Tag Archives: ignorance

Upadesa Sahasri ( Part 31)

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Part 30 

18.72–75 are omitted, as they primarily deal with the Buddhist doctrine of momentary consciousness.
Who is the Hearer? Who Says, “I am Brahman”?
The teaching of Tat Tvam Asi (TTA) can serve its purpose only if there is a hearer to whom it is addressed (18.111). Accordingly, verses 18.76–77 raise the question: Who is the hearer of the teaching?
Two possible answers are examined: the Self and the ego. The Self cannot be the hearer being actionless and beyond all empirical transactions. Nor can the ego, who is a sufferer, be the hearer in the ultimate sense and truthfully declare, “I am free.” Does it imply that scripture is not a valid means of knowledge and the teaching is purposeless? To remove this confusion, verse 18.78 introduces the concept of reflected consciousness.

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Upadesa Sahasri (Part 26)

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Part 25

17.51-55                                                                                                                            A man desirous of knowing the truth should cultivate dispassion and refrain from loving the worldly objects for such a love is risky. It is mixed with pain because any worldly object is impermanent and its absence causes pain. The love causes bondage as desires are plenty and impossible to fully satisfy. He should approach a skilled teacher who has Self-knowledge, who is tranquil and established in Brahman- meaning he is anchored in Self while transacting in the world. In this sense, he is free from bondage of action. Such a teacher interprets the scriptures and impart knowledge (Ch Up 6.14.2 and BG 4.34). When a qualified student approaches a skilled teacher with humility in the prescribed manner, the teacher should accept him into his fold and impart knowledge of Brahman thereby enabling him cross Samsara which is like ocean of darkness.

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Parokṣa and Aparokṣa

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Bridging the Gap from Intellectual Understanding to Immediate Realization

In the pursuit of Advaita Vedānta, a seeker often grapples with a frustrating sense of distance. We read the great declarations of the Upaniṣads, we follow the rigorous logic of Ādi Śaṅkara, and we may even become ‘intellectually convinced’ that reality is non-dual. Yet, despite this conviction, we often feel as though we are standing on the outside looking in. This gap is technically defined by the distinction between two types of knowledge: parokṣa (mediate or indirect) and aparokṣa (immediate or direct).

Unravelling these terms is not just a matter of semantics; it is a vital step in clearing the ‘minefield’ of modern spiritual confusion. As I have argued in my series Confusions in Advaita Vedānta, many seekers are led astray by the belief that scriptural knowledge is ‘merely intellectual’ and must be transformed into something else through mystical experience. By looking at the original definitions and Śaṅkara’s own commentaries, we find a much more empowering truth: for the qualified seeker, the right means of knowledge (pramāṇa) can trigger immediate realization without the need for a secondary ‘mystical’ event.

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Pramāṇa

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The Gateway to Valid Knowledge in Advaita Vedānta

In the spiritual journey of Advaita Vedānta, the ultimate goal is the permanent eradication of Self-ignorance (avidyā), which is replaced by the liberating realization of our true nature. However, this realization is not a mystical occurrence or a random event; it is the specific result of Self-knowledge. For the seeker, a fundamental question arises: how do we acquire this knowledge? To answer this, we must understand the technical concept of pramāṇa, the vital intellectual framework that distinguishes between what we think we know and what is actually true.

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Upadesa Sahasri (Part24)

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Part 23

Part 25

17.17 and 17.18                                                                                                         During dream, one mind is divided into subject (knower), object (known) and instrument of knowledge. The divisions are unreal. Likewise, in the waking state, one consciousness appears differently when desires in the intellect causes action. The desires arise because the jiva thinks that it is incomplete though it is essentially complete. The desires and actions are revealed by consciousness. The waking state is a superimposition on consciousness, the substratum. The divisions in the waking state are as unreal as the divisions in the dream. The ideas of interior and exterior in the waking state are unreal like reading and writing which are interdependent. Reading depends on a written page without which nothing can be read and writing also depends on reading as we first read and then write. So, both of them are unreal as the sounds represented by written letters are all-pervasive and have no forms. Hence, they can neither be really written nor read.

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Upadesa Sahasri (Part 21)

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Part 20

16.30-33 There is a Buddhist school of thought called nihilism which holds that nothing exists, neither the subject nor the object. This theory of emptiness is questioned by the author. That which witnesses and is aware of emptiness must exist. The witness exists even before beginning of deliberation on existence or non-existence or both. According to Advaita, the world of objects is a superimposition on the Self. There can be destruction of the superimposition but not of the entity (Self) on which is the superimposition. Existence of Self is undeniable. It is indestructible. It is one without second on which diversity is a superimposition.

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Avidyā

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Navigating the Primal Muddle of Self-Ignorance

In the quiet moments of spiritual reflection, most of us are gripped by a persistent sense of limitation—a feeling that we are incomplete, finite, and somehow separate from the vastness of reality. Traditional Advaita Vedānta suggests that this entire predicament is rooted in a single, fundamental error: Self-ignorance. The Sanskrit term for this is avidyā, a concept so pivotal that it serves as the cornerstone for Advaitic metaphysics, epistemology, and ethics. Yet, despite its importance, it remains one of the most misunderstood and over-complicated topics in non-dual study.

For the serious seeker, unraveling the nature of avidyā is not a mere academic exercise; it is the key to unlocking the gate to liberation (mokṣa). This is precisely why my second volume in the series, Confusions in Advaita Vedānta: Ignorance and Its Removal, is dedicated to clearing the ‘minefield’ of misconceptions surrounding this term.

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Śaṅkara – on ‘enlightenment’ versus ‘liberation’

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Here is what Śaṅkara says on this topic in his bhāṣya on Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad 1.4.7. Following this, I have added some observations on what he says (Swami Madhavananda translation).

Objection: The topic was knowledge – when the Self is known, everything else is known. So why is a different topic, viz. attainment, introduced here?

Reply: Not so, for the shruti uses the words ‘knowledge’ and ‘attainment’ as synonymous. The non-attainment of the Self is but the ignorance of it. Hence the knowledge of the Self is Its attainment.

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Enlightenment and Liberation (Part 2)

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*** Read Part 1 ***

Note that there has been some discussion on Part 1 and there may be some overlap with this new (concluding) part.

Reasoning

The reasoning behind the differentiation (between enlightenment and liberation) is straightforward:

  • The scriptures tell us that we are already Brahman.
  • Since Brahman is eternally free, so must we be.
  • Initially, the jīva does not know this.
  • Consequently, the teaching of a qualified guru is needed.
  • If it were something that is ‘produced’ (i.e. not existing before), it could not be permanent.
  • Mokṣa is ‘nitya siddha’, ever accomplished. It is automatically ‘acknowledged’ when the knowledge triggers akhaṇḍākāra vṛtti.
  • It is not ‘produced’ by the teaching, since mokṣa is already the case and something that is permanent cannot be produced. ‘Liberation’ is a figurative concept in the sense that there is never any real bondage.
  • The notion that we are bound is a mistaken superimposition (adhyāsa) that is sublated (bādha) by the teaching.

There is extensive support for these definitions, from both scriptures and Śaṅkara bhāṣya-s, emphasizing that the realization of our already existing reality as Brahman (liberation) comes only from knowledge. It is the efficacious attainment of that knowledge that is called ‘enlightenment’ as explained by the metaphor of the ‘tenth man’.

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Enlightenment and Liberation (Part 1)

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This ‘terms and definitions’ post is in two parts (there are, after all, two terms!). The style is quite different from earlier posts. The earlier ones were derived from my books and earlier writing; I wrote this following a recent discussion. It contains many quotations from Śaṅkara in support, together with carefully constructed reasoning.

Mokṣa is not produced by any action (as argued in depth by Sureśvara in his Naiṣkarmya Siddhi chapter 1); it is nitya-siddha – already accomplished – and the knowledge gained from scriptures and teacher reveals this fact.

There is much confusion amongst seekers regarding these terms, which are often used interchangeably, or even in the wrong manner. This is because the same confusion exists amongst many writers and teachers. I want to clarify the correct usage of them with support from Śaṅkara’s own writing.

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