You are here: SriPedia - Oppiliappan - Archives - Jul 2006

Oppiliappan List Archive: Message 00030 Jul 2006

 
Jul 2006 Indexes ( Date | Thread | Author )
[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next]


Sabda,verbal testimony likewise cannot be the pramANa for nirvisesha 
brahman.Verbal testimony here means sruthi texts quoted by the 
advaitin  to prove his point. Verbal testimony consists of words and 
sentences. Words have two parts, prakrthi, root  and prathyaya, 
termination which, having different meanings  join to denote only a 
savisesha object.n\ (All named things,abhidheya, are savisesha only 
as a nirvisesha vasthu cannot be denoted by words or sentences 
without giving it a definition in which case it becomes savisesha.) 
Therefore nirvisesha brahman cannot be proved by sabda.

Ramanuja dismisses prathyaksham also as a means of knowledge of  
nirvisesha vasthu. All perception reveals only an object which is 
savisesha.Advaitin may say that this is so only in 
savikalpakaprathyaksham, determinate perception, but in 
nirvikalpaprakathyaksham, indeterminate perception show only the 
object as nirvisesha. Ramanuja disagrees and says that even that can 
show only object with visesha. The opposite has never been 
experienced. Any perception is only of the nature 'idham ittham, this 
is such and such.' When a cow is perceived it is perceived with its 
form, dewlap etc. to differntiate it from othe objects like horse.No 
perception is  experienced otherwise.

Then, advaitin may question, what is the meaning of the term 
nirvikalpaka prathyaksham? Ramnuja answers thus:
Nirvikalpakaprathyaksham occurs when there is the first perception of 
the object ,say, cow. When another cow is seen the knowledge of jati, 
class is known with a knowledge that any object belonging to the 'Go' 
jati will look like this and then the form of a cow ,having 
triangular face, dewlap etc. are known to belong to the class of 
cows. Even though the form is perceived at first it is not known to 
be common to all objects of that class and hence it is called 
nirvikalpaka, indeterminate perception. With the perception of the 
jati and viseshas like triangular face, dewlap etc  it becomes 
savisesha. Hence only the subsequent perceptions are savisesha and 
the first one is nirvisesha.Therefore attributelessness can never be 
the object of perception.

Ramnuja here proceeds to show that even the bhedhAbhedhavAdha of 
Bhaskara is untenable.The latter professes that the jati and other 
attributes are both separate and not separate. When the cow is  seen 
as belonging to the class of cows, the jati is not viewed as separate 
from the vyakthi,cow, but is different when the cow is seen as an 
object by itself. Ramanuja refutes this saying 'sarvathra 
viseshaNviseshyabhAva prathipatthou thayoh athyanthabhEhdhah 
prtheethyaiva suvyakthah.' The viseshaNaviseshyabhAva, the relation 
of attribute and substance makes it clear that there is absolute 
difference between the two, which is explicit from their perception 
itself. When an object is perceived as ' idham ittham,' this is such 
and such, the idham aspect denotes the object and the ittham aspect 
exhibits its attributes. So the two are undoubtedly different and 
cannot BE claimed to be identical..

the followers of BhAskara may argue that in which case there will not 
be any difference between the attributes denoting possession like 
dhandee, one with a staff, kundalee, one wearing kundala  and those 
denoting jati etc.  Ramanuja replies that the attributes adhering 
through possession have a separate existence whereas the dewlap etc. 
do not exist separately from the entity, cow.

Hence nirvisesha cannot be proved by perception, inference or verbal 
testimony. Trying to prove nirvisesha through proving that all 
viseshas are not perceived, is like the statement that one's mother 
is a barren woman. 
 
        




  










.        
        
        
        

        

.
























------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> 
Yahoo! Groups gets a make over. See the new email design.
http://us.click.yahoo.com/XISQkA/lOaOAA/yQLSAA/XUWolB/TM
--------------------------------------------------------------------~-> 

 
Yahoo! Groups Links

<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Oppiliappan/

<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
    Oppiliappan-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
    http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
 




[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next] [Date Index ] [Thread Index ] [Author Index ]
Home Page
http://www.ibiblio.org/sripedia
oppiliappan-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
To subscribe to the list