Alizadeh's Semidefinite Programming page

The link The Semidefinite Programming page is maintained by Farid Alizadeh. Also, the link: Papers on semidefinite Programming has a collection of (quite a few of) the classic papers on SDP and Ellipsoid method. Read the rest of this entry >>

Terror attack in IISc

News link from a dear friend of mine: Terror attack at IISc, Bangalore; 1 killed, 4 injured. My condolences to the family of Prof. Puri, who was killed in the attack. I sincerely hope that all the injured academecians recover and the perpetrators are caught and put to justice.

This blogger knows one of the victims, Prof. Vijay Chandru from his days at IISc, as his first semester faculty advisor, with a warm heart and resourcefulness. Prof. Chandru went on to set up the Simputer.org with others in the CS-dept. Of course, not joining either Simputer (or better, strand genomics) of BLR --and sticking to the organization he was working in-- was one of the most toughest and painful decisions that this blogger had to make.

According to the following news item: Outstanding Social Scientists/Scientists:Science and Society" award to Prof. Vijay Chandru,

"Outstanding Social Scientists/Scientists:Science and Society" award to Prof. Vijay Chandru

The Hari om Ashram Trust Award entitled "Outstanding Social Scientists/Scientists:Science and Society" award for the year 2003 in the recognition of the outstanding work done has been confereed upon Prof. Vijay Chandru. The award carries a sum of Rs.50,000/- and the citation.

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More links:
Abinandanan, a Professor from IISc has the following to say: Terrorist attack in IISc (link via DDD).

IndiaUncut has the following to say: From HITTs to LISTs? and has the following theory, which classifies possible targets of terror attacks: Soft targets for hard terrorists and also the following: Terror, and the game we love.
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PS: A very strongly worded editorial from Indian Express: Congress’s software (link via secular-right).
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Upadate(01/02/06): Subbu says

Prof Chandru is recovering fine. His operation on the shoulder was successful. Another operation would be required in a couple of weeks. Two bullets hit him.

Read the rest of this entry >>

One year from 26th Dec 2004

I thought nukes were a problem of the past,
and that terrorism is a fear that will not last,
nature told me that it never was too kind,
to the masses of mankind,
fury was unleashed across the coast.
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Remembrance Week - 26th December, 2005 - 1st January, 2006 (link via IndiaUncut). Read the rest of this entry >>

Smile for success, tremble at power of information

Smile for Success (link via India Uncut).
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The power of Google Earth that can make govts. shake, vs. the feelings of someone who could reconnect to their place using the same power. Read the rest of this entry >>

Arvind Sharma's book on Sleep as a State of Consciousness

Thanks to a request of a dear friend of mine, I could read parts of this book again and write this review.
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This post, and the ones following it, are on the book Sleep As a State of Consciousness in Advaita Vedanta by Arvind Sharma. As the title explains, Prof. Sharma delves deeply into the avasthatraya aspect of Advaita. Prof. Sharma says in the introduction that "understanding this aspect of Advaita is the first, and possibly most important aspect of Advaita".

The book is organized as to how various philosophers of ancient and moden India --who have cast their long shadows on Advaita-- have thought of, and reasoned about the aspect of avasthatraya(the trichotomy of states), in Advaita.

In concrete, the contents of the book are as follows:

sleep in Prasthanatraya

sleep in Mandukyacharica (or Mandukya Upanishad)

sleep in Sankara Advaita

sleep in Later Advaita

sleep in Moden Advaita

Prasthanatraya is the three texts: Upanishads, Brahmasutras and BhagavadGita. The Mandukya Upanishad is one of the Upanishads, on which Gaudapada who preceeded Sankara (to whom Sankara originally wanted to be a disciple of?), is said to have a written a commentary, which in turn had a special influence of Advaita. Sankara of course, is the exegete from 8th century who cast, possibly the longest shadow on Advaita, Vedanta, Sanatana Dharma, and other Indic religions.

The later Advaita is about the points of view of Sureshwara, Padmapada --who were famous disciples of Sankara and set up the Vivarna school-- and Vacaspati Misra of the 9th and 10th century --who set up the rival Bhamati school-- and others. The two schools differ on various aspects: (1) "where does ignorance originate from": According to Vivarna, Brahman-Atman is the locus of avidya. Bhamati, on the other hand holds that jiva is the locus of avidya. (2)The other difference is the question of "the preexistence of Brahman vis-a-vis the creation" (did the creation of Brahman preceed the creation? If so how?). Another major later-Advaitin is Vidyaranya of the 14th century, who arguing about the characterizations of bliss experienced by human beings, explained on the blissful nature of dreamless-sleep. The chapter has points of views of other later-Advaitins, namely: Sadananda and Dharmaraja.

In the modern Advaita, the discussion is mainly about Swami Krishnananda (of the Divine Life Society), Ramana Maharishi.

In the introduction itself, Prof. Sharma asks,

This monograph deals with the question of sleep in Advaita Vedanta. But the theme presupposes that the phenomen of sleep is an issue of some kind for Advaita Vedanta in particular, or Indian philosophy in general. For the reader who does not share this presupposition, such questions as the following will naturally arise: 'why should philosophers be concerned with sleep as an epistemological or religious problem? Why are Indian philosophers concerned with it? Why do Advaita philosophers view sleep as an important philosophical dilemma, and why are they losing sleep over it?'

Giving a reply to the above question, Prof. Sharma smartly makes an analogy of Advaita with Physics and Chemistry. In Physics, the material world is reduced to either matter or energy. Chemistry on the other hand, reduces substances to the periodic elements. In a similar way, Prof. Sharma says, Advaita reduces the multiplicity of human experience into the avasthatraya, so that some "reasonable analysis" could be done. Prof. Sharma points out that this classification is extremely rational and experiential and not necessarily revelational or scriptural. (My posts on Prof. Sharma's other books: on his book on Advaita Vedanta and on his book on the experiential approach to Advaita.)

from the Sankhya yoga of Gita:

II.69: What is night to all beings, therein the self controlled one is awake. When all beings are awake, that is the night of the sage who sees.

To be continued... Read the rest of this entry >>

An Advaitic interpretation of the Lord's prayer

Swami Prabhavananda gives a wonderful Vedantic interpretation of the Sermon on the Mount. I find it a little too theistic. The following is an attempt to interpret the Lord's Prayer in an Advaitic way:

9 After this manner therefore pray ye:

O Jiva, pray in the following way:

Our Father which art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come.

O ParaBrahma which is the highest abode of the Atman,
Whatever names (and forms) are you worshipped, let them be sacred,
and You are everywhere, in the world, in the Maya and in the Atma.


Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

The realization that the Atman is not different from the Brahman will dawn on all the individual jivas.

Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we forgive our debtors.

Let the grace of seeing through Maya be in every jiva. Let there be cessation of all bonds with Maya.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil:
However powerful the avidya maya be -- or the one that has its beginnings in Vidya -- help this Atman stay away from its powerful clutches.


For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

Let this happen in all the Jivas in the world and Let every Atman realize this truth, consciousness and Bliss forever. Let it be so.

Om. Peace, Peace, Peace
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May the Christ within us grow. May we conquer the evil of avidya-maya, grow beyond maya and obtain God-realization! Read the rest of this entry >>

Monotheistic religions

This is from the foreword of The Way to God by Arun Gandhi:

When Grandfather confessed to his Christian friends how much he was impressed by the Sermon on the Mount he was asked, "Why don't you become a Christian?" "When you convince me that all Christians live according to the Sermon on the Mount, I will be the first to change my religion," he responded.

From an idea I got from reading Atanu's blog, the following is a possible debate about monotheistic religions vs. multi-theistic religions:

She: Isn't monotheistic religion much better than multi-theistic religion?

I: I would assume you like democracy better than communism. Yes?

She: Yes.

I: I would also assume that you like a free market rather than a monopoly of the market. Yes?

She: Yes, but what have any of these got to do with religions?

I: In the religious sense, multi-theism is equivalent to democracy in politics and free-market in economics. The moment I get ready to pray to the idols of two gods, which are beside each other, I understand that there are multiple ways to the same truth. It also makes me (and some other people) question: what is the power behind the gods. What are the qualities that can make me a replica of God. That is one advantage of multi-theism. Mono-theism OTOH, has the disadvantage that you have to accept that God is God, because He is God. You accept that apriori. It (monotheism) is good in the sense that, if you understand the core of what He said, to His chosen people, you are at peace. However, if there is some aberration in the communication, either due to the words of the chosen people, or due to your (mis)interpretation, or due to the fact that words donot have the power to communicate some ideas, then you are a dangerous entity. This is because, you believe in something blindly, and believe that it is the only truth.

She: Yes, that's a good analogy. But, idol worship could also go haywire. It could leave confused masses. It could also leave masses who accept anything less than Truth.

I: Yes. good observation. Idol worship could result in masses being ignorant of the truth. However, it is my opinion that it is a less dangerous way.

She: That's right, but how is it less dangerous?

I: Do you agree that middle way of Buddha is a beautiful concept?

She: Yes

I: Do you also agree that it is extremely difficult to practise it?

She: Yes.

I: Do you agree that multi-theism is more middle-wayed than mono-theism?

She: Yes. So, you are saying that as moderation in everything is what Buddha preached, mono-theism is a non-middle-wayed-way. The opposite of which is multi-theism.

I: Yes multi-theism is inherently more moderate and more tolerant that mono-theism and should be practised when there is a choice between the two.

From Atanu's blog, I got the link to a blog which opposes Monotheistic religions tooth and nail: It is Monotheism is evil. Though some ideas on that blog are extreme, have a set of valid points.

The following is a quote from the movie Gandhi:

I am a Muslim and a Hindu and a Christian and a Jew and so are all of you.

Read the rest of this entry >>

Serpent and the Rope watch: Tristan and Isolde

The references to Tristan and Isolde, one of the classic love stories of the west, in The Serpent and the Rope by Raja Rao are many. This link has the abridged story (one more abridged one here).

The story is being made into a movie. Here is a trailer.

Wagner has an opera on the same. According to this link (again)

Tristan and Isolde is considered one of the most emotionally gripping operas ever written, and is, perhaps, Richard Wagner's greatest work.

To listen to it.
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update(12/21): Shyamala Narayan's Raja Rao: Man ans his works has the story of Tristan and Iseult. Also, it has a comparision of The Serpent and the Rope with The Waste Land by T.S.Eliot.

A much later update(01/14): According to the review in NYTimes and also other places, it seems the movie was not well made. Read the rest of this entry >>

Emerson on Indian texts

Emerson, has the following to say about the texts from India:

"In all nations there are minds which incline to dwell in the conception of the fundamental Unity. The raptures of prayer and ecstasy of devotion lose all being in one Being. This tendency finds its highest expression in the religious writings of the East, and chiefly in the Indian Scriptures, in the Vedas, the Bhagavat Geeta and the Vishnu Purana. These writings contain little else than this idea, and they rise to pure and sublime strains in celebrating it."(Essays, X, p. 120)

More impressions here. Reading the book: Vedic Religion and Philosophy by Swami Prabhavananda. The above quote was written on the book, possibly by the person who donated it to the library of Colorado College.

PS: As it is that time of the year, I have again ordered the book The Sermon on the Mount according to Vedanta by Swami Prabhavananda from library. Will post on the same. Read the rest of this entry >>

Criteria of Knowledge

In the summary of the book The Essential Vedanta : A New Source Book of Advaita Vedanta by Eliot Deutsch and Rohit Dalvi, there is a section in which the authors define the criteria of knowledge:

All knowledge is intrinsically valid. One can falsify a judgement by experience which is contradictory to it, but one can never completely verify a judgement by external means.

All knowledge acquired through the various pramanas [means of valid knowledge] is valid in its own proper sphere, but insofar as it is subject to contradiction by another qualitatively different kind of experience it is necessarily "relative" knowledge. Brahman-knowledge is alone incapable of contradiction.

There definitely are trends of similarity between these two statements and the statements of Godel's incompleteness theorem from logic.

I am not sure if these are general inferences that the authors make, or have translated them from definite sources in Vedanta. Yet to verify. Read the rest of this entry >>

Happy Gita Jayanthi!

From the preface of The Bhagavadgita by S.Radhakrishnan.

aum parthaya pratibodhitam bhagavata narayanena swayam
vyasena gradhitam purana muninam madhye mahabharatam
advaitaamrithavarshinim bhagavatim astadasadhyayinim
amba twam anusandhaninim bhagavadgite bhavadveshinim

Taught by the blessed Narayana Himself to Arjuna, compiled by Vyasa, the ancient seer, in the middle of the Mahabharatha, I meditate on thee, O Mother, O Bhagavadgita, the blessed, of eighteen chapters, the bestower of nectar of non-dualistic wisdom, the destroyer of rebirth.


samasta vedartha sarasangraha bhutam samasta purushartha siddim

This famous Gitasastra is an epitome of the essential of the whole Vedic teaching. A knowledge of its teaching leads to the realization of all human aspirations.

I find solace in the Bhagavadgita that I miss even in the Sermon on the Mount. When disappointment stares me in the face and all alone I see not one ray of light, I go back to Bhagavadgita. I find even a verse here and a verse there and I immediately begin to smile in the midst of overwhelming tragedies -- and my life has been full of external tragedies -- and if they have left no visible, no indelible scar on me, I owe it all to the teachings of the Bhagavadgita: M.K.Gandhi, Young India (1925)

My personal copies of Bhagavadgita (in no particular order):

• The one by Eknath Easwaran: simple just like the other writings of Eknath Easwaran.
  
  
• The extended three volume edition of the above by Eknath Easwaran: Vol. 1: The End of Sorrow, Vol.2: Like a Thousand Suns and Vol.3: To Love Is to Know Me .
  
  
• Bhagavad-Gita as it is by Bhakti Vedanta Swami Prabhupada, the originator of ISKCON: More emphasis on the Love of Krishna as a way to Peace. The book has very nice pictures.
  
  
• God Talks with Arjuna: The Bhagavad Gita by Paramahansa Yogananda : a very scholarly translation, I think the translation is in the Yogic tradition prescribed by the school of Shri. Yogananda. The book has very nice pictures. The introduction to this book has a Yogic interpretation of the story and characters from MahaBharatha war.
  
  
• Bhagavad-Gita: The Song of God by Swami Prabhavananda of the Ramakrishna order and founder of Vedanta society of Southern California. Very simple, very beautiful. A free translation. Has the NeoVedantic-Advaitic theory (this is a term Prof. Grimes and a couple of Philosphers use for the the school of Shri Ramakrishna Math) propounded by the Ramakrishna order.
  
  
• Bhagavad-gita by Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan. Very scholarly. One of my own first copies.
  
  
• Gita Makarandam by Shri Vidya Prakasananda Swami. I own a copy in Telugu. Very refreshing with both Advaitic and Bhakti overtones and is both quite scholarly and simplistic at the same time.
  
  
• The Gospel of Selfless Action or the Gita According to Gandhi by Mahadev Desai. Mahadev Desai, incidentally was described by Gandhi as his Lakshman. I read parts of it long time back.
  
  
• The Song Celestial by Edwin Arnold. A free poetic translation into English. Also said to be one of the first translations of Gita into English. Very simple ala the one by Swami Prabhavananda.
  
  
• The Song Celestial by Ramana Maharishi. Contains a subset of the verses, selected by Shri. Ramana Maharishi himself.
  
  
• The Bhagavad Gita, pocket edition by Swami Nikhilananda.
  
  

Read the rest of this entry >>

SaChin scores record century

Sachin (root: SaChin or Sat-Chin?) scored the 35th century the greatest by any cricketer in the final form of test cricket. More pointers at prem's blog. Read the rest of this entry >>

Shloka on Sankaracharya Bhagavadpada

sruti smriti purananam alayam karunalayam
namami bhagavatpadam sankaram loka sankaram

I salute the divine feet of the great Sankara,
the repository of sacred scriptures,
an abode of immense compassion,
who ever accomplishes the good of the world

Taken from the preface of The Vivekachudamani of Sankaracharya Bhagavatpada: An Introduction and Translation by John A. Grimes. John Grimes, begins the Vivekachudamani with the following Shloka:

Sarva-vedanta-siddanta-gocharam tam agocaram
govindam paramanandam sad-gurum pranto'smy aham

This is what Grimes says about the invocation Shloka:

Traditionally, Indian philosophical treatises begin with an invocation to God and/or one's Guru. Sankara, in this invocation, igeniously, insighfully and subtly reveals the non-duality of Advaita even as he offers his obeisance simultaneously to both God and Guru. He was able to do this because, one of the names for God is Govinda and the name of Sankara's Guru was algo Govinda. Intriguingly, this stanza simultaneously admits both interpretations. Underlying this play of language is the insight that God, Guru and the goal of life for the individual are not different; they are the same.

Read the rest of this entry >>

Surprising results in theory

In an excellent post by Bill Garasch and others on Lance's weblog, the surprising results of CS-theory are listed. The comments section has the opinions of some people on whether a result can be considered BIG or not. Read the rest of this entry >>

Words of great people

Why does the religion whose originator preached "love everyone" practise hate? Why are the followers of a religion which preaches "peace and universal brotherhood", is the cause for the greatest disturbance in today's world? Why is the religion whose originator promised "freedom of the mind", preach the greatest control of mind? Finally, why are people of a religion whose basic tenet is "there are many paths to God - find your own and, be at peace" being quite intolerant?

Without practising a particular religion, how do we go beyond religion? What leads us beyond dogma? How much do we have to progress in religion to be infinitely tolerant?

How and when do we understand the exact meaning of the great words, of the great people, who were originators of the great religions? How do we go beyond the duality that surrounds us, and is within most of our actions?

I donot have answers.

The Mahavakya from Aitareya Upanishad (from Rig Veda) "Pragyanam Brahman" is apt. If the great seers have experienced Brahman knowingly, and want to describe that Brahman to the common people, that Brahman which has been said to be -- among its various attributes -- indescribable, how do the common people, who have not experienced Brahman knowingly, know that the purport of the words of the seers in the right context? How do the common people, the multitudes, know that there is imperfection in description of Brahman by those seers themselves, those who were that wise to know that what they have experienced is Brahman? After all, Isn't Brahman what we experience everyday, whenever we are experiencing Truth, Consciousness or Bliss? This, however does not make us experience it knowingly as, even animals experience it unknowingly. Do the animals know what they are experiencing? Do the multitudes know what makes them happy? Experiencing Brahman knowingly is what differentiates the seers from the rest. How many of the wise seers, who were kind enough to come back and explain to the multitudes, know that there is bound to be imperfectness, some infidelity in their communication? If they did know, how many later tried to contradict their previous words, to explain their experience exactly? If so, how many of those seers were thought by the multitudes to lose their power of communication, lose their special touch, lose their magical words, lose their simplicity and thereby left to be old seers who have no more understanding of their own experience, than any other man? Later, how of the multitudes settled among themselves that, the words of the seers the first time they uttered were sacrosant, more sacrosant than any other human being, including the seers who uttered the words themselves? If so, why did it happen after some more time, that some of the multitudes turned skeptical of the words, the words which they themselves approved of before? Why did the skeptics began to feel that the words had lost their magic touch, lost the power which they had earlier? The seers themselves, either turned into skeptics themselves and thought to be madmen, or turned into sophists and fade into glory, or worst of all, saw the misunderstanding that happened and did not comment so that they can be adulated by the masses, knowing within their heart of hearts, that no one understood the words? What happened to the masses themselves, ones who remained faithful to the words and repeated them, but did not understand the purport? Forget the purport, the masses who did not even understand the meaning of the words as uttered by the seers, the first time they were uttered? The masses who did not even know that they did not know? What happened to all these types of people? How did history judge them? How did they judge themselves, just before their final breath? The seers, of course, being wise, unioned with the Brahman. What happened to the skeptics? What happened to the faithful?

I do not know.

I, however, remember the following passage from Siddhartha by Hesse:

...
Quoth Siddhartha: “I’ve had thoughts, yes, and insight, again and again. Sometimes, for an hour or for an entire day, I have felt knowledge in me, as one would feel life in one’s heart. There have been many thoughts, but it would be hard for me to convey them to you. Look, my dear Govinda, this is one of my thoughts, which I have found: wisdom cannot be passed on. Wisdom which a wise man tries to pass on to someone always sounds like foolishness.”

“Are you kidding?” asked Govinda.

“I’m not kidding. I’m telling you what I’ve found. Knowledge can be conveyed, but not wisdom. It can be found, it can be lived, it is possible to be carried by it, miracles can be performed with it, but it cannot be expressed in words and taught. This was what I, even as a young man, sometimes suspected, what has driven me away from the teachers. I have found a thought, Govinda, which you’ll again regard as a joke or foolishness, but which is my best thought. It says: The opposite of every truth is just as true! That’s like this: any truth can only be expressed and put into words when it is one-sided. Everything is one-sided which can be thought with thoughts and said with words, it’s all one-sided, all just one half, all lacks completeness, roundness, oneness.
...

What is the proof that me, who wrote these words, me who felt all these in a spirit of inspiration, I will understand the message in the above words after some time, whatever it is? I would, I truly would, if the words were written with true Brahman experience. Why do great seers from India pray for smriti? Why do seers pray for everlasting experiences? Read the rest of this entry >>

Geometric puzzle: division of k-d space using (k-1) dim objects

Given 2 points, how can you divide a a line so that you maximize the number of regions?

Given 3 lines, how can you divide the 2 dimensional space (a plane) so that you maximize the number of regions?

Given 4 planes, how can you divide the 3 dimensional space so that you maximize the number of regions?

Can you think of a way to divide a k-dimensional space by (k-1) dimensional objects, so you maximize the number of regions?



Solution: build a k-dimensional solution from a (k-1)-dimension solution. Read the rest of this entry >>

Introduction to Ashtavakra Gita

Once upon a time there was a student of the scriptures. He would work hard all day every day and then read aloud the holy language of sacred verses late into the night. His wife, round of belly with their coming child, would sit beside him in the dim room, listening as her weary beloved chanted the ancient words.

One late night in her eighth month a voice from inside her belly said to the father: "Sir, please be attentive – you are mispronouncing that verse." Tired and short-tempered, without thinking why he would feel so enraged at being corrected by an unborn child, the father cursed the voice- and because the father had built up merit, his curse took hold: the child was born deformed, with eight crooks in his body. That child was called Ashtavakra, a name which means `eight bends'. Everyone who saw him laughed in derision.

That crippled child was an enlightened master who took birth in this family to reveal in simple words the essence of mystical experience. Janaka, king of the known world, father of the bride of God, Sita, daughter of the earth, that very King Janaka became this crippled boy's disciple. The book based on that event is called The Song of the Eightfold Cripple, or Ashtavakra Gita.

Asthavakra was not keen on accepting students, and so had few. When King Janaka came to hear of the wisdom of the crippled child he approached the boy as a humble student, not a commanding king. The boy accepted the king instantly as his disciple. This caused some talk in the sangham. ~Ah, Ashtavakra does have favorites after all, he accepted the king without any of the trials he had all of us face!~ This grumbling became a quiet force, and Ashtavakra knew of it.

One day the King was late and so the boy delayed his discourse. The moment the king arrived, Ashtavakra spoke: `This day I have had a vision, the capitol city will erupt in terrible fires and earthquakes- all there will die. Those who have loved ones or valuables there must hurry now if they wish to save anything!'

All the monks left. As the dust settled, only the boy and the king were sitting. The boy said softly, `Great king, is there nothing you would save?` Janaka replied, ~My lord and my friend, you are my only treasure.~ The cripple nodded and softly said, ~Well then if I am indeed your treasure, mount your horse now and go and gather my students back to me, tell them I have been mistaken, the capitol city is in no danger. Take your horse, and go.~

Rising to do as bidden, the King put his foot into the stirrup, and as he swung up over the saddle, realization dawned in his mind. He swallowed, looked about him at this new earth, heard new birds singing for the first time, and then looked at the cripple at his feet. The two looked at one another, and then the king left to find the other students.

Once back, the other students grumbled at being sent about here and there on foolish errands. One or two howeverd did soon understand why the master had chosen the king as a student in his own way.

This is what was said that day, as all sat about and heard these words of nectarine wisdom. Read the rest of this entry >>

Aryan Invasion Theory, Amitav Ghosh

Now, even the BBC link seems to say so. As if someone believed in it! (link via santosh on the advaitin mailing list)

Amitav Ghosh write a very powerful and moving essay about the 1984 riots (link via Amit Verma).

Incidentally, Amitav Ghosh seems to be quite an interesting author. He is a recipient of the annual award by the Gyanpeeth (Is it the same as The Gyanpeeth award?).
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updated (11/22)
Some very good suggestions on teaching about Hinduism by Rosser. Link by Shadow Warrior. Read the rest of this entry >>

Translations by Swami Krishnanada

The Divine Life Society has lots of ebooks of Vedantic texts. The translations are done by Swami Krishnananda. The translation of BrahmaSutras (PDF link) has a very informative introduction of the schools of Indian philosophy (darsana) and also of the view points of the Acharyas who wrote commentaries of the BrahmaSutras.

The BrahmaSutras are part of the prasthatraya, the three sacred texts. It is said that a person wishing to start a new school of thought must write commentaries on the prasthanatraya as every Vedantic school builds from these. The prasthanatraya consist of the Upanishads (srutis, or revelation), the Bhagavad Gita (being the most important text of the smriti, recollection) and the BrahmaSutras (being of the category sutra, system).

The word sutra itself is etymologically related to sew and thread and hence means some kind of memory aid between different texts or thoughts. The sutra from Vedantic schools does not mean sutra the way Buddhist schools mean it. The BrahmaSutras are said to be terse and initially seem to contain contradictory thoughts. Swami Krishnananda says the following about them:

Sutras are concise aphorisms. They give the essence of the arguments on a topic. Maximum of thought is compressed or condensed into these Sutras in as few words as possible. It is easy to remember them. Great intellectual people only, with realisation, can compose Sutras. They are clues or aids to memory. They cannot be understood without a lucid commentary (Bhashya). The commentary also is in need of further elaborate explanation. Thus the interpretations of the Sutras gave rise to various kinds of literary writings such as Vrittis (gloss) and Karikas. The different Acharyas (founders of different schools of thought) have given their own interpretations of the Sutras to establish their own doctrines. The Bhashya of Sri Sankara on Brahma Sutras is known as Sariraka Bhashya. His school of thought is Kevala Advaita. The Bhashya of Sri Ramanuja who founded the Visishtadvaita School is called Sri Bhashya. The commentary of Sri Nimbarkacharya is known as Vedanta- parijata-saurabha. Sri Vallabhacharya expounded his system of philosophy of Suddhadvaita (pure monism) and his commentary on the Brahma Sutras is known as Anu Bhashya.

Also the following about the need to write commentaries on the classical texts:

Those who wish to study the philosophy of Vedanta should study the Ten Classical Upanishads and the Brahma Sutras. All Acharyas have commented on Brahma Sutras. This is a great authority for every philosophical school in India. If any Acharya wishes to establish his own cult or sect or school of thought he will have to write a commentary of his own on Brahma Sutras. Then only it will be recognised.

Writing the commentaries on the PrasthanaTraya started from Sri Adi Sankara, who started the Kevala Advaitic school. Sri Swami Krishnananda uses the term uncompromising monism, though I think Advaita or non-dualism is possibly a better word. The following is also from the introduction.

According to Sri Sankara, there is one Absolute Brahman who is Sat-chit-ananda, who is of an absolutely homogeneous nature. The appearance of this world is due to Maya - the illusory power of Brahman which is neither Sat nor Asat. This world is unreal. This world is a Vivarta or apparent modification through Maya. Brahman appears as this universe through Maya. Brahman is the only reality. The individual soul has limited himself through Avidya and identification with the body and other vehicles. Through his selfish actions he enjoys the fruits of his actions. He becomes the actor and enjoyer. He regards himself as atomic and as an agent on account of Avidya or the limiting Antahkarana. The individual soul becomes identical with Brahman when his Avidya is destroyed. In reality Jiva is all-pervading and identical with Brahman. Isvara or Saguna Brahman is a product of Maya. Worship of Isvara leads to Krama Mukti. The pious devotees (the knowers of Saguna Brahman) go to Brahmaloka and attain final release through highest knowledge. They do not return to this world. They attain the Nirguna Brahman at the end of the cycle. Knowledge of Nirguna Brahman is the only means of liberation. The knowers of Nirguna Brahman attain immediate final release or Sadyomukti. They need not go by the path of gods or the path of Devayana. They merge themselves in Para Brahman. They do not go to any Loka or world. Sri Sankara’s Brahman is Nirvisesha Brahman (Impersonal Absolute) without attributes.

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Who can show the right way?

Al (of advai.blogspot.com) was intent on proving to a certain community that their thinking of "their way to God is the only way" may not be right. I asked him to stop doing so, as no ordinary person can tell another what the right way is. Also, there is a futility in trying to convince a person who is unwilling to listen.

Initially it seems that, no ordinary man can show us the right way. We feel that we are atleast better that the multitudes who did not even begin their search for realization. So we feel that, only a realized soul, one who is somehow special, can lead us. So most of the quests for realization begin with a search for the Guru. The goal is clear: the Guru, or the Prophet, can lead us by some kind of magic. (This thought is also echoed in the last pages of the The Serpent and the Rope by Raja Rao.)

After some time, it also becomes apparent that, a realized soul cannot show a man the right way, if the man is unwilling to listen, or see things with an open mind. If one realized soul cannot show a man the right way, another realized soul cannot. This is because, no realized soul is greater than another.

It also become apparent that, when a man is willing to see the point and is doing effort to search for the truth, he does not need a realized soul to show him the right way. The right way manifests itself, as it was before him all the time. The moment a man is willing to search for the truth, there comes a time when his veil of ignorance automatically falls off. A realization dawns that a Guru is not doing some magic, but helping to remove the veil.

The where the purpose of a Guru is to just quicken the process. A Guru can reduce the amount of time a yearning soul has to spend in the searching. The purpose of Ishwara is also similar. As Ishwara has control on Maya, He too quicken the process. When I say an Ishwara, I mean the different manifestations of higher powers. They could be from the six Indian theistic schools. Or, they could be the Judeo-Christian-Islamic God.

Hence the sayings of Vivekananda: God is very merciful to those whom He sees struggling heart and soul for spiritual realization. But remain idle, without any struggle, and you will see that His grace will never come.

So, once we understand all this, we have a couple of questions:

What is the right thing for an ordinary man to do with respect to his realization: Should he search for a Guru or not? Should he pray to Ishwara or not?

What is the right thing for an ordinary man to do for the realization of his peers? Should he give them the insights he got? If so, how is he to know whether they are right or wrong? Should he correct them when he feels they are wrong? How does he know for sure whether he is right or wrong? from Plato: What is Good and What is bad, do we need someone to tell us Phaedrus?

What is the right thing for a realized man to do? Is this a trick question? A realized man is beyond right and wrong. What can a realized man do for others' realization? Just guide them, if he wants to.

The Maya of a person can be removed only by Ishwara. Can the Avidya of a person can be removed by a Guru? Possibly. The distinction between Maya and Avidya is possibly quite subtle, as it has caused considerable discussion among the disciples of Sri Adi Sankara. So I will not confuse the picture by posting on them now. Read the rest of this entry >>