ADVAITA VEDANTA A PRESENTATION FOR BEGINNERS -1

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

OM

Ajnanatimirintasyajnananjanasalakaya

Cakshurunmilitam yena tasmai

srigurave namah

ADVAITA VEDANTA

A PRESENTATION FOR BEGINNERS

by

D Krishna Ayyar

Part I –THE HINDU SCRIPTURE

We all ask questions regarding ourselves, the world and the Lord, such as –

Who am I? Am I the body? Am I the mind?

What happens to us when we die?

What is the nature of the world that we see? How did it come? Will it have an end?

Is there a Creator? Is there some one like a Supreme Lord? Is there more than one

God?

What is our relationship to others, the world and the Lord or the Gods?

What is the purpose of life?

Like other philosophies, Advaita Vedanta deals with such questions. It is a unique

philosophy. The uniqueness consists in (a) the assertion of the identity of a supreme

principle of existence cum consciousness cum infinity and the individual

consciousness and (b) the relegation of the universe to a lower order of reality.

2. The original Hindu scripture called Veda is divided into four compilations, called (a)

Rig Veda, (b) Yajur Veda, (c) Sama Veda and (d) Atharva Veda. Respectively, the

earlier portions of these Vedas consist of (a) hymns in poetic form, (b) hymns in

prose form as well as the methodology of rituals, (c) hymns in musical form and (d)

miscellaneous matters. Together, these portions are called Karma Kanda. The latter

portions of the Vedas, called Vedanta or Upanishads or Jnana Kanda are the

philosophical portions. Karma Kanda deals with rituals and sacrifices, worship of

deities, prayers, duties, values of life, and conduct of life in harmony with the welfare

of others, including other living beings, with the requirements of society and with the

structure of the universe (called karma) as well as meditation on deities and on the

Supreme Lord (called upasana). There is a lot of interpretative and auxiliary

literature, called Bhashya, Vartika, Prakarana Grantha and Smriti. All these together

are called Sastra.

3. Pursuit of Karma Kanda is the preparation for the pursuit of Jnana Kanda. Cf.

Brhadaranyaka Upanishad IV.iv.22 -– “The Brahmanas (those who have been

initiated) seek to know It (Brahman) through the study of Vedas, sacrifices, charity

and austerity consisting in a dispassionate enjoyment of sense objects. Knowing t

alone one becomes a sage. Desiring the Brahman alone monks renounce their

homes.” Mundaka Upanishad I.ii.12 – ‘Á Brahmana should resort to renunciation

after examining the worlds acquired through karma, with the help of this maxim:

‘There is nothing (here} that is not the result of karma so what is the need of

performing karma?’ For knowing that Reality he should go, with sacrificial faggots In

hand, to a teacher, versed in the Vedas and absorbed in Brahman,” Karma Kanda

prescribes various kinds of karma and Upasana and mentions the corresponding

mundane benefits to be obtained, such as wealth, health, progeny, acquisition of

superhuman powers (called siddhis), life in higher worlds, etc. When they are

performed with the purpose of obtaining the material benefits, they are called kamya

karmas. In the initial stages one does kamya karmas. But, in due course – it may be

after many births (called janmas) – one finds out that whatever benefits kamya

karmas give are temporary. Even life in the higher world is, according to Sastra,

temporary. Not only that, no pleasure is unmixed with pain. In fact most of the time,

it is pain. Struggle and strain and anxiety in acquiring things, the worry of protecting

what one has acquired and the sorrow when it is lost or ceases to be – all this is

nothing but pain. Pleasure is only there in a fleeting moment when one has got a

thing one wanted and the problem of maintaining it and protecting it has not yet

started. Moreover, when desire for one thing has been fulfilled, desire for another or

a higher thing of the same kind emerges; thus desire is endless. Then one begins

wondering whether it is possible to have permanent peace and happiness. Sastra

comes and says, “Yes; it is possible. Leave the kamya karmas and come to Jnana

kanda.”

4. Before taking to Jnana kanda, one has to prepare oneself for it. The subject is

subtle and the study requires calmness and concentration of mind. Calmness or purity

of mind and concentration are acquired, respectively, by the performance of karma

and upasanas without desire for mundane benefits and solely with a view to going to

Jnana kanda. This is called nishkama karma. Sastra prescribed what is called

“varnashrama dharma” – four successive ways of life and four vocations, viz.,

brahmacarya ashrama in which boys and girls studied, under a preceptor, called guru,

the Vedas and auxiliary subjects, called Vedangas, such as grammar, epistemology,

logic etc. for a period of twelve years, grahasthashrama in which one, after marriage,

functioned as a priest, teacher, warrior, trader, or agriculturist and women looked

after the household, vanaprastha ashrama in which one retired to the forest for doing

upasana and lastly, sanyasa ashrama during which one took to the study of Jnana

kanda, , in depth. In the context of modern society, there is no time for elaborate

rituals, sacrifices etc. It is no longer possible to adhere to the ancient system of

varnasrama dharma which provided for different vocations and, corresponding to

them, prescribed different rituals and duties. However, even in the context of modern

society, it is possible to devote some time to a limited regimen of worship, prayers

and meditation, to the extent the preoccupation of earning a living will allow. One

has also to perform one’s duties to others, to society and to nature. Further, one

should lead a life based on values, such as truthfulness, non-violence, austerity,

charity etc, In all this, the attitude should be that it is a dedication to the Lord (called

Iswara arpana buddhi) and one should have a readiness to accept the result, be it

favourable or unfavourable, with equanimity, in a spirit that whatever comes is the

Lord’s gift (called Iswara prasada buddhi). Then this becomes “karma yoga”. Karma

yoga qualifies one for the pursuit of Janna kanda.

5. The major part of the original Vedic literature has been lost by disuse and

destruction during invasions. According to tradition, Vedanta literature originally

consisted of 1180 Upanishads. What are extant are 108 or so. Of these what are

considered most important are twelve Upanishads. Of these, widely taught are ten,

viz., Isa, Kena, Katha, Prasna, Mundaka, Mandukya, Aitreya, Taittiriya, Chandogya

and Brhadaranyaka, for which the great preceptor, Sankaracarya has written

invaluable commentaries. Two others that are popular are Kaivalya and Svetasvatara.

(Some say that the extant commentary of Svesvatara is also Sankaracharya’s.)

Mandukya is the shortest Upanishad and Brhadaranyaka is the biggest. Mandukya is

studied along with an explanatory treatise called “karika” written by Sankaracharya’s

teacher’s teacher (paramaguru), Gaudapadacarya. Apart from the Upanishads, all

students of Vedanta study the Bhagavadgita and Vyasacarya’s “Brahma Sutra”.

6. According to tradition, the literature of the Vedas including Vedanta is not works of

human authorship. It is revelation i.e. that which was transmitted to the Creator-God

(Brahmaa – pronounced with elongated ‘a’, so as not to be confuses with Brahman. )

by the Supreme Lord (Iswara). It was included in creation in a subtle form, by the

creator-god. And it has been discovered by sages ( rishis), who had acquired a special

capacity for such discovery . It has been transmitted to successive generations of

students in an oral tradition , called “guru sishya parampara”.

7. In its fundamental teaching, Vedanta deals with matters beyond creation. Human

intellect itself is a part of creation. It cannot therefore prove or disprove what is said

in Vedanta. Cf. Kathopanishad I.ii.8 and I.ii.9 – “It (Brahman) is beyond

argumentation.” “ This wisdom…..is not to be attained through argumentation.”

Kenopanishad I.3, I.4 and I.6 – “The eyes do not go there, nor speech nor mind. We

do not know Brahman to be such and such.” “ That (Brahnan) is surely different from

the known and again It is above the unknown.” “ That which man does not

comprehend with the mind”. Faith – i. e., the wholehearted belief that what it

teaches is true – is essential. So a student of Vedanta goes primarily by what is said

in the Vedanta in the course of his study. Logic is used to analyse topics based on

data gathered from Sastra and to arrive at a harmonious interpretation of the texts

(called “samanvaya”).

Part II

OUTLINE OF ADVAITA VEDANTA PHILOSOPHY

Section 1 - Nature of Self

1. Let us start with finding answers to the questions raised in Party I. It is not

difficult to understand that I am not the physical body . I can see the body. So, no

thinking man will deny the fact, “ I am not the body.” “Am I the ‘prana’ (divided into

prana, apana, vyana, udana and samana) , i. e., the life forces that are responsible for

the respiratory, circulatory, assimilative functions etc.? I am aware that I am

breathing. I am aware that I am hungry etc. So, I am not the ‘prana.’ Am I the

‘jnanendriyas,’ i.e., the sense organs of perception, i.e., the faculties of sight, hearing,

smell, taste and touch? I am aware that I see, hear etc.. So, I am not the

jnanendriyas. Am I the ‘karmendriyas’, the sense organs of action, i.e., the faculties

of speaking, lifting, walking etc? I am aware that I am speaking, walking etc. So, I

am not the karmendriyas. ( A single name for the jnanendriyas and karmendriyas put

together is ‘indriyas’ – sense organs, in English).

2. Next, we have to find out about the mind. [In Sanskrit, the mind is called

‘antahkarana’ which comprises “ manah ” ( the faculty which receives stimuli from

the outer world and is the seat of emotions and feeling), “buddhi ” ( the faculty of

reasoning, decision, speculation and imagination). “citta” ( the faculty of memory)

and the “ahampratyaya”* (ego) ( the ‘I’ thought, the sense of ‘I am the knower,

doer etc.). (In what follows, for the sake of simplicity, the word, mind, is used as a

synonym for antahkarana.) (The physical body is called, “sthoola sarira." The prana,

the indriyas and the antahkarana together are called “sukshma sarira”. The prana

that continues to function during deep sleep and the indriyas and the antahkarana

that lie dormant in the deep sleep state are, together, called “karana sarira.”) (* The

technical term used for the ‘I’ notion in Sastra is ahamkara. But the word ahamkara is

used also for the combination of antahkarana as a whole and the cidabhasa as it will

be used later in this paper itself. To avoid confusion, in this paper, the word,

ahampratyaya, is used for the ‘I’ notion as it is used in some places in

Sureswaracarya’s “Naishkarmyasiddhi” and the word , ahamkara, for the combination

of antahkarana and cidabhasa.)

3. Am I the mind? The mind is an entity that expresses as thoughts in the form of

cognition of external objects, emotion , reasoning, decision, speculation, imagination

recollection and conceptualisation. “ I know the pot is a thought”. “ I am angry at my

son” is a thought. “I had ice cream yesterday” is a thought. “Black hole is a mystery”

is a thought”. Thoughts are momentary; one thought arises, stays for a while and

disappears; then, another thought arises, stays for a while and disappears, and so

on. “Is there an awareness of these changes”, if we ask, the answer is “yes”. That

which is changes cannot itself be aware of the changes. It follows that, besides the

changing mind, there is a changeless conscious principle. In the individual, this is

invoked in the form of a constant “I”. For example, when I think that I who was

angry yesterday am calm today, though this thought arises in the mind, the “I” that is

invoked as the one existing yesterday and the same “I” existing today cannot be the

changing mind; because the angry the angry I disappeared yesterday and the calm I

has appeared only today. The constant “I” that is invoked by the thought in question

is a changeless consciousness, which, as we shall see later, is the original

consciousness by the reflection of which the mind itself becomes sentient and

acquires the capacity of cognition etc. The answer to the question “who am I” is “I

am this unchanging original consciousness”. It is called “atma”. Other terms for atma

is “pratyagatma” and “ sakshi caitanyam” or “sakshi”.

4. This process of connecting a past condition of the mind and the present condition

is called “pratyabhinja”. We can observe pratyabhinja in situations connecting the

dream state (called “swapna avastha”) and deep sleep state (called “sushupti

avastha”) on the one hand and the waking state (called “jagrat avastha”) on the

other. In the dream state, the mind projects a dream world which it cognises as

objects existing outside it. When one wakes up, one realises that what he saw as a

world existing outside one’s mind were merely thoughts in one’s mind. Thus, one

says, for example, “last night I dreamt that I got a lottery of one lakh rupees but now

I know that I don’t have a paisa”. Again, this constant I that is invoked by this

thought as having existed during the dream and as existing now is the changeless

consciousness, the atma. Similarly, when one is a state of dreamless deep sleep, the

mind is bereft of any kind of cognition, emotion and conception. When one wakes up

one says, “I didn’t know anything”. Here also, the I that is invoked by this thought

connecting the I that existed when the mind was blank and the I that exists now

when the mind recollects the blank state is the changeless consciousness, the atma.

To make this clearer, suppose you ask a person who has woken up from deep sleep

“when you were sleeping were you conscious of yourself?”. He will say that “I did

not know that I was there”. The “I” referred as having been absent during sushupti is

not the changeless “I”, the Sakshi, which is never absent, but the changing ‘I’, which,

as part of the sukshma sarira, is dormant during sushupti and is not evident. Thus, if

we analyse the sushupti experience, we can clearly recognize the existence of the

changeless “I”, the atma caitanyam called Sakshi, separating it, intellectually, from

the changing “I”.

5. Pratyabhinja invoking a constant is also observed when we connect different

stages in our life. Our body and mind are changing entities. When one is young, one

is strong and healthy and can win a cross country race. When one becomes old one

needs a stick even to walk. In early age, one can recite the entire Bhagawatgita and

Upanishads from memory . When one becomes old ,one doesn’t remember even the

name of his dearest friend. In one’s youth one is arrogant. When one has become old

, one has become humble. When one says, for example, “I who could recite the

entire Bhagawatgita from memory once upon a time can’t even recollect a single line

now”, one is imvoking the constant I, the unchanging consciousness, the atma. The

consciousness reflected in the mind is called “cidabhasa” and the mind and

cidabhasa together are called “ahamkara”). ( The body, the ahamkara and atma

together are called "jivatma").

Section 2 – Brahman, the ultimate reality.

The central theme of the Upanishads is Brahman, called also Paramatma. It is a

conscious principle. The word for conscious principle in Sanskrit is “caitanyam” The

seminal sentence defining Brahman which occurs in Taittiriya Upanishad (II.1.ii) is

“satyam jnanam anantam Brahma.” In English, this is translated as “ existenceconsciousness-

infinity. ( Existence, consciousness and infinity are not three separate

entities; they are three words denoting the nature of the same entity.) The word, “

satyam ” is defined as that which is eternal and has independent existence. The

word,“ jnanam ”, in this context, means consciousness. The word, “anantam” means

infinity. Infinity denotes what is infinite not only in terms of space but in terms of

time and entity. (In some places, Brahman is also defined as saccidananda.; it is a

compound word consisting of “ sat ” which is the equivalent of “ satyam ”, “ cit ”

which is the equivalent of “jnanam ” and “ ananda ” which is the equivalent of “

ananatam”).

Section 3 – Identity of the individual self and Brahman

1. There are various Upanishad passages which talk of Brahman, the all pervading

consciousness as being available for recognition within the intellect or the mind. The

Upanishads also expressly state that Brahman is not only nondual (“advayam”) but

divisionless (“nirvikalpam”). Therefore Advaita Vedanta says that the atma in you, in

me, in other human beings, in the animals, the birds, the insects, the plants and, in

fact, in all living beings, be they denizens of this world or the other worlds, i.e., even

the atma in gods (“Devas”) and demons (“Asuras”) is one and the same entity.

Brahman and Atma are not different. They are just two words for the same entity.

There is only one unbroken, undivided, all pervading consciousness. ("akhanda

caitanyam" or “Brahma caitanyam”) When the focus of teaching is on the all

pervading aspect, it is generally referred to as Brahman and when the focus is on the

original consciousness available in the jivatmas, it is generally referred to as Atma.

When the focus is on the source of cidabhasa, It is referred to as Sakshi. It is the

same all pervading consciousness that is available in the jivatmas. And it is this that

is invoked as the unchanging, constant I, by a pratyabhinja vritti. When the minds of

the jivatmas are superimposed in the ‘field’ of the all pervading consciousness, there

occur reflections of consciousness in the minds. The minds have the capacity to

receive the consciousness and reflect it, unlike objects like the table, just as mirrors

have the capacity to receive the sunlight and reflect it. The reflected consciousness is

called "cidabhasa", in Sanskrit. Without the reflected consciousness, the mind cannot

perceive objects, cannot know, cannot think, cannot react, cannot recall and cannot

imagine. (The qualities of different minds are different. Some are cheerful, some are

morose. Some are intelligent; some are dull the comparison is that a mirror coated

with dirt will throw a dull light on a dark room and a clean mirror will throw a bright

light.) The mind, in turn, lends the borrowed consciousness to the sense organs and

the body; that is how the mind, the sense organs and the body become sentient. It is

the mind cum cidabhasa (technically called ahamkara) that expresses as the

changing I.

2. Deriving consciousness from the Atma, the mind perceives the external world

through the sense organs. While the awareness of the existence of oneself as a self

conscious human being and as the same person, in spite of the changes which the

body and mind undergo cannot be explained without the Atma, the perception of

particular objects or entertainment of particular thoughts in a voluntary, selective

manner cannot be explained without the mind. If I am watching the T.V. with great

interest, I may be eating at the same time, but if you ask me later what I ate , I will

not be able to tell you. Another proof of the capacity of the mind to select what it

wants is what is known as the “cocktail effect.” And it is the mind which perceives

objects of the external world, at one time, projects a dream world at another time

and becomes dormant at a third time. Atma, the eternal consciousness, is there all

the time, without undergoing any of these changes. If Atma alone was there and

there was no mind, there would be permanent perception of everything together at

the same time (which will be utter confusion) if we assume Atma to be a knower or

there will be permanent non-perception, if we assume Atma to be a non-knower.

Section 4 – Transmgration and karma

Another fundamental tenet of Advaita Vedanta – indeed of all schools of philosophy

in Hinduism – is that the sukshma sarira in which cidabhasa is always there survives

the death of the sthoola sarira and is involved in transmigration from one world to

another among the fourteen worlds (lokas) mentioned in Sastra and entry into

different sthoola sariras in successive births (janmas). Associated with this tenet,

there is the theory of karma. According to this, for the actions and thoughts of

jivatmas they incur what are called “punya” and “papa” (merit and demerit) and

have to undergo enjoyment or suffering in future janmas and, sometimes in this

janma itself. Vide Brhadaranyaka Upanishad IV.4.vi – “Being attached, the

(transmigrating jivatma) together with its karma attains that on which its subtle

body or mind is set. It experiences (in the other world) the karma phalam

(recompense for punya papa in the form of enjoyment and suffering) for whatever

karma it had done in this world. When it is exhausted, it comes again from that world

to this world for new karma. Thus does the man with craving (transmigrate)”.

Kathopanishad II.ii.7 – “ Some embodied ones enter (after death) into (another)

womb for assuming bodies. The extremely inferior ones, after death attain the state

of motionless things like trees etc., in accordance with each one’s work – i.e., under

the impulsion of the fruits of the works they have accomplished in this life; similarly

too, in conformity with the nature of knowledge acquired.” Prasnopanishad III.7 – “

….leads to a virtuous world as a result of virtue, to a sinful world as a result of sin,

and to the human world as a result of both.” (“punyena punyam lokam papena papam

ubobhyam eva manushyalokam.”) The punya papa account is a running account to

which additions are made by actions and thoughts and subtractions take place on

account of enjoyment and suffering and through further action and thought. The

accumulated punya papa account is called “sancita karma”, the punya papa incurred

in the current janma is called “agami karma” and the punya papa quota assigned to

be exhausted in a particular janma is called “prarabhda karma”. In accordance with

prarabdha karma, the jivatma’s next janma may be as a celestial or a god in one of

the lokas superior than the earth or as an asura or some other denizen in an inferior

loka , with different kinds of sthoola sariras ,or again, on earth, as a human being or

as a plant or an animal or insect or microbe . Jivatmas and karma are beginningless.

Therefore , questions such as “what is the cause of the first janma?” i.e.,“how can

there be a first janma with different people being different in various respects unless

there was a preceding karma?”, “how can there be karma without a previous janma?”

are out of court. Only a theory of karma and rebirth can explain the phenomenon of

prodigies or morons or babies afflicted with congenital diseases unconnected with

heredity and the wide disparity in physical and mental equipment, health, wealth, joy

and suffering among human beings. That is, if you say that a person is born and dies

once for all, and that there is no rebirth, when a person undergoes enjoyment or

suffering, you cannot explain it, because there is no punya papa for which the

enjoyment or suffering is undergone. The other way, for the actions and thoughts of

a person, the punya papa will hang in the air without reward or retribution. If you say

that the Lord created persons with varying patterns of physical and mental

equipment and comforts, enjoyment and suffering, then that would make that Lord

partial. In Brhadaranyaka Upanishad,, IV.iii.9, read with Sankaracarya’s

commentary, we get a logical proof of transmigration of sukshma sariras. The

Upanishad says, “Remaining in the junction between waking and sleep, i.e., in the

swapna avastha, the jivatma experiences this world and the other world.” This is how

we get strange dreams of things we have never experienced. Dreams are based on

impressions formed during the waking state, called vasanas. Even a baby has dreams.

Where are the previous experiences for it to have formed vasanas? The baby’s

dreams are based impression formed in the mind out of experiences (“vasanas”) of

its previous janma. Similarly, on the eve of death, it is said, that a man has a glimpse

pf his next janma during his dreams.. Another argument for the karma theory is the

well known fact that the mind, though conscious of consequences wills evil; and

though dissuaded it does engage in deeds of intensely sorrowful consequences. If

there was no vasana of evil, since everybody wants only happiness, evil will not exist

in the world at all.

Section 5 – Free will

Apart from karma, there is scope for free will ( called “purushartha”) in human lives.

Good action and good thought can reduce papa and increase punya. Whether free will

or karma will prevail or to what extent free will can mitigate karma depends on the

relative strength of the two. Since there is no way of knowing what one’s karma is,

wisdom lies in doing good actions and entertaining good thoughts. One should not

lose faith in the efficacy of good actions and good thoughts; good actions and good

thoughts are bound to bring about a better balance of punya papa and, consequently,

mitigate suffering and increase happiness in the present janma itself or in future

janmas. Brhadaranyaka Upanishad, fifth chapter, fourteenth section talks of the

beneficial result of the chanting of the famous Savitri mantra in the Gayatri metre.

There are various other sections in the Upanishads, particularly Brhadaranyaka and

Chandogya, which talk of beneficial results of meditation on deities. We should

extend this to good actions and good thoughts in general. What physical and mental

equipment one is born with, in which set up one is born and what opportunities are

available are determined by one’s karma. But, in any janma, how one develops one’s

potential, how one makes use of opportunities and how one does action in and reacts

to situations depends on one’s free will.

Section 6 – Status of the world - Orders of reality

1. Now, let us consider the nature of the world. From what we see around us,

information obtained from others, by inference and through scientific investigation

and theories, we know that the universe is a vast, complex entity; the human body

itself is a miraculous mechanism; the vegetable and animal kingdoms, the planets,

the stars, the galaxies, the black holes, the particles, the waves, matter, antimatter

and what not – are all miracles. There is no effect without a cause. So, we cannot but

postulate an omniscient and omnipotent creator.

2. Upanishads state expressly in innumerable passages that Brahman is nondual

(“advayam”, “ekam”) and eternal (”nityam”); “nityam” implies changelessness; in the

Bhagavadgita (Gita, for short), Brahman is specifically said to be changeless. ( In his

Bhashyam, Sankaracarya says that , unlike milk turning into curd, Brahman does not

undergo any such transformation. (Transformation is called "parinama" in Sanskrit).

But we do experience a world. The world that we experience cannot be the effect or

transe formation of Brahman. We can explain what is experienced only if we say that

the world belongs to a lower of reality. So, a cardinal doctrine of Advaita Vedanta is

the scheme of three orders of reality ( ontological statuses ) – “ paramarthika

satyam” ( absolute reality), “ vyavaharika satyam” ( empirical reality ) and

“pratibhasika satyam” ( subjective reality ). Brahman is paramarthika satyam. The

universe comprising external objects and our bodies and minds is vyavaharika

satyam. The dream world is pratibhasika satyam. Objects that are erroneously

perceived in jagrat avastha as existing outside are also called “ pratibhasika satyam”.

Examples are snake perceived on the rope, silver perceived on the shell, water

perceived on the desert sand ( i.e. mirage), man perceived on the post etc. The

position of the world vis a vis Brahman is compared to the position of the dream

world vis a vis the waker, the position of the snake perceived in the rope etc. Cf.

Chandogya Upanishad II.vi.1– “That (Brahman) created all that exists. That (

Brahman), having created that entered into that very thing. And, having entered

there, It became the true and the untrue, Truth became all this. (“satyam ca anrutam

ca; satyam abhavat”). The first “the true” (“satyam”), refers to vyavaharika satyam,

“the untrue” (“anrutam”) refers to pratibhasika satyam and the second “Truth”

(“satyam”) refers to paramarthika satyam. Orders of reality lower then Brahman are

covered by the technical term, “mithya” All that is experienced but is not

paramarthika satyam falls under the category of mithya. Mithya can be either

vyavaharika satyam or pratibhasika satyam. Mithya is defined as that which is

experienced but has no independent existence, E.g., If clay is taken away, there is no

pot. The dream world is dependent on the waker. If the rope was not there, snake

would not appear. Another definition of mithya is that which is neither totally

existent nor totally non-existent. “Totally non-existent” is ruled out because it is an

object of experience. “Totally existent” is ruled out because when the Brahman is

known, the object is seen as unreal i.e., relegated to a lower order of reality. Thus

the snake perceived on the rope is mithya. The dream world is mithya. Anything that

is mithya is also called “anirvacaniyam” (that which cannot be defined) in Sanskrit.

Whatever is mithya is a superimposition on a substratum. If there was no

substratum, it cannot appear and when the substratum is known it disappears or is

relegated to a lower order of reality. (When the word, “ satyam” or “ real ”is used

without any adjective, hereafter, it should be taken to refer to paramarthika satyam

and when the word, “ mithya” or “ unreal” is used without any adjective, it should be

taken to refer to “vyavaharika satyam” or “pratibhasika satyam”, depending on the

context.)

Section 7 - Creation

According to Advaita Vedanta – indeed all schools of Hindu philosophy – there is a

beginningless and endless cycle of creation, maintenance and dissolution or

resolution, called “srishti”, “sthithi”, ”laya.” Cf. Svesvatara Upanishad I.9, where it is

said that Iswara as well as jiva are birthless.) In each srishti, the variety and pattern

of objects, the attributes of the bodies and minds and the events and situations have

to be fashioned to suit the karmas of the myriad of sentient beings in the janmas they

go through in that srishti. This requires conscious planning and skilful action on the

part of the creator. According to Sastra, Brahman is eternal and changeless and It is

neither a doer nor a thinker thinking with a mind which undergoes modification. Put

in Sanskrit, It is “akarta” and “amanah”. ( Action involves change. Thought is also

change because it is movement of the mind). If Brahman has to be a cause and the

world has to be a product, Brahman has to change and when the product comes, the

cause in its original form is no longer there. So an eternal, changeless Brahman

cannot be the material cause of the world (“upadhana karanam”). Since the

changeless Brahman is amanah, It cannot be the intelligent cause of the world

(“nimitta karanam.”). So, the question arises, how does creation come? Advaita

Vedanta says that in Brahman, there is, as a lower order of reality, an entity and

power, called “Maya”. Maya is inert matter, consisting of undifferentiated names and

forms. Brahma caitanyam gets reflected in Maya, to constitute an entity called

“Iswara”. Iswara has the caitanyam aspect of Brahman in the form of reflected

consciousness as well as the matter aspect of Maya. Therefore Iswara has in himself

the capacity to think, visualise and plan creation and the raw material to evolve the

objects of creation. Just as creation is mithya, Iswara is also mithya, belonging to

the vyavaharika order of reality. Creation is only unfolding of forms with

corresponding names (nama roopa) on a substratum. The substratum is Brahman, the

non-dual existence, the sat. Sat does not undergo any change. The names and forms

unfolded as a superimposition on sat, the substratum, include not only various

worlds, stars, planets, mountains, rivers etc but the bodies of plants, insects, animals

and human beings, gods, asuras etc. Iswara visualises and plans the creation,

keeping in mind the requirements of the karmas of the jivas and impels Maya to

unfold the names and forms accordingly. ( Cf. Svesvatara Upanishad IV.10 where

world is said to be the form of Maya and Svesvatara Upanishad IV. 6, where it is said

that Iswara referred to as Mayi creates the universe. That the word, Mayi, refers to

Iswara, we can see from Svesvatara Upanishad IV.10 which says that ‘Prakriti said,

earlier, to be the cause of the world should be known as Maya and the great Iswara

to be ruler of Maya.) \) The world Mayi In the minds of living beings, the

consciousness aspect of Brahman, (cit) is reflected to form cidabhasa. After the

karmas of the jivas assigned for that creation have been exhausted through

enjoyment and suffering, Iswara makes Maya withdraw the projected names and

forms unto Himself in his aspect as Maya, there to remain, for a period, called

“pralaya”, in potential or seed form.

Section 8 – The concept of Maya

According to Advaita Vedanta, in our real nature, we are the very infinite Brahman.

Maya has a two-fold power - (i) veiling power (“avarana sakti”) and (2) projecting

power (“vikshepa sakti”). Through avarana sakti Maya hides Brahman, as it were,

from us; i.e., makes us ignorant about our real nature as Brahman and through

vikshepa sakti, having projected the names and forms which include our body mind

complex, deludes us into identifying ourselves with our body mind complex.

Consequently, we regard ourselves as limited individuals, different from other beings

and take on ourselves the problems, the joy, suffering, fear, sense of insecurity etc.

belonging to the body and the mind . Whereas, it is the body mind complex that

thinks, does action, enjoys and suffers ( put in Sanskrit, is the "karta" and "bhokta" ,)

we regard ourselves as karta and bhokta. Our transactions in the world, with this

notion, result in our incurring an obligation to get rewards for good thoughts and

deeds and punishments for bad thoughts and deeds in future births. In the course of

enjoyment and suffering as reward and punishment, we engage ourselves in further

transactions and incur further obligations for the discharge of which we have to be

born again and again. Thus, we are caught up in the cycle of births and deaths and

enjoyment and suffering. This is called “. Whereas, the macrocosmic cycle of srishti,

sthiti and laya is endless as well as beginningless, individual samsara is not endless.

When we understand that we are not the body mind complex but we are the infinite

Brahman, we get liberated from samsara. ( In Svesvatara Upanishad .6, it is said that

Jiva regards himself to be different from Paramatma, and gets involved in samsara)

Section 9 – Liberation – What it means

1. Thus, the correct goal of human life, according to Advaita Vedanta is one’s

identification with Brahman, i.e., displacing the “I” from the body, mind and ego and

putting it, as it were, in Brahman. the original pure consciousness, the existenceconsciousness-

infinity. At the macrocosmic level, Iswara is the conglomerate of the

original consciousness, the real part and Maya, the reflecting medium and the

cidabhsa, the reflected consciousness, which are the unreal parts (mithya). At the

microcosmic level, Jivatma is the conglomerate of the original consciousness, the real

part and the body mind complex, the reflecting medium and the reflected

consciousness, which are the unreal parts (mithya). Owing to ignorance caused by

Maya, we, jivatmas regard ourselves as limited individuals. When we negate the

unreal parts of Iswara and ourselves, i.e., relegate them to a lower order of reality,

and recognize the identity of the real parts, the identity of the original consciousness

available in us and the infinite consciousness, we recognize our real nature as

Brahman, the Existcnce-Consciousness-Infnity. This is called “jivabrahmaikyam”.

Sentences in the sastra that reveal jivabrahmaikyam are called Mahavakyas. There

are innumerable mahavakyas in the Upanishads. Four of them are famous, one

quoted from each Veda, namely, “ Tat tvam asi ” ( Chandogya Upanishad – Sama

Veda), “ aham brahma asmi” (Brhadaranyaka Upanishad – Yajur Veda), “ ayam atma

brahma” (Mandukya Upanishad – Atharva Veda) and “ prajnam brahma”, (Aitereya

Upanishad – Rg. Veda). Translated in English, the four mahavakyas would read

respectively as “ Thou art That ” “ I am Brahman ” “ This atma is Brahman ” and “

Consciousness is Brahman”).

2. In the process of the teaching, we also understand, as explained above, that the

only reality is Brahman and all else, i.e., the world of objects and our own body mind

complexes are Mithya. This, together with the knowledge of “ jivabrahmaikyam” is

expressed by the famous sentence, “Brahmasatyam jaganmithya, jivobrhmaiva

naparah.” (“ Brahman is the reality; the world is mithya; jiva is Brahman, naught

else.”) .The moment this knowledge is gained effectively, one is free in this very life.

This freedom , liberation from the bondage of samsara, is called “moksha”. The

benefit of this knowledge is unalloyed peace and happiness. The one who has gained

the knowledge is called, “jivanmukta”or “Jnani”.

3. It is not essential that one should become a sanyasi to gain the knowledge. If one

can go through the methods ( called “sadhanas” ) prescribed for attaining mental

purity, calmness and concentration which are prerequisites for gaining effective

knowledge and devoting sufficient time regularly and systematically under the

guidance of a competent teacher to the study of the Upanishads and the

commentaries, etc. even while one continues to be engaged in the duties of one’s

secular life, one can become a Jnani.

Section 10 – Significance of liberation

1. The world does not disappear for a jnani. But his outlook and attitude to the world

become different. On the paramarthika plane, he has identified himself with nondual

reality, the infinite Brahman. Since he knows that the world, including the body mind

complex is unreal, he has no sorrow, no anxiety, no fear, no desire , no hatred, no

worry. Cf. Chandogya Upanishad VII. 1. iii – “ I have heard from masters like you that

he who knows the Brahman transcends sorrow.” Because the world is mithya, i.e., of

a lesser order or reality and nothing of a lesser order of reality can affect an entity of

the higher order of reality, jnani is not affected by anything, good or bad, happening

in the world. In the dream, the tiger has mauled me. But when I wake up, I don’t find

any wound in the body. I win a big prize in a raffle in the dream. But when I wake up,

I don’t find my bank balance increased. Stain in the reflection in the mirror does not

affect my face. The fire in the movie does not burn the screen. If somebody steps on

my shadow, I am not hurt. Similarly, the happenings in the empirical world ( in the

“vyavaharika jagat”) do not affect the jnani.

2. The freedom from disturbance from the empirical world is a psychological freedom

arising from the knowledge of the truth and does not extend to the physiological

body. The jnani has no sorrow, no anxiety, no fear, no worry, no craving, no

attachment and no hatred. Cf. Chandogya Upanishad VII.i.3 –“I have heard from

masters like you that he who knows Brahman transcends sorrow.” Brhadaranyaka

Upanishad IV.iv.12 – “ If a man knows Atma (Brahman) as “I am this” then desiring

what and for whose sake will be suffer when the body is afflicted?” Sankaracarya’s

commentary – “ If a man.....knows the atma which is his own atma as well as the

Paramatma – knows how? – as ‘I am this Paramatma’, the sakshi of perceptions of all

beings, which has been described as ‘not this, not this’ and so on, than which there is

no seer.........knower and is in all beings, and which is by nature eternal, pure

consciousness and free, desiring what other thing distinct from his own Self which is

everything and for whose sake, i.e., for the need of what other person distinct from

himself will he become miserable when mithya body is afflicted? Because he as the

atma has nothing to wish for, and there is none other than himself for whose sake he

may wish it, he being the atma of all, therefore desiring what and for whose sake will

he suffer when the body is afflicted?. For, this is possible for the man who identifies

himself with anatma (that which is not atma, i.e. the body mind complex) and desires

things other than atma and struggles and desires something for himself, something

else for his son, and a third thing for his wife and so on, goes round the births and

deaths and is diseased when his body is diseased. Bur all this is impossible for the

man who sees everything as his atma.” However, the body mind complex with which

the person who has become a jnani is part of the vyavaharika world and as long as

that body lives, there are duties pertaining to it. So, if the jnani is a householder, he

does not cease to perform the duties and obligations towards the body, the family

and the society. He does his duties with purpose but without any desire and he

accepts the results of actions, good or bad, favourable or unfavourable with

spontaneous equanimity. The jnani is not dependent on anything except his

identification with Brahman for peace of mind and happiness. This does not mean

that he ceases to enjoy the good things of life, like good food or music or literature,

but he does not have desire for them. That is to say, if it is there, he takes it and

enjoys it , but if it is not there , he does not miss it. He may have preferences, but he

has no need. If the jnani is ill, he will also go to the doctor, but he will do so without

any anxiety . If his wife is ill, the jnani will look after her with compassion but

without sadness or anxiety or worry. If the jnani’s son has to gain admission in a

college, the jnani will also make efforts, but he will not be sad if he fails. If his son

obtains the first rank in his class, the jnani will also be happy, but he will be equally

happy if the son of a complete stranger, instead of his son, secures the first rank .If

he was a poet, he can continue to be a poet. If hw was a musician, he can continue to

be a musician. When he goes to a temple or church or mosque, he will also do

worship but he will do so with the knowledge that he himself is Brahman. But

whatever he does, he will do that, not for himself, but for the welfare of society or

humanity or as an example for the common man. His efforts for himself will be

confined to the barest minimum requirements of sustenance. Even while he is

transacting with the world, the deep undercurrent of thought that he is the Brahman

that is beyond the vyvaharika world will be there. The jnani is like the actor on the

stage. Today, the actor plays the role of a beggar ; tomorrow , he may play the role of

a millionaire. But he knows that he is neither a beggar nor a millionaire. Like that, the

jnani plays the role of father, husband, teacher and what not, committed but

unattached and never without the undercurrent in the mind that he is really none of

these but he is the relationless (“asanga”) Brahman.

3. On the vyavaharika plane, anything that there is in the world is Brahman only,

because the real essence is only Brahman and what we see as external objects or

persons are only names and forms appearing on Brahman. Since the jnani has

identified with Brahman, the essence of everything, he can regard himself as

everything ; this attitude is called “ “sarvatmabhava”. For him, everything that there

is his, everybody’s happiness is his happiness, everybody’s knowledge is his

knowledge and everybody’s achievement is his achievement. This is not to be taken

literally. Even a jnani can actually enjoy whatever falls within the scope of the

antahkarana in the body with which he was born. Regarding others, enjoyment etc.

as his is a question of attitude born out of the knowledge that all nama roopas exist

on Brahman and he himself is Brahman.. Having this attitude, the Jnani has no sense

of lacking anything, nor has he desire for anything . Cf. Brhadaranyaka Upanishad

IV.iii.21 – “aptakamam atmakamam akamam roopam.” Also Chandogya Upanishad

VII.xxiv.2 – “Evam vijanan atmaratih atmakridah atmamithunah atmanandah sa

swarat bhavati”. Since everybody is himself, he loves all equally and he has no

jealousy or hatred towards anybody or fear of anything or anybody. He goes on

teaching or working for the welfare of society peacefully and happily. In this

connection, we can usefully refer to Brhadaranyaka Upanishad II.4.vi. “ The

Brahmana rejects him who knows the Brahmana to be different from the Self. The

Kshatriya rejects him who knows the Kshatriya to be different from the Self. Worlds

reject him who knows the worlds to be different from the Self. The gods reject him

who knows the gods to be different from the Self. Beings reject him who knows

beings to be different from the Self. All reject him who knows all to be different from

the Self. This Brahmana, this Kshatriya, these worlds, these gods, these beings and

this all are only the Self (one’s own atma)”

4. To put it in technical terms, jnana phalam, the benefit of the recognition of

jivabrahmaikyam, is twofold - (i) sarvatmabhava and poornatvam (from the

standpoint of the vyavaharika plane), the sense that I am Brahman, Brahman is

everything; so, I am everything – the sense of utter fulfillment and (2) asangatvam (

from the standpoint of the paramarthika plane), dismissing the universe as unreal,

the sense that I alone am , infinite in terms of space, time and entity. The jnani thus

has the choice of ananda arising out of the attitude, “ I am everything” or the peace

of being relationless, the knowledge that I alone am, all else is mithya and nothing

can affect me, the satyam.

5. Since the jnani has disidentified with the body mind complex with which he was

born, he becomes free of the sancita karma pertaining to that body mind complex.

Action involves physical and mental movement. Movement is change in space and

time. Thought is also a movement, being a modification of the mind. Brahman being

all pervading, formless attributeless and changeless is not a doer or enjoyer ( - to

put it in Sanskrit, Brahman is neither a “karta” nor a “ bhokta”. ) An all pervading

changeless entity cannot move and, therefore, cannot act or think. Since Jnani is

identified with Brahman, he is free from the sense of doership and enjoyership ( “

kartrtvam and bhoktrtvam.”) .. Cf. Kathopanishad I.2.xix – “ He who thinks that he is

the killer or the killed does not know atma. Atma neither kills nor is killed.” Action

and thought done or entertained with kartrtvam and bhoktrtvam alone results in the

accumulation of punya and papa, So, for the jnani, there is no agami kama, either.

Brhadaranyaka Upanishad IV.xxiv.3 – “Papa does not trouble him by producing the

desired result or generating sin, but, he, the knower of Brahman consumes all papa,

i.e., burns it to ashes with the fire of the realisation of the Self of all.” However,

according to Chandogya Upanishad VI.xiv.2, like an arrow that has already been shot

from the bow , the quota of karma out of the sancita karma bundle which has already

been assigned to be gone through in this life ( “prarabdha karma”) continues to be

there also for the Jnani. But even here, there is a difference. While the physical

aspect cannot be avoided, on the psychological plane, the jnani is not disturbed. If

something good happens he does not jump with joy. If something bad happens, he is

not sad. He takes everything that happens on the physical plane as the prarabdha

pertaining to the body-mind complex with which he has already dissociated himself

and therefore there is no disturbance in his mind. The state in which Jnani continues

to live, with a body mind complex with which he has dissociated himself is called

“Jivanmukti” ( i. e., liberation in this very life). The disassociation with the body is

compared to the snake casting off its old skin.

Section 11 – Knowledge, the sole means of liberation

According to Advaita Vedanta, moksha is obtained only through knowledge of

identity with Brahman and not through any karma or upasana. Kaivalya Upanishad 3

– “It is through renunciation that a few seekers have attained immortality – not

through rituals, not through progeny, not through wealth.....” (“ na karmana na

prajaya na dhanena tyaganaike amrutatvamanasuh”). Mundaka Upanishad I. 7 “

....Indeed those who consider karma to be a means for moksha are fools. They enter

old age and death again and again.” Mundakopanishad I.9 – “.....These ritualists do

not know the glory of moksha due to their attachment. Consequently these wretched

ones fall down when the Punya is exhausted.” Kenopanishad II.4 – “Through

knowledge is attained immortality” “ (...vidyaya vindate amrutam”). Also cf.

Nrsimhapurvatapani Upanishad I.6. Cf. Brhdaranyaka Upanishad IV.iv.19 – “

Brahman has to be recognised by the mind alone. ( “manasa eva anudrashtavyah”.) “

“ Taittiriya Upanishad II.2.1 – “The knower of Brahman attains Brahman”

(“Brahmavid apnoti param”) “The knower of Brahman becomes immortal.”

Kathopanishad II.iii.8 – “ Superior to the Unmanifested (Maya) is the Infinite who

is......without worldly attributes, knowing Whom a man becomes freed and attains

immortality.” (“....Yam jnatva mucyate jantuh..”). Brhadaranyaka Upanishad

IV.iv.17 – “....that very Atma I regard as Brahman. Knowing Brahman, I am

immortal.” (“Tam eva manya atmanam vidwan brahma amrutah amrutam.)

Svetasvatara Upanishad – “ Svetasvatara Upanishad III.8 - “ Knowing that

Paramatma that is Pratyagatma, Sakshi, that is the infinite, that is all pervading, that

is effulgent........men become immortal. For attaining this Brahman, there is no other

means” (“.......na anya pantha vidyate ayanaya.”). Kaivalya Upanishad 9 - “He alone

is everything which is in the past, which is in the present and which will be in the

future. Having known him one crosses mortality. There is no other means for

liberation.” (“..... na anya pantha vimuktaye”). Kaivalya Upanishad 10 – “Clearly

recognising oneself to be present in all beings and clearly recognising all beings in

oneself, the seeker attains the Supreme Brahman, not by any other means”). (.....na

anyena hetuna”). “Moksha is only by knowledge”. (“ janat eva kaivalyam”). Cf.

Brhadaranyaka Upanishad III.viii.10 – “ He...who in this world, without knowing this

Immutable, offers oblations in the fire, performs sacrifices and undergoes austerities

even for many thousand years, finds all such acts but perishable; he, O Gargi, who

departs from this world without knowing this Immutable, is miserable. But he, O

Gargi, who departs from this world after knowing this Immutable, is a knower of

Brahman”. The same idea is expressed in different words in Brhadaranyaka

Upanishad I.iv.10 . That knowledge is the means of moksha is also said in

Svetasvatara Upanishad I.11, Nrsimhapurvatapani Upanishad II.6 (tam eva vidwan

amrutam iha bhavati”) Svetasvatara Upanishad VI.17, Brhadaranyaka Upanishad

IV.iv.14, Chandogya Upanishad VII.1.3,, Mundaka Upanishad II.i.2 , II.ii.8, III.ii.8

and III.ii.9 Prasna Upanishad IV.10 and VI.6 Isavasya Upanishad 7, Kena Upanishad

II.5, and IV.9 (read with IV.7) , Svetasvatara Upanishad II.14, ,III,7, IV.17, and V.6,

Kathopanishad II.ii.13, Isavasya Upanishad 11 etc.

Section 12 - Liberation is this life itself - Jivanmukti

According to Advaita Vedanta, as a result of knowledge of jivabrahmaikyam,

liberation from samsara( moksha) is possible in the current life itself; one does not

have to wait for the end of life. Cf. Brhadaranyaka Upanishad IV.iv.6 – “Being but

Brahman he becomes merged in Brahman. ( This refers to jivanmukti followed by

videhamukti. Videha mukti is the disintegration of the karana and sukshma sarira

when the death of jnani’s sthoola sarira takes place.) Brhadaranyaka Upanishad

IV.iv.14 – “Being in this very body we have somehow known that Brahman…….Those

who know It become immortal,” Brhadaranyaka Upanishad IV.iv.7 – “When all the

desires that dwell in his mind are gone, he……….becomes immortal and attains

Brahman in this very body. Just as the slough of a snake is cast off and lies in the

any-hill, so does this body lie.” In the commentary on Brhadaranyaka Upanishad

I.iv.10, citing Rg. Veda IV.xxvi.1, Sankaracarya points out that Vamadeva, while

talking of his sarvatmabhava as a result of his knowledge of identity with Brahman

uses the present participle, ‘while realising’; present participle is used only when the

action indicated by the present participle and the action indicated by the main verb

are simultaneous. Nrsimhapurvatapani Upanishad II.6 talks of the knower of

Brahman becoming immortal , here itself. Cf. Also Kathopanishad II.iii.14 and

II.iii.15 – “…..he attains Brahman here.” and “….even when a man is alive, then a

mortal becomes immortal.”

Section 13 - Liberation not an event in time. It is self-recognition

Moksha is not a new state or an event. Being the infinite Brahman is our eternal

nature. The notion of being separate limited inidividuals subject to the bondage of

samsara is only ignorance in the mind. The moment one gains the knowledge, “ I am

Brahman”, one discovers one’s true eternal nature. The event that happens is only

destruction of the ignorance in the mind. Moksha is only owning up one’s true nature.

Cf. Sankaracharya’s Brahmasutra Bhashyam – “…..for as Brahman constitutes a

person’s Self, it is not something to be attained by that person.” . Jivanmukti is like

discovering a diamond one had misplaced and thought that he had lost it.

Section 14 – “Merging” in Brahman – Videha mukti

1. the case of ordinary people,, i.e., those who have not owned up their identity with

the Infinite Brahman, at the time called death, the sukshma sarira and karana sarira,

along with cidabhasa, vasanas, i.e., habit-forming impressions of experiences of

thoughts and actions stored in the mind) and the karma ( the sancita karma) leave

the sthoola sarira and enter another sthoola sarira in another world or in this world.

But when the sthoola sarira of a jnani dies, the sukshma sarira and karana sarira

disintegrate. Because, consequent on disassociation with the body mind complex the

entire sancita karma pertaining to that body mind complex has already been

extinguished; in the absence of kartrutvam and bhoktrutvam there is no agami

karma; and prarabdha karma has been exhausted. Therefore the sukshma sarira and

karana sarira of the jnani have become functus officio. This is called “videha mukti”.

( Vide Brhadaranyaka Upanishad IV.4.vi – “ Regarding this there is this Mantra verse:

‘Being attached, the (transmigrating self ) together with its karma attains that on

which its subtle body or mind is set. It experiences (in the other world) the karma

phalam for whatever karma it had done in this world. When it is exhausted, it comes

again from that world to this world for new karma. Thus does the man with craving

(transmigrate). But of a man who has no craving – who is without desires, whose

actions and thoughts are without desire, who is fulfilled and whose only desire is

Brahman , (to put it more clearly, of him who knows that he is Brahman), his prana,

i.e., his sukshma sarira does not go out (to enter another body). (Ever) being

Brahman Itself, he is merged in Brahman.” Cf. also Prasna Upanishad VI.5 and

Brhadaranyaka Upanishad III.ii.11.

2. Sastra also talks of a more difficult route of attaining liberation through

knowledge. If one has done upasana on Hiranyagarbha, the creator-god form of

Iswara, throughout his life and also at the moment of death but has not attained the

doubt-free and abiding knowledge that he is Brahman goes to the world of

Hiranyagarbha (Brahmaa). There he has the opportunity to learn Vedanta from

Brahmaa himself as the teacher. If he utilises that opportunity, he becomes a jivan

mukta in Brahmaa’s world At the end of that Brahma’s life, he also attains Videha

mukti along with that Hiranyagarbha. This is called “krama mukti”. We get a

reference to it in Svesvatara Upanishad I.11.

Part III

SECTIONS 1-11

PHILOSOPHY OF ADVAITA VEDANTA

AS EXPOUNDED IN THE UPANISHADS

(N.B. For the sake of continuity of presentation,

certain ideas will get repeated in this Part.)

Section 1 – Preparatory spiritual practices

1. The tendency to seek happiness in material acquisitions and achievements and the

dawning of the wisdom that one must find happiness within oneself by recognising

one’s true nature as the infinite Brahman ‘is brought out in Mundaka Upanishad

Mantra I.2.xii (“Mantra” means verse.) and Kathopanishad Mantra II.i.1 & 2 -

“Having tried (vainly) the worlds (i.e. the worldly things) obtained by action, the wise

man develops dispassion towards worldly things, realises that That which is not the

product of action and cannot be reached by action (i.e., Brahman) and with a view to

knowing That approaches with humility and reverence a preceptor (“guru”) who has

leant from his preceptor in the tradition and who is established in Brahman i.e., who

has assimilated the knowledge ‘I am Brahman’” (“srotriya brahmanishta”) “The selfevident

One (Brahman) has endowed the mind and the sense organs with outwardgoing

capacity. Therefore they tend to perceive only external objects and not the

atma within. But a rare wise man, seeking immortality (i.e., liberation from the cycle

of births and deaths), and turning the vision inwards sees (i.e. after study, gains the

knowledge of) the intuited witness-consciousness.” “The foolish ones wallow in

external objects and are caught in the bondage of mortality (i.e., the cycle or birth

and death and suffering and sorrow). Whereas the wise ones ,with discrimination ,

having learnt that the goal is immortality (i.e. liberation from the cycle of births and

deaths) give up the desire for the impermanent objects of the world.” This does not

mean that one should give up one’s occupation or earning. On the other hand, except

in respect of persons who have renounced the worldly life, family and possessions

and have formally adopted a life style devoted exclusively to Jnana Yoga, called,

“vividisha sanyasa”, Sastra enjoins on all, the duty of fulfilling the obligations

pertaining to one’s station in life – obligations not only to one’s own family, but to

society, ancestors, teachers, mankind as a whole, and environment (plant and animal

kingdom and the insentient objects of the world) so as to contribute to ecological

and cosmic harmony as well as the obligation to oneself to provide facilities for one’s

own spiritual progress. But there should be no deviation from righteousness and if

there is excessive wealth, it should be devoted to the welfare of the needy.

Kathopanishad I.ii.24 emphasises that , unless one desists from bad conduct and

keeps his senses under control and mind concentrated and free from anxiety, he

cannot gain jnanam.

2. The qualification to be acquired for studying Jnana kanda is called “sadhana

catushtayam” – which consists of (a) discrimination between the eternal and the

ephemeral (atma anatma viveka), (b) non-attachment to enjoyment of objects both

here and hereafter (vairagya) (c) six –fold discipline ( shadka sampatti) consisting of

(i) restraint of sense organs (dama), restraint of mind (sama), (iii) adherence to one’s

duties (uparati), tolerance of discomfort (titiksha), (iv) faith in sastra and guru

(teacher) (sraddha), and concentration of mind (samadhana) and ( d) aspiration

for liberation () . The means for acquiring the sampatti consists of nishkama karma

and upasana.

Section 2 – Enquiry into one’s real nature – Inward enquiry

1. In the quest for finding out what is one’s real nature, one starts with the

proposition that since one is the subject, one is different from whatever is an object,

that is different from whatever is experienced. No one will deny that I am. The

existence of one self as a conscious entity is therefore self evident. As shown above,

even the common man will not say that he is the body or the sense organs or the

prana. Only when it comes to the question , “ Am I my mind or is there a conscious

self other than the mind?” the serious analysis starts. I do experience my mind as a

conscious entity, but to find out whether I am the mind, I should apply the same

criterion as applied earlier in regard to the body etc. The criterion is that I must be

different from whatever I experience. Now, do I experience my mind? When I

peceive a tree, I am aware that I perceive the tree. When I entertain a desire for,

say, ice cream, I am aware that I desire to have ice cream. When I get angry, I am

aware that I am angry. When I have an idea for designing a new computer soft ware

product, I am aware of that idea. When solving a mathematical equation, I am aware

of the thought processes involved in the steps. If I have learnt Chinese, I know that I

know Chinese, i.e., I am aware that the vocabulary, grammar etc of the Chinese

language are in my memory; and when I recall any part of it, I am aware that I am

recollecting it

2. What is more significant is that I am aware even of the “I”, the subject engaged in

the perceptions, emotions, reasoning, decisions and conceptualisations. The mind, as

apart of the sukshma sarira, separate for each individual, is a continuous entity but it

is not changeless. The thoughts, which are the modes of its expression are

momentary. One thought arises, stays for a minute and then disappears, to be

followed by another momentary thought. Cognition is a thought. Recollection is a

thought. Imagination is a thought. Judgment is a thought. Decision is a thought.

Theorising is a thought. The I of the subject predicate object structure, called triputi

(e.g., the “I” in “ I know the pot”, or “ I have an idea of what is happening in the

black hole”, (the “I” that is the knower - pramata), the “I” in “ I am teaching”, (the

“I” that is the doer - karta), the “I” in “I am enjoying the music”, or “ I am sad about

what happened in Kashmir.” or the “I” in “I am sad at what my son is doing” (the”

“I” that is the enjoyer or sufferer - bhokta), or the “I” in “ I am a father” (the “I” that

is a related individual - sanbandhi) , or the “I” in “ I have a house”, (the “I” that is a

possessor - dharin) etc. are also thoughts. I am aware of these “I”s that are

pramata, karta, bhokta, sambandhi, dharin etc. as well of the objects which these

“I”s perceive, the acts that they do, the things that they enjoy or suffer from or the

ideas that they conceive. The objects and subjects of the thoughts in the form of

triputis occurring in the mind go on changing. But not only am I aware of these

changing thoughts but I am aware of the changes, so much so that I connect what

happened in the mind yesterday and what is happening today. For example, I say “I

was struggling with a mathematical problem yesterday; now, I am solving it.” “I who

was angry yesterday am calm today”. This connecting process is called pratyabhinja.

That which changes cannot be the knower of the changes. The I of the “ I am

struggling with a mathematical problem” disappeared yesterday as part of that

thought; the I of the “ I am solving the problem today has appeared” only today as

part of that thought. Similarly, the I of the “ I am angry’ disappeared yesterday as

part of that thought; the I of the “ I am calm today” has appeared only today as part

of that thought. But, still I make the statements “ I struggled with a mathematical

problem yesterday; today I am solving it” or “ I was angry yesterday; I am calm

today”. So, it is clear that these statements are invoking an unchanging “I” that

existed when the changing “I” was struggling with the problem yesterday or when

the changing I was angry yesterday and continues to exist when the changing “I” is

solving the problem today and when the changing “I” is calm today. That is to say,

besides the changing “I”s which are the knower , doer, enjoyer, relative, possessor

etc, in the changing perceptions, actions, enjoyments, sufferings and conceptions,

there is an unchanging continuous, constant “I” In other words, there is a neverchanging

conscious principle, beyond the mind, as a constant conscious entity .

Whereas the changing “I”s are experienced in the same way objects , emotions and

ideas are experienced, i.e., while the objects, emotions and ideas are experienced,

we are aware of the experiencing subject, the unchanging “I” is not experienced. But

it is invoked by a thought of the existence of that continuous entity. I am this

immutable, constant consciousness. This immutable consciousness, which is the

original consciousness, is called Atma. It is also called Pratyagatma and Sakshi. The

Sakshi is not experienced objectively. But it is invoked as a continuing entity by a

thought connecting a past experience and a present experience (pratyabhinja). The

answer to the question, “who am I ?”, the answer is “ I am this immutable

consciousness invoked as the continuing, unchanging, constant “I” in pratyabhinja.

This immutable consciousness, which is the original consciousness, is called Atma. It

is also called Pratyagatma and Sakshi. The changing “I” is ahamkara i.e.,

antahkarana cum cidabhasa Both the ahamkara and the atma are self evident . Atma

is self-evident in the sense that no external knowing instrument is required for one

to recognize Its existence, Ahamkara is self-evident in the sense that it is ever

evident because of the permanent availability of the reflected consciousness. To say

that the original consciousness requires another consciousness to reveal it or to say

ahamkara requires another ahamkara to know its operation would lead to infinite

regress ( the fallacy of “anavastha dosha”). (The body, the prana, the sense organs,

the antahkarana, the cidabhasa and the original consciousness together are called

“jivatma” or “jiva”.)

Section 3 – Analysis of waking, dream and sleep

1. Another way of analysis is to examine the three states of waking, dream and deep

sleep called, respectively, “Jagrat awastha”, “swapna awastha”and “sushupti

avastha”. In jagrat avastha, my body, my sense organs and my mind are all fully

active and I am perceiving external objects and transacting with an external world

(persons and things outside me.) In swapna avastha, my body and my sense organs

are dormant and my mind projects a dream world. During sushupti, both the body

and mind are dormant. The ahamkara operating in the jagrat avastha, called 'visva",

is not there when the ahamkara operating in the swapna avastha, called "taijasa",

has come; neither the visva nor the taijasa is there when the ahamkara is dormant in

the sushupti avastha. (The ahamkara of the sushupti avastha is called “prajna”.).

Neither the taijasa nor the prajna is there when the visva has come again.. But still, I

regard myself as the same conscious being. In doing so, I am invoking a constant

conscious entity that was there when the visva was transacting with the world, that

was there when the taijasa was dreaming, that was there when the prajna was

sleeping and that is there when the visva has woken up again. This constant

consciousness is the atma, the real I.

2. In the sushupti awastha, i.e., when I am sleeping without any dreams, not only the

body and the sense organs but the mind is dormant, i.e., it does not perceive an

external world nor does it perceive a dream world. ( Prana continues.) Even

ahamkara is dormant, There is no “I” notion at all. Still, when I wake up, I say “ I

slept happily. I did not know anything.” .The “I” that is invoked by this statement is

the atma, the unchanging, constant conscious entity, an “I” that was there even

during sushupti when the ahamkara itself was dormant.

Section 4 – Analysis of stages of life

There is yet another approach. From moment to moment our body and mind are

changing . A few years ago, the body was young and healthy; today, it is old and sick.

Yesterday, I was happy; today I am sad. A few years ago I could recite the entire

Bhagavad-Gita Gita from memory; today, I don’t remember even a single line. In my

youth I was an arrogant person; now, having experienced ups and downs, I am a

humble man. But I regard myself as the same conscious being who was young and

am now old etc. I was aware of the I when I felt that I was young and energetic. I

am aware of the I when I now feel that I am old and tired. The young I is not there

when the old I has come. The strong-memory I is not there when the weak memory I

has come. But still, I regard myself as the same person, as evidenced by the

statements mentioned above. The constant I that is invoked by these statements is

the real I, the atma, the unchanging consciousness.

Section 5 – Maya and its effects

Maya, which is also called, “avidya”, ( or ‘nescience’ in English) has two powers,

called, “avarana sakti” and “vikshepa sakti”. Avarana sakti covers Brahman, as it

were, as a cloud covers the sun and makes us, the jivatmas, forget that, in our true

nature, we are Brahman. At the macrocosmic level, vikshepa Sakti is the force that

projects the differentiated nama roopa, i.e., the world of objects and bodies and

minds and superimposes them on the sub-stratum, i. e., Brahman. At the microcosmic

level, vikahepa sakti makes Jivatmas make the mistake of looking upon themselves

as limited individuals and the universe of nama roopas as real. As a result, we, the

ordinary human beings, identify ourselves with our body mind complex and regard

ourselves as separate individuals, limited in space, time and entity, subject to all the

vicissitudes, changes, joys and sorrows of life and go through the cycle of births and

deaths. When we understand that we are not different from the infinite Brahman, we

are freed from this cycle. Until this happens, one goes through the cycle of births and

deaths. Cf. Kaivalya Upanishad 12 and 13 – “ With the mind deluded by Maya that

(Brahman) itself identifies with the body and (seemingly) performs all actions during

the waking state and attains fulfilment through various sense objects like woman

food, drink, etc.” “ During dream that very same Jiva becomes the experiencer of

pleasure and pain in the subjective universe projected by his own Maya. When

everything is resolved in the state of deep sleep, that Jiva attain the nature of ananda

overpowered by ignorance.”

Section 6 – Good and bad actions – Merit and demerit - Rewards and punishments

1. Depending on whether the thought entertained is noble or ignoble and the action

done is good or bad, with the sense of doership (“kartrtvam”), we accumulate what

are called “punya” and “papa”, credit and debit entries, as it were, in our page in the

ledger, as it were, kept by Isvara for which we have to undergo enjoyment and

suffering in future births (called "janmas") and we take further births to undergo

such enjoyment and suffering. In the process of enjoyment and suffering in that

janma, we entertain further thoughts and do further action and thus, accumulate

further puny papa. The cycle of action and thought, punya and papa and births and

deaths is beginningless. This cycle is called, “ samsara”. ( A single word for punya and

papa is “ karma”). It is one’s own punya papa alone that determines the enjoyment

and suffering in our lives. Iswara only arranges the environment, events and

situations required for the working out of the punya papa of the multitude of

jivatmas. He is only the administrator ( called “ karma phala dhata”).

2. There is scope for free will also, in so far as human beings are concerned. Punya

can be increased and Papa can be decreased by good actions and thoughts. Action

and thought impelled by free will is called “purushartha”. Whether the suffering due

to karma can be cancelled, or mitigated or will remain unaffected depends on the

relative strength of the karma and purshartha. Even punya is bondage, because to

enjoy the fruits of punya, we have to undergo rebirths. Karma can be destroyed and

liberation from samsara can be achieved only when one attains knowledge of one’s

identity with Brahman. ( According to tradition, to know what is good and what is

bad , we have to go by what is prescribed in the Sastra. In Sanskrit, good and bad are

referred to by the terms, "dharma" and “adharma", respectively. What is enjoined as

duty is called “vihita” and what is prohibited is called “nishiddha". In so far as the

religious rituals are concerned, we have to strictly follow what is said in the Sastra,

but in regard to the secular duties and values, like truth, nonviolence, austerity,

restraint of greed, love of fellow beings, elimination of hatred, respect for and care of

the animal and plant kingdoms, living in harmony with nature, regard for ecology,

service to society, the commands and prohibitions are in line with what is generally

recognised as do's and don'ts by humanity in general.

Section 7 –Description of Brahman, the absolute reality

1. Commenting on the Taittiriya Upanishad Mantra defining Brahman as Satyam,

Jnanam, Anantam, Sankaracharya first clarifies that the sentence, “Satyam, Jnanam,

Anantam Brahma” is not one that denotes the attributes (“guna”) of Brahman but it

is a definition of the nature of Brahman ( a ”swaroopa lakshana vakyam”). The

question is asked, “ why should there be three words?” Sankaracarya explains that

while the word, “ Satyam” indicates that the entity is an eternally existing entity, the

word,”Jnanam” is juxtaposed to show that the entity is not inert but that it is a

conscious entity. But even such an entity can be a limited entity, with a limited

location, existing along with other entities, i.e., one among many. So, the word,

‘Anantam’ is juxtaposed to show that it is infinite , space-wise, time-wise and entitywise,

i.e., all pervading (“sarvagatam”), eternal (“nityam”)and nondual (“advayam”),

i.e., besides It there is no other entity ( of the same ontological status). Since it is all

pervading, it is formless (“nirakara”), divisionless (“nirvikalpa”), devoid of movement

(“acala”) and devoid of parts (“niravayava”). Since it is eternal, it is changeless

(“nirvikara”). Since it is nondual, it is relationless (“asanga”)._

2. There are numerous passages in the Upanishads revealing paramarthika satya

swaroopam of Brahman ( i. e the nature of Brahman as the nondual absolute reality

and as the existence-consciousness-infinity that cannot be objectified.) Some of

them are cited below ( “Brahman” and “Atma” are interchangeable words.) .

Mandukya Upanishad verse No. 7 - “It is not the inward awareness. It is not the

outward awareness. It is not the intermediate awareness. It is not the

undifferentiated mass of awareness. It is not the knowing awareness. It is not nonawareness.

It is unperceivable. It is not accessible to transaction. It cannot be

grasped. It is attributeless. It is not accessible to thought. It is not amenable to be

communicated. It is the substratum of the I thought. It is the remainder of the

negation ( annulment) of the universe. It is peace. It is auspiciousness. It is the

nondual reality. ……That is atma. That is to be known.” Kathopanishad I.ii.20 and

I.ii..21 - “Subtler than the than the subtlest, greater than the greatest”. “Nearer than

the nearest, farther than the farthest ……..unmoving moving everywhere.” Isavasya

Upanishad 4 – “It is unmoving , one, faster than the mind” ( Sankaracarya’s

commentary – “ ‘One’ indicates that It is in all beings. It is spoken of as ‘unmoving’ in

respect of Its own unconditioned aspect. And, by reason of Its following the limiting

adjunct, the mind, , the internal organ characterized by volition and doubt, It appears

to be subject to modification. When the speedy mind travels fast to the world of

Hiranyagarbha etc., the reflection of the atma that is consciousness is perceived to

have reached there, as it were, even earlier; and hence It is said to be faster than the

mind.”) Isavasya Upanishad 8 – “He is all pervasive, pure, bodiless, without wound,

without sinews, taintless, untouched by sin, omniscient, ruler of mind, transcendent,

and self-existent.” Kaivalya Upanishad 17 – “ I am that Brahman which illumines

the world of waking, dream, and sleep” Kaivalya Upanishad 21 - I see without eyes,

hear without ears. Assuming various forms, I know everything. There is no one who

is the knower of Me. I am ever the pure consciousness. “ (“ .... Cit sada aham.”).

Kaivalya Upanishad 18 “I am distinct from all those which are the subject, the object

and the instrument. In all the three states - jagrat, swapna and sushupti – I am the

witness who is the pure consciousness (cinmatra) and who is ever auspicious.”)

Kaivalya Upanishad 23 – “ ........the nature of Paramatma which is manifest in the

mind, partless, nondual, the witness of all, distinct from cause and effect and pure...”

Taittiriya Upanishad II.iv.1 - “ Words and sense organs, along with the mind return,

unable to reach That” Mundakopanishad I..i.6 - “That which cannot be seen or

grasped, that which has no source, that which has no features, that which has no

eyes, ears, etc, that which has no hands, feet etc. that which is eternal, that which is

infinite, that which is all pervading, that which is the subtlest of the subtlest, that

which is undiminishing and that which is the source of all creation…”

Mundakopanishad“ III.i.8 – “That which cannot be apprehended by sight or by

words or by other ‘indriyas’ ( i.e. sense organs and the mind), that which cannot be

attained by penance or rituals….The divisionless…..” Mundakopanishad III.i.7 – “

That ( i.e., Brahman) is infinite, effulgent, not accessible to thought, formless,

subtler than the subtlest; farther than the farthest. It is, at the same time, near at

hand in this body. It is available to be recognised in one’s very heart, (i.e., as the

consciousness behind the ahamkara)”. Kathopanishad I.iii.15 - “That which is

soundless, touchless, formless, undecying, tasteless, internal, smellless,

imperishable, immortal, beginningless, endless, (infinite), greater than the greatest,

distinct from intelligence, (i.e., the eternal consciousness) and changelessly

constant…..” Isavasya Upanishad 5 “ It moves; it does not move. It is far. It is near.

It is inside all this. It is outside all this. ”Kaivalya Upanishad 20 – “I (Brahman) am

smaller than the smallest and, in the same way, I am bigger than the biggest; I alone

am this manifold universe; I am the ancient one; I am the ruler of all; I am the

effulgent one ; I am the very auspiciousness.” Kaivalya Upanishad 6 - “Brahman

which is the source of all, pure, free from sorrow, beyond thoughts, unmanifest,

many-formed (in association with thoughts), auspicious, tranquil, immortal, free from

beginning middle and end, non-dual, all pervasive, formless and wonderful and which

is consciousness and ananda.” Kaivalya Upanishad 7 – “Brahman which is the cause

of all beings, the witness of all and beyond Maya.” Kaivalya Upanishad 16 – “You

alone are that infinite, eternal, supreme Brahman which is the self of all, which is the

abode of all and which is subtler than the subtlest - that Brahman alone are you.”

Kaivalya Upanishad 17 and 18 – “ I am that Brahman which illumines the world of

waking dream, sleep, etc.....” “ I am distinct from all those which are the subject, the

object and the instrument; in all the three states, I am the witness who is the pure

consciousness and who is ever auspicious.” Mundakopanishad II.i.2 - “Effulgent,

formless, all pervading, pervading the inside and outside of the universe, unborn,

without prana and mind, pure, superior to the (other) superior (i.e. Maya)”

Svetasvatara Upanishad VI.19 - “ Divisionless, actionless, beyond fluctuations, free

from all defects, untainted, the means of crossing the sea of Samsara and attaining

Moksha)” Kenopanishad I.3 - “Eyes do not reach That nor do words and not even

the mind. How to make Brahman known we do not ourselves know by our intellect

nor do others make us know” Kenopanishad I. 4.- “ (Because) It is different from

the known and It is beyond the unknown – This is what we have heard from our

teachers who have taught us about That Brahman.” Kathopanishad II.iii.12 - “Not

by words nor by sight and not even by the mind can It be reached. But he who says

that It does not exist can never attain It.” Brhadaranyaka Upanishad III.ix.26,

IV.ii.4, IV,iv,22, and IV.v.15 - “This Atma is That which has been described as ‘Not

this, not this’. It is imperceptible, for It is never perceived; undecaying, for It never

decays; unattached, for It is never attached; unfettered, It never feels pain and never

suffers injury. r…..” Brhadaranyaka Upanishad IV.iv.20 - “ It is to be realized (in

accordance with the instructions of a teacher) as non dual (for) It is unknowable,

eternal. The Atma is taintless, is superior to unmanifested space (i.e. Maya), is

unborn, infinite and constant” Chandogya Upanishad VI.ii.1 “ O, good looking one, in

the beginning this was Existence alone, One only and without a second.” Chandogya

Upanishad Viii.i.v – “This (Brahman) does not grow old when the body grows old or

die when the body dies (or killed when the body is killed)……….. This is the Atma

which is beyond sin, beyond decrepitude, beyond death, beyond sorrow, beyond

hunger and thirst….” Prasnopanishad VI.5 – “…….That one is without parts and

immortal…” Kenopanishad I.6 – “That which man does not comprehend with the

mind. That by which…..mind is pervaded.” Kenopanishad I.3 – “The eye does not go

there, nor speech, nor mind. We do not know (Brahman) to be such and such.”

Kenopanishad I.5 – “ That which is not uttered by speech, That by which speech is

revealed, know That alone to be Brahman, and not what people worship as an

object.” Brhadaranyaka Upanishad IV.iii.15 – “This infinite is relationless.”

Brhadaranyaka Upanishad IV.iv.25 – “That great birthless Atma is undecaying,

immortal, undying, fearless, and infinite.” Mundaka Upanishad III.i.7 – “ It is great

because of its all-pervasiveness and It is self-effulgent. Its features cannot be

thought of. It is subtler than the subtlest…..Among sentient beings It is perceived as

seated in this very body, inn the cavity of the heart – (“heart” is the term used for the

mind.) Brhadaranyaka Upanishad III.viii.8 - …..This imperishable Brahman is neither

gross nor minute, neither short nor long,…..unattached, tasteless, smellless, without

eyes or ears…..without vocal organ or mind…… and without interior or exterior. It

does not eat anything nor is It eaten by anybody.” (‘Eating’ refers to experience. So,

It is neither the experiencer nor the experienced.) Chandogya Upanishad VI.ii.1 –

“One only, nondual”. Brhadaranyaka Upanishad IV.iv.25 – “That great birthless Atma

is undecaying, immortal, undying, fearless and infinite.” Brahadaranyaka Upanishad

IV.iv.16 – “That to which time is below (i.e. That which is beyond time.”) On the same

lines, Brhadaranyaka IV.iv.15 – “…. The Lord of all that has been and will be…”And

in Brhadaranyaka III.ix.26, IV.ii.4, IV,iv.22 and IV,v.15 – “,,,, It is asitah” ( i.e., not

fettered by space, time or entity). Brhadaranyaka Upanishad II.iii.6 – “Now therefore

the description of (Brahman): ‘not this, not this’. Because there is no other and more

appropriate description than this ‘not this’. Brhadaranyaka Upanishad IV.iv.19 “There

is no plurality whatsoever in It. He who regards the apparent plurality as real goes

from death to death.” Brhadaranyaka Upanishad IV.iv.20 – “ It should be realized in

one form only.” – Sankaracarya’s commentary – “ as the homogenous pure

caitanyam”. Chandogya Upanishad VII.24.i – 'The Infinite is that where one does

not see anything else, does not hear anything else and does not know anything else.

Hence the finite is that where one sees something else, hears something else and

knows something else. That which indeed is the Infinite is immortal.” ( “Does not see

anything else” etc, mean that at the Paramarthika level, there is no division of

knower, known and knowing instrument – pramata pramana and prameyam – no

triputi; Paramarthika Brahman is non-dual. Where is the question of one seeing and

another being seen or one knowing and another being known? At paramarthika

order of reality, Brahman is devoid of empirical dealings (“avyavaharyam”).

Kathopanishad I.ii.14 – “…that thing which you see as different from dharma ,

different from adharma, different from cause and effect and different from the past

and the future.” Kathopanishad I.ii.18 – “The intelligent Self is neither born nor does

it die. It did not originate from anything, nor did anything originate from It. It is

birthless, eternal, undecaying and ancient. It is not injured even when the body is

killed.” Kathopanishad I.ii.19 – “…It does not kill nor is it killed.”.

Section 8 –Orders of reality

1. Advaita Vedanta does not deny the experiential or empirical reality (‘vyavaharika

satyatvam’) of the world. The seeming contradictions in Upanishad statements can

only be reconciled on the basis of the Advaita Vedanta doctrine of different orders of

reality. It should be clearly understood that Brahman alone is absolutely real and the

world which includes bodies and minds belongs to a lower of reality. This is what is

meant by “Brahmasatyam jaganmithya.” Mithya is the technical word for things that

are experienced but do not have independent existence. We cannot dismiss the world

as totally unreal because all of us do experience a world. But we cannot accord the

same order of reality to the world as we do to Brahman, because, if we do so,

statements of various Upanishads defining Brahman as non-dual and infinite (

advayam, anantam and ekam) will become meaningless. That is why Advaita Vedanta

postulates different orders of reality (different ontological statuses) and gives the

special name Mithya to that which is experienced but has no independent existence,

Based on this principle, Advaita Vedanta accords a lower order of reality than

Brahman to the world. The practical advantage of knowing that I am Brahman and

that the world belongs to a lower of reality is that I am not emotionally affected by

whatever happens around me or to my body or mind or to members of my family or

my possessions. The tiger in your dream attacks you and inflicts grievous hurt, but on

waking up, you don't go to the doctor. Other examples are - you win a lottery and get

one lakh of rupees or dollars in your dream, but next day you don't issue a cheque

against that amount. There is a raging fire in the movie but the screen is not burnt.

2. Existence-Consciousness- Infinity (Satyam Jnanam Anantam or Sat Cit Ananda),

called “Brahman” is the beginningless and eternal absolute reality (paramarthika

satyam). It is the substratum for the lower order of reality (vyvaharika satyam)

consisting of the evolved as well as the unevolved names and forms including bodies

and minds, The unevolved condition of names and forms is Maya which rests in

Brahman, as a lower order of reality (vyavaharika satyam) and transforms into

evolved names and forms which are superimposed on the substratum. Cf. Chandogya

Upanishad VIII.xiv.1 – “That which is indeed called space is the manifester of name

and form. That which exists in them is Brahman,” (“Space” is often used as a term

referring to Brahman in the Upanishads. Sankaracarya’s commentary - “Because like

space, It is bodiless and subtle.” Sankaracarya gives the example of water

manifesting foam. Chandogya Upanishad VI.viii.7 – Sankaracarya’s commentary –

“And the Atma through which all this universe becomes possessed of its existence

That itself is the source called Existence, , the Truth, the supreme Reality. Hence That

indeed is …….the inmost essence of the world, its quintessence, its very reality,“

Brhadaranyaka Upanishad II.iv.6 – “This Brahmana, this Kshatriya, these worlds,

these gods, these beings and this all are this Atma.”

3. When we say that Brahman is non-dual or Brahman alone is real, we are referring

the paramarthika satyam. When we say that Brahman is everything., we are including

vyavaharika satyam and referring to the substratum, the paramarthika satyam and

the names and forms, the vyavaharika satyam, superimposed on It, without prejudice

to the latter being of a lower order of reality ( Brahma satyam jaganmithya). When

we say that the world is unreal or mithya, we are referring to the names and forms

only, the vyavaharika satyam.

Section 9 – Unreality of the world

1. There are certain passages in the Upanishads from which we can derive the

doctrine of the unreality of the world. Brhadarnyaka Upaniishad II.iii.6 – “Now Its

name,’Truth of truth. Prana is truth. It is the Truth of that (......satyasya satyam;

prana vai satyam, tesham esha satyam”. Prana stands, in this context, for sukshma

sarira and, by extension, for the universe. This is referred to as truth and it is said

that It, i.e., Brahman is the Truth of that truth. It means that Brahman’s reality is of

a higher grade than that of the universe. In a similar strain, in /Chandogya Upanishad

VII.XXIX.1, Brahman, the Infinite, is said to be immortal and the world, the finite, is

said to be mortal. “...yo vai bhooma tat amrutam atha yat alpam tat martyam”)

which also means that the world is of a lower order of reality than Brahman. ( Cf. also

Brahma Sutram 3.2.3.). Chandogya Upanishad VI.viii.7 - “All this has That as Its

essence. That is the Reality. That is the Atma.” Chandogya Upanishad VI.i.4 – “All

transformation is only name initiated by the tongue.” Sankaracarya’s commentary on

Chandogya Upanishad VI.i.4 – “ Transformation is only a name dependent on speech.

(Apart from that) there is no substance called transformation”. In Chandogya

Upanishad VI.i.4, as an illustration for this doctrine, it is said that pots, jugs etc,

made of clay are nothing but different words and what is the reality is clay alone.

(“.......mrutpindena sarvamm mrunmayam vijnatam syat vacarambhanam vikaro

namadheyam mrittika eva satyam.”). Prasnopanishad III.3 – “From the Atma (from

Purusha, the immutable Brahman) is born this Prana. Just as there can be a shadow

when a man is there, the Prana is fixed on the Atma .” ( The word “ Prana stands for

the universe. Brahman is compared to a man and the universe is compared to a

shadow, This shows clearly that, just as the shadow is not a real person, the universe

is not a real creation. This verse is a clear authority for the mithya status of the

universe.) Brhadaranyaka IV.iv.23 – “ But there is not that second thing separate

from It which It can see.” (“na tu tat dwitiyam asti tatah anyat vibhaktam yat

pasyet.”) Chandogya Upanishad VI.ii.1- “One only without a second.” (“ekam eva

advitiyam”.) Brahadaranyaka Upanishad mantras II.iv.14 and IV.v.15, by the use of

the word “iva” (“as it were) in the passage, “when there is duality as it were”, it is

indicated that the world is merely an appearance. (“ .....when there is duality, as it

were, one sees another.....”) (“Yatra hi dwaitam iva bhavati, tat itara itaram

pasyati......tat itara itaram vijanati” Brhadaranyaka Upanishad IV,iii.31 “ When

there is something else, as it were, then one can see something……one can know

something.” ( “Yatra anyat iva syat, tatra anyah anyat pasyet…..anyah anyat

vijaniyat.”) Similarly, in Brhadaranyaka mantra IV.iv.19, the word “iva” is used in the

passage “He who sees diversity, as it were, in It goes from death to death” following

the passage declaring that “there is no diversity whatsoever in It. “(“neha nana asti

kinca na, mrtyoh sa mrtyum apnoti ya iha nana iva pasyati”) The word “iva” referring

to the perception of plurality indicates that plurality is unreal. In Brhadaranyaka

Upanishad III.v.1, we have the words. “anyat artham ” – “ Except Brahman

everything is perishable”. Sankaracarya often cites these words in support of

Brahmasatyam jaganmithya. In Gaudapada’s Mandukya Karika, we have the verse

(II.32), which says “There are no dissolution, no origination, none in bondage, none

striving or aspiring for salvation, and none liberated. This is the highest truth (ityesha

paramarthata)”. Yajurveda 31.19 – “ Though unborn, It appears to be born in diverse

ways.” (”ajayamano bahudha vijayate”) Brhadaranyaka Upanishad – IV.iii.23 – “

2. A Sastra-based logical argument to support the concept of the unreality of the

world is given in Brahma Sutra No. 39 , in the third pada of the Second Chapter. If

the world and the Jivatma‘s notion that he is a karta were real, kartrutvam and the

consequent samsara would be inherent and what is inherent cannot go away – which

means that there would be no liberation ( moksha). Since Sastra’s teaches moksha as

the highest goal in life, it is clear that the world, the jivatma’s identification with the

body mind complex, his notion of kartrtvam and the consequent samsara are all

unreal

3. Several examples are given in the Sastra to illustrate the juxtaposition of

Brahman, the paramarthika satyam, the substratum (“adhistanam”) and the

superimposed (“adhyasta”) mithya world, the vyavaharika satyam – Brahmasatyam

jaganmithya. Each example is intended to highlight one or two aspects. No example

should be stretched too far. Let us take the example of the clay and the pots, jugs etc

made out of it. In Chandogya Upanishad VI.i.4, it is said that pots, jugs etc, made of

clay are nothing but different words and what is the reality is clay alone. Clay is the

only substance and pots and jugs are only differentiated forms of clay. The pot

shape, the jug shape etc. are only forms with names (nama roopa). There is no pot

other than clay. We do not count pot as a separate entity. We do not say ‘ number

one, clay; number two, pot’. There is no effect other than the cause. When pot is

made, no new substance is created. When pot is destroyed, clay is not gone. Pot

cannot exist without clay but clay can exist without pot. Similarly, Brahman is the

only substance (as existence) and the world of external objects and bodies and

minds are only nama roopa. The clay pot example is only to show that Brahman is

nondual and the world is not to be counted as a second entity. Another aspect that

can be taken is that the shape of the pot etc is already there in the lump of clay in a

potential condition. Similarly, the world of the differentiated names and forms are

there in potential form, in undifferentiated form in Maya . And Maya is in Brahman as

a lower order of reality. The wise man who sees the essence that is Brahman is like

one who is saying that what he is holding is only clay, even while he is drinking water

from a jug. Other examples in this category are gold and ornaments, wood and

articles of furniture, water and waves etc. ( For a full invaluable discussion of

Brahmasatyam jaganmithya, one should study Sankaracarya's Bhashyam on

Arambhadhikaranam of Vyasacarya’s Brahmasutram - sixth adhikaranam in the first

pada of the first Chapter . The significance of the Bhashyam on this adhikaranam is

that it refutes other propositions which would make the world also as real as

Brahman or a real part of Brahman.) To show how, on account of Maya, we perceive

the unreal world as a real thing and hence are caught up in Samsara and how when

we gain knowledge of reality we are free of sorrow, fear, etc., the classic example is a

person walking in semi-darkness who perceives an object lying across the path. He

mistakes it to be a rope and he is frightened. Another person who has a torch comes

along and directs the flashlight at the object. Then, this person realises that there is

no snake and that the object is only a rope. Similarly, on account of ignorance of our

true nature as Brahman we take the world and our body mind complexes to be real

and are afflicted by fear, sorrow etc. When the teacher reveals to us that the reality is

Brahman the Existence consciousness Infinite and we ourselves are Brahman and

that the world that we perceive and our body mind complexes are only a

superimposition of names and forms, we are free of fear, sorrow etc. Similarly we

mistake the shell to be silver when the spiral part of it is buried in the sand. The ropesnake

example is to show that we are frightened by things we mistake to be the

source of sorrow and the shell-silver example is to show that we hanker after things

that we mistake to be the source of happiness. Also, just as the snake could not be

perceived if the rope was not there, the world of names and forms cannot be

perceived if the substratum Brahman is not there. Apart from showing the realunreal

relationship between Brahman and the world an example to show how the

world which is of a lower of reality cannot affect us, we have the example of the

dream. In the dream ,we are mauled by a tiger. On waking up we do not find any

wound in the body.

4. Mandukya karika is an elaborate and illuminating commentary on

Mandukyaupanishad, containing a lot of creative explanations, written by Gaudapada

– Sankaracharaya’s ‘paramaguru’ – teacher’s teacher-, in which the main theme is

brahmasatyam jaganmithya. In the karika, in ‘ alata santi prakaranam’, Gaudapada

gives the example of the firebrand to show the reality and nondual nature of

Brahman and the unreality of the world. When a firebrand which is a fixed single

point of light is rotated and moved in various ways, we perceive varieties of light

patterns. We do experience the multiplicity of light patterns but we know that they

are not real. Even when the motions take place, the only thing that really exists is the

nondual firebrand. We cannot say where the light patterns originate or where they

go when the motion is stopped. It is not as if the various light patterns were

produced as entities from the firebrand when the firebrand was set in motion or they

were resolved as entities into the firebrand when the motion was stopped. Nor can

you say that they came from something outside and went back to something outside.

Like the patterns of light, the world of objects has no independent existence. Like

the firebrand, Brahman is the nondual reality and, like the patterns of light, unreal

names and forms appear on Brahman. From the firebrand example given by

Gaudapada in his Mandukya Karika we also learn that just as the different effulgent

patterns that appear when the firebrand is rotated or moved on other ways have no

independent existence and that what really exists is the single lighted tip of the

firebrand , the world does not have real existence and that what really exists is only

Brahman. The firebrand is only one but the patterns that appear are many. Like that,

on the nondual Brahman countless objects appear. You cannot say that firebrand is

the cause and patterns are the effects. Real cause effect relationship can exist only

between objects of the same order of reality. So also, you cannot say that Brahman

is the cause and the world is a real effect. One should not however conclude that, like

the firebrand, consciousness can also have motion. Consciousness is all pervading

and hence is motionless. The consciousness reflected in the mind is what moves and

we tend to mistake this as the motion of the original consciousness.

5. Another line of approach which Gaudapada adopts in the earlier section in his

Karika, the ‘vaithatya prakaranam’, is to show that like the world that we experience

during dream (the swapna prapanca)), the world that we experience in the waking

stage (jagrat prapanca) is also unreal. He wants us to extrapolate our experience of

the swapna prapanca to the jagrat prapanca. The dream world that I perceive as

external to me is nothing but thoughts in the mind. These thoughts are induced by

impressions, called ‘vasanas,’ formed in it by previous experiences of the jagrat

awastha. Even the dream body, the dream sense organs and the dream mind

interacting with other dream persons and dream objects of the dream world are only

thoughts in the mind of the waker I who has gone to sleep. E.g. the thirsty I that

drinks water as well as the pond from which that that I drinks water, the angry I

that feels like hitting the fellow who insults that I etc., all these are nothing but

thoughts occurring in my mind while I am comfortably lying in my bed. While L am

dreaming, I do experience a world of external objects but when I wake up I know

that there was no such world, that the external objects that I experienced were

nothing but thoughts passing through my mind. Gaudapada says that just as the

swapna prapanca is unreal from the point of view of the waker, the jagrat prapanca is

unreal from the point of view of one who has understood that the only entity that

exists as absolute reality (paramarthika satyam) is Brahman. The example of the

dream is also useful to demonstrate that just as what happens in dream cannot affect

the waker, the problems of the jagrat prapanca , being of a lower order of reality,

cannot (psychologically) affect one who knows “ I am Brahman.” The wound caused

by the tiger in the dream does not affect the body of the person lying comfortably in

the bed. In the dream, you may commit culpable homicide not amounting to murder

and you wake up after serving two years of the sentence of imprisonment for life.

When you wake up, you are comfortably lying in bed in your house and nobody can

even arrest you. You may fall in love with a person in dream but you cannot marry

that person when you get up. Like that, whatever happens in the waking world will

not mentally disturb one who has identified with Brahman .

6. Gaudapada advances a logical argument to demonstrate the unreality of the dream

world. Suppose that you are travelling in a train in one of the multilayer berths and

you dream of an elephant or a mountain. The fact that the space available cannot

accommodate either is proof of the unreality of the dream. Similarly, suppose you go

to bed in Delhi and you dream that you have gone to New York and returned after a

meeting. The fact that the time spent in bed is not adequate for the travel to New

York and back proves that the dream is unreal. Suppose going to bed at New Delhi

you dream that you have gone to London. If the dream were real, you should find

yourself in London when you wake up but you are still in New Delhi.

7. Gaudapada defines reality as that is ever existent and unreality as that is

temporarily existent.. (Sankaracarya gives another definition . That which is seen or

known is unreal. That which cannot be seen or known, i.e., that which cannot be

objectified is real. Atma is the only entity that cannot be objectified ; it is one

oneself.) Pursuant to his definition. Gaudapada points out that none of the three

states – the jagrat, swapna , sushupti – is permanent; when the one is there, the two

others are not there. When we are dreaming or in deep sleep state, the world of the

waking state is not there. Therefore, the world we experience during the waking

stage is also unreal.

8. In the examples of the snake, the patterns of light appearing by the moving of the

firebrand and the dream, they disappear, but even when one comes to know that he

is Brahman, the world does not disappear. But the one who knows that he is the

Brahman and that the world is of a lesser order of reality is not affected by what

happens in such a world. To show that even after knowing that the world is unreal,

the world continues to be experienced, the examples given are the mirage, sunrise,

etc. The dream world projected by the mind, the snake perceived on the rope and the

patterns of light perceived when the firebrand is rotated are all phenomena of a

lower order of realty than their substratum and are all examples to show that the

world is of a lower of reality than Brahman.

Section 10 – Creation of the world

1. The Advaita concept of creation is called “vivarta vada”. Brahman , the Existence-

Consciousness does not undergo change when creation takes place. What modifies

are names and forms ( “ nama roopa” ) . The potential state of nama roopa is called

Maya . Maya has no existence of its own. It is a thing of a lower order of reality

superimposed on Brahman. No superimposition – ( superimposition of the unreal on

the real is called ‘adhyasa’ in Sanskrit’) – can exist unless there is a substrastum (

called ‘ adhishtanam’ in Sanskrit) The consciousness aspect of Brahman is reflected

in Maya. Maya plus reflected consciousness is called Iswara. Iswara visualises the

world-to-be and impels Maya to unfold the potential nama roopa as differentiated

nama roopa on the substratum of the Existence –Consciousness Infinity called

Brahman. Brahman as Existence-Consciousness-Infinity is the substratum for the

superimposition of the potential Nama roopa as well as the differentiated Nama

roopa. Brahman does not undergo any change. However since Maya does not exist

separate from Brahman, Brahman is called “vivarta upadhana karanam” (changeless

material cause) of the world and Maya is called the “ parinama upadhana karanam” (

changing material cause) of the world. Since it is from Brahman that Iswara gets

consciousness and it is with that He visualises and plans the creation, Brahman is

also said, to be the “nimitta karanam” ( the intelligent cause) of the world. However,

as the direct agent, it is Iswara who is both the material and intelligent cause of the

world and Brahman is not any kind of cause. ( To put it in Sanskrit, Brahman is karya

karana vilakshana. Maya is Mithya. The reflected consciousness is also Mithya. Thus,

Iswara is also Mithya. The creation is also Mithya. The word, “Mithya’ should not be

translated as illusion. “A lesser order of reality” would be the appropriate translation.

In Sanskrit, the word used for the lesser order of reality next to Brahman is

“vyavaharika satyam.”

2. The concept of different orders or reality and the unreal phenomenon of the

beginningless and endless cycle of creation and dissolution being just the alternation

between a state of undifferentiated nama roopas and a state of differentiated nama

roopas, ( with each phase of evolution of nama roopas called creation and the

physical and mental equipment and the environment and situations and events

pertaining to each janma of living beings being designed to suit their karma) and the

essence, the substratum, the real, the Existence (Sat) remaining unchanged, solves

many logical problems. ( If one talks of a real Creator-god, since time, space and

matter themselves are part of creation, one will be perplexed by questions such as, “

Where was God when he created space?”, “When did he created time?” “ With what

material did he create the world?” How can an impartial God create world of beings

with different physical and mental equipments and diverse situations of enjoyment

and suffering?” etc. The questions themselves reveal the contradictions. In Advaita

Vedanta, the problem is solved by relegating creation to the status of mithya.

Brahman, the only absolute Reality is not the actual creator. Brahman’s role is

confined to being the eternal changeless Existence-Consciousness-Infinity to serve as

the substratum for the unmanifest and manifest conditions of the universe called,

respectively pralaya and srishti. The actual creator is Iswara whose status is also

mithya. Maya is a part of Iswara. Time, space and matter (names and forms) remain

in unmanifest condition in Maya during Pralaya and manifest as the differentiated

names and forms during srishti. The cycle of pralaya and srishti is beginningless and

endless. The jivatmas and karma are also beginningless, but there is an end for the

jivatma – end, for all practical purposes, on attainment of knowledge of

jivabramaikyam and factually, at the time of videhamukti. In this scheme of

creation, there is nothing like the first creation or the first janma or the first karma,

and questions such as the ones posed above do not arise.) The Upanishad mantras on

which the concept of evolution of names and forms are based are Chandogya

Upanishad mantras VI.3.ii .and VIII. 14. i. in which the words, “namaroope

vyakaravani” and “ namaroopayoh nirvahitaa” occur. The first says “I (referring to

Brahman) shall clearly manifest name and form (- we have to add ‘through Iswara’}.

The second (based on Sankaracarya’s commentary) says ”That which is indeed called

space ( i.e. Brahman) is the manifester of name and form. (Again, we have to add

‘through Iswara’). That which exists in the names and forms (i.e., that which is the

support , the substratum of namaroopas is Brahman. That is not touched by name

and form, is different from name and form (and) yet it is their manifester. That is

immortal. That is the Atma.” (This is discussed in Brahma Sutra II.4.xx and I.3.xxxxi.)

Also Brhadaranyaka Upanishad I.vi.1 –“The universe verily is made up of three things

– name ,form, function.” Brhadaranyaka Upanishad I.iv.7 – “ The universe was then

undifferentiated. It differentiated itself only as name and form. So even now the

universe is only manifested as name and form – it gets such and such name and such

and such form.” ( In all passages which talk of manifestation of nama roopas, we

have to understand that the manifestation is the unfolding of the Maya part of

Iswara and not any transformation of Brahman. Brahman’s role is the eternal

presence as Existence, the substratum for the alternation of unevolved and evolved

nama roopas.)

Section 11 – Status of Maya

1. It was said earlier that Maya is a peculiar power of Brahman. Even saying “it is a

power” is not correct, because power can increase or decrease. If power undergoes

change , possessor of power has also to undergo change, but Brahman is changeless.

Nor can we say it is a product of Brahman, Because Brahman is neither cause nor

effect. We cannot say that it is a status of Brahman, because Brahman does not go

from one state to another. It is not also not possible to say whether Maya is a part of

Brahman or is separate from Brahman. If we say that Maya is a part of Brahman, we

are faced with two logical problems. One problem is that Brahman is partless and

Maya cannot be accepted to be even a part of Brahman . The other problem is that

when a part undergoes change, the whole will also undergo change. Maya does

change from the unevolved condition to the evolved differentiated condition of

names and forms. So, Brahman will also have to undergo change. This cannot be,

because Brahman is changeless. To avoid these problems, if we say that Maya is

separate from Brahman, as a real entity, we have to accept two real entities – one,

Brahman, two Maya. We cannot accept this, because Brahman is non-dual, i.e.,

there cannot be a second real entity. So, we say that Maya is “anirvacaniya” (i.e.,

undefinable) and that it is Mithya ( i.e., that Maya is of a lesser order of reality than

Brahman.) Once we accept a status of a lesser order of reality for Maya, Brahman’s

status as the only absolute changeless reality is not affected.

2. That Maya does not enjoy the same order of reality as Brahman we can infer from

certain Upanishad mantras. Cf. Svetasvatara Upanishad IV. 4. – “ One should know

Maya to be ‘prakriti’ i. e. the unevolved names and forms and Maheswara (

i.e.,Iswara) to be its Lord.” In Svetasvatara Upanishad V.1 also talks of avidya being

in Brahman , as limited in terms of time, space, time and entity, as perishable and as

being ruled by Brahman. (In many contexts, in Sastras, “Brahman” is the word used

for Iswara). Also Kathopanishad I.3.xi – (The first principle in the order of the

evolution of the differentiated universe is called ‘mahat’) “Superior to mahat is

‘avyaktam’, Superior to avyaktam is ‘Purusha’ (i.e., the infinite, Brahman). There is

nothing superior to Purusha . He is the ultimate and He is the supreme goal.

(‘Avyaktam’ is another term for Maya.)” Mundaka Upanishad III.ii.8 – “ The

illumined soul, having become freed form name and form, reaches the self-fulgent

Purusha (i.e. Brahman) that is superior to the superior.” Here, the second “superior”

refers to Maya,) Mundaka Upanishad II.i.2 “Purusha (i.e., the infinite, Brahman) is

transcendental. He is formless. He is coextensive with all that is external and

internal. He is birthless, He is without Prana and without mind. He is pure and

superior to the (other) superior imperishable,” (Here also, the second “superior”

refers to Maya and Brahman is said to be superior even to Maya. Maya is said to be

superior as the unevolved nama roopas, which is cause vis a vis the evolved nama

roopas which are effects. Maya is said to be imperishable, because it never

disappears altogether; it only alternates between undifferentiated and differentiated

conditions and though it is of a lesser order of reality, it is also beginningless and

endless.) Kaivalya Upanishad 2 – “ ....... the wise man .......attains that Infinite

(Brahman) which is beyond Maya.” (The wording is “parat param purusha”. “

“Purusha “ means the Infinite, that is, Brahman. The first “para” refers to Maya and

the Infinite is said to be “paratparam”, that is, superior to that Maya. Svetasvatara

Upanishad V.1 –

3. On the macrocosmic scale, superimposed on the Existence-Consciousness-Infinity

and endowed with the reflected consciousness the universal causal body is called “

Iswara”, the universal subtle body is called “Hiranyagarbha”, and the universal gross

body is called “ Virat”. On the microcosmic scale, similarly superimposed on the

Existence-Consciousness-Infinity and endowed with the reflected consciousness, the

individual causal body is called “prajna” and it experiences the deep sleep state, the

individual subtle body is called “taijasa” and experiences the dream state and the

individual gross body is called “visva” and it experiences the waking state.

Part IIIA

SECTIONS 12-17

PHILOSOPHY OF ADVAITA VEDANTA

AS EXPOUNDED IN THE UPANISHADS

(N.B. For the sake of continuity of presentation,

certain ideas will get repeated in this Part.)

Section 12 – Brahman as Existence, the sub-stratum of the universe of names and

forms

The Existence (“Sat”) aspect of Brahman, i.e. Brahman as the substratum

(“adhistanam”) - the non-dual reality and the superimposition of mithya names and

forms which we perceive as the universe are revealed in many places in the

Upanishad. Cf. Chandogya Upanishad VI. 1.iv - “O, good looking one, as by knowing

the clod of clay all things made of clay become known. All transformation is only a

name dependent merely on speech (it has only verbal existence initiated by the

tongue). Clay alone is real" . Taittiriya Upanishad II. 6. i .-“ If anyone knows

Brahman as non-existent he himself becomes non-existent. If anyone knows that

Brahman does exist, then they consider him as existing by virtue of that

(knowledge)…………He , i.e., Brahman ( - we have to add ‘in the form of Iswara’)

desired, ‘ let me be many. He envisioned in his mind what is to be created and then

created all that there is ( i.e., this whole universe). Having created it, He Himself

entered it. Having entered it, It became the formed and the formless, the defined and

the undefined, the sustaining and the non-sustaining, the sentient and the insentient,

the true and the untrue– Sat became all that there is. They ( i.e., the jnanis) regard

that Brahman as the Reality.” Svetasvatara Upanishad III. 3 - “ The One who has

eyes everywhere in the universe, faces everywhere, hands everywhere, feet

everywhere and who creates ( - we have to add ‘through Iswara’ -) the space and the

earth He is the nondual Effulgent One.” Svetasvatara Upanishad III. 14 - “ This

Supreme all pervading One is one with thousands of eyes, thousands of feet ; He

pervades the entire universe and remains beyond it.” Svetasvatara Upanishad III.

15 – “This entire universe is the all pervading One……” Svetasvatara Upanishad III.

16 - “ That Supreme all Pervading One is one with hands and feet and eyes and heads

and ears everywhere; Covering the whole universe from all sides He abides as the

substratum of the universe.” Chandogya Upanishad VII.25.i – ‘ He indeed is below,

He is above, He is behind, He is in front, He is in the South. He is in the North. He is

indeed all this.” Also cf. Ch. Up. VI.8. iv. – “ All these beings have Existence as their

root, Existence is their abode, Existence is their place of merger.” Also Mundaka

Upanishad II.2.xi -“ This immortal Brahman alone is in the front; Brahman alone is in

the rear; Brahman alone in the southern direction; Brahman alone is in the northern

direction and below and above also; The Supreme Brahman alone has pervaded the

entire universe.” Chandogya Upanishad III.14.i – “ Indeed all this is Brahman.”

Svetasvatara Upanishad IV.1 – “That One nondual attributeless (Paramatma), by its

Power (i.e., Maya), assumed different forms and at the end, unto That the entire

universe resolves.” Svesvatara Upanishad IV. 11 – “ That substratum of the

Unevolved , i.e. Maya and the Evolved Matter” ““Svetasvatara Upanishad III.7.-

“That (Brahman) that is superior even to Virat and Hiranyagarbha, that is hidden in

all beings,, the non-dual one, pervading and encompassing the whole universe….” -

Kaivalya Upanishad 9. – “ He is everything. He is the past, the present and the future.

He is eternal….” In Brhadaranyaka Upanishad III. 8. vii and viii ,Yajanavalkya tells

Gargi that what knowers of Brahman declare to be the Absolute is the warp and woof

of space which is the warp and woof of that which is beyond heaven, below the earth

and which is between the earth and heaven and which is called the past, present and

future.” In Brhadaranyaka Upanishad, Madhu Brahmanam (which lays stress on the

interdependence of beings and things in the universe, using the word, ‘honey’ in the

technical sense of an object of utility or enjoyment), in II.5.i to xiv, Yajnavalkya talks

of the effulgent immortal being as the earth, water, fire, air, space, sun, moon, the

human species, the cosmic body etc.., as associated with them, as being the

underlying unity and as Brahman and as the Self. In II.5.xv. it is said “the Self is the

ruler of all beings. Just as all spokes are fixed in the nave and the felloe of a chariotwheel,

even so are all beings, all gods, all worlds, all organs and all body mind

complexes with cidabhasa are fixed in this Atma.” Brhadaranyaka III,iv.1and 2 talk

of Brahman as the inner essence of all (sarvantarah). Chandogya Upanishad Vi.viii.7

– “The Atma through which all this universe becomes possessed of its existence That

itself is the source called Existence, the Truth, the Supreme Reality.” Aitereya

Upanishad III.i. 3 talks of Brahman as Hiranyagarbha, …all these gods, five elements,

various creatures and says all these have Consciousness as the giver of their Reality

and that Consciousness is Brahman. In the eighth section of Brhadaranyaka

Upanishad , Iswara’s pervasion of the universe is described ( the term used for

Iswara is ‘akasa’) and in mantra 8, it is said that Iswara himself is pervaded by the

Immutable Brahman.. Kaivalya Upanishad 19 – “Everything is born from Me alone,

everything is based on Me alone and everything resolves back into Me alone. I am the

non-dual Brahman.” ( “mayyeva sakalam jatam mayi sarvam pratishthitam mayi

sarvam layam yati tat brahma advayam asmi aham.”). Kaivalya Upanishad 9 – “He

alone is everything which was in the past, which is in the present and which will be in

the future...”

Section 13 – Iswara, the actual creator

1. That only an intelligent principle can be the creator is brought out in certain

Upanishad verses (mantras). (In all passages pertaining to creation, sustenance or

dissolution (srishti, sthiti, laya), irrespective of whether the term used is Brahman or

Iswara, we should understand that it is Iswara that is meant as both the material

cause (upadhana karanam) and the intelligent cause (nimitta karanam) Cf. Mundaka

Upanishad I.i.9 - “That omniscient One ….from His envisioning ( ‘ jnanamaya tapah’)

does Hiranyagarbha and this universe of nama roopa originate.” In Chandogya

Upanishad, VI.ii.3, the Upanishad talks of Brahman visualising the universe to be

created. It says, “That (Existence) visualized (tat aikshata) ‘I shall become many. I

shall be born.;” Taittiriya Upanishad II.vi.1 – “He (the Self) wished (sa akamayata)

‘Let be many. Let me be born……….He undertook a deliberation (sa tapah atapyata).

Having deliberated, he created all that exists.”- Also in Aitereya Upanishad I.1.i it is

said “……..He thought (sa aikshata)‘ let me create the worlds’” Prasna Upanishad

VI.3 says - “ He pondered , ‘ In the universe to be created what principle shall I put,

which if it is not there I myself will not be there and which if it is there I will be

there?” The example for the same entity being both the material cause and the

intelligent cause is the spider which unfolds the web from its own body. Mundaka

Upanishad I.i.7 - “ Just as the spider spins out the web out of it own body and

withdraws it unto itself, so out of the Immutable does the universe emerge here (in

this phenomenal creation.) That is to say, Iswara, in his aspect of the reflected

consciousness visualizes and plans the universe to be created and out of his Maya

aspect of unevolved names and forms makes Maya evolve into the differentiated

names and forms that are superimposed on Brahman, the substratum, the Existence.

2. Advaita Vedanta negates a real transformation (parinama) of Brahman into the

world, whether it be the transformation of the whole or a part of Brahman. Because,

if it be the transformation of the whole, there would no longer be Brahman as such;

this would be contradictory to the passages of scripture that say that Brahman is

changeless (nirvikara) and immortal ( nityam, amrutam). If it be transformation of

a part of Brahman, it woud be contradictory to the passages of the scripture that say

that Brahman is divisionless (“nishkalam”) . Iswara being cause and world being

effect is a phenomenon of the lower order of reality – it is at the vyavaharika level. At

the paramathika level, Brahman is neither a cause nor an effect . ( In Sanskrit “karya

karana vilakshana”). Cf. Kathopanishad I.ii.14 – Naciketas requesting

Yamadharmaraja, “ Tell me That .............which is beyond cause and effect” (“anyatra

asmat krutat akrutat”). Brhadaranyaka Upanishad II.iv.19 - “This Brahman is without

antecedent ( cause) , without consequent (effect).....” Kathopanishad I.ii.18 -." The

Consciousness, i.e., Brahman ...........did not originate from anything nor did anything

originate from it. "

3. Maya’s avarana sakti does not affect Iswara. Iswara is aware that he is Brahman.

He is like the juggler who creates magic objects and projects magic phenomena that

delude the audience but is himself beyond delusion. Avarana sakti is like the cloud

that hides the sun from the sight of human beings on earth; the cloud does not affect

the sun. Like that, the true nature of human beings i.e., the fact that they are

Brahman is hidden by the avarana sakti of Maya from the mental vision of human

beings. But since Iswara is himself Maya endowed with the reflection of Brahman, he

is not affected by the avarana sakti of Maya. It is like the juggler who creates an

illusory world and deludes the audience but he himself is not deluded. Iswara is

omniscient ( “sarvajnah”) and omnipotent (“sarvasaktiman”) and all pervading (

“sarvagatah”).

4. A person walking in semi-darkness comes across an object; he mistakes it to be a

snake. Another person comes along and shows the torch. Then, this man realises that

it is not a snake but that it is only a rope. Semi-darkness is compared to Maya. Rope

is compared to Brahman. Maya covers Brahman from the vision of jivas. Snake is

compared to the world of manifold objects confronting man and makes him feel

limited and afraid. The person who comes along with the torch is compared to the

teacher who reveals Brahman , i.e., brahmatvam – one’s own infinity – as well as the

unreality – mithyatvam – of the world to the student. Until this happens, the ignorant

man hankers after certain things, like the one who is attracted by the silver he sees

in the shell and is frightened of things like the one who sees a snake in the rope.

Section 14 – Brahman as consciousness - all pervading and immanent in beings

We experience mind (antahkarana) as a conscious entity entertaining one thought

after another. Various Upanishad passages teach us that, superior to the mind, we

have in us an unchanging consciousness, called Atma or Pratyagatma or Sakshi. Apart

from the four famous mahavakyas, many of them reiterate that this is none other

than Brahman. Thus, Upanishads make it clear that there are not many atmas but

there is only one all pervading, divisionless, non-dual consciousness; it is this

consciousness that is available for recognition by individual beings through

observation of the functioning of the mind . Kaivalya Upanishad 10 – “Clearly

recognising Atma to be present in all beings and clearly recognising all beings in

oneself.......”. Isavasya Upanishad 6 – “ He who sees the all beings as non-different

from his Atma and sees the Atma of those beings as his own Atma....”Kaivalya

Upanishad 16 – “You alone are that Infinite eternal supreme Brahman which is the

Atma of all.....” Kaivalya Upanishad 17 and 18 – “ I am that Brahman which illumines

the worlds of waking, dream, sleep etc.” Kaivalya Upanishad – “I am distinct from all

those that are the subject, the object and the instrument; in all the three states I am

the witness who is the pure consciousness....” Kaivalya Upanishad 14 refers to

Jivatma as indivisible consciousness (“akhandabodham”). Taittiriya Upanishad II.1

and I.6, Mundaka Upanishad III.i.7, Svetasvatara Upanishad III.11 and

Brhadaranyaka Upanishad I.iv.7 talk of Brahman as being available for recognition

as Sakshi in the Jivatma ( - interpretations based on Sankaracarya’s commentary - )

( “yo veda nihitam guhayam” “ Tat srushtva tat eva pravisat.”, “nihitam guhayam”

”sarva bhoota guahasaya” “sa esha pravishtah”) . Similar expressions occur in

Svetasvatara Upanishad mantras III.7, IV.15. IV.16, IV.17 ,VI.11, Mundaka

Upanishad II.i.10,, Kaivalya Upanishad 23,, etc. Kena Upanishad talks of one who

recognises Brahman as available in all beings. Brhadaranyaka Upanishad IV.iii.7 –

“Which is the Atma?” “This all pervading Brahma caitanyam (purusha) that is

identified with the intellect ( i.e., which is the intellect, as it were – which is

mistaken to be the intellect)) (vijnanamayah) , is in the midst of the organs

(praneshu) and is the light within the intellect (hrddhynrtarjyotih), assuming the

likeness (of the intellect) (sa samanah san) it moves between the two worlds (ubhou

lokou anusancarati); it thinks, as it were and does action, as it were (dhyayati iva,

lelayati iva ). Being identified with the dream ( revealing the modification known as

dream assumed by the intellect), It transcends this world ( i.e., the body and organs

which are the forms of avidya.)”. Based on Sankaracarya’s commentary, the

mantra can be paraphrased as follows:-

“Which is the Atma? It is the self-evident, all pervading conscious principle ( Brahma

caitanyam) , which, though it is all pervading (i.e., it is the same in all beings and in

between also), each individual can recognise it only in himself, as the consciousness

expressing as the knower of objects (pramata). Mind becomes a conscious entity

when the all pervading consciousness is reflected in the mind and it is on account of

this reflected consciousness (cidabhasa) that the mind gets the capacity of cognition

and the sense organs and the body, in turn, are made sentient. Atma is the light

within the mind - i.e., the all pervading consciousness is available within the mind

and is referred to as Pratyagatma or Sakshi. (The word,”light” – “Jyoti” is used in the

Upanishads often, as a synonym for consciousness.) What is in the midst of the

organs has to be different from the organs and what is within the mind has to be

different from the mind. Even though what we experience as a conscious entity when

we perceive external objects or entertain ideas is the ahamkara, we should not make

the mistake of taking that to be the ultimate consciousness. The ultimate

consciousness is the Brahma caitanyam available in us. It is referred to as

Pratyagatma to indicate that is recognizable in oneself as the ultimate self-evident

consciousness. It is referred to as Sakshi to indicate that it is on account of Its

eternal presence that cidabhasa is formed in the mind. Though ahamkara is not an

independent conscious entity, since both atma and ahamkara partake of the nature of

consciousness and are inseparably together, we tend to mistake the thoughts and

actions of the body mind complex to be the operations of the atma. Though the Atma

is not knower (pramata) or doer (karta) or enjoyer (bhokta), when the ahamkara

travels from one world to another – or from the waking world to the dream world –

and experiences that world and transacts there, it appears as if the Atma was doing

so. During the dream, the mind itself is the dream world, since the dream objects are

nothing but thoughts in the mind and it is the Sakshi that witnesses the dream

world., through cidabhasa.

Kathopanishad I.iii.1 – ( which indicates the presence of original consciousness as

well as the reflected consciousness in jivatmas). – It talks of two conscious entities

in the antahkarana of jivatmas enjoying the fruits of actions and being diametrically

opposed to each other as the light and shadow. The one refers to Paramatma, the

original consciousness, which is compared to the light ; It appears to enjoy the fruits

of actions – that is, it is our misconception – but it is really speaking, abhokta - nonenjoyer.

The other, compared to shadow, refers ahamkara (antahkarana cum

cidabhasa) (jivatma) that actually enjoys the fruits of actions – karmaphalam. The

comparison of light and shadow indicates that the nature of the original

consciousness and the nature of the reflected consciousness are different; the former

is eternal, real, unchanging, akarta and abhokta. The latter is changing, mithya, karta

and bhokta. Yet another Mantra which supports the proposition is Mundaka

Upanishad III.i.1 - these talks of two bright-feathered birds sitting in the same tree,

one eating the fruits and the other not eating and just looking. This is a poetic way of

referring to the presence, in our body, of the original consciousness which is abhokta

and the mind cum reflected consciousness which is bhokta. Brhadaranyaka

Upanishad III.iv.1 talks of Brahman as Pratyagatma and in III.iv.2 It is described as

“the Seer or the seer…….the Thinker of the thinker…...the Knower of the

knower…….You cannot see the Seer of the seer, you cannot hear the Hearer of the

hearer, you cannot think the Thinker of the thinker. You cannot know the Knower of

the knower. This is your Atma that is within all. Everything else is mithya (“artam”). (

The words ‘seer’ , ‘knower’ etc occurring as the object refers to the mind and the

words, ‘seer’, ‘knower’ etc. occurring as the subject refers to Pratyagatma (Sakshi)

(Atma). Sankaracarya says, in his commentary, “ (Yajnavalkya addressing Ushasta)

‘you asked me to present the Atma as one would a jar etc. I do not do so, because it

is impossible. Why is it impossible? Owing to the very nature of the thing. What is

that? Its being the witness of vision etc,, for the atma is the witness of vision. Vision

is of two kinds – ordinary vision and real vision. Ordinary vision is a function of the

mind as connected with the eye; It is an act and as such it has a beginning and an

end. But the vision that belongs to the Atma is like the heat of the fire; being Its very

nature, it has no beginning or end. Because it appears to be connected with the

ordinary vision, which is produced and is but a limiting adjunct of it, it is spoken of as

the witness, and also as differentiated into witness and vision. The ordinary vision,

however, is coloured by the objects seen through the eye, and of course has a

beginning; it appears to be connected with the eternal vision of the Atma and is but

its reflection; it originates and ends, pervaded by the other. Because of this, the

eternal vision of the Atma is metaphorically spoken of as the witness, and although

eternally seeing, is spoken of as sometimes seeing and sometimes not seeing. But as

a matter of fact the vision of the Atma never changes.…….You cannot know that that

pervades knowledge which is the mere function of the intellect.’”. (When the mind

with reflected consciousness – cidabhasa - functions, it cognises objects or

entertains ideas one after another. E.g., I have the thought “ I am running” After

that, I have the thought “I see a pot”. After that, I have the thought, “I am angry”,

After that, I have the thought “I am thinking whether there is a God”. These are

modes of the changing mind. We are aware of these changing modes (vritti’s)

because of the cidabhasa. Atma remains as the constant unchanging consciousness,

serving by its mere presence as the source of cidabhasa. Even in sushupti, when mind

is not cognising anything, the unchanging consciousness is there, It is on account of

its presence that cidabhasa is formed in the dormant mind and we are able to

recollect the state of non-experience, after we wake up. Atma cannot be known as an

object but it can be recognised as the constant “I”, when we connect a past

experience and a present experience, as the same conscious entity that was present

when the past experience took place and when the present experience takes place,

such as, “I who fought in the Second World war am now preaching pacifism.”)

Everything else, including the sthoola and sukshma sariras is perishable (mithya).

Atma alone is imperishable and changeless. ( satyam).” Svetasvatara Upanishad

VI.11 – “Hidden in all beings is the nondual Effulgent One ( Brahman). It is all

pervading, is the real nature of all beings, …….It resides in all beings. It is the

witness of all. It is the lender of consciousness. ( “ceta cetayita”). It is pure and

attributeless ( “kevalah, nirguna ca.) Svetasvatara III.19 - “Though It is devoid of

hands and legs, It grasps everything and moves about everywhere. Though It is

devoid of eyes, It sees everything. Though It is devoid of ears ,It hears everything.

Though It is devoid of mind, It knows everything but nobody knows It. . The rshis call

It the First, the infinite and the Supreme.” (“ Devoid of mind, It knows everything”

means “It is the unchanging consciousness behind minds”). Mundaka Upanishad

II.ii.9 - “In the supreme bright sheath i.e., in the vijnanamaya kosa, the intellect of

individual beings, is Brahman, the light of lights (“jytotisham jyoti”), free from taints

and divisionless (“virajam, nishkalam”). ( “It is the light of lights” means that it is

the original consciousness and other lights like the mind derive their consciousness

from It.) Kenopanishad I.5 - “ That which cannot be known by the mind but by which

the mind is known …know That to be Brahman…” Chandogya Upanishad

VIII.xii.15 – “Mind is the divine eye of atma". . Kathopanishad II.ii. 9.10,11 and 12

talk of Atma as being the one in all beings. Brhadaranyaka Upanishad IV.iii.23,

talking of sushupti says, “That it does not see in that state is because, though seeing

then, it does not see; for, the vision of the witness can never be lost, because It is

imperishable. But there is not that second thing separate from it which it can see.” “It

does not see” refers to the fact that the antahkarana and reflected consciousness are

dormant and , therefore , there is no perception. “Though seeing then” and “ For, the

vision of the witness can never be lost”, “because it is imperishable” refer to the

continued presence of the original consciousness as the witness of the dormant state

of the ahamkara in sushupti. Taittiriya II.1.1 – “ Satyam Jnanam Anantam Brahma;

He who knows that Brahman as hidden in the cavity that is the intellect...........”

Mundaka Upanishad II.i.10 -“He who knows this supremely immortal Brahman as

hidden in the cavity that is the intellect....” (Brahman is Existence-Consciousness-

Infinity. As the eternal Existence forming the substratum of nama roopas – Sat – It is

recognisable everywhere but as Consciousness - cit – It can be appreciated only as

the witness of the mind.) Mundaka Upanishad III.i.7 – “It (Brahman) is great

(because of its all pervasiveness) and self-effulgent….. It is further away than the far

off. It is near at hand in this body. Among sentient beings, it is perceived in the cavity

of the heart (.i.e. the intellect) by the enlightened”. “Svetasvatara Upanishad II.15 –

“When one knows atma as Brahman”. Kenopanishad I.2. - “The ear of the ear, the

mind of the mind, the speech of the speech, the breath of the breath, the eye of the

eye. Those who know this atma, after giving up identification with the sense organs

and renouncing this world become immortal.” ( “ Mind of the mind” means that atma

is different from the mind and is superior to the mind). Kenopanishad 1.6 – “ That

which man does not comprehend with the mind, that, by which, they say, the mind is

comprehended, know that to be Brahman.” A very clear support for the proposition

that the original consciousness available in Jivatmas is none other than the

consciousness that is Brahman occurs in Chandogya Upanishad VIII.xii.3. It says, “

This tranquil one , that is, jivatma, rising up from this body ( the reference is to

videha mukti) becomes one with the Supreme Light (i.e., Brahman) and is

established in his own nature.” ( The words, “ becomes one with the Supreme light”

and “ is established in his own nature” clearly mean that the consciousness

constituting the essence of the individual jivatmas called Atma is the same as the all

pervading, infinite consciousness called Brahman.) Brhadaranyaka Upanishad

IV.iv.13 (Based on Sankaracarya’s commentary” – “He, the knower of Brahman, who

has realized and intimately known the Self – how? – as the innermost Self – as ‘I am

the supreme Brahman’ that has entered this place (the body)……………all this is his

Atma and he is the Atma of all…..” “In Aiterya Upanishad mantra III.2, enumerating

various functions of the mind, it is said that all these are the names of Consciousness.

(Sankaracarya’s commentary – “The functions of the mind that have been

enumerated are the means for the recognition of the Sakshi.) Brhadaranyaka IV,iv.20

, talking of Brahman, says that It should be realized in one form only. Sankaracarya

explains this statement to mean that It should be realised as homogenous

consciousness.

Section 15 – Reflected consciousness (cidabhasa)

While the existence of a changing conscious entity which we call the mind and an

unchanging conscious entity which is referred as the atma or Pratyagatma or Sakshi

is a matter of personal experience, the fact that what there is in the mind (

antahkarana) is the reflected consciousness is a matter of inference. Since Brahma

caitanyam is all pervading, the question arises why is it that we experience only our

antahkarana as a conscious entity and our body and sense organs as sentient and

why things we categorise as inanimate objects are not sentient. This disparity cannot

be explained unless we predicate a reflected consciousness and a special capacity, on

account of its subtlety, on the part of antahkarana to reflect consciousness and to

impart it to the sense organs and the body. - which capacity grosser nama roopas like

table etc do not possess. There are various passages in the Upanishads to show that

the body mind complex by itself is inert (being made of food – vide Chandogya

Upanishad VI.v.4) and it is the atma that lends sentience and consciousness to the

body, sense organs and the antahkarana. Cf. the portion in Taittiriya Upanishad

III.7.i which says, “ ….Because if the space-like all pervading …..Brahman was not

there, who could inhale and exhale?......This one, this supreme atma which resides in

the heart ( i.e., in the mind , as the witness of all thoughts) blesses everyone with

consciousness and happiness.”. Kenopanishad I.1. - “Directed by whom does the

mind pervade the objects? Directed by whom does prana function?” and in the next

mantra we get the answer “…..the mind of the mind, the prana of the prana.….”

(Sankaracarya’s commentary – “”Because the antahkarana is not able to perform its

functions – thinking, determination etc. – unless it is illumined by the light of

consciousness.”) Brhadaranyaka Upanishad III.vii.23– “........There is no other seer

than He, there is no other hearer than He, there is no other thinker than He, there is

no other knower than He...”. (Sankaracarya’s commentary – “ It is the knower

knowing through all the minds”.)..” Mundaka Upanishad II.ii.10 and Kathopanishad

II.ii.15 – “There the sun does not shine, nor the moon nor the stars, not to speak of

lightning or fire – (i.e., Brahma caitanyam as Sakshi illumines the mind and sense

organs by being the source of cidabhasa and through them the world. But nothing in

the world or the sense organs or the mind can illumine It, because they themselves

are illumined by It. The illumined cannot illumine the illuminator.) It alone is the

light (i.e., It alone is the independent consciousness.) Other lights come after It. It is

by Its light alone all else shines. (i.e., Whatever else is sentient or conscious is

sentient only because it reflects this real light, that is, the original consciousness.

Mind is conscious only because the original consciousness is reflected in it.

Kathopanishad II.ii.13 talks of atma as the conscious among the conscious.

Sankaracarya explains, in his Bhashyam that the words, “among the conscious”

refers to the manifesters of consciousness, such as the living creatures beginning

with Hiranyagarbha and adds “just as it is owing to the fire that water etc. that are

not fire come to be possessed of the power to burn, similarly, the power to manifest

consciousness that is seen in others is owing to the consciousness that is the Atma”.

Kathopanishad II.ii.9 and 10 and Brhadranyaka Upanishad II.v.19 where the phrase

“roopam roopam pratiroopam babhhova” occurs are also cited as authority for

reflected consciousness. The Kathopanishad, giving the example of the shapeless fire

principle assuming the shape of the particular log that is being burnt and getting

located in this manner and the air getting located as prana in the body, talks of the

one all pervading consciousness, the Atma, getting associated with body mind

conplexes and assuming the forms of the body mind complexes – i.e., by its very

presence , providing the source for the formation of the reflected consciousnesses in

many minds. The division is not in the original consciousness, but the antahkarana’s,

the reflecting media, being many, the reflections are also many. On the same lines, in

the Brhadaranyaka Upanishad , it is said that the unlocated all pervading

consciousness pervades body mind complexes and assumes their form. That is, by

reflecting in individual minds, It becomes many reflected individual consciousnesses.

It adds that these localised forms are for the revelation of the Atma. (i.e., only by

observing cidabhasa, are we able to recognise Atma.) The Brhadaranyaka mantra

says “ Indro mayabhi pururoopa iyate”, says the nantra. “One becomes many” How?

Though Atma is nondual, being the source of cidabhasa, manifold conscious entities

emerge. In each antahkarana, there is a separate cidabhasa. When we mistake the

cidabhasa for Atma, there appear to be many Atmas. ’Chandogya Upanishad VI.iii.2 –

“That Deity (which is the non-dual Existence – Brahman -) envisioned, “Let it be now,

by entering into these three Gods, in the form of the jivatma of each individual

being…..” Sankaracarya, in his Bhashyam, explains that each jivatma is merely the

reflection of the Deity (Brahma caitanyam.). It arises from the ‘contact’ of the Deity

with the subtle elements like the intellect etc. It is like the reflection of a person,

seeming to have entered into a mirror and like the reflection of the sun in water, etc.

This becomes the cause of multifarious ideas, such as, “ I am happy”, “I am

sorrowful”, “ I am ignorant” etc., owing to the non-realisation of the true nature of

the Deity. Since the Deity has entered merely as a reflection in the form of a jivatma,

It does not itself become connected with happiness, sorrow etc. Cf. Kathopanishad

II.ii.11 - ‘Just as the sun which is the eye of the whole world is not tainted by ocular

and external defects, , so also the atma that is but one in all beings is not tainted by

the sorrows of the world, It being transcendenta1’.” Commenting on the words, “light

within the intellect” (“hrddhyantarjyotih”), in Brhadaranyaka IV.iii.7 Sankaracarya

says, “ Because it is of the nature of effulgence (i.e., the effulgence of consciousness)

that atma is called ‘light’. It is only because of the effulgence of Atma that the body

mind complex becomes sentient and moves and does action. In other words, just as

the emarald dropped in milk etc lends lustre to the milk etc., Sakshi, being available

within the mind, sheds its lustre on the body mind complex. Intellect is transparent

and close to atma. Therefore, it is pervaded by the reflection of the consciousness

that is Atma, The reflection is transferred from the intellect to the mind, from the

mind to the sense organs and from the sense organs to the body. Thus, the Atma

that is like the light, illumines the entire body mind complex. That is why, depending

on the degree of non-discrimination, each one identifies himself with one or other

component of the body mind complex.” Commenting on the Kathopanishad mantra

1.6 cited earlier Sankaracarya says, “Atma is the enlightener of the mind. The mind

can think only when it is illumined by the light of consciousness within. The mantra

ends saying “ Know that internal illuminator to be Brahman.” Similarly, commenting

on Kenopanishad I.2, “…mind of the mind…, Sankaracarya explains the antahkarana

is not able to perform its functions – thinking, determination etc. – unless it is

illumined by the light of Consciousness.” Yet another important mantra which

establishes clearly that what there is in the body mind complex is the reflected

consciousness is Brhadaranyaka .Upanishad mantra II.iv.12 (clarification in mantra

13) where the phrase “na pretya samja asti” (“there is no longer any consciousness”)

occurs. In this mantra , in the Yajnavalkya Maitreyi dialogue, Yajnavalkya gives the

example of salt water and salt crystals formed out of it. Atma, the original, all

pervading consciousness is compared to salt water or the ocean. Here, there is no

plurality or individuality; the original consciousness is divisionless; being all

pervading, it is also available in the jivatmas. But parts of the salt water can become

crystallised on account of heat, and thus acquire individuality. Like that, on account

of the presence of the body mind complex, which is compared to the heat, the

divisionless consciousness gets reflected in the mind and thus, with a separate

reflected consciousness – a particular consciousness - in each mind, having an

individuality of its own, a plurality of ahamkaras emerges, experiencing the world in

diverse ways. When the salt crystals are put back in the water, salt again becomes

homogenous (divisionless). Like that, when the jnani’s sthooola sarira dies and

sukshma sarira and karana sarira disintegrate at the time of videha mukti, the

particular consciousness perishes. .The words are , ‘ there is no longer

consciousness’ (“na pretya samja asti”). These words cannot refer to the original

consciousness, because it is eternal; what the jnani attains at the time of videha

mukti is oneness with Brahman, the original, all pervading consciousness. So, there is

no question of the original consciousness ceasing to be. The cessation pf

consciousness that is mentioned in the mantra can only refer to the reflected

consciousness, the cidabhasa in the mind with which the jivan mukta was carrying on

the day to day activities until the fall of the sthoola sarira.

Section 16 – How to distinguish the original consciousness from the reflected

consciousness –Illustration

The difficulty of distinguishing the original consciousness, the Sakshi, from the

reflected consciousness, the cidabhasa is illustrated by Vidyaranya. He gives the

example of a wall on which the general sunlight falls. On the same wall,

superimposed on the general sunlight, reflected sunlight emanating from a mirror

also falls. In this situation, one cannot perceive the general sunlight and the reflected

sunlight separately. Similarly, in jagrat and svapna both Sakshi and cidabhasa are

functioning simultaneously. So we are not able to distinguish Sakshi clearly. If the

mirror is taken away, then one perceives the general sunlight separately. Like that, in

Sushupti, when the antahkarana is dormant, Sakshi alone is ‘shining’. So. by

analyzing the sushupti experience, an intelligent man can recognize the Sakshi.

Another example to illustrate the difficulty of recognising Sakshi, as an entity distinct

from cidabhasa, is given in Brhadaranyaka Upanishad. We hear music emanating

from musical instruments. What is brought to our ears is the particular sounds – the

tunes or rythms superimposed on the general sound. The substance is the general

sound. The tunes or rythms are only representing the frequencies and amplitude with

which the general sound is produced. If you ask someone to ignore the general sound

and tell you what tune or rhythm it is, he will say, “ how can I do it? If I ignore the

general sound, I won’t hear anything.” Only by analyzing the matter intellectually,

you can understand the distinction between the general sound and the particular

sounds.

Section 17 - Significance of cisabhasa

1. Another question that arises is that if Brahma caitanyam is all pervading, how is it

that I do not know want you are thinking and I do not see the movie you are seeing.

The answer is that for knowing anything as an object or idea, two things are

required. (1) there must be a second entity other than the knower and (2) a focussing

on or exclusive pervasion of a single object or idea at a time by the consciousness

involving modification of the consciousness from one configuration to another,

corresponding to the objects or ideas coming one after another. Brahman, being

non-dual, there is no second entity that It can know.. Secondly, being changeless

(nirvikara) , Brahma caitanyam cannot undergo modification from one configuration

to another as envisaged above,. That is why, when the teacher shows the sushupti as

an example for us to understand the state of mukti, Brhadaranyaka IV.iii.30, says,

“There is not that second thing separate from it that It can know.” And, describing

videha mukti, when the jnani’s sukshma sarira and karana sarira themselves have

disintegrated – talking of the paramarthika plane where there is nothing other than

Brahman, Brhadaranyaka Upanishad II.iv.14 says “What can one see through what?”

For Brahman, there is not even knowing transaction. The vyavaharika prapanca exists

only for the vyavaharika jivas. The jnanis among them see it as mithya and the

ajnanis see it as real. It is the different minds with cidabhasa in different individuals

that enable each of us to perceive and think separately about separate things. What

happens in my mind is confined to me. If a stone is thrown into a pool of water where

sun is reflected, that reflection alone is disturbed, not the reflection in other pools.

2. When we refer to Brahman as Sakshi, we are not diluting this proposition in any

way. There, we are only reiterating the eternal presence of the all pervading

consciousness , with emphasis on Its availability in the individual beings. The

knowing of objects and ideas occurs, not at the paramarthika level, but at the lower

order of reality, the vyavaharika level. At the vyavaharika level, there is a multiplicity

of names and forms and there is division of knower, known and knowing instrument.

The presence of Sakshi serves as the source for the antahkarana to obtain a reflected

consciousness. The antahkaranas with their cidabhasas are multiple; each individual

being has its own separate antahkarana with cidabhasa in it. Each antahkarana with

cidabhasa in it ( called ahamkara) focuses on a particular object or idea, separately,

and, having the capacity to undergo modification, assumes one configuration after

another, corresponding to the objects and ideas coming one after another. This is

what is said in the first portion of Brhadaranyaka mantra II.ii.14. Talking of mithya

dwaitam, - knower, known and knowing instrument – it says, “when there is duality

(dwaitam), as it were, (the words, ‘as it were’ is significant, because they are the

authority for saying that the division of knower, known and knowing instrument is

unreal – mithya - ) one sees another……. one knows another.” If the knowing

consciousness was not in the form of separate individual consciousnesses, and if

there was only the original consciousness common to all, the objects of the world

would all enter the common consciousness, in one jumbled confusion – confusion,

space-wise and time-wise. For example, you may see the garbage being dumped in

the street in the food you are about to take. You may see a grandfather who died long

ago holding the new-born grandson – and so on. One will go mad.

Om Tat Sat

(Continued...)

(My humble salutations to Brahmasri Sreeman  D Krishna Ayyar  for the collection)