Monday, 11 March 2024

Malkovsky on the Personhood of Sankara's para brahman

Sankara's possibile antecedents: Patanjala yoga (Hacker); bhedabheda(Hajime Nakamura), perhaps under the influence of the Gaudapadiya-karika (Ingalls). Vaisnavism (Hacker; Nakamura; W.G. Neevel; Jacqueline Hirst; Malkovsky; Sengaku Mayeda). (542-544)

The distinction between a higher and lower brahman is central of Sankara. (545)

The majority of scholars - both nondualists and theists - believe that his para brahman is impersonal. The implication is that the God of the theists - whether Hindu or not - is an inferior deity. The bhaktas could never accept this. Georges Thibaut much preferred Ramanuja's conception. (546)

A small group regards the para brahman as personal - concluding either from philosophical considerations of 'person' (chiefly De Smet) or from exegesis (chiefly Hacker). (547)

Of course, Sankara does not - could not - take up the question of brahman's personhood. (547)

Hacker holds that Sankara is an illusionist, but also shows that most often S identifies isvara with para brahman. (553-555) A proper understanding of the Absolute need not exclude its being personal. (555)

D.M. Datta: one of the strongest affirmations of realism in Sankara. (555) See also Saccidanandendra Sarasvati as cited by Karl Potter. (556n51)

Julius Lipner: The Advaitic absolute is trans-personal rather than impersonal. (561)

De Smet on the Trinity: see "Light from the Christian Jnana-Karma-Bhakti-Samuccaya" in Religious Consciousness and Life-Worlds, ed. T.S. Rukmani (New Delhi: Indus Publ. Co., 1988) 81. (561n75)

Mahadevan. (562)




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