ThithikshAsthApinI - Part5

The purport of profound acceptance in the analysis of the distinction between dEhAtma with reference to GitA bAshya of Adi Shankara Ch2:V14.
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Among the four-fold Purusārthās liberation alone is the supreme goal. So says the Upanishads ‘na ca punarāvartatē’ – he does not come back 1’. Thus once it is said that it is the permanent abode, we tend to discern the nature of such permanent abode. Apparently moksa must be of a better state than the existing empirical pathologies. Moksa, is discerned to be that stage of bliss that is pure in existence, the real Sat. Arbitrarily the Shruthi’s spell out the dictum that, the thing that is pure in its existence is only one; that which is Brahman alone 2. Realizing this Brahman everywhere annihilating duality is nothing but Moksa. Brahman is henceforth apprehended as the object of that cognition (pramēya) that acquaints with the absolute identity of the Brahman and atman. Shortly, Brahman is the sat-vastu and all other dualities other than the sat vastu are known to be asat-vastuni’s, which are of the nature of avidya. Avidya is antagonistic to Vidya. It is an aspect of Māyā, trigunātmikām – constituting three fold gunas vide satva rajas and tamas. It is the sole power of Brahman. Māyā is one, which is beyond epistemic evaluations 3. Such avidya conceals the real nature of self effulgent Brahman to project the world in its duality. Krishna says ‘ajnānē āvrtam jnānam’ – the ajnana (avidya) obscures the Caitanya as the clouds cover the sun ‘tamo yadvadiwākaram’. Now we must presume from the above notions to relate that these empirical dualities are relative in existence and reality, unlike the real existence of Brahman and conclude to realize that nothing else can exist as atman apart from Brahman, for the Shruthi’s and Smrthi’s proclaim the same unanimously. This esoteric and exoteric oneness diminishes all the differences, which are prominently known to be three fold namely sajātiya vijātiya and svagata bēdas - the internal differences, extraneous differences and the relative differences. Getting away with these differences is not possible by physical processes, as they would further perpetuate the same interminably. Hence the only way left is to forbear these dualities - appreciating Thithiksa. Thithiksa is the tātparya (esoteric + exoteric essence) that reveals that Caitanya as the substratum of all entities in the empirical world which is of relative existence. Such a tātparya is schematically delineated with six organs, known as tātparya linga’s. The six-fold tātparya lingā’s promptly present the essential nature of the Partless Ultimate – the akandārta revealing the Suddha Caitanya for immediate perception – Nirvikalpa pratyaksa or for the aparoksa jnana immediacy. The six tātparya linga’s are vide Upakrama-Upasamhāra, abhyāsam, apurvata, phalam, arthavadam, Upapatti - meaning at the beginning and the end of any text, repeated affirmation, revealing an unknown purport, supplies a benefit to the knower, eulogizing the affirmation and lastly reconciling the contradictions by valid cognitions (pramanas). All these factors handshake to derive Thithiksa to be the purport and means for Liberation. Here Sankarācārya picks up the last notion Upapatti with which he concludes saying Thithiksa alone is that aspect of Knowledge that makes one attain liberation. The Upapatti that he speaks on is with the anupalabdhi pramana. What is anupalabdhi? It is literally meant to be non-existence. According to Advaita Vēdānta, an object in the empirical world though relatively real, it is in its actuality is unreal. Ie., the object’s relative presence is reduced to its substratum, that which alone exists. For this, Advaitin clearly explain that every object is defined and perceived by its nāma and rupa – name and form. While at the same time Caitanya being all-pervasive as upheld by Shruthi’s, has to be the substratum for all these objects. Hence the presence of any object is recognized by the nāma-rupa conditioned caitanya in the phenomenal state, while its purity in existence is realized by the underlying sat-cit-ananda factors. Henceforth the object is declined from name and form to its real substratum which is nothing but pure Caitanya – Brahman. Precisely, an object is perceived by its non-apprehension. Say for example, sun is not cool. Here the knower refines his knowledge about the Sun by apprehending the non-perception of cool ness in Sun. hence existence is known by perception alone and non-existence is apprehended by non-perception only. Sankarācārya extends this tenet of anupalabdhi to establish the purport of Thithiksa. While commenting on the Gita verse II.16 (appendix to V14), begins to explain what unreality is. He tests this with the same anupalabdhi pramana. That which has no being is unreal 4 says ācārya. The pleasure pain, heat and cold (sithoshna suka dukkha) being inconsistent in existence are all unreal. Since these pleasure pain and heat cold criterions do not exist before their origin and after their destruction, they are said to be unreal. Like a pot that does not exist before it is created and after it is destroyed. Pot is hence unreal. Then what is real? ācārya says the pot’s cause ie, the clay alone is real and in the analogue, it is the ātman, identical with Brahman alone is real and it exists apart from the beginning and end of all dualities. Thus both presence and non-presence are perceived at one substratum, wherein the presence connotes the existence of Caitanya while the non-existence (dualities) denotes the abāva of unreality. How can reality and unreality co-exist? Sankarācārya answers that it is due to that type of anulabdhi or abhāva –mutual non-existence; the anyonya abhāva, that makes the seer perceive one among the two depending on the degree of cognition he possesses. Ie., for an ātma jnāni who has the Thithiksa to endure with the dualities, then heat cold , pleasure and pain do not come into existence, for the ātman for him, never lapses into non-being 5. Acārya firmly establishes that this vision as the tatva darsana – the vision of thought, for one (seer) who knows this truth of Self who perceives real always to be one and eternal and simultaneously have the vivēka about the unreal which is perpetually unreal. The Tattva, as ācārya analyses, tat being the ‘name of all’ the Supreme Brahman Nārāyana 6, and ‘all’ is none but Brahman.. Renunciating the worldly transactions knowing them to be unreal transformation, Moksa is attained. Sankarācārya, affirms the fact that such endurance of unreal existence and duality is crystallized by Thithiksa, as he in his own words says, ‘Tattva darsinām dristim āsrthya sokam moham ca hitva sithosnādhi niyatāni yata rupāni dvandvāni, vikāroyamasan ēva maricijalavath mithyā avabāsatē – iti manasi nishrthya Thithikasva iti abhiprāyah’. Further the logic of anvaya vyatirēka logic (co-presence and co-absence) can be made conducive to ācārya’s abhiprāya, to say,

Thithiksa satvē moksam satvam, Thithiksa abāve moksam abāvam, tasmād Thithiksamēva moksasya kāranam. Hence ‘yesu satvēva san nista anvaya; yad abāvena na siddyathi vyatireka ēvam anvaya vyatirēkābyām – Thithiksāsthāpinīm bavathi’. Further Thithiksa satvē vicārēna Moksa palam prāpti: ; Thithiksa abāvē, vicārēna palam aprāpti:, tastmāt Thithiksāmēva moksasya kāranam.
Thus by yukthi pramāna’s, following ācārya’s line of thought we have proved thithiksa to be that aspect of knowledge as the moksa sadhana. Further more.

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1) Ch Up 8.15.1
2) Sat cit ānandam advayam Brhma – ‘ekamevādvitiyam’ Ch Up 6.2.1
3) ‘Sēyam brānthi nirālambhā sarva nyāya virodhini’ – Surēswarācārya

4) nasatah asti iti nāsti - Bāsya
5) …dvandva ca sakāranasya asatah na vidyatē bāvah iti tata satah ca ātmanah abāvah avidyamānatah na vidyaytē…

6) jnānī Visnoh tattva vit – bāsya to Gita XV.16.1

will continue ...