Siddhanta Tattva with Auto Commentary-Sampradaya Nirupana (A Critical Edition and Study)

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About the Book A Critical Edition and Study is a text on the contribution to Advaita The writer contributes to all its aspects during post Sankara period. Sri Anantadeva represents an excellent instance of the relevance of Purva- Mimanasa-Stotras to the school of Advaita. He explains the concept of liberation in a lucid manner by adopting the Vivarana school of Advaita. In the realm of epistemology, Sri Anantadeva has a special point to make. He discusses the concept of maya in a detailed manner and concludes it by defining as of fifth kind - parcama - prakara. In respect of metaphysics, the author discusses the means to liberation, as vivida - paksa, and vedant - prakasa, and finally he favors the vedana - paksa propounded by Prakasatman. Sri Anantadeva establishes that sraval.la, manana and nididhyasana constitute the proximate means to the knowledge of Brahman.

Adopting the view of Prakasatman, the author says that they are of the newt-e of mental activities, and help in realizing the Brahman which is of the newt of truth. consciousness and bliss. The book includes a general introduction to the writer, a critical edition with variant readings of the text Siddhanta tattva with its commentary Sampradanirupana, appendix, and the bibliography.

About the Author Dr. (Mrs.) Ratna Purohit bas an excellent educational achievement. She was awarded with University Gold Medals in be B.A. (Hons.) and in M.A. Dr. Purohit obtained be Ph.D in 1988 from the Department of Sanskrit, University of Madras. She had been an Assistant Professor in the Department of Jainology and Comparative Religion at Jain Visva Bharati Institute, Ladnun from 1989 to 1994. After a brilliant educational career she served as a faculty at Vivekananda Institute of Languages, Ramakrishna Math, and Hyderabad from 2001 to 2011.

Besides be teaching expertise, she has been an independent writer contributing to various Journals, The Hindu- A Daily English ewes Paper, and The Vaarta· A Daily Hindi News Paper. As a translator, her career spans three decades. Dr. Purohit was assigned with a project sponsored by lilt, Hyderabad, from 2013 to 2015 contributing to Anusaaraka. She has specialized in Indian Philosophy in general and Advaita in particular. Dr. Purohit is a true spiritual practitioner, and devoted to Sri Ramakrishna Math and Mission.

Foreword The following pages embody the results of a systematic study in the field of Advaita philosophy by Dr. Ratna Purohit. It deals with the certain basic problems of the system. These problems which relate to Brahman, Maya, World, and Liberation have a universal bearing, and an attempt has been made to examine each of them and to determine its value from a particular point of view. It is bound to be of special interest to every earnest student of Indian philosophy in general and Advaita philosophy in particular.

The basic Advaitic principles are covered in this book, but a very unique contribution has been made by the author to introduce Purva-Mimamsa-Sutra- to explain some of the tenets of Ad vaita. A close examination of the work substantiates the claim of the author that the Sri Anantadeva has been selected with an eye on the complementary nature of his contribution. Thus the book maintains a thematic organization of the Advaitic thought.

The author has examined all the available material of the text as well of its commentary that throw light on Sri Anantadeva's life and thought. Though Advaita is the content of the book, but Sri Anantadeva, being the post -Sankara Advaita writer has shown that the technique of Nyaya can effectively be employed in favor of Advaita. In the present case, Sri Anantadeva successfully applies anumana pramana to establish the doctrine of the nature of Brahman. In explaining the nature of maya or avidya a clear demonstration of Nyaya technique is adopted.

The book consists of two sections, one devoted to the study and the other a critical edition with variant readings of the text with commentary. The citation of statements of the scriptures and Purva- Mimamsa-Sutra-s by the author contribute to the growth and development of Advaitic thought. Depth, lucidity, and precision characterize the whole work.

I have great pleasure in commending this work to serious students of Advaita. This is truly, a complementary book for every student of Advaita.

May the Grace and Blessings of Sri Ramakrishna ever be with Dr. Ratna Purohit? I also invoke my blessing on her for academic growth, and spiritual richness.

Preface Advaita is one of the schools of Vedanta, and one of the classic Indian paths to spiritual realization. The word - Advaita etymologically means that wherein there is the absence of duality. In other words, it stands for the non-dual entity which is the only reality, and the system that expounds the nature of such reality is, by courtesy, spoken of as Advaita.

God, soul and the world are considered as the apparent variations of a transcendental entity which is immutably homogeneous, bliss and non-dual, and this transcendental entity is called Brahman. All writers professing the Advaita doctrine agree in regard to the fundamental principles of Advaita. These principles may be summed up as follows: (1) Brahman is the only reality and it is the true import of the Upanisads; (2) the indeterminable maya or avidya is responsible for making Brahman appear as the phenomenal world; (3) the individual soul is none other than Brahman; (4) the world is non-real like the silver which appears where there is only nacre; (5) the non- real world is nevertheless practically efficient; and (6) the direct knowledge of Brahman is the sole means to liberation.

When it comes to developing these fundamental doctrines and working out their implications, Advaita writers show considerable originality. The variety of ways in which they deal with specific problems of Advaita may give the impression that there is more than one "school" of Advaita. But these variations do not jeopardize the commitment to the basic position of Advaita which all writers share. Hence it would be more proper to interpret these variations among writers as relating to the technique of Advaita - the technique of its exposition and defense - rather than to its content. The approach of Sri Anantadeva to specific problem in Advaita is typical and unique. But in no way does it make a departure from the fundamental tenets of Advaita. Within the framework of these tenets Sri Anantadeva contributes in his own way to the strength, richness, and clarity of Advaita philosophy. The text Siddhanta tattva, being the prakarana grantha, highlights the concept of liberation in a very unique and lucid manner.

In the realm of epistemology, Sri Anantadeva has a special point to make. He discusses the concept of maya in detailed manner and concludes it by defining as of fifth kind- parcama- prakara.

In respect of metaphysics, Sri Anantadeva, discusses the topic, namely, means to liberation, as vividisa' paksa, and vedana paksa, and finally he favors the vedana paksa propounded by Prakasatman.

The text attempts to unravel and assess the contribution made to the philosophy of Advaita by Sri Anantadeva of the post Salikara period. The reason for selecting the writer for the text is very much less known for his contribution made to Advaita. Sri Anantadeva was very much influenced by his father - Apadeva a savant in Purva Mimamsa, as the text cites the Purva Mimamsa Sutra-s for explaining the tenets of Advaita.

Book's Contents and Sample Pages