I wrote last week that I have set up a NotebookLM database of all my books and writing for the past 25 years+ and I invited readers to submit any (Advaita!) questions on which they would like to read my ‘considered’ views. I have not had many (any) requests, so hear is another one I made myself. There are a number of points with which I would now take issue and I refer to these after the answer.

Q2. What is the nature of the akhaṇḍākāra vṛtti and how does this affirm that there is nothing else to be done after gaining the intellectual conviction that ‘I am Brahman’? Are there any quotes from Śaṅkara to support this?

A (AI-Dennis): The concept of the akhaṇḍākāra vṛtti is pivotal in Advaita Vedānta as it defines the precise mental event through which Self-ignorance (avidyā) is destroyed, affirming the completeness of the liberation gained through knowledge.

The Nature of the Akhaṇḍākāra Vṛtti

The term akhaṇḍākāra vṛtti literally refers to a mental disposition or thought-form (vṛtti) that takes the form (ākāra) of the undivided (akhaṇḍa) reality.

1. Mental Occurrence: The akhaṇḍākāra vṛtti is considered the precise realization “event”. It is a very special kind of knowledge that acts as a mental modification, which effectively causes enlightenment.
2. Destruction of Ignorance: This vṛtti functions as the means by which ignorance (ajñāna) is removed once and for all. This knowledge must occur in the mind (jīva or antaḥkaraṇa), which is the locus of ignorance.
3. Mechanism of Realization: When the mind, due to prolonged practice of inquiry (śravaṇa-manana), takes on the form of Brahman, the akhaṇḍākāra vṛtti arises. This immediately results in the destruction of the ignorance located in the individual self (jīva), thereby liberating the jīva.
4. Instantaneous Result: This knowledge is an instantaneous “dawning of knowledge” where the full realization of non-difference from Brahman occurs. It is triggered at the “final hearing” when all doubts have been eliminated.

The significance is that once this mental modification (or thought-form) arises and fulfills its purpose, the individual is no longer the jīva, but Brahman.

Affirmation that Nothing Else Needs to be Done

The concept of the akhaṇḍākāra vṛtti affirms that there is nothing further to be done because the realization that “I am Brahman” is not an action leading to a future result, but the immediate cessation of ignorance (which is the only obstacle to liberation).

1. Liberation is Complete: The gaining of Self-knowledge simultaneously means that the seeker already knows they are eternally free. Liberation (mokṣa) is simultaneous with Self-knowledge, just as the fear of a snake disappears instantaneously once one realizes it is only a rope.
2. Knowledge Itself is Freedom: Since knowledge alone removes ignorance, and action (karma) is not opposed to ignorance, action can never bring about realization directly. Once the truth is realized, the elaborate framework of practices (which were conditional means, mithyā) is rendered useless.
3. Focus on Removal of False Notions: The goal is the removal of the obstruction of ignorance, which means dropping the mistaken idea that the Self is limited. The attainment of the Self is simply the removal of the obstruction of ignorance.
4. Vṛtti Disappears: The final knowledge (vṛtti) itself serves its purpose (like light destroying darkness) and then ceases immediately, as the duality of knower and known dissolves, making all future action meaningless in the context of achieving liberation. If one continues to feel the need to acquire knowledge or gain experience, it indicates that the realization is not yet fully assimilated.

The argument that one must practice further to convert the “theory” into “reality” is a notion rejected by traditional Advaita, as the knowledge and the essential nature of oneself (Brahman) are the same thing.

Supporting Quotes from Śaṅkara

Śaṅkara’s commentaries frequently support the view that liberation is solely dependent on knowledge and is an instantaneous realization, requiring no subsequent action:

• Knowledge Alone is Sufficient:
  • In the Atmabodha, Śaṅkara states: “Action cannot destroy ignorance, for it is not in conflict with or opposed to ignorance. Knowledge does verily destroy ignorance as light destroys deep darkness.”.
  • In the Bhāṣya on the Taittirīya Upaniṣad (Śīkṣāvallī Anuvāka 11), he concludes: “But from all our discussions what emerges is that the ultimate good which is called mokṣa is gained by knowledge alone. That is established.”.
• Realization is Self-Evident and Complete:
  • In his Bhāṣya on the Brahmasūtra (1.1.4), Śaṅkara argues against the reliance on action, emphasizing that mukti is not an acquisition: “…no dependence on work can be proved by assuming liberation to be a thing to be acquired; for it being essentially one with one’s very Self, there can be no acquisition.”.
  • In his Bhāṣya on Bhagavad Gītā (18.50), he emphasizes that effort is only needed to remove the false, non-Self notion: “Only the eradication of the superimposition of name, form, etc., which are not the Self, is what has to be undertaken, but not the knowledge of the Self that is Consciousness… but no effort is needed for knowing Brahman (Consciousness), for It is quite self-evident!”.
  • In the Brahmasūtra Bhāṣya (3.4.52), he states that “liberation cannot be a product of anything, it being realized through knowledge as a fact eternally present in its own right.”.
• The Final Act is Mental Cessation:
  • Śaṅkara states in his Bhāṣya on Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad (4.4.20) that the realization of Brahman is simply the end of false identification: “The knowledge of Brahman means only the cessation of the identification with extraneous things (such as the body). The relation of identity with It has not to be directly established, for it is already there.”.

The function of the akhaṇḍākāra vṛtti is thus the instantaneous execution of the one task required for liberation: the annihilation of ignorance, leaving behind the realized truth that “This Self is Brahman” (ayam ātmā brahma).

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Here are the points with which I would now take issue and answer slightly differently:

1. I no longer accept that there is positive entity called ‘ignorance’ that is ‘destroyed’ on enlightenment. Much of my book ‘Confusions in Advaita Vedanta: Ignorance and its Removal’ is about this. (The physical book is now delayed until early next year. I will update the Kindle version to make the pages much easier to read within the next week.)
2. The literal translation of akhaṇḍākāra vṛtti is potentially misleading – reality does not have a ‘form’! Brahman does not have a form! Also, there is not any specific knowledge that acts in this way; it will be different for each person and relate to whichever aspect of the teaching had previously failed to ‘connect’ fully.
3. The knowledge does not ‘liberate’ the jīva. All jīva-s are already free; they just typically do not realize that. Enlightenment is the event in the mind when this realization occurs.
4. The individual has always been Brahman but, following enlightenment, the form of the jīva is retained until expiration of the prārabdha karma (‘death’).
5. Ignorance is not an obstacle to liberation but to enlightenment. These are NOT the same thing! Similarly, liberation is NOT simultaneous with knowledge.

So this has been an interesting question, highlighting as it does, the fact that my own understanding of Advaita has ‘refined’ over the years. This is hardly surprising but does flag up the fact that those who have read any of my earlier books may have reached slightly misleading conclusions. (And really need to read some of my later ones! 😉 The 3-volume  ‘Confusions’ series is, of course, the one that specifically addresses such ‘niggly’ points. I am often accused of being pedantic – this shows why it is necessary!)