{"id":59,"date":"2025-08-06T16:35:56","date_gmt":"2025-08-06T16:35:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/parispanda.ssus.ac.in\/?p=59"},"modified":"2026-03-19T14:17:23","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T14:17:23","slug":"task","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/parispanda.ssus.ac.in\/index.php\/2025\/08\/06\/task\/","title":{"rendered":"The Task of Expressing the Ineffable: \u015aa\u1e45kar\u0101\u2019s Tryst with Language"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

Prof. Sreekala M. Nair<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Abstract<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Acharya \u015aa\u1e45kar\u0101 is undoubtedly one of the tall figures in Indian Philosophical arena and it wouldn\u2019t be an overstatement if we depict him as a bright star in the galaxy of world philosophers as well. The all-encompassing vision he promulgated carried the subtlest logical acumen, the deepest religious fervor and also the finest literary qualities, all the three faculties blended so finely with each other, each helping to enhance the efficacy of the other. This interdependence is best visible in the relation between the bh\u0101\u1e63yas<\/em> and the prakaranagra\u1e47thas<\/em>; while bh\u0101\u1e63yas<\/em> function as the basic ground upon which major theses are presented and logically argued out, in the latter he takes up the task of providing supportive arguments over and above what has been explicated in the bh\u0101\u1e63yas,<\/em> to establish his chosen theory, namely non-dualism. The third category in \u015aa\u1e45kar\u0101 literature comprises the s\u1e6dutis<\/em> and stotras,<\/em> where he explores the possibilities of language to expound the ineffable by articulating on the sagu\u1e47abrahman<\/em>, the qualified aspect of Brahman, an ontological category he accommodated within his theory to facilitate those who resort to the bi-ways to self – realization. Often scholars who take up an objective study of the philosopher view that either \u015aa\u1e45kar\u0101 is yielding himself to a plain contradiction by engaging in sagu\u1e47op\u0101san\u0101<\/em> or we will have to deprive him of the authorship of these devotional hymns.\u00a0 The present paper argues that the genius of \u015aa\u1e45kar\u0101 was exploring the possibilities of language to fathom the ineffable through poetics that in no way demean his other use of language as empowered by logic.\u00a0 This way, discarding both\u00a0 the options mentioned ahead, we\u00a0 arrive at a position wherein the authorship of these s\u1e6dutis<\/em> are retained with\u00a0 \u015aa\u1e45kar\u0101, and\u00a0 at the same time he could get away with\u00a0 the charge of self – contradiction.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Keywords<\/strong>: sagu\u1e47op\u0101san\u0101, bhak\u1e6di, j\u00f1\u0101na, advaita, mok\u1e63a, mumuk\u1e63u<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Some Introductory Remarks<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

It wouldn\u2019t be an overstatement if we say that \u015aa\u1e45kar\u0101 is one philosopher who has determined the course of Philosophy in India in the classical period. The greatness of this thinker lies in this that one can agree or disagree with him, but cannot ignore him or step aside him and his positions. The tall proclamations he had made were marked as a milestones in Indian philosophy, so much so that the history of Indian Philosophy itself has been bifurcated into two: the pre \u015aa\u1e45kar\u0101 and the post \u015aa\u1e45kar\u0101 periods.\u00a0 He is also remembered in the history of Indian Philosophy for having initiated the interpretative or commentarial tradition that worked so well with Vedantic thought, renewing it in interim periods as befitting the historical context in which it is studied, yet retaining the crux of it intact. In \u015aa\u1e45kar\u0101 we find mutually contradicting personal traits finely interwoven without demeaning the other. In the words of R. Balasubramanian, a veteran Advaitin of contemporary times, \u201cHe is at once a hard core traditionalist and an amazing down \u2013 to \u2013 earth realist, a great mystic and a radical, a fascinating idealist and a constructive religious reformer, an uncompromising intellectual and an ardent devotee.\u201d Even as he came up with innovative ideas with his Advaitic philosophy, he claimed no originality and chose to present himself as a mere spokesman of Upanisadic thought. His commitment to the tradition is remarkable, and is well appreciated down the years. He would leave out no occasion to reiterate the significance of the interrelation between what I have termed as the T \u2013 trio, the teacher, text and the tradition. Even as we grant that the basic ideas in Advaita are not \u015aa\u1e45kar\u0101\u2019s inventions, his originality lies in analysing and interpreting the Prasthanatraya,<\/em> so as to suite well with the vision of Advaita Vedanata, thus initiating the commentarial tradition, which later on became a format for all those who intended to advocate new philosophical thinking within Vedanta\u00a0 tradition.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Historians are bewildered with the amount of literature attributed to \u015aa\u1e45kar\u0101: they not only abound in size but also in variety. Over and above the bh\u0101\u1e63yas<\/em> on the Prasthanatraya<\/em>, \u015aa\u1e45kar\u0101 has been credited with a number of Prakara\u1e47a<\/em> granthas<\/em> and a good number of S\u1e6dutis<\/em> and S\u1e6dotras<\/em> as well. Thus, \u015aa\u1e45kar\u0101\u2019s literature can be divided into three categories: bh\u0101\u1e63yas, prakara\u1e47a granthas<\/em> and s\u1e6duti<\/em>\u00a0 literature. One will have to subscribe to the belief that Adi \u015aa\u1e45kar\u0101 is the author of all these three types of literature only by adhering to the faith in the tradition, not on the basis of any analysis of common linguistic style or basic ontological positions. The s\u1e6duti \u2013 s\u1e6dotra<\/em> literature of \u015aa\u1e45kar\u0101, presently a collection of over hundred works on varied topics, starting from vedantic wisdom to M\u0101thrupa\u1e45c\u0323akam<\/em>, expounding the glory of mother, gives a straight picture of the saint poet, and his wholesome personality.\u00a0 I would like to classify these s\u1e6dotras<\/em> and s\u1e6dutis<\/em> again into three categories, those that reveal\u00a0 philosophical insights like Man\u012bshapa\u1e45\u010bakam, vakyavrtti, advaitat\u0101nubh\u016bti, yatipa\u1e45c\u0323akam, m\u0101yapa\u1e45c\u0323akam, pra\u015bnottari<\/em> as belonging to the category of Vedantic hymns and those which address feminine deities like, lali\u1e6da pa\u1e45c\u0323aratnam, meenakshi pa\u1e45c\u0323akam, devibhuja\u1e45gam, saundarya lahari, \u015b\u0101rada bhuja\u1e45gam, m\u0101thrupa\u1e45c\u0323akam <\/em>in the second category and the rest of the s\u1e6dutis<\/em> addressing Gods like Vishnu, Shiva, Ganesha, Subrahmanya, Hanuman, and Dakshinamurthy as belonging to the third category. While in the first category of n Vedantic hymns the purpose seems to be to reassert the Vedantic principles in a lucid narration, discarding the argumentative and logical rigour inherent in it, and placing\u00a0 the hard core principles of Advaita in poetic form to make it more acceptable to the common man.\u00a0 The argumentative and interpretative method adopted in bh\u0101\u1e63yas<\/em> and prakara\u1e47a<\/em> gran\u1e6das<\/em>, he realized, wouldn\u2019t help to popularize the doctrine among the common man. The attempt seems to be to explore the possibilities of language to expound the Advaita doctrine, as someone who has sensed the nerve of Indian cultural tradition \u015aa\u1e45kar\u0101 might have been well aware of the K\u0101vyabodha<\/em>, the linguistic fervour installed in every Indian, and could have consciously employed it\u00a0 to realize his project. These philosophical lyrics aim to easily convey the sum and substance of the doctrine of Advaita and its basic metaphysical positions.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

As we know the doctrine of Advaita points to the subjectivity of consciousness and the objectivity of the rest of the phenomenal objects.\u00a0 For Advaita, the knower signifies a complex entity comprising\u00a0 of the seer and the seen (the d\u1e5b\u1e33<\/em> and d\u1e5b\u1e63ya<\/em>). Also note that an inquiry presupposes an object of inquiry. Tradition points out that the subject, who undertakes the inquiry is the j\u012bva<\/em>, which is a complex entity.\u00a0 Technically j\u012bva <\/em>refers to the phenomenal being, human endowed with the power of reasoning.\u00a0 To characterize the being in the world, Sankara uses the qualification of j\u00f1\u0101na \u2013 karma \u2013 adhik\u0101ra<\/em>, i.e., eligibility for knowledge and action. If the j\u012bva <\/em>is the inquiring subject, the entire world conditioned by space, time, and causality is termed as the object of inquiry. Thus, j\u012bva <\/em>\u2013 in \u2013 the world, which bears an organic relation with the world, is a pointer to a higher reality, which supports and sustains it.\u00a0 This is the philosophical significance of this very entity, which is indeed a subject – object complex. This abstract and purely conceptual thesis is put forth in simple poetic language in works like Bhajagovindam<\/em>, where the argumentative and logical components of the theory has been replaced with mundane life situations that intimately connect the doctrine with the daily life of a common man.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The second category, namely s\u1e6dutis<\/em> and s\u1e6dotras<\/em> that address the\u00a0 female deities in fact, brings him an aura of a tantric philosopher. Scholars stand divided on locating tantric traits in Sankara: while some argue that the genius of \u015aa\u1e45kar\u0101 could amalgamate the apparently contradictory views of tantra<\/em> and advaita<\/em>, the other group insists that the bh\u0101\u1e63yak\u0101ra<\/em> we are familiar with, endowed with great logical acumen, seem totally absconding in these s\u1e6dutis<\/em> and s\u1e6dotras,<\/em> and hence these must have been written by some later poets and would have used his name for acceptability. Indian scholastic community, as well known, was one group disinclined to document history, and that shouldn\u2019t in any way cause a depreciation to the tradition, for Aristotle has famously told us that tragedy is superior to history. What is or has happened seems of less value when compared to what has been said (I\u1e6dih\u0101sa<\/em>) and conceptualized by people. Falling within the tradition well, I am also less inclined to probe into a fact finding exercise whether \u015aa\u1e45kar\u0101 indeed write them or it is only a mere belief. For good or bad beliefs seem to carry more weight than factual assertions in our tradition.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u015aa\u1e45kar\u0101 as a Devotional Poet: Synchronizing <\/strong>Bhak\u1e6di<\/em><\/strong> with <\/strong>J\u00f1\u0101na<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

One of the fundamental positions of Advaita that distinguishes it from the later evolutes of Vedanta, like Vi\u015bi\u1e63tadvaita and Dvaita is that bhakti<\/em> has been credited with only an instrumental value for salvation unlike Jnana<\/em> which has been identified as the single source of release (J\u00f1\u0101nadeva \u1e6du kaivalyah)<\/em>.\u00a0 <\/strong>How can one coordinate the prevalent\u00a0 and standing position of Advaita with these s\u1e6dotras<\/em> and s\u1e6dutis<\/em> that form a major chunk of Sankaraite literature, is a question that troubled scholars while addressing the personal traits of the Philosopher. Contemporary thinkers on Advaita like TMP Mahadevan, R. Balasubramanian, Veezhinathan and others have argued that there is nothing controversial in attributing these Sthotrakavyas <\/em>to \u015aa\u1e45kar\u0101. If you look at the tradition there are many scholars like, Mandana misra, Vyasatirtha II, Madhusudana Saraswati, to name a few from the long list of versatile geniuses India has produced, who have explicitly entertained apparently contradictory positions.\u00a0 Madhusu\u1e0dana Saraswati, a later exponent of Advaita, openly admits the role of bhakti<\/em> for liberation in his work Bhagavata bhakti ras\u0101yana<\/em>, a work that gives a detailed exposition of bhakti,<\/em> its status, and the nature of what he calls bhakti v\u1e5btti, <\/em>and the elevation of\u00a0 bhakti as a rasa.<\/em> With regard to Madhusudana we also should keep in mind the historical context in which he was prompted to acknowledge bhakti. <\/em>During that period Dvaitins and Visistadvaitins like\u00a0 Vyasa tirtha II have scored high and went a long way ahead in the establishment of their schools by promoting bhakti, something which appeals to the minds of a common man.\u00a0 He quickly realized that in order to defend Advaita and save it from the onslaughts of rival schools due acknowledgment and promotion of bhagavata cult was essential, which\u00a0 he found more conducive and realistic than mere intellectual prophecy.\u00a0 Historically too it was a period of transition, where Hinduism was targeted by the Muslim invaders, which called for an increased commitment to religion.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

It is history that \u015aa\u1e45kar\u0101 took upon himself the task of reestablishing Hinduism, and bring peace among mutually quarreling groups of Saivism, Vaishnavism, Saktism, ganapathyas, sauras and Kaumaras. The prevailing belief is that \u015aa\u1e45kar\u0101 has composed these sthotras<\/em> to preserve these different routes of bhakti<\/em> on one hand and also to establish that as an Advaitin he sees oneness in all these different forms. Though in ordinary parlance, a scholar immersed in theoretical exegesis wouldn\u2019t normally dive into such entrepreneurships, given the divergent potencies of \u015aa\u1e45kar\u0101, it is quite legitimate to believe that he did indulge in such societal functions as well. Once again let me disassociate myself with the empirical historians, and return to the prime philosophical question, namely, how can these s\u1e6dotrak\u0101vyas<\/em> be integrated with the rest of the literature of \u015aa\u1e45kar\u0101, in other words, what is the philosophical import of these s\u1e6dotrak\u0101vyas<\/em>?<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Two Levels of Language in Advaita<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

It is popular that at the ontological level Advaita makes a distinction between absolute and relative points of view, and this distinction is echoed in all spheres including language. One can distinguish two levels of language in Advaita philosophy, one which relates to the empirical world and the other which relates to the trans \u2013 empirical one.\u00a0 In the second level, the language directly refers to the absolute (Nirgu\u1e47a Brahman<\/em>), through a negation of all the distinctions of names, forms etc., indicated by such terms as not gross<\/em>, not colored<\/em> etc. \u00a0 Language is also used to describe the accidental properties superimposed on God, to qualify the Sagu\u1e47a Brahman<\/em>, the representation of the Absolute in avidya. These two functions of language permits Advaita to speak of two types of definitions or lakshanas to the Absolute,\u00a0 svar\u016bpa<\/em> lak\u1e63a\u1e47a<\/em> and tat\u0101stha lak\u1e63a\u1e47a; Svar\u016bpa lak\u1e63a\u1e47a<\/em> is said to give the essential properties of Brahman, while tat\u0101stha laksa\u1e47a<\/em> enumerates the accidental properties of Brahman. \u201c\u2026it may be said that the svar\u016bpa lak\u1e63a\u1e47a<\/em> points to the what<\/em> of Brahman while tat\u0101stha lak\u1e63a\u1e47a<\/em> posits the that<\/em> of Brahman. While the former indicates the essential nature, the latter refers to its accidental nature.\u201d \u015aa\u1e45kar\u0101 was pretty well aware that the very attempt to subscribe attributes to the absolute would result in subjecting it to categories and the causal scheme, and the Absolute in turn would cease to be so. Even as Sankara well recognized the use of\u00a0 akhan\u1e0d\u0101rtha v\u0101kyas<\/em> in the Sruti,\u00a0 like the mahavakyas and statements like satyam j\u00f1\u0101nam ana\u1e6dam Brahama<\/em>, sentences that refer to the absolute nature of brahman without qualifying it with particular attributes,\u00a0 he did not shy away from conditional attribution of accidental qualities to the saguana brahman, asserting that they will be sublated when the real nature of Brahman would shine forth. \u00a0 Even as \u015aa\u1e45kar\u0101 realized that such a description of the absolute will always be open to challenges, he emphasized the methodological usage of this first level of language, for Advaita is just not a doctrine, but a method, travelling by which one could attain release from the worldly bondage. This pragmatic orientation is evident when he takes on a route to accommodate a qualified absolute within the system.\u00a0 For, a beginner will find it easy to understand the nature of Brahman when it is defined as the cause and the support of the world, and the superimposition of accidental qualities on the absolute would help the masses to progress from the known to the unknown.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

However, a question remains, can the absolute be signified directly at all? History of Philosophy is replete with caution notes on the inability of\u00a0 language to explain the nature of the absolute, to refer to a few, in the\u00a0 Taittariya<\/em> it is said, \u00a0 \u201cwords turn back\u201d (Taittiriya<\/em>, 2.9), Taoism too issues a similar warning note, \u201cThe Tao that can be spoken of is not the real Tao.\u201d\u00a0 But this does not imply that there is wordless meaning. Speaking about the unspeakable is again through words. The purpose of religious discourse is to name and \/ or suggest the ineffable, and certainly it would be a mistake to reckon those names as those that exhaust the Being.\u00a0 However, it would be equally wrong to deprive someone using this potency of language to figure out the nature of the absolute.\u00a0 For the ultimate function of language is to perceive reality as seemingly delimited by language, with this difference, as pointed out by Kaviraj, that for the ignorant language is the reality appearing as language, and for the enlightened language is the reality appearing as the reality.\u00a0 Arguing in this fashion \u015aa\u1e45kar\u0101 seems to be aware that the s\u1e6dutis and s\u1e6dotras <\/em>that he has composed have the dual function of concealing as well as revealing the real. This takes us to further probe into the mysteries of language and its unique role in relating the being to the Absolute.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The Mystery of Language<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

One of the basic presuppositions of Phenomenology is that the characteristic philosophical activity involved in understanding any object is the parallel occurrence of self-knowledge, which in fact is the prime goal of any noetic endeavor. J.J. Arapura, a contemporary Indian phenomenologist identifies consciousness as the single habitat of all mysteries. Language too inhabits in consciousness like other mysteries in the worl , but unlike the rest consciousness is intimately related to language, in a sense uniquely that consciousness indeed becomes language. It means that just as language reveals consciousness, consciousness in turn hides the essence of language. Together they form a single mystery. Often metaphysicians have labored to depict this intimate relation between consciousness and language. An interesting characteristic of ancient Indian thought on language is that, it understands language both in its phenomenal and transcendental aspects. Note that in Indian thought the attempt to understand a given phenomenon and contemplating it as a mystery are not mutually exclusive. In other words, it is possible to attempt analyzing language or reality even while maintaining that it is mysterious. Language is the means by which we can plunge into the depth of our own consciousness, and the declared mission of language is to lead us to Being. This may be called the primary religious function of language, but this should not be understood as something that stand apart from the gran phenomenological undertaking of enlightening reality with the help of language. In brief, while employed in religious discourses language hides in itself, but in philosophical explorations it brings light upon thought.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u00a0 Evidently this insight on the inter relation between parallel structures of language, self and the world is unique to Advaita ontology. \u015aa\u1e45kar\u0101 while playing language at two levels has been tapping India\u2019s inherent philosophical resources on language and its distinct relation with the absolute, permitting it to throw light on the nature of consciousness (a purely philosophical exercise) on one hand, and also conceive it as embodied (as in religious discourse like sthutis<\/em> and stotras<\/em>). The prominent intuitions available in Kashmir Saivism and in Bhartrhari that language and consciousness are identical has its source in the exigencies of Indian religious mysticism handed down to us through the tradition, and precisely for this reason language along with consciousness remains as a mystery.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Mystic Use of Language<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Mysticism is one area in philosophy that still retains its link with common man on one hand and the practitioners of religion on the other.\u00a0 There are different ways of approach to the mystic experiences and one will have to be at least aware that we can locate infinite shades of it down the tradition. A mystic would either realize the Divine Presence as ‘that’ (tat), as a Living Light permeating all and subsisting beyond all, or\u00a0 as \u2018Thee’ and ‘Me’, both inseparable from each other, or it may be realized as ‘Me’ alone. The Supreme Experience is certainly one and the same and yet there is a characteristic quiddity or distinctness (vi\u015be\u1e63a<\/em>) in each individual, retaining the individual traits intact. While orthodox Advaitins, Trika<\/em> of the Kashmir school or Mah\u0101y\u0101na<\/em> Buddhism lay emphasis on the One, conceived positively or negatively, as if it were an undifferentiated whole (akha\u1e45\u1e0da<\/em>) even in the face of this unity, there is according to some schools, an inherent state of what looks like differentiation which is, however, not differentiation (bheda<\/em>) in the true sense of the term but only a logical quiddity or particularity (vi\u015be\u1e63a<\/em>). Even \u015aa\u1e45kar\u0101 is said to have maintained this position when he said: Satyapi<\/em> bhed\u0101pagame n\u0101tha tavaiv\u0101ba\u1e5bh na mam\u0101 inastvam<\/em>.<\/em>\u00a0 This implies that even after the establishment of unity (bhed\u0101pagame<\/em>) there may continue a relationship within this unity, between \u2018Thee\u2019 and \u2018Me\u2019.\u00a0 One of the later exponents of Advaita,\u00a0 J\u00f1\u0101ne\u015bvara<\/em>, in his Advait\u0101nubhava<\/em>, emphasizes the need to reiterate the difference. We find the same view being clearly enunciated in Tripur\u0101-Rahasya (J\u00f1\u0101nakha\u1e45\u1e0da<\/em>). There is no doubt that even in the latter there is a ‘Beyond’, about which nothing can be said or thought. This appears to be the parama-pada <\/em>of the G\u012bta<\/em> , and may be equated with the Parama Siva<\/em> or Para Samvit<\/em> of the Saiva <\/em>and Sakta Tantras<\/em> respectively.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Who is a mystic poet, how can we identify him from the ordinary users of language?\u00a0 \u201cA mystic is not a devotee in the conventional sense, though he may have the most fervent ardor of devotion. He is neither an ascetic, though in the earlier stages he may be found using methods of self-mortification. He may be all these or may be none. A mystic need not always be a visionary, though he may have visions from time to time. In all the well-known instances we come across certain attributes which may be maximally or minimally present in a true mystic or may even be totally absent, simply because these do not constitute his essential nature.\u201d However, commonalities abound with regard to the nature of mystic experience: for as we move closer to the mystics diversities begin to melt away and their common commitment to\u00a0 One Undifferentiated Whole reveals itself. The agreement among mystics, however, imply a sense of vagueness, which is inherent in the concept of mysticism. Generally a mystic would have a state of consciousness in which the physical being and all other worldly ties cease to have any validity at all. The self-luminous unity between both the seeker and the sought ties them together, and yet each retains its distinct entity. It is a state in which man and God unite themselves in a close embrace and realize their oneness, showing thus, that one is verily inseparable from the other. This indefinable element in mysticism involves a plunge into the profound depths of Being and Consciousness, leading to a clear intuition of Unity and Love, a state which continues even when the mental life and the sense-life are resumed. This experience would linger on even when the senses continue to function, maintaining contact with the so-called external world; but the inner consciousness refuses to take notice of it and persists in the exclusive enjoyment of the bliss on its own light. More or less in the same way, the mystic seems to move in this world of ours and yet he lives in Reality \u2014 in a world of his own. Absolute peace and tranquility reign supreme in him. His heart thrills in the delectable experience of self-awareness. It is a state in which the Supreme Union splits itself up into a blessed companionship in which the sense of otherness disappears,\u00a0 and the sense of integrity persists, allowing for the free play of a responsive personality vibrating with every shade of feeling.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u00a0 The awakening of the soul involves as its concomitant a tendency in the soul to turn inward, first from the object to the light which shines upon it, then from the light to the subject, the source of illumination, thirdly from the subject to the Transcendental Consciousness and Power, and finally from this, back to the Central Being which stands behind all manifestations. The above state leads on to the higher state of absolute resignation to the Divine Will. In other words, the human will at this point unconditionally surrenders to the Divine Will, or in a sense becomes one with it. The consciousness of this state involves a blessed union of par\u0101 j\u00f1\u0101na<\/em> and par\u0101<\/em> bhak\u1e6di<\/em>, or cit<\/em> and \u0101nanda<\/em>, which is universally and eternally the twofold heritage of every true mystic. Neither the senses nor the reason of man can aspire to reach this ineffable condition which Divine Grace alone can promise and fulfil.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u00a0 From what has been said above it is clear that mystic consciousness cannot employ the same language that has an inbuilt logical structure to communicate the nature of the absolute as experienced by him. Sri Aurobindo claims that the mystic seems to follow a different kind of logic which he names as the logic of the infinite. A mystic seems to stand at the cross roads of phenomenal and trans – phenomenal linguistic divide. While expounding philosophical truths \u015aa\u1e45kar\u0101 has adhered to that level of language in which logic plays the prime position, and in sthotrak\u0101vyas the rhetoric of language comes to play a major role. Note that Western analysts would defy the very possibility of using language bereft of a logical structure for philosophical purpose, lest they become mere speculation. However, the Indian philosophical tradition sanctions such deviations and permits language to play a different role altogether in revealing reality.\u00a0 It is interesting to note that Heidegger favoring such use of language points out that this approach of language to consciousness is an authentic approach of transcendence. The seeds of this unity between two levels of language is visible in Chandogyopanisad<\/em> wherein Aum is depicted as that which unites the phenomenal and the transcendental.\u00a0 As Arapura extolls \u201c\u2026 in aum that which is sundered in phenomenal language is reunited: the division between assertion on the one hand and invocation, chant, prayer etc. on the other is overcome by the chanting of Aum.\u00a0 It restores the unity of language by recognizing it for what it is.\u201d Aristotle, along with Aurobindo views that the rhetoric is of higher linguistic realm when compared to factual assertions. With the help of the theory of catharsis,<\/em> which may either mean purgation (a pathological effect on the soul quite like medicine on the body) or purifying the emotions, Aristotle demonstrates how tragedy is superior over reality. Tragedy is more real than history because it lifts itself above the particular historical fact for extracting the universal meaning.\u00a0 In this sense, the Absolute \/ God is not beyond or behind language, on the contrary, language is the sole instrument of both the ignorant and the liberated.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

A phenomenological exposition of bhakti also would reveal that at the experiential level a bhakta<\/em> essentially relates himself with the world with a similar sense of detachment as a mumukshu<\/em> would. The transcendental unity experienced by the liberated in the phenomenological level, aparok\u1e63\u0101nubhuti<\/em>, as it is technically called, is not essentially different from the experience of a bhakta<\/em>. An externalist perception would render a feeling that they are two distinct and mutually exclusive methods with bhaktas positing another ontological domain, of a personal God, who is the creator, sustainer and destroyer of the world, a moral governor and striking identity with Him technically would still retain him at the level of avidya<\/em>, while for jivanmukta<\/em> the cause of duality, namely avidya<\/em> is also erased. But a phenomenological exposition of these two states cannot be qualitatively different, with both having attained the transcendental unity with the absolute.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

____<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Select Bibliography<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\r\n

R. Balasubramanian, Advaita Vedanta, PHISC volume XVI, New Delhi, 2002.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

R. Balasubramanian, The Self as the Seer and the Seen<\/em>, SSUS Publications, Kalady, 2008.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

John Grimes, An Advaita Vedanta Perspective on Language<\/em>,\u00a0 Sri sadguru publications, Indian Books center, Delhi, 1991.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

J.G Arappura, Hermeneutical Essays on Vedantic Topics<\/em>, Motilal Banrsidas, Delhi, 1986.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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Prof. Sreekala M. Nair Abstract Acharya \u015aa\u1e45kar\u0101 is undoubtedly one of the tall figures in Indian Philosophical arena and it wouldn\u2019t be an overstatement if we depict him as a bright star…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-59","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-parispanda-2025"],"gutentor_comment":6,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/parispanda.ssus.ac.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/parispanda.ssus.ac.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/parispanda.ssus.ac.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/parispanda.ssus.ac.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/parispanda.ssus.ac.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=59"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/parispanda.ssus.ac.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":812,"href":"https:\/\/parispanda.ssus.ac.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59\/revisions\/812"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/parispanda.ssus.ac.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/parispanda.ssus.ac.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=59"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/parispanda.ssus.ac.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=59"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}