#parinamavada

Bhedabhedavada, Advaita Vedanta & Svatantryavada

☀️THE INFLUENCE OF VEDANTA ON INDIAN THOUGHT HAS BEEN PROFOUND. ALTHOUGH THE PREPONDERANCE OF TEXTS BY ADVAITA SCHOLARS HAS IN THE WEST GIVEN RISE TO THE ERRONEOUS IMPRESSION THAT VEDANTA MEANS ADVAITA THE NON-DUALISTIC ADVAITA IS

BUT ONE OF MANY VEDANTA SCHOOLS. BRITANNICA-MATT STEFON

☀️ BHEDABHEDA -

(MONIER-WILLIAMS)

DISUNION AND UNION

DUALISM AND NON-DUALISM

☀️ BHEDABHEDA, SANSKRIT BHEDÄBHEDA ("IDENTITY AND DIFFERENCE") AN IMPORTANT BRANCH OF VEDANTA, A SYSTEM OF INDIAN PHILOSOPHY. ITS PRINCIPAL AUTHOR WAS BHASKARA, PROBABLY A YOUNGER CONTEMPORARY OF THE GREAT 8TH-CENTURY-CE THINKER SHANKARA OF THE ADVAITA (NONDUALIST) SCHOOL. THE MAINSTAY OF BHASKARA'S PHILOSOPHY WAS THE CONVICTION THAT ACTS AND KNOWLEDGE ARE NOT MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE BUT, RATHER, MUTUALLY REINFORCING.

IN CONTRAST, SHANKARA HELD THAT ULTIMATELY ONLY TOTAL RESIGNATION AND WITHDRAWAL FROM ACTS ARE NECESSARY TO ATTAIN RELEASE (MOKSHA) FROM REBIRTH (SAMSARA). AGAINST THAT VIEW, BHASKARA UPHELD THE DOCTRINE OF THE "CUMULATIVE EFFECT OF ACTS AND KNOWLEDGE" BRITANNICA

☀️SCHOLARS SUCH AS HAJIME NAKAMURA AND PAUL HACKER STATE THAT ADI SHANKARA DOES NOT ADVOCATE VIVARTAVADA AND THAT HIS EXPLANATIONS ARE "REMOTE FROM ANY CONNOTATION OF ILLUSION." ACCORDING TO THESE SCHOLARS. IT WAS THE 13TH CENTURY SCHOLAR PRAKASATMAN WHO GAVE A

DEFINITION TO VIVARTA AND IT IS PRAKASATMAN'S THEORY THAT IS SOMETIMES MISUNDERSTOOD AS ADI

SHANKARA'S POSITION.

ANDREW NICHOLSON CONCURS WITH HACKER AND OTHER SCHOLARS, ADDING THAT THE VIVARTA-VADA ISN'T SHANKARA'S THEORY THAT SHANKARA'S IDEAS APPEAR CLOSER TO PARINAMA-VADA, AND THAT THE VIVARTA EXPLANATION LIKELY EMERGED GRADUALLY IN ADVAITA SUBSCHOOL LATER. WIKIPEDIA

☀️ SVATANTRYAVADA

THE PRATYABHIJNA PHILOSOPHY OF SOMANANDA

REFUTES THE ARAMBHVADA (THE 'REALISTIC VIEW' OF THE NYAYA-VAISESIKA), THE PARINAMAVADA (THE THEORY OF TRANSFORMATION OF THE SANKHYA-YOGA AND THE VIVARTAVADA OF THE THEORY OF THE MANIFESTATION OF THE ADVAITA), BY POSTULATING THE THEORY OF SVATANTRYAVADA (THE 'UNIVERSAL VOLUNTARISM WHICH STATES THAT IT IS DUE TO THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD'S WILL THAT EFFECT EVOLVES FROM CAUSE

WIKIPEDIA

The Goddess

What is a mind-wave—

The rising of thought-energy—

Within our consciousness?

The mind, is, a subtle substance— How do we know? Because we can observe the mind, it is therefore subtly objective. Thoughts are objects or structures of consciousness. Within the mind-substance, movement occurs.

At the most subtle depth, there is simply vibration. The hum of aliveness. The pure mind immersed in consciousness sings “I AM.

Some may call this deeper level of mind, simply the HEART, it much subtler than the ordinary thinking mind.

But what is the cause of mind/thought movement?

The parinamavada view considers the observed substance of mind & its transformations materially real. Shakti & tantric teachings may lean towards the parinamavada view of material causality. Matter, matters. The Mother, matter is literal. Matter is not inert.

The Advaita Vedantic perspective is that of vivartavada, that the substance & its transformations is only apparently real, not actual; but Advaitins may also differ in interpretations of the said Upanishads discussing causation/cause & effect. Matter is considered inert.

There are other theories of cause as well. The Advaitic vivartavada view is popular, but the parinamavada view is an epistemologically earlier attempt to explain cause; substantiated by the Rig Veda.

As people come to the heart, they speak as they experience the reality & persons of different temperament may speak in these different ways. None of these expressions are wrong & no expression can fully contain the reality.

Vrittis are whirlpools, formed within the mind substance. As we see in Nature & natural phenomena, for example boiling water; and from modern science we know that movement leads to perturbation & eventually turbulence which then collapses into the universal spiralling of forces, the vortex of self-organising, far-from-equilibrium systems.

These spiral & wavy flows of the Forces of Nature, have long been associated with the Goddess. The Goddess is Nature, she is prakriti, the primal substance, ever-transforming in her creative dance.

Vivarta— in vivartavada, means the transformation of consciousness, either materially or apparently. Again, transformation, is the swirling, whirling, dancing Goddess.

And, altered states of consciousness, like bliss or ecstasy are the prerogative of the Goddess.

The world is impelled by Consciousness-knowledge. Refer to Atareya Upanishad 3.3 of Rigveda.

A natural desire, born of the heart. A sankalpa then, is a conception born in the mind-substance, that is a motive force that impels the creation process.

Forces of creation are always of the Goddess, desire is the world-making dance of Goddess.

Elucidation of relevance of Sanskara to come in a later post.

La realtà e il cambiamento

Il grande maestro T.K.V. Desikachar, nel suo libro Il cuore dello Yoga, afferma che:

Se ci atteniamo ai concetti yogici, tutto ciò che vediamo, sperimentiamo e sentiamo non è illusione; è vero e reale. Tutto è reale, compresi sogni, idee e fantasie. Anche l’avidya (errata comprensione) stessa è reale. Questo concetto si chiama satvada.

  Allo stesso tempo, se il mondo che ci circonda è reale, è…