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

Oppiliappan List Archive: Message 00055 Jul 2006

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




The argument that sense perception shows only'sat' is criticised.
 
Sense perception does not show mere existence in which case all perceptions 
will be of the same thing. But we see things differently as 'this is a 
pot,;'this is a cloth,' etc.  When a thing is perceived its jati is also 
perceived so that there is no doubt about either the entity or its jati. If 
only the existence is perceived how can one proceeding to buy a buffalo returns 
empty handed on seeing only a cow there, asks Ramanuja. Moreover, seeing a 
horse the cognition that this is not an elephant arises out of the memory of 
having seen an elephant to be different from a horse. Besides if all 
perceptions see only the existence then a man who is blind can see with his ear 
and the deaf can hear with his eye etc..because the sense preception is the 
same and there is no bhedha between that of the eye and the ear.
 
Then Ramanuja proceeds to show that 'sat,' that is, existence alone does  not 
become the object of any  sense organ. The eye sees an object possessing 
colour,rupa, the ear hears the sound as being the attribute of the object 
heard, the skin cognises the particular touch of the object.
 
If Brahman, nirvisesha chinmathra, can be perceived as 'sat,' it becomes an 
object of perception that belies the declaration of the vedas that Brahman is 
athindhriya, beyond cognition by senses. Sruthi says, 'yathO vAchO nivarthanthE 
aprApya mansA saha,' (Kena.)  Brahman will then cease to be self-proved and 
will become prameya, known, which makes it jada, insentient and nAsya, 
perishable as according to advaitin that which is prameya, object of cognition, 
is so.
 
Therefore,says Ramanuja: 
'vasthusamsTHAnarupajAthyAdhilakshaNabhedhavisishtavishayameEva pratyaksham.' 
That is, the perception is of a thing distinguished by the attributes like 
jati, form,colour etc. only.
 
Advaitin's contention that since 'sat' alone is perceived as being common to 
all objects, the visesha, difference,being not perceived as we go from one 
object to another and hence apAramArthya,  not real, is criticised by Ramanuja. 
We say that one knowledge is sublated by the subsequent knowledge when there is 
conflict between the two as in the case of rope and the snake. But in seeing 
one object after another there is no conflict.The bheda, difference between the 
rope and the snake vanishes when the knowledge of the rope arises because both 
cannot exist at the same place and time. But when we see a pot and a cloth 
subsequently the presence of one does not exclude that of the other. So the 
difference of a pot from a cloth and vice versa still persists. If 'sat' is 
said to be real because it is found in every perception, and by 'sat' the 
advaitin means the sattha, existence in general, such inference requires no 
proof as in the case 'I exist because I live.' If 'sat refers to the existence 
of the particular thing perceived then the hetu, reason given,that it is found 
in all perceptions is not tenable because the existence found in a pot is not 
that of a cloth.
 
The advaitin says that the perception, anubhuthi is real because it is found in 
all experiences and hence there can be no vishayavishyibhava, object-subject 
relatinship  between anubhuthi and 'sat'. therefore anubhuthi is 'sat.' Here it 
should be remembered that the term 'sat' and Brahman,are synonymous and denote 
attributeless consciousness in advaita.The two terms, 'sat' and perception are 
used by the advaitin in the absract sense, meaning the absolute existence and 
absolute perception and not that of objects in general.Since both are real 
because of their persistence they should be identical as there cannot be two 
reals in advaita philosophy. But Ramanuja summarily dismisses this saying that' 
sat' is the object of anubhuthi and hence cannot be identical.
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 



May god bless you,
      
               Dr.  Saroja Ramanujam, M.A., Ph.D, Siromani in sanskrit.
  


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Do you Yahoo!?
Everyone is raving about the all-new Yahoo! Mail Beta.

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]



------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> 
Something is new at Yahoo! Groups.  Check out the enhanced email design.
http://us.click.yahoo.com/SISQkA/gOaOAA/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