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says that Sarkara enumerates various schools he considers erroneous as Bauddha, Sarnkhya, Yoga, Vaiśeşika and Pasupata etc. regarding the nature of soul. It is strange that he does not mention the Jaina account of self as one of the erroneous views. Perhaps the Jaina concept of Self and identity of Jivatma and Paramātma is the same as in the Advaita Vedanta. Sankara is very near to Jaina-thought. Like other commentators of Brahma-Sūtra, Sankara does not support the view that the Jiva limited by Avidya is one. Brahman limited by the different inner-organs born of Avidya becomes divided as it were many individual souls. This is opposed to the doctrine of Eka-Jiva-Vada held by other Vedantins. There are various arguments of Aneka-Jiva-Vadins. They hold that there are many individuals and the world appearance has no permanent illusion for all the people, but each person creates for himself his own illusion. From this follows the doctrine of Drştivāda, i. e., the theory that the subjective perception is the creating of the objects and that there are no other objective phenomena apart from subjective and perception3. Even in the Upanişads there is distinction between Ātman and Jivas. And the theory of Eka-Jiva-Vada sometimes goes against the Upanişads and the Brahma-Sūtras5.
Doctrine of Standpoiots
Thus to speak of a thing as one or many is entirely dependent upon the point of view we adopt. Sarkara says that though Devadatta is one, he is thought and spoken as a man, a Brahmin, a learned in the Vedas, generous, boy, youngman,
1. Radhakrishnan, S. : Indian Philosophy, Vol. II, p. 610. 2. Dasgupta, S. N. : History of Indian Philosophy, Vol. 1,
p. 417. 3. Ibid, p. 478. 4. Brhadaranyak Upanişad, 4. 3. 21, 3. 3. 5; Svetaśvatara
Upanişad, 4. 6. 5. Brahma-sūtra, 2. 1. 32, 2. 1. 33.
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