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Argues that the metaphor of the rope and the snake is merely a starting point for an explanation of Advaita Vedanta; explores the strengths and weaknesses of the metaphor. ... Read more

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Does not explore the spiritual metaphor of snake and rope.
Professor Sharma, with incredible thoroughness looks at how the snake and rope analogy can be applied to philosophical systems, but does not get to the root of its meaning.

imagine... there is a candle burning in a dark place, one does not know where this place is or what it is, it is surrounded by the darkness of ignorance. around the candle is coiled a large snake, it is writhing and undulating, its tongue flikering in and out... a slightly frighteneing scene. the snake represents the grasping selfish ego. suddenly the candle is blown out (nibbana), smoke wafts away from it, and lo and behold daylinght! the snake has has miraculously become a rope, neatly coiled around the exinguished candle. it can now be seen that one is in a room, sunlight and fresh air breezing thought. that the snake has become a rope, can be compared to the blowing out of the flame of ignorance in the brightness of day. or the exitinguishing of the individual identity in anatman.

it may be accepted that when brahman atman is attained that the snake of the individual ego has dissolved into sameness, that all duality is melted away, but still a self of sorts remains. the significance of the rope is very similar to the significance of the snake, in that both are threatening, the snake more overtly so.
if the rope in part represents brahman, it has many uses, but its ultimate purpose can still seem very threatening.

the selfish ego is dangerous and unpredictable, especially if left to its own devivces. the rope is apparently a safer object, but seen from the point of view that i take, the purpose of the rope is to hang whats left of an identity. that all that one is may be replaced by emptiness. it is the representation of the ultimate deconstruction. the rope on which Brahman spiritually hangs himself. this is not nihilistic, since once emptied of all things... consciousness, awareness, being etc etc etc there still remains something that is a no thing. this no thing though not aware is not unaware. though empty, is not unfull. no longer is there any sameness, nor difference. looking deeply, though the appearance of both remain.

it cannot be denied by the Advaitin that the single most significant and somewhat intimidating purpose of a piece of rope is the ability to hang oneself with it, but this is what one must do spiritually (but not in reality of course) if one wishes to procede beyond samatman/brahman atman, and embody that which is beyond all change. empty of all characteristics, nothing to be destroyed and yet still something.

do not get the impression that i am a nihilist who wants people to harm themselves. i do not want that, but rather i look back to Jesus Christ who said thata man or woman "must die to self". that growth spiritually sometimes requires a form of dying to self. that one like the snake sheds the old skin into something new. or like a caterpillar that becomes a still crysalis which to all appearances does not seem to be alive, but hatches into a butterfly. lets be honest... that is the most potent metaphorical import of the rope.

White Lotus. x

atman= individual egotistical, individual, separatness.
samatta/samatman = one self, all things the same, one as all.
anatta/anatman = the dissolving of the five skhandas that give personal experience of self. no self any longer. disslution of ego. no longer me, nor mine.
sunyatta/sunyatman = replacing all that one is with emptiness in a tangible way. ... Read more

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This volume offers a collection of essays by scholars who treat various aspects of the Hindu thinker Samkara (ca 700 CE) and his system of Advaita Vedanta. Topics include the contemporary relevance of Samkara for inter-religious dialogue and human rights as well as revised assessments of Samkara's understanding of divine grace, the role of the gods, Buddhism, Samkara's relation to later Advaita, and the unity of the self. The introductory essay of this commemoration volume assesses the place and value fo Richard De Smet's work in the context of 20th century Samkara scholarship. ... Read more

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He knows his stuff!
Bradley J. Malkovsky is my professor at the University of Notre Dame, and if this book exemplifies partially some of the ideologies and thought-provoking concepts that he presents in his lectures, then it is a great work indeed!His insight on the Christian-Hindu relationship is eye-opening, triggers the gears of thought, and develops a strong thirst for future studies in search for the "Truth"... ... Read more

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Study on âSåaråirakamåimåaòmsåabhåaòsya by âSaçnkaråacåarya. ... Read more

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Study of Saçnkòsepaâsåaråiraka of Sarvajänåatman, condensed version of âSåaråirakamåimåaòmsåabhåaòsya of âSaçnkaråacåarya, work on Advaita Vedanta philosophy. ... Read more

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A critical analysis of the philosophy of Advaita Vedanta by comparing the views of the Bhamati and the Vivarana Schools, the two most important protagonists of Sankara's philosophy, with a detailed study of the original texts. A must for research scholars of Advaita Vedanta and for all those interested in Indian Philosophy. ... Read more

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Study of Advaita Vedanta philosophy. ... Read more

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Partial Contents:

Section 1:Classical AdvaitaPre-SankaraEpicsPuranasSankaraOther Systems 1-2Mandana & SuresvaraPost-SankaraBhamati TraditionIllusoriness of the World

Section 2:Contemporay Indian Philosophy

Section 3:Advaita in Vernaculars:TamilTeluguMalayalamKanadaMarathiGujaratiHindiPunjabiBengaliOriya ... Read more

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Worth reading twice!
What can't be known, can't be known. Ludwig Wittgenstein.

This is a book about the language of religious discourse, with a particular emphasis upon the way in which Advaita Vedanta approaches this, with its `two-level' perspective. Its tone is academic (hardly surprising when it was originally submitted as a doctoral thesis) but, for the most part, it is perfectly readable, given an interest in the subject and a little concentration. And the effort is most definitely worthwhile. For me at least, this way of looking at the teaching of advaita was a novel one. And I found that it enables one to bring fresh understanding to some intrinsically difficult concepts.

Much of the material is about religious discourse in general and the various arguments given by philosophers as to why it is or isn't meaningful. Initial discussions relate to the basic problem of how we can speak about a transcendent absolute reality, given our intrinsically dualistic language and what it can actually tell us that is meaningful. There is a section comparing the views of the various schools of Eastern philosophy to put Advaita into context and this is followed by a more in-depth study of Advaita's treatment of the scriptures as a source of knowledge. This also addresses the meanings of and relationships between words and sentences, knowledge, universals, primary and secondary meanings etc. And it explains the key differences between `descriptive' language or `existential' statements and `prescriptive' or `injunctive' ones.

There is also a fascinating section about Western philosophers' thoughts on the subject. This is the most taxing part of the book but there are numerous opportunities for flashes of insight. It takes us from the `quasi-cognitive approach of analogical predication' (yes - I will have to read the book again to remember what this means!) to the `conceptual relativism' of D. Z. Phillips (ditto) and philosophers such as Ian Ramsey (who proposed that religious language is logically `odd'!). Much of the section revolves around the famous `challenge' of Anthony Flew who modified the `Gardener Parable' of John Wisdom, in order to argue that the problem with religious discourse is that it cannot be falsified. And, if a scriptural statement can be neither verified nor falsified, it is essentially meaningless. (See [...]

But it is the section on the way in which Advaita itself uses its concept of vyavahAra versus paramArtha, in order to negate the dualistic and point to the non-dual reality, which makes the book particularly valuable from this reader's point of view. Grimes explains the traditional view on this and then argues that one can actually speak of an `Absolute Language', which points directly and immediately to the Absolute. This is effectively what Direct Path tries to do.

It is one of those books that really does need to be read again in order fully to appreciate what is being said. But, unlike most books that fall into that category, this one actually does merit re-reading - and I will certainly do so!

Dennis Waite, author of Back to the Truth: 5000 years of Advaita
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Critical study of Brahmasiddhi of Maònòdanamiâsra, classical treatise on Advaita ontology. ... Read more

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This digital document is an article from The Journal of the American Oriental Society, published by American Oriental Society on July 1, 2003. The length of the article is 3119 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: The Method of Early Advaita Vedanta.(Reviews of Books)(Book Review)
Author: John A. Taber
Publication: The Journal of the American Oriental Society (Refereed)
Date: July 1, 2003
Publisher: American Oriental Society
Volume: 123Issue: 3Page: 695(5)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more

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Latest in this major reference series. volume X not pub. yet. This has specialty essays on Advaita Vedanta, 800-1200 AD. ... Read more