The Darkness of Ignorance (Part 1)

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Introduction

Any reader who has begun a study of Advaita will know that reality is non-dual, that who-they-really-are is Brahman or Consciousness. The seeker’s problem is that, although they acknowledge this as the ‘end point’, they do not yet really believe it. The purpose of the teaching of Advaita is to bring them to this realization – an ‘event’ in the mind which is called ‘enlightenment’.

It might seem self-evident that gaining this Self-knowledge is the same as ‘removing the ignorance’ which presently prevents that realization. But by changing the phrasing in this way, it is perhaps not surprising that some (both seekers and teachers) have then started to consider ‘ignorance’ to be an actually existent entity that ‘obscures’ the truth. It is seen to be analogous to the way in which darkness prevents us from seeing objects in a cave, for example. And there is a tendency for people to believe that darkness is a real entity also.

This way of looking at things is very common and has led post-Śaṅkara authors to pursue endless, esoteric arguments which are virtually incomprehensible to the non-academic mind (e.g. me!) and (as far as I can tell) have entirely failed to reach a consensus. I have addressed some of these issues in my book ‘Confusions in Advaita Vedanta: Ignorance and its Removal’ (it should be available from Amazon in 2025). Those discussions examine some of these aspects, although aiming to do so in a readable and understandable manner.

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Eight Upanishads (Topic-wise) Part 6

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Part 5

Part 7

Chapter 4 Bandha

4-1 Introduction Bandha means bondage. It manifests in many ways, e.g., insecurity, emotional suffering, anxiety, hatred, and jealousy. Physical suffering is not included. According to Vedanta, behind these manifestations, there is a feeling of limitedness and incompleteness which causes desires. Desire per se is not the cause of suffering. Binding desire causes suffering because a person is so dependent on it that its non-fulfillment imbalances him and he is in the grip of negative emotions and suffers. Desire has three defects. It comes in a mixture of sorrow. It is non-satiable. It makes a person dependent on it. If not fulfilled, it causes sorrow. Even if one desire is satisfied, it is replaced by another desire. Satisfaction is not permanent and if the reason for satisfaction vanishes, it results in sorrow.

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“When the cloth goes, the thread also goes”

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With reference to “Spiritual Aspiration and Practice,” I came across the following eye-opening and enlightening words from Swami Krishnanada of the Divine Life Society (Swami Sivananda Group):

 “This world is very valuable because this body is also valuable. It is a part of this world. As threads are connected to a piece of cloth or fabric, this body, this personality is vitally connected to the whole world of nature. This entire world is a large spread-out fabric, of which you are a thread. So when you speak of renunciation in the light of a religious enthusiasm or on account of a spiritual call from inside, when you think of renouncing, as every religion speaks of renunciation, ask yourself what you are going to renounce.

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Q.554 – Practice and Enlightenment

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Q: I have been a seeker for the past 25 years and now realize that Advaita is the optimum path. I would like to study full time but still need to pay the rent! How can I gain Self-knowledge while performing a mundane job?  Simply ‘being in the present’ cannot bring about self-realization.

Also, is it correct that ‘cosmic ignorance’ produces māyā and the universe? Īśvara and māyā produce the guṇa-s, which then determine the jīva’s individual ‘make-up’? If this is right, it seems that individual karma must be related to Īśvara as well? But I read that Īśvara has no karma, although responsible for ‘creating’ the gunas. I am confused!

A: The bottom-line answer to your question is that no, there is nothing that you can ‘practice’ or actively ‘do’ in order to gain enlightenment. The ultimate reality is that there is no creation and no ‘individual you’. Reality is non-dual. Who-you-really-are is the non-dual Consciousness and therefore you could say that you are already enlightened.

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Eight Upanishads (Topic-wise) Part 5

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Part 4

Part 6

Chapter 3 Jiva Jagat Isvara

3-5 Katha Upanishad
 3-5-1 Katha 2.3.1

The world has arisen due to kArmic balance of the jivAs carried from the previous cycle of creation. The kArmic balance is in turn due to desire which propels action. Ignorance of Atma gives rise to action. The creation is compared to a tree and its root as Brahman. The branches represent the world consisting of dualities, e.g., heat, cold; pleasure, pain; birth, and death. Brahman is eternally pure, unchanging, and is therefore superior. The trunk is like subtle bodies of all creatures. It grows in strength due to desire represented by sprinkling of water. It has tender sprouts as sensory objects. Beautiful flowers represent good deeds like sacrifice, charity, and austerities. Various tastes are experiences of happiness and sorrow. The nests are the various lokAs beginning from satya loka (also called Brahma-loka) built by birds for living beings from Brahmaji downwards. The tree like world is unsteady and shaken by winds of desires. The leaves are karma kAnda of VedAs that perpetuates the world-tree. Brahman is the root and support of the universe. There is nothing beyond Him just like a pot does not transcend the clay.

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Eight Upanishads (Topic-wise) Part 4

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Part 3

Part 4

Chapter 3 Jiva Jagat Isvara

3-1 Introduction
It is desirable to begin with the obvious, namely, the creation and human being. The world is constituted of living and non-living beings. It also includes invisible entities, e.g., thoughts, and emotions. A human being is a living being. Though Upanishads differ in the details of creation, there is consensus about a causeless creator called Brahman and that the creation is cyclic, not linear. A linear creation with a beginning and an end runs into logical fallacies. In the cyclic version, there is no beginning and no end. Pedantically, it is absurd to talk about any beginning of creation because time is a part of creation. An immediate question that begs an answer is about the source of raw materials for creation. Before the creation, there was nothing except the creator. Upanishadic answer is that the creator has the material within Himself like a spider having material inside itself. The material is the mAyA power of Brahman which does not exist separately from Brahman. Cyclic creation and the material within the creator lead to a third proposition. In one cycle, the world emerges out of the creator, runs its course according to certain laws, and then resolves into the creator to remain there in potential form and become ready at an appropriate time for the next cycle. It is called creation-sustenance-dissolution. The word ‘creation’ is a misnomer because it conveys that a new thing comes into existence which is not correct. A more appropriate word is manifestation.

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Q. 553 – Mind and Causality

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Q: Does the mind play a causal role in enlightenment? If not, then it seems that no change can actually happen. But then we say that there is now Self-knowledge where before there was ignorance. If the mind is neither cause nor instrument, then surely there can be no Self-knowledge because no change can have occurred.

Furthermore, if the mind isn’t a factor, preparatory practices can be dispensed with and ultimately the understanding isn’t something which takes place in time. Is that what’s meant by the mind having no causal role? That realization isn’t something which happens in time? Am I missing something here please?

A: I think that your problem here is failing to differentiate absolute and empirical reality. The bottom line is that there is only Brahman or Consciousness. And you cannot say anything more. (Even that is too much.)

From the standpoint of empirical reality (vyavahāra), there certainly is causality. Enlightenment is the ‘event’ in the mind when the above is realized to be true beyond any shadow of a doubt. And there are certainly causes for this. The first of these is the preparation of the mind – sādhana catuṣṭaya sampatti. Then there is śravaṇa – listening to a qualified teacher or reading very good books; and manana – clarifying doubts by asking someone who knows the answers to your questions. These are all causes, hopefully leading to eventual enlightenment. Being enlightened is having knowledge of the Self. Not being enlightened is not having that knowledge. (Beware of thinking that there is a positive thing called ‘ignorance’ – I have just written a book about this.)

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Eight Upanishads (Topic-wise) Part 3

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Part 2

Part 4

Chapter 2 Eight Upanishads-Introduction
A brief outlay of each Upanishad is presented for familiarization and to arouse curiosity. It is not necessary to know all the concepts at this stage.


2-1 Aitareya Upanishad It belongs to Rig Veda. There are three chapters. The first chapter has three sections, second and third chapters have one section each. A total of five sections. The Upanishad uses creation (shrIsti) and entry (anupravesha) methods (prakriyA) to convey the Vedantic teaching, namely, Brahman is the reality, jagat is mithyA, and jiva is not different from Brahman. Brahman is the cause and creation is the effect. Brahman exists independently and the world borrows its existence from Brahman. Therefore, Brahman is the reality and the world has relative reality and is mithyA. The world including jiva is made of five elements. A jiva can transact in the world if it has consciousness. Therefore, Brahman which is of the nature of consciousness enters jiva. The embodied Brahman is jivAtmA. However, the jiva forgets that his real nature is consciousness. This forgetfulness causes desire and suffering. It continues from one life to another until the jiva gains Self-knowledge. Self-knowledge enables the jiva to claim his freedom which he always has. The Upanishadic depiction of creation and entry may give an impression that Brahman fashions creation, etc, like a magician. However, the depiction is figurative. The mahAvAkya, aham Brahmasmi is from this Upanishad.

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Q.552 – Teaching and Seeking

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Q: I’m currently reading ‘Back to the Truth’ and I can see you have presented a holistic view of Advaita. But I am curious. In your journey, having investigated all these schools, which do you prefer? Which teachers or schools do you think are best or have been most helpful to you? Or if you could choose just one school, book or guru to study, which would it be?  Also, what is your main spiritual practice? What aids have been most helpful to you?

Do you think that, reading books on Advaita becomes at a certain point not so helpful anymore; after you realize the only thing to truly do as ego is just self-enquiry and turning within?

A: I wrote ‘Back to the Truth’ nearly 20 years ago. I considered writing a second edition, in which quite a bit would change, but my publisher wasn’t interested. Instead, I began a series of books on ‘Confusions in Advaita Vedanta’. The scriptures (Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita and Brahmasutras) are the source of the teaching. Many modern ‘teachers’ are either unaware of this or simply do not bother to read them. Traditional teaching is the ONLY reliable, consistent, reasonable, proven method. This teaching was systematized by Adi Śaṅkara but, even here, many subsequent ‘traditional’ teachers have distorted, mistranslated or misrepresented him.

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Eight Upanishads (Topic-wise) Part 2

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Part 1

Chapter 1 General Introduction

1-2 PramAna  VedAnta accepts six sources of knowledge called PramAna. Direct perception: Sense organs directly perceive and give information. Inference: It is an indirect knowledge of something not in the range of direct perception. There is knowledge of fire when smoke is seen. Presumption: Knowledge about something in the past by directly perceiving something different in the present. On seeing a wet street in the morning, there is knowledge of rain in the night. Comparison: It is knowledge of something derived by comparison. There is knowledge of a wild buffalo in the forest because it resembles the buffalo seen in the village. Non-cognition: Knowledge of the absence of something by non-cognition. Seeing a chair in a room gives the knowledge of the absence of an elephant in the room. Testimony: It is knowledge derived from written or spoken words. I read a Physics book Physics to get the knowledge of laws of motion.

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