РефератыИностранный языкOnOn The Path To God Through Knowledge

On The Path To God Through Knowledge

Essay, Research Paper


on the path to God through knowledge. The basic teaching is that God alone is the all-pervading reality; the individual soul is none other than the universal soul. Shankara was under


no illusions about this world. For this reason, he is able to describe so powerfully the complete transformation of the universe that takes place before the eyes of the illumined seer, when the world


indeed becomes a paradise.


Models of Multiplicity


(From Potter, Advaita Vedanta up to Sankara and His Pupils, pp.


81ff.)


Kinds of diversity:


1.undifferentiated nirguna Brahman vs. God = saguna Brahman


2.one supreme Self (paramatman) vs. many individual selves (jivas)


3.world vs. God and world vs. jivas


Models of diversity:


Rope-snake (Gaudapada, Sankara, Padmapada, et al.)


Pot-space (Gaudapada, Sankara, Suresvara,


Bhamati school, etc.)


Wheel of fire (Gaudapada)


Water and foam (Sankara, et al.)


Sun’s rays, spider’s web, sparks from a fire (Sankara)


Reflection analogies (Sankara, Padmapada, Vivarana school, etc.)


[sun in rippling water, red flower in crystal, facein mirror]


Works by Sankara


Comms. on “Three Starting Points”(prasthana-traya) of Vedanta:


1.(sruti): Commentaries on many Upanisads (Brhadaranyaka, etc.)


2.(smrti): Commentary on the Bhagavadgita


3.(sutra): Commentary on the Brahmasutras (Vedantasutras)


Independent treatise on Vedanta:


Upadesasahasri (”Thousand Teachings”)


[prob. not Vivekacudamani ("Crest Jewel of Discrimination"), etc.]


Other works:


Subcommentary on the Yogasutra (?)


Commentary on a philosophical section in a law


book (?)


[and perhaps others, including hymns?]


SankarAcArya is the most important teacher of


the advaita school of vedAnta, and his


commentaries to the upanishads, the


bhagavad-gItA and the brahmasUtras define the


parameters of advaita thought. However, it must


be remembered that all vedAnta philosophy


really goes back to the upanishads, and


SankarAcArya is regarded as a pre-eminent


teacher who continued the upanishadic tradition.


The name SankarAcArya has become a title for


the heads of the numerous advaita institutions in


India today, because of the great respect and


fame associated with it.


The philosophy of advaita, literally non-dualism,


is the premier and oldest extant among the


vedAnta schools of Indian philosophy. The


upanishadic quest is to understand brahman, the


source of everything, the Atman, the Self, and


the relationship between brahman and Atman.


The upanishads explore these issues from


different angles. The advaita school teaches a


complete essential identity between brahman and


Atman. In other vedAntic traditions, the essential


relationship between Atman and brahman is


understood in different ways.


This website has been organized into

four


sections, as given in the index on the left. The


Introduction section has three pages – one


explains the transliteration scheme employed at


this site and another has links to sam.skRta


Slokas, many of them attributed to Sankara. The


advaita vedAnta FAQ page describes various


aspects of advaita in brief, and has links to pages


at this site and to related sites.


The main material on advaita vedAnta has been


organized into three sections, named History,


Philosophers and Philosophy. The “History”


section deals with SankarAcArya, the issues


involved in reckoning his date, the living advaita


tradition and related topics. Pre-Sankaran


vedAnta, gauDapAda, SankarAcArya, his


disciples, maNDana miSra and post-Sankaran


advaitins are discussed in appropriate pages


under the “Philosophers” section. The


“Philosophy” section starts with a brief


introduction to various schools of Indian


philosophy and a page on the source texts of


vedAnta, the upanishads. Philosophical issues in


advaita vedAnta are examined in various other


pages in this section. More pages on different


aspects of advaita vedAnta and its relation to


other systems are under construction.


The Supreme Swan: In the background is an artistic rendering of a


swan, with the Sanskrit sentence Brahmaiva satyam – Brahman is the


only Truth. The swan motif is seen in the seals of many advaita


organizations. The figure seen here has been adapted from the official


seal of the Sringeri maTha, an ancient and one of the most important


centers of advaita vedAnta in India. The swan is a very popular motif in


traditional Hindu symbolism. It can be found in oil-lamps used in


temples and at shrines in people’s homes.


The swan has a special association with advaita vedAnta. The swan is


called hamsa in the sam.skRta language. The greatest masters in the


advaita tradition are called paramahamsas – the great swans. The word


hamsa is a variation of so’ham: I am He, which constitutes the highest


realization. There are other equivalences between the swan and the


advaitin, that make the swan a particularly apt symbol for advaita


vedAnta. The swan stays in water, but its feathers remain dry. Similarly,


the advaitin lives in the world, yet strives to remain unaffected by life’s


ups and downs. In India, the swan is also mythically credited with the


ability to separate milk from water. Similarly, the advaitin discriminates


the eternal Atman from the non-eternal world. The Atman that is


brahman is immanent in the world, just like milk is seemingly


inseparably mixed with water, but It can never be truly realized without


the nitya-anitya-vastu viveka – right discrimination between the eternal


and ephemeral – that is essential for the advaitin. The swan is thus a


symbol for the jIvanmukta, who is liberated while still alive in this world,


by virtue of having realized Brahman.

Сохранить в соц. сетях:
Обсуждение:
comments powered by Disqus

Название реферата: On The Path To God Through Knowledge

Слов:969
Символов:7122
Размер:13.91 Кб.