn to ashes all reactions to material activities." And again, in the fourth chapter, thiry-eight and thirty-ninth verses, the Lord says, na hi jnanena sadrisam pavitramiha vidyate, "Nothing is as purifying as knowledge"; jnanam labdhva param santimacirenadhigacchati, "Having attained this knowledge, he immediately attains the supreme peace".
In essence, the Mayavadis compare the jiva to man's baby that got lost at a city festival and was found by a poor man. As a result of this misfortune coupled with ignorance of his true identity the baby grows up in a humble setting as the child of that poor man. Later on the child is recognized by a servant of his father. As soon as he came to realize that he is the son of a wealthy man, all his poverty evaporates into nothingness. He did not have to toil hard to get rid of this poverty. In fact he was never really poor, just ignorant. Now, just having proper knowledge was sufficient to reverse the situation.
Another example: A person misplaces his watch, which is in his pocket. He searches for it all around, but without any luck. Finally, a friend comes along and sees the strap of the watch sticking out of the person's pocket and informs him, "Your watch is in your pocket". Immediately the person has the watch and his anxiety is relieved. Knowledge alone was sufficient to relieve his distress.
Similarly, the jiva is nothing but deluded Brahman. As soon as he understands this by hearing the Vedic canon, he becomes fully realized. He understands that Brahman is not far away from him, for he himself is Brahman. His only obstacle was ignorance, which is now removed by the Vedas. Of course for this the heart must be pure, for which Sripada Sankaracarya recommends a process called sadhana-catushtaya, or the fourfold practice.
According to Sankara, the Mahavakya, or the essence of all Vedic instructions, is tat tvam asi, "You are that (Brahman)". It emphasizes the oneness of the jiva with Brahman. But Brahman is all-pervading and all-knowing and the jiva is atomic and limited in knowledge, so how can they be the same? To this the Mayavadis reply that tat tvam asi is not meant to be explained in its primary sense, only in a secondary sense. Oneness between the jiva and Brahman is possible if their opposing qualities--all-pervasiveness and all-knowingness versus atomic size and limited knowledge--are dropped and only their mutual consciousness is accepted. This is called bhaga-tyaga-lakshana, or giving meaning by dropping a part of the word or a part of the qualities. When the upadhi that limits Brahman into a jiva, is dropped, then the state of oneness is realized. For this the guru instructs the disciple "tat tvam asi". Since the sruti statements cannot be meaningless, this is the only way to understand the mahavakya.
All this Srila Jiva Gosvami counters with the fact that even if one gets knowledge of oneness with Brahman, the upadhi, which is empirical reality, will not magically dissolve just by the sound of the Vedas. A man bound by chains will not become free just by meditating that his fetters are cut. A rabbit will not turn into an elephant just by meditating "I am an elephant, I am an elephant". Such an achievement is possible if the upadhi was apparent. Just as an intoxicated man may think himself president of the U.S.A., but when he sobers up he understands that he is just a simple office clerk. In the case of an empirical or real upadhi, the solution is not so simple. Mere knowledge is not sufficient to give the jiva liberation from Maya.
If knowledge alone was sufficient, why do the scriptures recommend various austerities, penances, and rituals for one's purification? The Mayavadis say these are preliminary steps for purifying the heart so that the practitioner becomes qualified to know the meaning of the sruti mahavakyas.
But according to the sastras, knowledge (vidya) and ignorance (avidya) are both products of Maya. So even if one gets rid of his avidya with the help of vidya by studying the Vedic verses, he is still bound by vidya. How will he do away with this upadhi called vidya? If he is not devoid of all upadhis he cannot realize Brahman, since Brahman is beyond both vidya and avidya. This Krishna explained to Uddhava in the Eleventh Canto of the Bhagavatam (11.11.3):
"O Uddhava, vidya (knowledge) and avidya (ignornace) which cause liberation and bondage to the human beings, are two primordial energies created by My Maya."
Mere knowledge of Brahman, therefore, cannot bring about liberation. On the other hand, surrender to Krishna will rid a person of the influence of Maya. Lord Krishna says this Himself in the Bhagavad-gita (7.14):
"This divine energy of Mine, Maya, consisting of the three modes of material nature, is difficult to overcome. But those who have surrendered only unto Me can easily cross beyond it."
The term 'vidya' means knowledge and devotion. In the Upanishadic statements such as 'tameva viditva ati mrityumeti' the word viditva (after knowing), really means "by being devoted to Him", having fully known His essence and not just getting knowledge without devotion. Lord Krishna also confirms this in the Bhagavad-gita (4.9):
"One who knows in truth the transcendental nature of My appearance and activities does not, upon leaving the body, take his birth again in this material world, but attains My eternal abode, O Arjuna."
Here the same root 'vid' (to know) has been used, but it means knowing with devotion. Material knowledge is a feature of Maya, whereas transcendental knowledge about the Lord is manifest by the illuminating power of bhakti, which is under the internal potency of the Lord. Spiritual knowledge, therefore, is inseperable from bhakti. Hence, among the nine types of devotional service, hearing, that is to say acquiring knowledge, is listed first.
A passage from the Sruti bears out this conclusion, the Brihad Aranyaka Upanishad. (4.4.21) states, vijnaya prajna kurvita, "After knowing, let him practice wisdom." Here the word used for wisdom, prajna, means the same as vidya and the sentence means, "After knowing Him, practice devotion." In the Bhagavad-gita (9.2) the Lord says, raja-vidya, "This is the king of knowledge." As is evident from the context, vidya is used here in the sense of devotion. Thus it is devotion and not mere knowledge that cuts the bonds of Maya, as confirmed in the daivi esa guna-mayi verse of Bhagavad-gita (7.14) and is confirmed later in Bhagavad-gita, (11.53-54) :
"The form you are seeing with your transcendental eyes cannot be understood simply by studying the Vedas, nor by undergoing serious penances, nor by charity, nor by worship. It is not by these means that one can see Me as I am. My dear Arjuna, only by undivided devotional service can I be understood as I am, standing before you, and can thus be seen directly. Only in this way can you enter into the mysteries of My understanding."
And to this, if the Mayavadis reply that it is possible for the jiva to remove all upadhis and become Brahman by the mercy of the all-powerful and benign Brahman, then Srila Jiva Gosvami, anticipating this plea, says, "We have netted you". The monists agree that Brahman is devoid of all attributes and potencies. If that same Brahman has now to bless the jiva, then It has to have some potency, namely mercy. But if the featureless Brahman has any potency at all, that conforms to the Vaishnava definition of Bhagavan as the Para Brahman, or the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In that case, Srila Jiva gosvami says, asmakameva mata-sammatam, "Their view matches ours". He has no objection to that. In Bhagavat Sandarbha He will prove that even for Brahman realization one needs to take shelter of the Supreme Lord.
Next, Srila Jiva Gosvami exposes the fallacies of the second option, the upadhis being unreal.
Go to Section Thirty-nine
Return to Section Thirty-seven
