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Shankara*
(788-820 AD)
Text, 229-250
Background
India & Hinduism
Hinduism
Basic Beliefs
Sacred Literature The Raja Yoga System
Brahman (230-231) Brahman as the cause of the world (not in text) The relationship between Brahman and Self (Atman) -- identity (231-233)
Brahman as the cause of the worlds existence The Vedanta critique of Samkhya metaphysics (the purusha-prakriti theory) The Samkhya critique of Vedantic non-dualism
Brahman as the material cause of the world Critique of Vaisheshika atomism Critique of the Vaisheshika theory of categories (Continued on next slide)
The mistake of superimposition How is objectification of the Self possible, since it is not an object of sense perception?
First, Self is not absolutely a non-object. It is the object [reference] of the word I, & it is known to have real (objective) existence through direct intuition (I am) [Descartes: I think; therefore I am]. Second, objectification of things that are not objects of sense perception takes place (e.g., the dark blue color of the ether).
Ignorance (avidya) as opposed to knowledge (vidya) as the basis of superimposition. Examples of ignorant objectification of the Self . The path to knowledge of the Self: study of the Vedanta Sutras.
Knowing Brahman
Prerequisites to knowledge of Brahman Knowledge of Brahman as the highest good Is Brahman known or not known?
Brahman (the greatest) [that than which nothing greater can be conceived?] is known to exist & is the universal Self (Atman). Also, the Self is known to exist [because it is impossible for anyone to think I am not? (Descartes again)].
since there are many conflicting views of the nature of the Self (231) & of its relationship with Brahman,
it is necessary to inquire further into the nature of Brahman & of the Self & into the relationship between them (231).
(Why is it necessary?)
Brahman (omniscient & omnipotent) is the only possible cause of the worlds origin, subsistence, & dissolution. (Why?)
Knowledge & realization of the identity of Atman & Brahman also result in freedom from the transmigratory world (samsara), whereas ignorance (avidya) of the supreme identity binds us to that world.
Buddhism
Jainism Carvaka
(Text, 233-241)
Samkhya-Yoga Cosmology
(metaphysical dualism)
Consciousness, Self, Subject (no real interaction) Origin, Subsistence, & Dissolution of Worlds Disruption of Equilibrium -- Intermingling of Gunas
Shankaras Cosmology
Non-Dualism (Advaita)
(Rope)
(Snake)
efficient & material causation of the worlds existence How can the pradhana (prakriti) be active or activated? The Samkhya-Yoga critique of Shankaras non-dualism
Material causation
Efficient causation
The material cause of an entity (e.g., a clay pot) is the matter or substance of which the entity is made or composed or constructed (e.g., clay).
The efficient cause of an entity or event is the active agent that produces the entity or event (e.g., a potter molds clay to form a clay pot).
Shankara & the Samkhya-Yoga philosophers agree that Brahman (purusha) is the efficient cause of the worlds existence. They disagree about the material causation of the world.
The disagreement:
For Shankara,
For Samkhya-Yoga,
Brahman is the material cause of the world. The world is an appearance of Brahman projected from & by Brahman through the power of maya.
the pradhana (prakriti) is the material cause of the world. The world is other than Brahman (purusha), which is the efficient but not the material cause of the world.
The arguments
Why
& how does Samkhya-Yoga argue that Brahman cannot be the material cause of the world? does Shankara respond to the S-Y position on this matter? How does he argue that Brahman is both the efficient and the material cause of the world?
How
pp. 233-237
Samkhya-Yoga: An effect cannot have qualities different from the qualities of its material cause. The world is non-intelligent (non-conscious), composed of parts, and impure (a mixture of pleasure, pain, & numbness). Brahman (purusha) is intelligent (conscious), one (not composed of parts), and pure (not a mixture of qualities). Therefore, Brahman (purusha) cannot be the material cause of the world. Vedanta (Shankara): (1) Some effects have qualities different from the qualities of their material causes (humans [intelligent, conscious] growing hair & nails; cow dung [nonintelligent, non-living] giving rise to scorpions & similar animals. (2) Originally, there was nothing but Brahman. If the material from which the world is made is other than Brahman, then that material must emerge from Brahman. (3) In fact, the whole world is intelligent (or a manifestation of intelligence).
This is the section entitled, (2) The primal cause of the world must be intelligent.
According to Shankara,
S-Ys dualistic cosmology makes activity & motion (& therefore the existence of the world) impossible.
How does he explain & back up this criticism?
How does Shankara respond to the S-Y critique of his Non-Dualism? How does he explain the relationship between sufferer & cause of suffering?
All subject-object dualities are phenomenal (apparent) only; they are not really real; there is no duality in the Brahman-Atman. Release from suffering results from the realization that suffering is not really real, & that realization comes with knowledge of Brahman-Atman.
Text, 240-241
Perhaps neither S-Y Dualism nor Shankaras Non-Dualistic Vedanta can do justice to the subject-object distinction.
(Text, 241-244)
(I.e., Nyaya-Vaisheshika)
with atomism:
The problem of initial atomic motion The indivisibility & immutability of atoms
The N-V categories of the understanding (substance, quality, motion, generality, particularity, inherence)
(Text, 244-250)
undermines the principle of causality (168-9) is inconsistent with the phenomenon of remembrance
11. Birth
1. Ignorance
Heaven
2. Impulse to Exist
3. Demon ConRealm sciousGreed ness Delusion 4. 9. Hatred Hungry MindCling- Animal Ghost Realm Body ing Realm 8. Six 5. Hell Craving Senses 6. 7. Sensations Contact
5 arguments in support of Yogacara idealism (248) Shankaras general response (including rejections of the five arguments for idealism) (248-250)
The external world is given as a phenomenon in consciousness & is experienced as external. The existence of the external world is confirmed by all the standard means of knowledge (pramanas). [See next slide] Although consciousness is always accompanied by an object, there is a distinction between consciousness & object (i.e., they are not identical). Examples of dreams, illusions, & mirages do not prove the truth of idealism. The Yogacara explanation of the variety of ideas implies an infinite regress [see fn 3 on p. 250].
Text, 250
The End