The vedas acknowledge divine karma as the origin of all creation, preservation, and destruction. However, since God does not have desires, unlike humans, he is not constrained by them. In the first chapter of the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (1.6.1), we discover that karma is one of the three main causes of diversity, alongside name and form. The variety in names is a result of speech, and the variety in forms is a result of the eye, while the mind and body are the sources for the variety in actions. For every action, the body serves as the source, the controller, or the lord. Within the body, the mind, speech, breath, organs of action, and organs of perception are regarded as the primary deities who receive sustenance from the body and carry out their respective functions. Nevertheless, we cannot solely depend on them to combat the impurities and the malevolent forces that can infiltrate our body, as they are susceptible to evil and demonic influences, thoughts, desires, temptations,...
In deep sleep awareness there are two justifications of the existence of pure awareness or consciousness and non-existing 'I' awareness are contradictory, because if nothing is known in a state that means it would become an unconscious state. 'All states of experience, have for their object something that is marked by some characteristics'. Vedanta Desika on behalf of Visistadvaita position, raises a question regarding deep sleep 'whether or not there is any experience in that state?' and says 'if there be any experience, it will present itself as qualified by attributes; if there be no experience, what is it that manifests itself as indeterminate?' Actually the thing is self-consciousness is the essential and inseparable feature of consciousness. Self is a conscious subject, which never loses its selfhood i.e., 'Ahampratyaya'.
There is awareness of 'I' in the deep sleep but not pure consciousness is important in Visistadvaita philosophy. Therefore the individuality of the self that causes multiplicity is false notion and it can be replaced by the right knowledge of the self. As a result, individual self or jivatman emerges in the ultimate self, Paramatman i.e., Brahman. Consequently, in Sankara, there is no possibility forever lasting individuality, such as 'I' that would distinguish from the other. First criticism is concerning the 'egoity', which, is not the superimposed self.
This criticism is irrelevant, because in the meaning of pure consciousness, you cannot say 'I am consciousness'. The reason is that the pure consciousness is without subject and object; there can be only the subject-less and objectless self. Seksena reminds that there is no identification of these concepts in Advaita, with jiva the one which is still undergoing the experience of modifications. Nevertheless, there is no need of even discussing such consciousness, for the self cannot be apart of its awareness as 'I'. Self is not the knowledge but the subject of that knowledge.
Ramanuja says the non-intelligent ahankara or antahkarana could not become a knower. Ahankara is unconscious and there is no way the knowledge could become the agency of knowledge. Even the theory of egoity 'as a reflection of the pure self' as it is expounded by his opponent Sankara is possible. Consequently, it is asked, how the reflection of intelligence is imagined to take place? Whether consciousness becomes reflection of ahankara or ahankara becomes reflection of consciousness? Neither of these is impossible to become a knower; in the former alternative, the quality of being a knower is not allowed to consciousness; and in the latter, consciousness being non-intelligent cannot reflect ahamkara, the sense of 'I' which forms self of jiva.
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Jaya Jaya Shankara Hara Hara Shankara. This can be a part of academic discussion only unless there is a realisation as happened to Bhagwan Shri Ramana Maharishi when all theories dissolves into the Purshottam. In that state I object merges with the absolute I and only one I remains. The search is always on for "Who am I".
ReplyDeleteSarva Guruve namaha Sarva Gurubhyo namaha. Sarva Gurupadam Saranam. Only Guru can bless us for this realisation after which all theories also becomes irrelevant.