MahAsiddhAntha- The Great Final decision.
1. The argument that Brahman is nirvisesha is criticised.
Ramanuja dismisses the whole puirvapaksha argument
as 'anAdharaneeyam, unsupported by any pramaANa. Brahman, NarAyaNA,
is the oupanishadhaparamapurusha, the Supreme being, described by the
upanishads, which say 'yamaivEsha vrNuthE thEna labhyathE, the Self
is attained only by those who are chosen by Him. The arguments of
those who are devoid of the guNavisesha, that is, bhakthi, by which
they become qualified to be chosen, who lack the knowledge of the
purport of the sruthivaAkyas and the implication of the means of
knowledge, pramANas, is kutharka, illogical and hence to be dismissed.
All pramAnas have saviseshavasthu, something with attributes only as
their object. So there can be no valid means of cognition for
perception without attributes, nirviseshaprathyaksham. Visesha is
what separates a thing from other things. In the example of blue
lotus, blueness is what separates the lotus from red lotus for
instance. Similarly the lotus separates its blueness from others like
that of the sea or sky. So when a thing is perceived, it is the
attribute which causes its perception as distinct from other things
and which is exclusive to that object. Actually attributelessness
itself becomes an attribute because there can be no valid knowledge
otherwise. All perceptions ae in the form 'I saw this ' which
necessitates a perceiver and an object perceived. Both being viseshas
the perception is savisesha only.
If the perception which is savisesha is to be proved to be nirvisesha
by any syllogism, the hetu must be something which is found only in
brahman. As in the syllogism 'the mountain is fiery because it has
smoke,' the smoke is the hethu which is associated with fire only and
always. In Brahman therefore there must be some hetu which is present
in Brahman only and always. If the advaitin can supply such a hethu
it becomes an attribute and not identical with Brahman.
It cannot be said that when the Brahman is proved with this attribute
to be nirvisesha, this visesha ceases to exist along with the other
viseshas as it is not tenable. If this attribute disappears Brahman
cannot be proved to be nirvisesha. Hence the existence of a
attributeless entiity cannot be proved.
Perception cannot be separated from the perceiver and the
perceived.It shines only by making the thing perceived by the
perceiver.Anubhuthi as maintained by the advaitin to be self
illumined not dependent on anyhting else, is thus disproved.
Ramanuja says that he will prove that even in sleep and swoon there
is only savisesha anubhuthi. When it is said that the anubhuthi is
eterna, it becomes savisesha having eternity as its attribute. Thus
it is proved that anumana or inference through arguments, cannot be
the pranANa to prove nirviseshathva of Brahman.It remains however to
examine the other pramANas , namely sabda and prathyaksha to prove
that all perception is only savisesha..
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