Tag Archives: creation

Duality is mithyA

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 Up Sah 19.20 to 19.22 have been inter-alia discussed here. It requires fine tuning. Hence this post.                                                                                                                    Upadesha SahAsri 19.20 discusses the status of duality. It has neither birth nor absence of birth. Both have contradictions as explained below. Thus, duality is neither existent nor non-existent. It is neither real nor unreal. In VedAntic terminology, it is mithyA.
1 Suppose there is birth of duality, i.e., there is a cause of its birth. It may be an existent cause or a non-existent cause. A non-existent cause is a non-starter and cannot give rise to an effect. An existent cause can be either (a) non-duality or (b) duality.
(a) The cause cannot be non-duality, because the nature of non-duality is changelessness.
(b) If there is birth of duality A from duality B, then there is a question of birth of duality B and so on. It leads to infinite regress which is logically unacceptable.

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BrihadarAnyaka Upanishad (Part 1)

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Part2

Introduction
It belongs to Yajur Veda. Brih means big in volume and teaching. Aranyaka means forest. One meaning of Upanishad is destroyer of darkness, i.e., ignorance. It has 6 chapters (adhyaya) divided into 47 sections called BrAhmana containing 434 mantrAs. There is another division. Chapters 1 and 2 together is  madhu khanda or updesha khanda as it is akin to sravan. Chapters 3 and 4 together is muni khanda because yajnavalkya muni is the teacher. It is also called upapati khanda because it provides logic to the teaching. Upapati means reason. 5th and 6th Chapters together is khila khanda having miscellaneous topics. Khila means assortment. Many mantrAs, especially in chapters 5 and 6, talk about meditations and do not have Vedantic teaching. There is a meditation on bodily illness so as to practice austerity for voluntary practice of austerity is difficult.

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Chandogya Upanishad (Chapters 6 to 8) Part 2

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 Part 1

Part 3

6.2.1 to 6.2.4
In order to show that by knowing the supreme entity, all other things are known, creation’s evolution on the basis of the principle of cause and effect is taught. Different Upanishads describe creation in different manners. However, there is a consensus about a causeless creator from which creation has evolved according to the cause-and-effect principle. According to ShankarAcharya, creation is a necessary assumption for the purpose of the ascent of the individual to the Absolute. It may be there, or it may not be there; that is not the point. As an interim measure, creation is accepted and once it serves the purpose, it is negated. ‘x’ in an arithmetical equation does not really exist yet it is useful in solving the problem. When it solves the problem, it extinguishes itself automatically and is not there. The purpose of teaching of the Upanishad is different from storytelling, ‘once upon a time’. It is an important point. There is no use arguing about whether creation exists or not. There is no denying that there is a creation and is experienced. And Uddalaka follows this technique of teaching like a good psychologist.

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The Limitations of Metaphor

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Advaita teaching frequently makes use of metaphor in its explanations of the various topics. These are indisputably invaluable, although there is also the danger of taking them beyond the realm of their applicability and either drawing erroneous conclusions or simply failing to see the point that is being made. This also highlights the necessity of using the metaphor that is most appropriate for conveying the message. Take the example of sarvam khalvidam brahma – all this (world) is really Brahman.

We might start with the ubiquitous rope-snake metaphor. We think we see a snake but the light is poor. (We think we see a world of separate objects, but we haven’t yet gained the Self-knowledge of Advaita – our perception is covered by ignorance.) When we bring torchlight to shine into the darkness, we see that it is really a rope. (Having been taught Advaita, we realize that the world is really name and form of Brahman.)

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Tat Tvam Asi (Part 2)

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Part 3

Existence inheres every worldly object. Before creation, all the worldly objects are in seed (unmanifest) form in Existence and the creation unfolds gradually. Existence manifests everywhere whereas consciousness is manifested in subtle body only, e.g., mind, intellect. A jiva is a mind-body system and is sentient and has emotions of happiness and sadness. Consciousness (Chit) does not undergo any change as it is present in the mind like a reflection (ChidAbhAsa. It is individual self or individual soul ( jivAtmA).

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Tat Tvam Asi (Part1)

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Part 2

In the commentary on Ch Up 6.1.3, ShankarAchArya says that even if a person has studied all the Vedas and knows all other things which are to be known, he indeed remains unfulfilled if he does not know the Self. As the word ‘unfulfilled’ is not explained, let me do. Unfulfilled means unfulfilled desires. Though a particular human desire is finite, there are countless desires and in this sense they are infinite. A person will have to take infinite births to fulfil them, and he will be in bondage forever. Conversely, with Self-knowledge, a person is complete and has no desires or alternatively all desires are subsumed in his ‘completeness’. He is free in the present life and is also free from rebirth.

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Eight Upanishads (Topic-wise) Part 33

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Part 32

Chapter 6 JnAna and moksha
6-9 Tattiriya Upanishad- BrahmAnanda Valli
6-9-4 AnuvAka 7 (Pt 2) The universe is made of matter and is essentially inert. But living and non-living beings are found in the universe. It means that there is an outside source of sentiency. This source is Brahman. Consciousness is the nature of Brahman. The consciousness is reflected in the subtle body of a jiva and the latter becomes sentient. Brahman is also the source of happiness. When consciousness is reflected in a calm mind, happiness is felt. Vedanta claims that there is not an iota of happiness in worldly objects. If happiness is the essential nature of an object, it should give happiness to everybody all the time. But it is not so. An object liked by a person may not be liked by another person. And an object liked by a person now may not be liked later.

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Eight Upanishads (Topic-wise) Part 26

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Part 25

Part 27

Chapter 6 JnAna and Moksha

6-7 Mundaka Upanishad

6-7-1 Mundaka 1.1.1 and 1.1.2 The Upanishad reminds the seekers about the divine origin of the Upanishads and their transmission through the lineage of teachers thereby ensuring purity. Brahmaji is the creator and protector of the world. He has imparted the knowledge of Brahman to his eldest son Atharv who in turn has passed it on to Angir. Satyavaha (of the line of Bhardvaja) and Angiras are the subsequent receivers of knowledge and so on from higher ones to lower ones.

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Dṛṣṭi- sṛṣṭi-vāda

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There has just been a brief discussion on the Advaitin List under the heading of ‘Quotes from samkshepa shaareeraka’. This was effectively on the perceived consequences of accepting the theory of dṛṣṭi-sṛṣṭi-vāda – the creation theory that claims that the world is the mental imagination of the jīva; a theory equating to the Western belief of solipsism. Sri ‘Sudhanshu Shekhar’ made the original post and Sri ‘Bhaskar YR’ represented the objections (with which I agree). Rather than joining in, I thought I would ask ChatGPT for an ‘opinion’ and its response seems to me to be very reasonable. (I even find myself more disposed to DSV than I was before!) Here is the exchange:

Q: How do Advaita believers in dṛṣṭi- sṛṣṭi-vāda explain how they can discuss the topic with other believers and non-believers?

A: In Advaita Vedānta, particularly within the framework of dṛṣṭi-sṛṣṭi-vāda (the doctrine that perception precedes creation), explaining and discussing the philosophy with others presents an interesting challenge. Since dṛṣṭi-sṛṣṭi-vāda asserts that the world arises in accordance with the perceiver’s experience, the question arises: how can multiple individuals engage in a discussion if each person’s world is subjectively projected?

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Eight Upanishads (Topic-wise) Part 20

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Part 19

Chapter 6 JnAna and Moksha
6-5 Katha Upanishad
6-5-14 Katha 1.3.11 The unmanifested (Avyakta) is higher than mahat, the Purusha is higher than the unmanifested. Purusha is the highest. He is the highest goal.
At the end of a cycle of creation called pralaya, the world resolves in Brahman and is in potential and causal state. It is the ‘unmanifested’ mentioned in the mantra above. It is the maya power of Brahman. Brahman is also called Purusha. In the next cycle of creation, cosmic subtle body is the first born and creation of names and forms unfolds in stages. The cosmic subtle body is Hiranyagarbha, also called mahat. The unmanifest causal body is superior to Hiranyagarbha. Beyond this unmanifest, there is another unmanifest called Brahman (BG 8.20) or Purusha. The universe has two states, namely, unmanifest (potential form) and manifested names and forms. To know Brahman is the highest human goal, i.e., moksha.

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