Explanation of key terms in Advaita – No. 4

I was not intending to generate a ‘definition’ of the term, since I thought it would be too short. However, a supposed translation from A. J. Alston’s excellent ‘Śaṅkara on Creation’ caused me to question ChatGPT on the subject and the response was very enlightening. Further clarification, and a correction of ChatGPT’s continuing tendency to fabrication, provided some valuable insights into our perennial discussions on the supposed disappearance of the world on enlightenment and on the supposed Brahman-equivalence of the deep-sleep state. Any readers who still try to maintain those beliefs should perhaps skip these posts. (The thought that the topic would be too short has been proved wrong – there will now be up to 6 parts to the discussion! But I promise that it is an interesting one!)

First of all, here is the summary explanation of this logic-term from Nyāya philosophy, compiled from my own writing. It is frequently encountered in Advaita and the ‘common-experience’ example used to explain it is that of seeing ‘smoke on the hill’ and deducing that there must be a fire. But one of the most important ways in which it is used occurs in Śaṅkara’s commentary (if he was the author) on Gauḍapāda’s kārikā-s. Here it is apparently used to justify the idea that the world disappears during deep-sleep. I have always rebelled against this notion, suggesting that one puts a bomb (set to trigger when they enter deep-sleep) under the bed of anyone making the claim. The discussion on this will begin in Part 2.

Anvaya-vyatireka: The Logical Compass of Non-Duality

In the rigorous intellectual tradition of Advaita Vedānta, the path to enlightenment is not paved with blind faith, but with a specific type of reasoning that allows the seeker to strip away the false and recognize the true. One of the most potent logical tools utilized by sages like Ādi Śaṅkara and Gauḍapāda to facilitate this discovery is the method of anvaya-vyatireka. Often translated as the “method of co-presence and co-absence” or “positive and negative concomitance,” this technique serves as a surgical instrument for discrimination (viveka), allowing the mind to distinguish between that which is eternally real (satyam) and that which is merely a dependent appearance (mithyā).

Understanding the Definitions

To appreciate how this logic functions, we must first define its two components:

1. Anvaya (Co-presence): This refers to a positive relationship of “association” or “connection”. It establishes that whenever a certain factor is present, another specific factor is also invariably found to be present. For example, in the classic logical syllogism of Indian philosophy, where there is smoke, there is fire.
2. Vyatireka (Co-absence): This refers to the relationship of “distinction,” “separateness,” or “exclusion”. It establishes that in the absence of one factor, the other factor is also absent. Following the previous example, where there is no fire, there is no smoke.

In the context of Advaita, these terms are used to determine what possesses an independent existence and what is merely a superimposition. By applying this logic, the seeker can identify the substantive reality (adhiṣṭhāna) that persists through various changes and states, while dismissing the changing forms as lacking absolute reality.

The Classic Example: Clay and the Pot

The most famous application of anvaya-vyatireka involves the relationship between a material cause and its effect, typically illustrated by clay and a pot.

From an empirical standpoint (vyavahāra), we see a pot and consider it a real, separate object. However, Advaita applies the logic of co-presence and co-absence to test this assumption:

• Anvaya: When the pot is present, the clay is present. You cannot find a pot that is not made of clay; the “is-ness” of the pot is identical to the “is-ness” of the clay.
• Vyatireka: When the pot is not present—such as before the potter molds it or after the pot is smashed—the clay remains. The clay does not depend on the pot for its existence, but the pot depends entirely on the clay.

Therefore, through anvaya-vyatireka, we conclude that the clay is satyam (the reality that persists) while the pot is mithyā (a dependent name and form). The pot is nothing but the clay acquiring a new form and a new name.

Application to the Mind and Duality

The method becomes truly transformative when applied to the nature of human experience and the perception of duality. Seekers often feel trapped in a world of “twoness,” but Advaita uses this logic to show that duality is a projection of the mind.

The argument follows this sequence:

• Anvaya (Waking/Dream): When the mind is active, as in the waking or dream states, duality is perceived. We see subjects and objects, pleasures and pains, and a vast universe of separate things.
• Vyatireka (Deep Sleep): When the mind is inactive or resolved, as in the state of deep sleep, under anesthetic, or in a deep trance (samādhi), duality is not perceived.

Through this logic, Advaita demonstrates that duality is connected to the presence of the mind. Since duality comes and goes based on the state of the mind, it cannot be absolutely real; it is a superimposition upon the unchanging Consciousness that witnesses the mind’s presence and absence.

Isolating the Witness: The Three States of Consciousness

A primary teaching method in traditional Advaita is the avasthā-traya-prakriyā, or the analysis of the three states: waking (jāgrat), dreaming (svapna), and deep sleep (suṣupti). By applying anvaya-vyatireka to these states, the seeker can isolate who they “really” are.

The logic proceeds through the layers of our identity:

1. The Physical Body: The waking body is present in the waking state but absent in the dream state, where we might inhabit a completely different, subtle body. Yet, “I” am present to witness both states. Therefore, through the vyatireka of the physical body in dreams, I know I am not the body.
2. The Subtle Body (Mind): The mind and its thoughts are present in waking and dreaming but are absent in deep sleep. In deep sleep, there are no thoughts, no ego-sense, and no world. Yet, upon waking, we say, “I slept well and knew nothing”. This proves that “I” (Consciousness) was present even when the mind was absent.
3. The Result: Because the Self (Ātman) persists through all three states while the bodies and minds come and go, the Self is the only satyam. The three states are mithyā, as they are negatable and inconsistent.

Refuting Materialism: The Body-Consciousness Debate

The anvaya-vyatireka method is so robust that it was famously used to refute the Cārvāka (materialist) school of philosophy. The materialists argued that consciousness is merely an attribute of the body, arising from the combination of physical elements.

They used the logic of association as follows:

• Their Anvaya: When the body is alive, consciousness is present.
• Their Vyatireka: When the body is absent (dead), consciousness is absent.
• Their Conclusion: Therefore, consciousness is a product of the body.

Śaṅkara and Vyāsa countered this by refining the application of the logic. They pointed out that for vyatireka to prove the identity of two things, the absence must be total. However, we observe that at death, the body remains while consciousness is gone. Furthermore, in dreams, the physical body lies inert, yet “I” have vivid conscious experiences in a different realm. This proves that Consciousness is separate from the physical frame and uses the body merely as an instrument.

The Spiritual Goal: Freedom from Identification

For the modern seeker, anvaya-vyatireka is the key to breaking identification (ahaṃkāra) with the limited self. We suffer because we “mix up” the real and the unreal. We take the qualities of the changing mind (unhappiness, limitation) and superimpose them on the changeless Self. Conversely, we take the existence and consciousness of the Self and attribute them to the inert body.

By constantly applying the logic of co-presence and co-absence, we realize that “I” remain unchanged regardless of the mind’s moods or the body’s health. This is the essence of Jñāna Yoga—not the accumulation of facts, but the definitive recognition of what is variable and what is constant.

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Analogy: The Cinema Screen

To solidify your understanding of anvaya-vyatireka, consider the relationship between a cinema screen and the movie projected upon it.

Anvaya: When the movie is playing, the screen is present. You cannot see the fire, the water, or the heroes of the film without the screen supporting them. The existence of the movie-characters is entirely dependent on the existence of the screen.

Vyatireka: When the movie ends and the projector is turned off, the screen remains. The screen does not need the movie to exist, and more importantly, it remains unaffected by the drama. The screen was never burned by the movie-fire nor made wet by the movie-flood.

In this analogy, Consciousness is the screen (anvaya – it is present in all experiences) and the world is the movie (vyatireka – the world is absent in deep sleep, but the screen remains). Enlightenment is simply the realization that you are the screen and not the flickering shadows of the film.

*** Go to Part 2 ***