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Do not fill this in! ====''Pramana'' (means of knowledge)==== In classical Indian thought, ''[[pramana]]'' ([[epistemology|means of knowledge]]) concerns questions like how correct knowledge can be acquired; how one knows, how one doesn't; and to what extent knowledge pertinent about someone or something can be acquired.<ref>{{cite book |first=Karl |last=Potter |year=2002 |title=Presuppositions of India's Philosophies |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=81-208-0779-0 |pages=25–26}}</ref><ref name=dpsb>{{cite book |first=DPS |last=Bhawuk |year=2011 |title=Spirituality and Indian Psychology |editor=Anthony Marsella |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-1-4419-8109-7 |page=172}}</ref> In contrast to other schools of Indian philosophy, early Vedanta paid little attention to ''[[pramana]]''.{{sfn|Mayeda|1992|p=46}} The ''Brahmasutras'' are not concerned with ''pramana'', and ''pratyaksa'' (sense-perception) and ''anumana'' (inference) refer there to ''sruti'' and ''smriti'' respectively.{{sfn|Mayeda|1992|p=46}} Shankara recognized the means of knowledge,{{sfn|Mayeda|2006|pp=46}}{{refn|group=note|Mayeda refers to statements from Shankara regarding epistemology (''pramana-janya'') in section 1.18.133 of Upadesasahasri, and section 1.1.4 of Brahmasutra-bhasya.{{sfn|Mayeda|2006|pp=46–47}}{{sfnp|Bādarāyaṇa|1936|p=35}}{{refn|group=note| NB: some manuscripts list Upadesasahasri verse 1.18.133 as 2.18.133, while Mayeda lists it as 1.18.133, because of interchanged chapter numbering.{{sfn|Śaṅkarācārya|1949|loc=Verse 2.8.133, p. 258}}{{sfn|Potter|2014|p=249}}}} but his thematic focus was upon [[metaphysics]] and [[soteriology]], and he took for granted the ''pramanas''.{{sfn|Mayeda|2006|pp=47}} For Shankara, ''sabda'' is the only means of knowledge for attaining ''Brahman-jnana''.{{sfn|Suthren Hirst|2005|p=49-50}} According to Sengaku Mayeda, "in no place in his works [...] does he give any systematic account of them,"{{sfn|Mayeda|2006|pp=47}} taking ''Atman-Brahman'' to be self-evident (''svapramanaka'') and self-established (''svatahsiddha''), and "an investigation of the means of knowledge is of no use for the attainment of final release."{{sfn|Mayeda|2006|pp=47}} Nevertheless, the Advaita tradition accepts altogether six kinds of {{IAST|pramāṇas}}.{{sfn|Grimes|1996|p=238}}{{sfn|Datta|1932|pp=221–253}}{{sfn|Puligandla|1997|p=228}}{{sfn|Suthren Hirst|2005|p=49-50}} While Adi Shankara emphasized ''[[Śāstra pramāṇam in Hinduism|Śabda]]'' (शब्द), relying on word, testimony of past or present reliable experts with regard to religious insights,<ref name=dpsb/>{{sfn|Deutsch|2000|p=245-248}}{{sfn|Grimes|1996|p=238}}{{sfn|King|1999|p=14}} and also accepted ''pratyakṣa'' (प्रत्यक्षाय), perception; and ''anumāṇa'' (अनुमान), inference — Classical Advaita Vedānta, just like the [[Kumārila Bhaṭṭa|Bhatta Purvamimamsaka school]], also accepts ''upamāṇa'' (उपमान), comparison, analogy; ''arthāpatti'' (अर्थापत्ति), postulation, derivation from circumstances;<ref name=dpsb/>{{sfn|Flood1996|p=225}} and ''[[anupalabdhi]]'' (अनुपलब्धि), non-perception, negative/cognitive proof.{{sfn|Deutsch|2000|p=245-248}}{{sfn|Grimes|1996|p=238}} =====Samadhi===== The Advaita tradition emphasizes that, since Brahman is ever-present, Brahman-knowledge is immediate and requires no 'action', that is, striving and effort, as articulated by Shankara;{{sfn|Dubois|2013|p=xvii}} yet, it also prescribes elaborate preparatory practice, including yogic samadhi, posing a paradox which is also recognized in other spiritual disciplines and traditions.{{sfn|Barua|2015}}{{sfn|Fiordalis|2021}}{{refn|group=note|name=subitism}} Shankara regarded the ''srutis'' as the means of knowledge of Brahman, and he was ambivalent about yogic practices and meditation, which at best may prepare one for ''Brahma-jnana''.<ref group=web name=Stanford_Dalal2021/> According to Rambachan, criticising Vivekananda, Shankara states that the knowledge of Brahman can only be obtained from inquiry of the [[Shruti]], and not by Yoga or samadhi, which at best can only silence the mind.{{sfn|Rambachan|1994|pp=124–125}} The Bhamati school and the Vivarana school differed on the role of contemplation, but they both "deny the possibility of perceiving supersensuous knowledge through popular yoga techniques."{{sfn|Cenkner|1995|p=96}} Later Advaita texts like the ''[[Dṛg-Dṛśya-Viveka]]'' (14th century) and ''[[Vedantasara (of Sadananda)|Vedāntasara (of Sadananda)]]'' (15th century) added [[samādhi]] as a means to liberation, a theme that was also emphasized by Swami Vivekananda.{{sfn|Madaio|2017|pp=4–5}} The [[Vivekachudamani]], traditionally attributed to Shankara but post-dating him,{{sfn|Grimes|2004|p=23}} "conceives of ''[[nirvikalpa samadhi]]'' as the premier method of Self-realization over and above the well-known vedantic discipline of listening, reflection and deep contemplation."{{sfn|Madaio|2017|p=5}} Koller states that yogic concentration is an aid to gaining knowledge in Advaita.{{sfn|Koller|2013|p=101}} ===== ''Anubhava'' ('experience')===== The role of ''anubhava'', ''anubhuti'' ("experience," "intuition"{{sfn|Bowker|2000b|loc="Anubhava"}}) as "experience" in gaining ''Brahman-jnana'' is contested. While neo-Vedanta claims a central position for ''anubhava'' as "experience," Shankara himself regarded reliance on textual authority as sufficient for gaining ''Brahman-jnana'',{{sfn|Halbfass|2017|p=387}}{{refn|group=note|See also ramesam, [https://www.advaita-vision.org/atma-anubhava-anubhuti/ ''AtmA anubhava / anubhUti''] (blog).}} "the intuition of Brahman,"{{sfn|Bowker|2000b|loc="Anubhava"}} and used ''anubhava'' interchangeably with ''pratipatta'', "understanding".{{sfn|Suthren Hirst|2005|p=68}} Arvind Sharma argues that Shankara's own "direct experience of the ultimate truth" guided him in selecting "those passages of the scriptures that resonate with this experience and will select them as the key with which to open previously closed, even forbidden, doors."{{sfn|Sharma|2000|p=177}}{{refn|group=note|{{harvnb|Sharma|2000|p=177}} refers to ''Brahma Sutra Bhashya'' 4.1.15, "which tradition views as an allusion to his own direct experience of the ultimate truth." It runs as follows: [...] How can one contest the heart-felt cognition of another as possessing ''brahman''-knowledge, even though bearing a body?}} The ''[[Vivekachudamani]]'' "explicit[ly] declar[es] that experience (''anubhuti'') is a ''pramana'', or means of knowing (VCM 59),"{{sfn|Madaio|2017|p=5}} and [[neo-Vedanta]] also accepts ''anubhava'' ("personal experience") as a means of knowledge.{{sfn|Rambachan|1991|pp=xii–xiii}} Dalal and others state that ''anubhava'' does not center around some sort of "mystical experience," but around the correct knowledge of Brahman.{{sfn|Dalal|2009|p=22}}{{sfn|Rambachan|1991|pp=1–14}} Nikhalananda concurs, stating that (knowledge of) ''Atman'' and ''Brahman'' can only be reached by ''[[buddhi]]'', "reason,"{{sfn|Nikhalananda|1931|p=viii}} stating that mysticism is a kind of intuitive knowledge, while ''buddhi'' is the highest means of attaining knowledge.{{sfn|Nikhalananda|1931|pp=viii–ix}} Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. 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