Origins of the "double-truth"

[Pravrajika Vrajaprana]

Honey, have you seen this? It's fascinating! EL, k



>This is a reply to Steve Farmer:
>
>My views are principally based on the writings of D.P. Chattopadhyaya,
>S.N.Dasgupta, Stcherbatsky, and others. I would suggest you read Dasgupta's
>"Indian idealism", and "History of Indian Philosophy vol.1", and
>Chattopadhyaya's "What is living and what is dead in Indian Philosophy" for
>a detailed account on this matter.
>
>Further, i find it strange that the Advaitists have been accused of
>surreptiously borrowing ideas from the Budhists by other Vedantists (in
>particular the Dvaitists, but also the Visistadvaitists and others) and by
>other Indian philosophers.
>For an extremely hostile attack on the Advaitists by the Dvaita Vedantists
>(on the grounds of their borrowing ideas from the Budhists), kindly see
>Encyclopaediea of Religion and Ethics vol.8, pg. 232-233. The views in the
>Encylopaedia are primarily based on two Dvaita texts--"Madhvavijaya"(Mv),
>and "Manimanjari"(Mm), both of which were written by Narayana, a son of
>Trivikrama, who was a direct disciple of Madhva. I am giving a few extracts
>from the Encyclopaedia here(copious references to the original texts are
>given at the end of almost every sentence in the encyclopaedia; i am not
>giving all the references):
>
>----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
><i> In the Vana-parvana(Mm iii.11,661f.)it is related that Bhima attacked
>certain Yaksas or Raksasas, belonging to the country beyond the Himalya, and
>killed their leader,Manimat.Manimat had earlier offerred a filthy insult to
>the Indian sage Agastya (the apostle of Southern India)....The narrative of
>the events in the Kaliyuga, or present age of the world, commences in the
>5th sarga of Mm. At first, the knowledge of the Vedas, as taught by Krsna
>and Bhima(Mm v.1), reigns supereme. Then the Asuras conspired to spread
>false doctrines. The demon Sakuni...points out that other heresies...had all
>failed (9-15). Therefore Manimat, who alone had enough skill, must become
>incarnate as a Brahman ascetic, and must destroy the Vedanta under cover of
>explaining it (15ff.). Manimat is dispatched with instructions to abolish
>the Vedas and Puranas, to ridicule the theory that Visnu has gunas, or
>qualities, and to establish the identity of the soul with Brahman. [note
>that, according to Dvaita, Brahman is endowed with all the auspicious
>attributes ("saguna"), while according to Advaita, Brahmana is devoid of any
>attributes ("nirguna")--Satya]
>
>Here (29), the story digresses to tell how at that time the whole Earth was
>under the sway of Budhism, and to describe the sway of Budhism, and to
>describe the efforts of Sabara and Kumarila to refute it by the aid of the
>Purva Mimansa.... The 6th sarga continues this, narrating the success of
>Kumarila...
>At this stage of affairs, Manimat is born as a widow's bastard (Mm v1.3, Mv
>i.46). He is hence named Samkara (the Madhva books uniformly change the
>great Samkara's[represented in the Encyclopaedia with a dot over the
>S--Satya] name to Samkara [no dot over the S-Satya])The object is plain.
>Samkara [with dot over the S] means "auspicious", but Samkara [with no dot]
>"misbegotten" or "rubbish".
>He is brought up in great poverty, and (as a slap at the monism subsequently
>taught by him), it is related that in his boyhood he could count only one
>thing at a time, never being able to see a second(Mm, v1.10).He is taken to
>Saurastra, where...he quickly masters the sacred books. He then goes from
>teacher to teacher, but is turned off by them for his heretical views. He
>invents his doctrine, described as "sunya-marga" and "nirgunatva" and is
>hailed by the demons as their savior (24).On their advice he joins the
>Budhists and teaches Budhism under cover of Vedantism. He makes the Vedas
>without meaning, and equates Brahman with nothingness ("sunyatva") (46).He
>becomes a Sakta, and messenger of Bhairavi, who confers upon him a magic
>spell (51).
>
>The 7th sarga describes further disgraceful events in Sanmkara's life. He
>seduces the wife of his Brahman host (1ff.). He makes converts by magic
>arts. He falls sick and dies. His last words are instructions to his
>disciples to uproot the learned Satyaprajna, the last of the great teachers
>of the Vedic doctrine.
>
>In the 8th sarga we have the doings of Samkara's followers. They persecute
>their opponents, burning down monasteries, destroying cattle-pens, and by
>magic arts killing women and children (2). They forcibly convert one of
>their chief opponents, Prajnatirtha, and compel him and his disciples to
>adopt the "Maya" system (5). These, however, still secretly adhere to the
>true religion....
>
>...The book[Mm] ends with a brief account of Madhva's work, specially
>mentioning that he composed a commentary on the "Vedanta-sutra" utterly
>destroying that made by the thief Manimat-Samkara. </i>
>
>---------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>If you were a little taken aback by the above, please know that i was
>personally flabbergasted when i came across this.
>
>-Satya
>
>
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