Mananam

222 aum namO bhagavathey vaivasvathAya mruthyave brahmavidyAchArya nachiketase cha.  Salutation to Bhagavan Yama (death), son of the Sun (vivasvAn) and the imparter of Brahma Vidya to Nachiketa.  The following 12 verses have the constant refrain  etad vai tat – This verily is that , reminding us our essential nature, while guiding us to recognize our Self as it really is.  Why does Sruti repeat the truth 12 times ?  Sri Sankara while commenting on Katha 2.2.8 says : -  QUOTE The knowledge of the unity of the Self is supported by pramAna and is reiterated quite often, yet it does not stick in the minds of those with crooked intellect, i.e. in the minds which have become unsettled on account of the (consuming varied) views of numerous logicians. Therefore, Sruti, with the anxiety for (thier well being  & proper knowledge ) inculcation, says (the truth - etad vai tat) again and again....  UNQUOTE -------------------- yena rūpa ṃ rasa ṃ gandha ṃ śabdān sparśāg ͫ ś ca maithun ā n .

Four Beautiful Mantrās from Brihadāranyaka Upani ṣ ad (4-4-12-15)& Śri Śankara bhā ṣ yam of those mantras. ātmāna ṃ cedvijānīyād ayam asmi iti pūru ṣ a ḥ kim icchan kasya kāmāya śarīram anusañjvaret .. 4.4.12 ..   If a man knows the Self (ātmāna ṃ cedvijānīyād) as ‘I am this’ (ayam asmi iti), then desiring what and for whose sake will he suffer in the wake of the body (anusañjvaret) ?   Śri Śankara bhā ṣ yam : The word 'if' shows the rarity of Self-knowledge. Knows how? As 'I am this' Supreme Self, the witness of the perception of all beings, which has been described as 'Not this, not this,' ............which is always the same and is in all beings (i.e. Self), and which is naturally eternal, pure, enlightened and free ( nityaśuddhabuddhamuktasvabhāvo ) . Since he as the Self has nothing to wish for, and there is none other than himself for whose sake he may wish it, he being the Self of all, therefore desiring what and for whose sake will he

 222 Reflection on Vedanta as Śabda pramā ṇ a – An Advaita perspective By Eashwar Thiagarajan Purpose and Organization of the essay Purpose: The word Śabda in the phrase Śabda pramāṇa, refers to the entire corpus of Vedic revelation. This covers the revelations in the karmakāndā of the veda (i.e. topics like life after death, about swargā, about  puṇyā and pāpah, important yajna kratu for achieving worldly and other worldly goals etc.) and the jnāna kānda (i.e. upaniṣads also known as brahmavidyā or knowledge of Brahman). The essay (however) confines itself, specifically to the jnāna kānda portions while discussing Śabda pramāṇa and advaita vedanta. In other words, this essay tries to answer the question – what does advaita vedānta mean, when it says upaniṣad is Śabda pramāṇa? The essay proceeds to raise several pertinent points, questions for discussion and tries to provide clarification based on the teachings of Śri Śankarāchāryā & Ś ri Sureśvarāchārya, in the process.  The words