Concept of Scripture according to Advaita philosophy

barney · September 29, 2004

What is the concept of scripture, according to advaita?

advaita's concept of scripture is very similar to that of the purva mimamsa school, but with two important exceptions.

Thus, the vedas, arranged into the Rig, Yajus, Sama and Atharva vedas are valid scripture. The vedas are considered apaurusheya (unauthored), and eternally valid texts. They constitute Sruti, i.e. the "heard" revelation. A number of other texts, admittedly of human authorship, are also given scriptural status, but they are subordinate to the vedas in their authority, and are valid where they do not conflict with vedic precepts. These other texts are called smrti, i.e. remembered tradition.

Each veda has a karmakanda, consisting of mantras and ritual injunctions (vidhis) and a jnanakanda, consisting of the upanishads and brahmanas.

The first exception that advaita takes to purva mimamsa is in the role of the jnanakanda. The upanishads are not merely arthavada, as maintained by the purva mimamsa schools. The upanishads teach the knowledge of brahman, and are not meant to eulogize the fruits of ritual action.

A second, more subtle philosophical difference with purva mimam.sA is that advaita vedanta accepts that brahman is the source of the veda, in the same way as brahman is the source of the entire universe. This acceptance of a "source" of the veda would not be acceptable to the true pUrva mimam.sakas who follow the thought of kumarila bhatta or prabhakara.

The upanishads, which constitute the jnanakanda of the vedas, are therefore called Sruti prasthana, and form one of the three sources of advaita vedAnta. The most important smrti prasthana of advaita tradition is the bhagavad-gita, which is perhaps the best known Indian religious text in modern times. The third text is the collection of brahmasutras, by the sage badarayana. The brahmasutras establish the logical principles of orthodox vedantic interpretation of Sruti, and are therefore called the nyaya prasthana. The truth of advaita vedanta is therefore said to be established on the tripartite foundation (prasthAna trayi)of revealed scripture (Sruti), remembered tradition (smrti) and logic (nyaya).

How does worship by advaitins differ from worship in other schools of vedanta?

Very markedly. The orthoprax advaita tradition is closely allied to the smArta tradition, which follows the system of pancayatana puja, where Vishnu, Siva, Sakti, Ganapati and Surya are worshipped as forms of Saguna Brahman. In some sources, the concept of the pancAyatana is replaced by the notion of shaNmata, which adds skanda to the above set of five deities. The worship is done both on a daily basis and on specific festival occasions. Questions of who is superior, vishNu or Siva, which are very popular among many groups of Hindus, are not relished by advaitins. In the words of Sri Chandrasekhara Bharati (1892 - 1954), the accomplished jIvanmukta, "you cannot see the feet of the Lord, why do you waste your time debating about the nature of His face?"

That said, Vishnu and Siva, the Great Gods of Hinduism, are both very important within the advaita tradition. The sannyAsIs of the advaita order always sign their correspondence with the words "iti narayanasmaranam ". In worship, advaitins do not insist on exclusive worship of one devata alone. As brahman is essentially attribute-less (nirguna), all attributes (gunas) equally belong to It, within empirical reality. The particular form that the devotee prefers to worship is called the ishta-devata. The ishTa-devatas worshipped by advaitins include Vishnu as Krshna, the jagadguru, and as Rama, Siva as Dakshinamurti, the guru who teaches in silence, and as candramaulISvara, and the Mother Goddess as Parvati, LakshmI and Sarasvati. Especially popular are the representations of Vishnu as a Salagrama, Siva as a Linga, and Sakti as the Sri-yantra. Ganapati is always worshipped at the beginning of any human endeavor, including the puja of other Gods. The daily sandhyAvandana ritual is addressed to surya. The sannyasis of the advaita sampradaya recite both the Vishnu sahasranamam and the Satarudriya portion of the yajurveda as part of their daily worship. In addition, "hybrid" forms of the Deities, such as hari-hara or Sankara-narayana and Ardhanarisvara are also worshipped.

There is another significant distinction between worship in the advaita tradition and other kinds of Hindu worship. advaita insists that the distinction between the worshipper and God, the object of worship, is ultimately transcended, and that the act of worship itself points to this identity. This should not be confused with the doctrine of dualistic Saiva siddhAnta schools, which call for a ritual identification of the worshipper with Siva, for the duration of the worship. The identity of Atman and Brahman is a matter of absolute truth, not just a temporary ritual identification. Most vaishnava schools of vedanta hold that the distinction between the worshipper and God, the object of worship, is eternally maintained.

What is the advaita concept of liberation?

In the advaita analysis, human life and behavior is explained on the basis of the theory of karma, which sets the cycle of rebirths into motion. All actions, good or bad, create their own karmic residues called vAsanas , which exhibit their results over a period of time. The karma which has already started taking fruit is called prArabdha karma. This is the karma that is responsible for the current birth. The accumulated karma which is yet to take fruit is called sancita karma. As long as the cycle of rebirths continues, more karma will be done in the future, and this is called Agamin karma. Liberation (moksha) is the way out of this endless cycle.

In advaita, moksha is synonymous with brahman. Sruti says "brahmavit brahmaiva bhavati" - He who knows brahman becomes brahman Itself. In the advaita understanding of this statement, the "becoming" is only metaphorical. It is not as if something that was not brahman suddenly becomes brahman. Rather, "knowing brahman" means a removal of the ignorance about one's own essential nature as brahman. Thus, to "know brahman" is to "be brahman". The one who has realized the identity of his own Atman with the brahman is the jIvanmukta, one who is liberated even while embodied. Such realization should not and cannot just be a literal understanding of upanishadic mahavakyas. The jivanmukta is one who has experienced the truth of the identity himself. Thus, moksha can only indirectly be called a result of ritual action (karma marga) or of devotional service (bhakti mArga ). These paths lead along the way, and constitute the "how" but not the "why" of liberation. In fact, moksha is not a result of anything, for it always exists. All that is required is the removal of ignorance. For this reason, the way of advaita vedanta is also called the path of knowledge (jnana-marga).

What is the significance of jivanmukti?

advaita holds that realization of brahman is possible on this earth itself. The highly evolved seeker, who approaches vedAntic study with a pure mind, and a strong tendency of mumukshutva, is fit to really experience brahman. One who has actually realized brahman, is a jIvanmukta - he is liberated while still living. He continues to live in a material body, because of the momentum of the prArabha karma that has already started taking fruit. But he accumulates no further karma, because all Agamin karma and sancita karma are "burnt" in the knowledge of brahmajnAna. The body eventually dies, and the jivanmukta is said to have attained videhamukti. In accordance with the Sruti, "na sa punaravartate," he does not enter into the cycle of rebirths any more.