avidvan / vidwan definition from Shankaracharya's works:

[Krishna Kashyap]

Namaste everyone,

I was checking the first to two verses of Isavasya.

Shankaracharya says the first verse is for Vidwan

2nd is for avidvan.

if you are a vidwan, or atma vit, you go to the forest and don't return back. do not do any shastra vihita nitya karmas.

if you are an avidwan, desire to live for 100 years Only by doing nitya karmas.

evem tvayi nanyathesti - of upanishad says there is NO OTHER WAY.

Many new age gurus think that karmas are for the dumb beginners and most people end up being in the vidwan category. they even translate as intelligent and intelligent for these two words. 

can someone please summarize from different parts of Shankara bhasya

who is vidwan and avidwan 

I am sure it will be of great use for me.

should vidwan be understood as stitha prajna? or has perfect realization of advaya brahman? or who has firm mental conviction that there is only one brahman and universe is only apparent. 

recently. V.Subbu Ji posted info that says till one gets good bramha jnana, everything here is real. (satyatva upapatteh)

Please enlighten us the subtle aspects of who is vidwan or jnani and who is not.

thanks namaskaras

Best Regards,

Krishna Kashyap

[Raghav K]

Namaskaram Krishna ji,

Quoting from the Introduction to Sri Sankara's gita bhashya -

He identifies two Vedic paths - the Lord created the prajapatis beginning with Marichi and caused them to adopt the Pravrutti dharma or the doctrine of karmas.
He then created others such as Sanaka and Sanandana and caused them to adopt the Nivrutti dharma or the doctrine of jnana and vairagya.
The sthiti or maintenance of the universe happens using both paths.

moksha, according to Shankaracharya is obtained through jnana-nishta which is obtained through the purification of mind that is a result of practicing varnasrama karmas with bhagavad arpana buddhi. Shankaracharya does not believe in continuing the acts till the end. mere practice of varnasrama karmas will lead the practitioner to the region of the devas - devAdi sthAna prApti hetur api, isvara-arpaNa buddhyA anushtiyamAnah sattva suddhaye bhavati, phala-abhisandhi-varjitah.
- He says, however, when you practice the same with ishwara-arpana buddhi, devoid of desire for phala first purification of mind happens.

Then, shuddha sattvasya cha jnAna nishtA yogyatA prApti dvAreNa - once a pure mind is obtained, one becomes eligible for jnAna nishta
jnAna prApti hetutvena cha nisreyasa hetutvam api pratipadyate - then one can gain jnAna nishta and through that moksha.

He does not say just theoretical knowledge of self leads to moksha. He is just as clear as Sri Ramanuja in this connection.

I am also looking at his commentary to yastv atmaratir eva syat verse from BG -

There he says yas tu sAnkhyah Atma-jnAna nishtah .. tasya kAryam na vidyate

and who is that Atma-jnAna nishtah? He clarifies in 2.53 sthitA pratishthitA "aham asmi param brahma" iti prajnA yasya sah sthita prajnah

he clarifies in his answer to 3.3 also - tatra kA sA dvividhA nishtAh ityAha - he gives the following description - a) Atma-anAtma-vishaya-viveka-vijnAnavatAm b) brahmacharyAsramAt eva kruta sanyAsAnAm c) vedanta-vijnAna-sunischitArthAnAm paramahamsa parivrAjakAnAm d) brahmaNyeva avasthitAnAm nishThA

All of these seem to indicate he believes the person should have attained the nishta of the form of "aham asmi param brahma" as a result of purification of mind obtained by the practice of varnasrama karmas at which point, he can give those actions up and accept sannyasa directly even from brahmacharya asrama and constantly being aware of the difference between atma and anatma, he remains meditating on atma not dealing with anatma and giving up all actions..

Kind regards,

Raghav

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "भारतीयविद्वत्परिषत्" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to bvparishat+...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/bvparishat/CANkLSMnZM3JVx9Kg3a3YQQM5FkDXoF6J9q9fXao2kcC7WVH5KA%40mail.gmail.com.

[jal...@braincells.com]

On Fri, 7 Jul 2023, Krishna Kashyap via Advaita-l wrote:

> Namaste everyone,
>
> I was checking the first to two verses of Isavasya.
>
> Shankaracharya says the first verse is for Vidwan
> 2nd is for avidvan.
>
> if you are a vidwan, or atma vit, you go to the forest and don't return
> back. do not do any shastra vihita nitya karmas.

Previously he believed in "me", "mine" "not me" "not mine". But then he
realised that iShAvAsyamidaM sarvaM "all this is pervaded by the Lord" so
tyaktena, by renunciation, he gives up those ideas because kascha
sviddhanaM. "Whose indeed is wealth?"

>
> if you are an avidwan, desire to live for 100 years Only by doing nitya
> karmas.
>

But what about the one who still thinks of "me:, "mine" etc.?

He can stumble through life as best as he can seeking pleasure here and
avoiding sorrow there but there is a better way.

One pecularity of Ishopanishad is that whereas most upanishads are part of
the Brahmana portion of their respective Vedic shakhas, this one is the
40th adhyaya of the vAjasaneyi saMhitA of the shuklayajurveda. In the
previous 39 adhyayas various vidhis from simple agnihotra up to elaborate
multi-day yagnas such as ashvamedha. Through these karmas one can
acquires all ones desires from material wealth upto heaven. This ideal,
perfect life is euphemized as "a hundred years". This is supposed to be
the full lifespan. A rk says shataM jivemashardaH "may you see a hundred
sharadas" (the sacrificial year ends in sharada ritu)

> evem tvayi nanyathesti - of upanishad says there is NO OTHER WAY.

These are the two and only two Vedic paths, Nivrtti and Pravrtti.

>
> *Many new age gurus think that karmas are for the dumb beginners and most
> people end up being in the vidwan category. *they even translate as

> intelligent and intelligent for these two words.

Because Vedanta talks about the self and so on, the great danger on this
path is narcissism. I feel these neovedantic gurus appeal to the kind of
person who thinks they are beyond mere mortals. So they miss the point of
what the shastras are trying to say. The person following pravrtti marga
is avidvan in comparison to one on nivrtti marga because the effects of
all karmas are finite. Even after enjoying heaven for a million years
once the effects of the karma that brought you there are exhausted, you
will again be reborn in samsara.

But one becomes a vidvan not by talking about it or listening to a lecture
once a week or a youtube video but by actually renouncing karma.
One doesn't renounce and one doesn't follow their vedic duties is worse
than avidvan he is nothing more than a beast.

Another mistake they make is because the shastras talk about agnihotra
etc. renouncing means giving up "religous" rituals while keeping the fancy
car, house etc. In a traditional society there is no distinction between
"spiritual" and "secular" The shastras are talking about the
renunciation of _all_ intentional actions. Just giving up agnihotra (how
many agnihotris are there nowadays?) doesn't make you a vidvan merely an
atheist.

>
> should vidwan be understood as stitha prajna? or has perfect realization of
> advaya brahman? or who has firm mental conviction that there is only one
> brahman and universe is only apparent.
>

How does one get from here (avidvan) to there? (vidvan) An intermediate
step taught in the Gita is the karmayogi. This is a person who still
performs their karma but not out of desire but purely out of a sense of
duty and as bhakti to Bhagavan. A karmayogi must be a stithaprajna also.


--
Jaldhar H. Vyas <jal...@braincells.com>