-:;~/\ ( Lf The Method of Early Advaita Vedanta , A Study of Gaurj,apiida, Sankara, Sure.Svara and Padmapada MICHAEL COMANS MOTILAL EANARSIDASS PUBLISHERS I I PRIVATE LIMITED• DELHI ' • First Edition: Delhi, 2000 ©MICHAEL GO MANS All Rights Reserved ISBN: 81-208-1722-2 A~o availabk at: MOTILAL BANARSIDASS 236, 9th Main III Block, Jayanagar, Bangalore 560 011 41 U.A. Bungalow Road, Jawahar Nagar, Delhi 110 007 8 Mahalaxmi Chamber, Warden Road, Mumbai 400 026 120 Royapettah High Road, Mylapore, Chennai 600 004 Sanas Plaza, 1302 Baji Rao Road, Pune 411 002 8 Camac Street, Calcutta 700 01 7 Ashok Rajpath, Patna 800 004 Chowk, Varanasi 221 001 for my parents Printed in India BYJAINENDRA PRAKASH JAIN AT SHRIJAINENDRA PRESS, A-45 NARAINA. PHASE-I, NEW DELHI 110 028 AND PUBLISHED BY NARENDRA PRAKASH JAIN FOR MOTILAL BANARSIDAS"S PUBLISHERS PRIVATE LIMITED, BUNGALOW ROAD, DELHI 110 007 Contents Acknowledgements IX Introduction xi Detailed Table of Contents xv Information regarding the Texts Cited xv iii Abbreviations xxi Gau4apada Chapter One A Running Commentary upon Gau9apada's Karikas 1 Chapter Two Ga u<;lapada' s Teachings in relation to Buddhist Thought 88· Chapter Three Gau<;lapada on Liberation and tne Means to Liberation 125 Sankara Chapter Four Sankaracarya 163 Chapter Five Remarks on: I svara, Jiva, Upiidhi, Namariipa and A vidya 215 viii Contents Chapter Six The Means (sadhana), the End (sadhya) and their Relation 284 Suresvara and Padmapada Acknowledgments Chapter Seven Suresvara 345 Chapter Eight There are a number of people who enabled this book to be possible, Padmapada 410 even though some of them may think they have had no direct connection with it; here I have in mind my co-students in the period 1980-82, and Postscript on Method 467 they deser"e my thanks. To single out the people whom I would especially like to acknowledge, I refer firstly to my Vedanta acarya, Sri Bibliography 473 Swami Dayananda. Saraswati, without whose teaching none of this work would have been possible. I would then like to thank his student, and my Index 49 I gurubhai, Swami Paramarthananda, of Chennai, who is always willing to discuss with me some obscure matter and make me the beneficiary of his clarity and his kindness. I wish to thank Dr R. Krishnamurthi Sastri, Professor of Vedanta, Madras Sanskrit College, under whose able guidance it became possible for me to understand at least a significant portion of the Pancapadika.. I would like to acknowledge here the great assistance of my wife, Archana, for her willing support of my interests. I would like to menti01i the help of my friend, Mr Craig Littler, who took the trouble to read an early draft of some of the chapters, and who gave me his ad'Vice as well as assistance in pmcufrng materials. I would also like to acknowledge the staff of the School of Asian Studies and of the School of Religion, at The University of Sydney, who generously assisted me during my time teaching there. Professor J.W. de Jong deserves my thanks, firstly for bringing to my attention the importance of Sankara's commentary on the first pa<fa of the second chapter of the Brahmasiltra, when we read that portion in class during the time I was his Ph.D. student. And also for supplying some references to do with my work on Gauc.lapada and Buddhism. I wish also to acknowledge the assistance of Dr Richard V. De Srnet, S.J. (19h5-97) who kindly sent me a copy of his doctoral x The Method ofE arly Advaita Vedanta wFSadtih ahonecoccascto licoilspiyor.lya ,lm il DnI m toahwrnef eAo ndsuDtei.esJln..ddr d AurMlAaiplk syoletSso n tattn ohroa aan nhns'a asvekc saask ,trtbn Irle,tioa oeenwoarnss ,lv leoeatwdofrt gs ieaSoielosnt lsen t ihpa seoosht afefcnf ntoocht nreehC terisrtneo iobx sMmlusto.,t e iaiifo noleniardns vpi gtoir omdofrv yietaiha dloau i sanciesgor s sapimcsysht aeaoo n wlfcab hiertyish.s Introduction it 'T1TI ~ ~'ll'fl 37ti~l~"IOI~ ~I it <qq~IBc}SflW ~ ~ tn:Cif 1f(IT: 11 obstVouloinuiptnev ttpttiu dehein<saltdeglAJu n- s!mriate mt n"aulnre. , nveu Itchibn Temtoaoyuddhbnb dt iisoa tae h<sisuoJ rd ew m tfaes y h crtAetemiuheoeanderdutrogeiv yslnmt da i ghhvia Vent eigaatswo etho tVidtav,aoo ausfeodnii ndgncn ntahha tdaooAntte .i t t a uZo iaftn snhom.He ct,eunr lee anu.Irt ld dhesiaAa aeaosi,s isd nksdo Io ehn i Ztmmndi hes I a ieen btiut .t,ni, d n m tahiWydense reecw ehsruIsst,nhems otdnes hoiiiti enloIkahi nnn enZht groaaaJe l ihdennywvs ed erusrs lieecetiytuptleve adal mpeirtsierrhieekf ididhidees:c sa drabst"da t oohJwi tmouoihtmhhnskeeeot r wcsottisiwoohttpntnSifttoutShtnemoVuav ohthu~wd o ae rde e etgrmytiisruasayhSi eiWdokhe wtrncgne seaI.ia-sdoausdgn0vnhhno entisdsorl w a Uat krax atuai t amtkartn,a hctriifab hra t shoelr oa iny oejaey.oasnnaIerAn d sf' umte odslcbh i Ud oudfn nntTtifotapes n hcf ovnbydd ivaeh o Sco eaniageA eendeesklhto maia ir nit ittd aodnsrflofhtaom~ Ititsrvpf iktceo eeviais ehtsiatha nIeerpnscderesie iyd"rna e ti isrt hrraP tt ppc taan ss, hoaa.at ttlo g co o oVaetrdeeot p ser a yh mrs KAtfeteeess wt,r snwh Sha n dxreaecmtesurastbeuaeupr r t ies otm ihsei netrmolf ohvtpeaancctettiawfpbawet annhihsbaew .nntpve egoodoe lte mt oralitsnrlT adehtoolt ifah rr o nnhmeoa naoftreaoMoir u du i esfsaeaehoSftfnr i t t,e se n U,hsiefwi itdIf ts yiraph tsda ihogmitayi aseuanacar hyovhuPn maennehludeacdtitdrsarcsi.o ie co "i otn sdp t ~t whwe mil. hgamIseDatay ra s s tnerhsioadmtra tuaa si nd aubilsogatapad yIsyet bv bjd ddnnaayyeae nMeaeoi,ddiddfnd Ac entny tio areaMaa sthrdde tdeit.kunrsnf1hei v basyvaittnm dode piogrs QhIa iS t sat tesJsubommyheih<o a edetirae a fSiei;nt aa eeBak lgnt hvgroatasrrsshtiyohhsee nanhiklr ftea:s,i paiiaae nor nee sno,msSixowgc Cd Grdto wubtsah aadi w shatgsastoiom aa vic,rciedtimr soiatpfkuabhsanoytalic, keat.shs; Aladm mn u leeIecs.rvr pag d sradi,iumxeiFpth ti ofs ehvstmce tasatiaoaruawsoeoaoerdidnirreyxs s ip nfas dtd ,, , ta · xii The Method ofE Yly Advaita Vedanta Introduction xiii (the first four sfitras) of the Brahwasfitra. Later, staying in Rishikesh, 1 succeed in reaching the further shore. We are perhaps not yet in a had the opportunity to listen to Swami Dayananda teach most of position to do full justice to the thought of Suresvara: The final chapter, Sure5varn's Nai$karmyasiddhi. I still cherish the memory of that time, on Padmapada, required my reading, at least cursorily, through tht: full listening twice daily to the Nai,skarmyasiddhi, and coming out from .i1e Paiicapadika and then I concentrated on the important first section which late afternoon class into the chill evening air to feel the wind as it came is his commentary upon Sankara's Adhyasabha$ya. I was fortunate to down the valley, to hear the sound of the Gmiga as it rushed over rocks receive help from Dr R. Krishnamurthi Sastri, Professor of Vedanta at partially submerged in the middle of its stream, and then the sound of the Madras Sanskrit College, who discussed this portion of the Paiicapadika conch announcing arati at the small temple dedicated to Siva as with me. Gmigadharesvara. There are a couple of ways a reader can approach this book. The In preparation for this work I began to study each of these Advaita reader is of course welcome to go through the chapters sequentially. authors based on their acknowledged writings. As far as possible I have However, if one just wishes to gain a generally complete understanding read and tried to explain each author on his own terms and not in the light of Sankara, chapters four to six should prove sufficient, and I look upon of the later commentators, though it is not always possible, nor is it these as forming the principal chapters of the book. Chapter four, then, advisable, to simply ignore the commentators. For Gauc,lapada there is might prove a good place to start. The chapter dealing with Suresvara but a single source work, the Gau<;lapadakarika. For the chapters on extends some of the points raised in the chapters on Sankara. The chapter Sankara my three primary sources are, in order of importance: his dealing with the work of Padmapada is still more technical, and is for commentary on the Brahmasiitra, his commentary on the Bfhadiirm_iyaka those who wish to enter into Smikara's famous Adhyasabh~ya in greater Upani~ad, and then the Upadcfasahasri which is probably his only detail. 'The three chapters on Gauc;lapada stand a little apart from the other authentic non-commentarial work. I first read the commentary on the chapters. While it is reasonably clear what Sankara and his students are Brhadli.rm.Jyaka in Sanskrit, taking assistance from Swami Madhavananda's saying, it is not always so clear in the case of Gauc,lapada. I believe that very readable English translation. 'Iben I carefully read through the foll Garn;lapada was a follower of the Upani~adic tradition and that he was Brahmasfitrabhti$ya in Sanskrit, keeping as my companions over many neither a Buddhist nor a "concealed Buddhist" and I have argued '.11~nths the fine translations of Swami Garnbh'irananda and George accordingly. That is not to down-play the numerous references to llubaut. After these three sources, I relied on the commentaries to the Buddhist literature in his work, which, it must be said, is something the Taittiriya and some of the other Upani~ads according to my familiarity traditional commentators have often failed to perceive. While there are with them. I did not use the corµmentary on the M3.Ip,fiikya Upani~ad in real continuities between the major teachings of all the four acaryas, and I these chapters on Sankara, for even though it may be an authentic have tried to note some of these, the connection between Gauc;lapada and commentary it has some unusual characteristics and frequently does not his successors is not quite as strong as between Sankara and his disciples share the same standard as his other works. I also did not use his and the chapters on Gauc,lapada could be read without reference to the other commentary on the Bhaga vadgitli to any great extent. I have not relied at chapters if one so wished. The first of the three chapters on Gaudapada is all on any works where there is considerable uncertainty concerning especially lengthy and somewhat difficult in places, for it virtually forms authorship, such the popular, but post-Sankara, Vivekacil{lamaJJJ. a running commentary on most of the karikas, and so it does not always With regard to the chapter on Suresvara, my primary source was the lend itself to easy reading. The rriore general reader should feel free to Nai$karmyasiddhi. I did go through his Vartika on Sankara's commentary pass over those passages in this chapter, or in any chapter, where the to the Taittiriya Upani~ad with the help of the translation of Dr R. discussion involves more detail than is required. For the committed Balasubramanian and I also attempted to cross the ocean of the Vartika student of Advaita, however, I would suggest that there is benefit to be on the BrhadtiraJ}yaka Upani$adbhli§ya, but unlike Hanuman, I did not xiv The Method ofE arly Advaita Vedanta gained in proceeding carefully though at least most of the chapters of this book. This book is based closely upon the source literature. I have tried to keep somewhat abreast of the secondary literature and from time to time I Detailed Table of Contents discuss views found in academic publications. With regard to the four Advaita authors whose works form the content of this book, I do not pretend to have addressed and clarified all the terminological and other difficulties that stand in our way of clearly comprehending their meaning. I do believe, however, to have contributed to an accurate u11derstaJJding of Ch2pter One: these acaryas through this examination of their teachings as it can be A Running Commentary upon Gaucjapada's Karikas found in their own writings. In the chapters on Sankara I bave especially The M8.J)cjiikya Upani~ad highlighted two issues that have not received sufficient attention in many ( 1) The Agamaprakaraqa of the publications dealing with Sankara's thought. These are, firstly, the (2) The Vaitathyaprakara!)a question about the nature of 1§ vara in Sankara's Advaita. This is a topic (3) The Advaitaprakaral)a that has hereto been given a fairly scant treatment (though Rudolf Otto (4) The Alataiantipralmral)a and Paul Hacker have stimulated my discussion on this importa11t matter). Then there is the discussion of method, i.e., exactly how, and to w.bat extent, does Sankara understand the Upani~ads to be a revelation about Chapter Two: Brahman. I hope. to have made some contribution to a better Ga11cj.apiida's Teachings in relation to Buddhist Thought understanding of Advaita through my discussion of these two matters in ( 1) Gauc;lapada and Nagarjuna particular. While there are numerous books on Advaita, they are not all (2) Gam;lapada and Y ogacara reliable in their interpretations. I trust this book will be found reliable and reasonably accessible. I hope it will be of value to people who wish to gain a better understanding of the great tradition that is Advaita Chapter Three: Vedanta, in one of its greatest periods. Gaucjapiida on Liberation and the Means to Liberation (1) Contemplation based upon the syllable "OM" (2) Aspar8a Yoga -the yoga of" no-contact" Chapter Four: Salikaracarya ( 1) Gauc;lapada and Sankara (2) Th.e sruti as the means of knowledge for Brahman (3) Erahman as I svara and as the World xvi The Method ofE arly Advaita Vedanta Detailed Table of Contents xvii Chapter Five: -Awareness and Experience Remarks on: I hara, Jiva, Upadhi, Niimarupa and Avidyii -The nature ofthe ahmiklira (1) Hvara -The meaning of the illustrations used in the discussion of (2) Jiva superimposition (3) Upadhi -Perception ( 4) Namarupa -Conclusion of the topic dealint-, with the possibility of (5) Avidya superimposition (5) The existence of superimposition (6) The sruti and its role in liberation Chapter Six: The Means (sadhana), the End (sadhya) and their Relation Postscript on Method (l) The method in the Upani$ads as interpreted by Sankara (2) Immediate and mediate knowledge of Brahman and the question of Bibliography experience (3) Liberation, Jivanmukti and Prarabdhakarma Index. (4) Sannyasa and Videhamukti Chapter Seven: Surehara (1) Duality (2) The world (3) Ignorance (avidya) (4) Some differences between Suresvara and Sankara {5) Anvayavyatireka (6) How Sankara and Suresvara interpret the sentence "tat tvam asi" (7) Sure5vara and PrasaJikhylina Chapter Eight: Padmapada ( 1) Why talk of superimposition (adhyasa)? (2) Though superimposition is not logically possible, it flonetheless occurs -The term mithyajiiana (3) The definition of superimposition (adhyasa) (4) The possibility of superimposition Information Regarding the Texts Cited The references in the Notes to each chapter refer to the following editions. Unless otherwise stated, the translations are my own. Gau<;lapiida All references concerning the Gau<)apadakarikT1s are to: RD. Karrnarkar, (ed. and tr.) Gaw:japada-Karika. Poona: Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, 1973. Sankara Page and line references are to the following editions: Works of Sankaracarya in Original Sanskrit, vol. I. Ten Principal Upani$ads with Sankarabh~ya. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1978. Works of Saiikaracarya in Original Sanskrit, vol.11. Bhagavadgitii with Siirikarabhii;;ya. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1978. Brahmasiltra-Sankarabhii.?yam. Edited by J.L. Shastri. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1980. UpadefasahasrI of SrI Sankarachiirya: A Thousand Teachings in two parts prose and poetry. Translated by Swami Jagadananda. 7th. ed. Madras: Sri Ramakrishna Math, 1984. xx The Method o/Early Advaita Verllinta Injorrnation Regarding The Text Cited XXl In addition to the references to the original works, I have also citc.,d the page reference to a previously published translation, for the additional S. Subrahmanya Shastri (ed.), Brhadlirm.1yakopani:jad Bhli_~yavartikam (vol. assistance of the reader. These references are to the following 1), with the Commentary .~astraprakasikii of Acarya Sri Anandagiri. Varanasi: Mahesh Research Institute, 1982. translations: Swami Madbavananda (tr.), The BrhadaraJJyaka Upani$ad with the S. Subrahmanya Shastri (ed.), BrhadliraJ}.yakopani$ad Bhi1$yavartikam (vol. commentary of Sartkaracarya. Calcutta: Advaita Ashrama, (5th Ed.) 2), with the Commentary Sastraprakasika of Acarya Sn Anandagiri. Varanasi: Mahesh Research Institute, 1990. 1975. Swami Gambhirananda (tr.), Eight Upaiii$ads With the Comme11tary of PadmapMa Smikaracarya (Two Vols.). ·Calcutta: Advaita Ashrama, 1977. Swami Gambhirananda, (tr.) Chandogya Upani,'iad With the Commentary References to the Paiicapadika are to the following editions: of Sri Smikaracazya. Calcutta: Advaita Ashrama (n.d.). S. Srirama SastJ.i and S .R. Krishnamurthi Sastri (ed.), Paiicapadika of SrI CSwalacmutit aG: aAmdbvhaiitraa nAasnhdraa m(tar.,) ,1 9B7r7a.h ma-sfitra-bhli$ya of Sn Smikaracarya. PAa tdmmaaspvaadruapcaar yaa ndw ithT atrhtpe arcyoamrtmheandtyaoriteins l Poraf boVdihj iaiapnairitifmoadnh inIa nodf Paiicapadikavivara~ia of SrI Prakasatman with Tatparyadipika of SSwmaikmaria cGaarymab. bCiraalcnuatntad:a A (dtrv.)a,i tBa hAasgharavmaad,g 1it9li8 4W. ith the Commentary of aCnitds u2k hVaacna:iarykaa sw. dT Birhuapvaatip: rKakcansdikriay ao SfN anrssikmrhitl iV.friadrynainp eVetohla.1, c1o9m85p r(isreinpgri1n t of first two Va rQaka<> from the Madras Government Oriental Series CLV , 1958.). Suresvara S. Subrahmanya.~astrI (ed.), Sri Padmapadacarya's Paiicapadikii with the Regarding the works of Suresvara, references are to the following commentaries Vivara~ia by Sn Prakasatrnamuni, Tattvadlpana by Sri editions: AkhaIJ(fanandamuni and RjuvivaraIJa by .~rI Vi$IJUbhattopadhyaya. Varanasi: Mahesh Research Institute, 1992. R. Balasubramanian (ed. and tr.), 1he Nai$karmyasiddhi of Suresvara. Madras: Radhakrishnan Institute for Advanced Study in Philosophy, In addition, I have also cited the page reference to a previously published translation: University of Madras, 1988. R. Balasubramanian (ed. and tr.), 11ie Taittiriyopm1i$ad Bha$ya-Vartika D. Venkataramiah (tr.), The Paiicapadika of Padmapada. Baroda: of Sure§vara. Madras: Radhakrishnan Institute for Advanced Study in (Gaekwad's Oriental Series No. CVII) Oriental Institute, 1948. Philosophy, University of Madras, (revised ed.) 1984.