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Re: 'Akshara' etc. in the BhG

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Martin Gansten • April 5, 2002 


Dear Krishna,

>The referrent (etad) is the second prakriti, who is said to be yonIni 
>of 'sarvANi bhUtAni'; note the change of numbers; 'etad' is singular

This is not correct. Etadyoni- is an adjective compound (bahuvrihi-samasa),
as is seen from the change of gender (yoni- is feminine, -yonIni is neuter
plural). Etad- is the stem form used in all compounds irrespective of
number, just as 'tad-guruH' could mean tasya guruH, tayor guruH, or teSAM
guruH depending on the context. The number, therefore, must be decided from
the context.

To make etad- in BhG 7.6 to refer only to the para-prakriti, you have to
disregard the context to a degree which I would consider as seriously
violating the text (though perhaps not to the extent of the famous ChU
gloss 'atat tvam asi'!). But enough said. Many meanings can be read into a
text (eisegesis), and arguments fabricated to support them, if one is not
content to approach the text on its own terms. If you wish to believe that
the BhG labels the self 'destructible' (kshara) and introduces Sri as a
separate tattva under the designation 'purusha' (!), I will not waste my
time or yours trying to persuade you otherwise.

For any listeners-in, however, I would like to note as a final comment that
the BhG repeatedly makes a difference between the 'self in itself' as
experienced by the jnanin and 'all creatures' (bhuta), stating explicitly
that the jnanin sees latter in the former (cf. 4.35, 6.29). That's all from
me on this thread, at least for now.

Ramanuja Dasa,
MG





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