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man is described by words such as "not material," etc. in order to reject those specifications such as name and form which are constructed on the basis of ignorance, there the higher Brahman is taught; where Brahman is specified by various specifications such as name, forms, etc . . . there the provisional Brahman is being taught for the sake of meditation.
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Even this determination of the meaning of "Brahman" does not excuse the reader from returning to the Text; it is a reminder of the previously enunciated principle55 that different texts have different purposes and must be used accordingly. Though the tendency toward a systematization of the knowledge of Brahman becomes most evident here, in which the tension between a permanent engagement in reading and a conclusive gleaning of the results of reading is resolved in favor of the latter, the complete accomplishment of this tendency is nevertheless not found in the Text. As will become clear in Chapter 4, the final resolution of the tension between the Text and its truth, between reading and the products of reading, cannot be expressed as the content of a text; the truth remains a well-guarded and exhaustingly prepared-for event which can occur only in the practiced, educated reader. The "system" of Advaita is a well-planned event, not a theory. |
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Before turning to that topic of the reader, however, one important aspect of Advaita's truth remains to be explored. Advaita invests great energy in the task of locating its position on Brahman within a larger textual and general intellectual framework which takes into account the claims of outsiders. This defense is an aspect of Advaita's practical, communicative truth, and it requires our attention. |
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IV. Defending Brahman: The Fragmentation Of The Other In The Text |
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Profoundly exegetical and pedagogical, Advaita doctrine is also a (re)description of the world. It occurs throughout the Text, and its force accumulates in a series of individual defenses against competing views of the world. The exegetical issues ad- |
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