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Oppiliappan List Archive: Message 00093 Jul 2006

 
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Ramanuja quotes the sruthi texts to prove this point. 'Sa yaThA 
sainDHavaghanah anantharah abAhyah krtsnah rasaghana Eva, Evam vA arE 
ayam AthmA anantharh abAhyah krtsnah prajnAna ghana Eva, as  a piece 
of salt has no inner parts and outer parts but  the whole of it is of 
salt only ,similarly  this Athma has no inner and outer parts but the 
whole of it is pure intelligence, meaning a sentient principle 
only. 'Athra ayam purushah svayamjyothirbhavathi,' The Self, Purusha 
is self illuminated. Suthrakara also shows that AthmA is the knower 
by the suthra 'jnOatha Eva.' Therefore the AthmA who is svayamprakAsa 
is the knower. Perception cannot be AthmA.  The words samvid, 
anubhuthi and jnAnam are relative terms and there can be no 
perception without an object which is proved by experience.

Advaitin then says that anubhuthi is AthmA because it is ajada, 
sentient.  Ajadathva means it is cognised by its own existence and 
does not need another to illuminate it as in the case of things which 
are jada, insentient like a pot.  This lumonosity being the substance 
itself and not an attribute, is found even in a lamp which is not the 
AthmA. If on the other hand ajadthva means that which is always 
manifest, this characterestic is found in mental impressions like  
sukha and duhkha because when the feeling of happiness or sorrow 
arises it is always manifest. That is, one cannot say "I did not know 
that I am happy."

It may be argued that the sukha and duhkha do not manifest to 
themselves but to the Self only, and hence they are jada, but 
Ramanuja asks,' jnAnam vA kim svasmai prakAsathE? Thadhapi 
hyanyasaiva ahamarTHasya jnAtyuh avabhAsathE, aham sukhee ithivath, 
jAnAmyaham ithi.' Even the knowledge does not manifest to itself but 
onlyto the knower and the perception that 'I know' is similar to 
that  which is of the form 'I am happy.' Therefore ajadathvam does 
not imply svasmai prakAsamAnathvam, shining for itself. If ajada 
means what shines by itself by its mere existence  it refers only to 
AthmA which is not mere knowledge as claimed by the advaitin but  is 
the knower.

















 
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