Tag Archives: ajAti vAda

Jīva

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Understanding the ‘Individual Soul’ in Advaita Vedānta

In our daily lives, we rarely question the existence of the ‘I’ that thinks, feels, and acts. We feel ourselves to be separate individuals inhabiting a body, navigating a world of objects, and carrying a history of personal experiences. Traditional Advaita Vedānta, however, challenges this common-sense view with a radical assertion: ‘Brahman is the reality; the world is not in itself real; the individual self is none other than Brahman’ (brahma satyam, jaganmithyā, jīvo brahmaiva nāparaḥ). To understand this ‘Great Equation,’ we must delve into the definition and nature of the jīva, the term used for the apparent individual soul.

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Creation Theories in Advaita

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In Advaita Vedānta, the explanation of how the universe came to be is not presented as a single, static fact, but as a series of increasingly refined theories (vāda-s) designed to lead a seeker from a dualistic worldview to the ultimate non-dual truth. This pedagogical technique is known as adhyāropa-apavāda—initially attributing qualities or a creation to Brahman (adhyāropa) and later rescinding them (apavāda) as the student’s understanding matures.

The following is an overall summary of these theories, progressing from the “common-sense” view to the radical absolute truth.

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Q. 556 Unmanifest

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Q: I am trying to understand what is meant by ‘unmanifest’. Is it:

  1. an upādhi like deep sleep; i.e. a ‘state’ or a ‘subtle object’? Or, if it is not an upādhi, then presumably
  2. it is pure Brahman, with a label ‘māyā’ for the purpose of discussing creation. i.e. it is not a state or subtle object.

I think it’s #2, but I have heard that deep sleep can be equated with māyā upādhi (at the micro level) or the unmanifest. This seems a bit confusing to me as I view the deep-sleep experience as an occurrence within manifestation.

I believe the Gīta says something like… When Brahma-ji awakes it is manifestation and when he sleeps it is un-manifestation. This makes me think maybe it is like deep sleep. If this is the case, then what about before Brahma-ji? This would indicate that there is something other than or standalone from the unmanifest or prior to the unmanifest (Brahma-ji’s sleep state).

Some clarification would be greatly appreciated!

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