Consciousness in visishtadvaita

[Martin Gansten]

Dear list members,

I recently posted the query below to RISA-L, with no response whatsoever; I
hope to have better luck on this list. Apologies to those who have seen the
post already.

* * * * * * * * * *
Here is a question for any visishtadvaita experts in our ranks: while
reading van Buitenen's translation of Ramanuja's Vedarthasamgraha just now,
I was somewhat surprised by the following note (p. 186, n. 36):

"jnanasvarupamityetavannirdesyam cannot be taken to mean that the atman *is*
pure knowledge, but that the knowledge characteristic for the atman is a
svarupanirupanadharma 'an attribute describing the proper form' ... the
tenet that jnana is an attribute, not the essence, is fundamental to R.'s
doctrine."

> From my reading (though not recent) of Chari's summary of Desika's
Tattvamuktakalapa, I seem to recall a doctrine of two kinds of jnana:
essential consciousness (svarupajnana) and attributive consciousness
(dharmabhutajnana), the first being the actual substance of the atman, and
the second, its attribute. These were likened to a flame and its radiance,
respectively. I also have a faint memory of reading something similar in the
Yatindramatadipika. So my question is: have I misunderstood Chari's (or
Desika's) intentions in making consciousness the substance of the atman, or
is this a post-Ramanuja doctrine of visishtadvaita, or is van Buitenen just
a little rash in completely denying jnana the role of a substance/essence?

Many thanks in advance,
Martin Gansten