OM

Ajnanatimirintasyajnananjanasalakaya

Cakshurunmilitam yena tasmai

srigurave namah

ADVAITA VEDANTA

D Krishna Ayyar

Part II

SECTIONS 1 – 12

OUTLINE OF ADVAITA VEDANTA PHILOSOPHY

Section 1 - Nature of Self. CHANGING AND UNCHANGING CONSCIOUSNESS DISTINGUISHED.

(1). Let us start with finding answers to the questions raised in Part I. Whatever you perceive or know as an object cannot be yourself. 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 ‘praana’ (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” or “ahamartha” (ego) ( the ‘I’ thought, the sense of ‘I am the knower, doer etc.). (In what follows, for the sake of simplicity, in many places, the word, mind, is used as a synonym for antahkarana in many places.) (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 and the cidabhasa. as it will be used later in this paper itself. To avoid confusion, in this paper, following Sureswaracarya, the word, ahamartha, is used for the ‘I’ notion and the word , ahamkara, for the combination of antahkarana and cidabhasa.)

(3). The existence of oneself as a conscious entity is self evident. The question is “is the conscious self the mind or is there a conscious principle other than the mind? Am I the mind or am I the other conscious principle?” To find out whether I am the mind, I should apply the same test as applied earlier in regard to the body etc. That is,do I experience my 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 conceptualization. “I know the pot is a thought” (Thought is called ‘vritti’ in Sanskrit.) “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. I am aware of these thoughts. Not only that, I am aware of the I that is engaged in the perceptions, emotions, reasoning, decision-making and conceptualisatio., the ahamartha, the subject 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 that I have that idea. When solving a mathematical equation, I am aware that I am solving it. If I have learnt Chinese, I am aware that I know Chinese. When I recall anything I am aware that I am recollecting it. In technical language, I am aware of not only the premeyam and pramanam of the triputi but also the pramaata, karta, bhokta etc. of the triputi ( the subject of the subject-predicate-object vritti structure). (For example, in “ I know the pot”, or “ I have an idea of what is happening in the black hole”, here, “I” is the knower – pramaata. The “I” in “ I am going”, here, the “I” 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”, here, the” “I” is the enjoyer or sufferer - bhokta. The “I” in “ I am a father”, here, the “I” is a related individual – sanbandhi. The “I” in “I have a house”, here, the “I” is a possessor - dharin.) 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.) These ‘I’ s are also thoughts. Thus both the objects and subjects in the triputi are changing and I am aware of them. That is to say, 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. Thoughts arise in the mind. We do talk of the mind as the entity that survives and travels after death or the mind in a dormant state in sushupti. When we do so, the mind is regarded as a continuing entity. But the question is “does the mind also change, like thoughts in the mind and what is the entity that is aware of these changes?”. Thoughts and the mind are closely connected. Changes in the pattern of thoughts bring about modification in the character of the mind. For example, a person who acquires wealth becomes a proud man. A person who becomes angry for everything we characterize as a person with a short temperament. So, it is clear that the mind undergoes changes. The question is, “Is there an awareness of these changes of the mind and if so how does that awareness take place?” That which changes cannot itself be aware of the changes. It follows that, besides the changing mind, there must be a changeless conscious principle. The question is what is the proof. The proof lies in the fact that, in spite of the changes of the mind, I regard myself as the same conscious entity. Yesterday I was angry. Today I am calm. The angry mind and the angry I disappeared yesterday. The calm mind and the calm I have come only today. But I regard myself as the same person while saying “I was angry yesterday; I am calm today”. Yesterday I was struggling with a mathematical problem. Today I have happily solved it. The struggling mind and the struggling I disappeared yesterday. The happy mind and the happy I have come only today. Still, I regard myself as the same person while saying, “I struggled with the mathematical problem yesterday; today I have solved it.” The same I, the constant I that I invoke while making such statements as mentioned above is an unchanging conscious principle. This unchanging conscious principle is the immutable atmaa, It is also called saakshi since , in a manner of speaking, it is the witness of the changing mind. It is also called pratyagaatmaa, since it is recognized by us without the mediation of many knowing instrument. Whereas the mind is experienced, the atma is not experienced; it is invoked as the constant I. The invocation is done by the mind; the invoked is the atma.

(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 cognizes 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.

(5). 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 the ahamartha, which, as a part of the ahamkaara, was dormant. The “I” that is invoked as having been present during sushupti in the statement “I slept well” is the changeless atma. Thus, if we analyze the sushupti experience, we can clearly recognize the existence of the changeless I, the atma caitanyam, separating It, intellectually, from the changing “I” of the mind.

(6). Let us analyse this matter a little further. Since sakshi cannot be the pramaata of even of a negative condition, it is necessary to explore ‘what is the connection between sakshi and the sukshma sarira in kaarana avastha, i.e., in sushupti. (the deep sleep condition). The part of the sukshma sarira relevant in this context is the antahkarana in which cidabhaasa is reflected (i.e., ahamkaara). All except the cittam is resolved and is non-functional in sushupti. The cittam which is still functioning registers the fact that the ahamartha is not aware of the external objects and of even itself.; it also registers the sukham (happiness) occurring as a reflection of the aananda aspect of atma in the state of calmness in which the mind is when it is resolved during sushupti, though it is not aware of it at that time. It is on the basis of such registration by the citta that the ahamkara is able to say, when the person wakes up from sleep, “I slept happily; I did not know anything – “sukham aham asvaapsam, na kincit avedisham”. But if you ask him, “Were you conscious of being there when you slept”, he will have to say, “no”. It means that it is not the ahamartha that he is referring to when he is saying “I slept happily; I did not know anything”. The I that he is referring to connecting the sleep condition and the waking condition, as experience and recollection by the same I, can only be a changeless consciousness that was present in him when he slept happily and is present when he is recollecting the experience. Therefore the I that he is invoking as the same I that slept well and that is recollecting is the sakshi I. He is able to do so, because the sakshi I self-evident.. The recognised I is sakshi I. The recognition is done by the ahamkara I. The registering mind and the recollecting mind are not the same. What remains as the unchanging I is the sakshi I..

(5). Pratyabhinja invoking a constant I 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. In spite of these differences, one is regarding oneself as the same I., The I that is invoked here is the unchanging I, the unchanging consciousness, the sakshi..

(6). Recognition of the unchanging consciousness can also take place without a vritti. Suppose you are listening to Swamiji's talk in the class. In your mind the modifications of the mind registering the sound (“sabda vrittis”) and understanding the meaning corresponding to the words of my talk are taking place. At that time you are not entertaining the thought “ I am sitting here and listening to Swamiji's talk.” The mind can have only one vritti at a time. Next day, if somebody asked you “ did you attend Swamiji's class yesterday”, you would say “yes”. That means that you were aware of the fact that you were sitting and listening to Swamiji's talk without entertaining a vritti that you were sitting and listening. This shows that to be aware of your own continued existence as a conscious being does not, necessarily, require a vritti. Recognition of a continuous I without a vritti is possible only if there is a constant consciousness other than the momentary consciousness of the mind, a constant I that exists even when the mind is absorbed in thoughts relating to an external occurrence and is, therefore, not in a position to entertain an ahamartha vritti.When Swetaswatara Upanishad 3.19 and Kaivalya Upanishad say, “It sees without eyes, It hears without ears”, they are referring to this sakshi.

Section 2 – Brahman, the ultimate reality

The central theme of the Upanishads is Brahman, called also Paramaatma. 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 “existence-consciousness-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 undifferentiated consciousness as distinguished from knowledge obtained by the ahamkaara which functions as the differentiated knower-consciousness (pramaata), (In Sanskrit, ‘jnanam’ denoting Brahman is called ‘swaroopa jnaanam’; the knowledge obtained by the pramata is called ‘vritti jnanam’.) The word, “anantam” means infinity. Infinity, as Sankaracarya has explained, 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 saccidaananda.; it is a compound word consisting of “ sat ” which is the equivalent of “ satyam ”, “ cit ” which is the equivalent of “jnanam ” and “ aananda ” which is the equivalent of “ anantam”.

Section 3 – Identity of the individual self and Brahman

(1). (The consciousness reflected in the antahkarana is called “cidaabhasa” and the antahkarana and cidaabhasa together are called “ahamkaara”). (The physical body, the sense organs, the ahamkaara and the atma together are called "jiivaatma" or “jiiva.

There are various Upanishad passages which talk of Brahman, the all pervading consciousness, Brahma caitanyam, as being available for recognition within the intellect or the mind. In that context, the word used is atma.. The Upanishads also expressly state that Brahman is not only nondual (“advayam”) but divisionless (“nirvikalpam” “nishkalam”). Therefore Advaita Vedanta says that the atma, the unchanging consciousness, in you, in me, in other human beings, in the animals, the birds, the insects, the plants and, in fact, in all living beings, gods (“devas”) and demons (“asuras”, in denizens of this world and the other worlds, is one and the same Brahma caitanyam. . 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 same original consciousness available in the jivatmas, it is generally referred to as atma or pratyagatma. When the focus is on the source of cidabhasa, It is referred to as sakshi. It is this all pervading consciousness that is available in the jvatmas that is invoked as the unchanging, constant I, by a pratyabhinja vritti. Apart from this original consciousness, 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 reflect consciousness, just as mirrors have the capacity to reflect sunlight, unlike objects like the table. This reflected consciousness is called "cidabhasa", in Sanskrit. Atma is not a knower cognizing objects. It is apramaata. It is the mind with cidabhasa that is the knower (pramata). Without cidabhasa, the mind cannot perceive objects, cannot know, cannot think, cannot react, cannot recall and cannot imagine. The mind, in turn, lends the cidabhasa 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 ( ahamkara) that expresses as the changing I, as the knower (pramaata), as the doer (karta) and as the enjoyer (bhokta).

2. Deriving consciousness from the atma, the mind perceives the external world through the sense organs and cognizes one object after another or entertains one thought after another. While the recognition of the existence of oneself as a constant conscious entity, 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, one after another, cannot be explained without ahamkara. And it is the ahamkara that 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 the mind was not there and the changeless atma alone was there and the changeless atma were a knower, there would be permanent, simultaneous perception of everything together (which will be utter confusion). If the changeless atma (which is apramata) was alone there, without ahamkaara, there would be no cognition or conception at all. (The mixture of the original consciousness, cidabhasa and the mind is called jivatma).

Section 4 – Transmgration and karma

(1). Another fundamental tenet of Advaita Vedanta – indeed of all schools of philosophy in Hinduism – is that the sukshma sarira with cidabhasa in it 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, as recompense (karmaphalam), enjoyment or suffering in future janmas and, sometimes, in this janma itself. 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. The accumulated punya papa account is called “sancita karma”, the punya papa incurred in the current janma is called “aagami karma” and the punya papa quota assigned to be exhausted in a particular janma is called “praarabhda 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. ( Svetaswatara Upanishad IV.5 refers to jiva as aja, i.e., birthless). 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?” do not arise. 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. Moreover, 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 or 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 there is no rebirth. Last but not least, 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 and cruel. 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.” Similarly, on the eve of death, it is said, that a man has a glimpse pf his next janma during his dream. We do get strange dreams, dreams of things we have never experienced in this janma. They must be arising out of vaasanas, (i.e., impressions formed by the experiences) of the previous janmas. Even a baby has dreams. Where are the previous experiences for it to have formed vasanas, unless it had previous janmas? Another argument for the karma theory is the well known fact that the mind, though conscious of consequences wills evil; and though dissuaded by reason, it does engage in deeds of intensely sorrowful consequences. Since everybody wants only happiness, if there was no vasana of evil pertaining to previous janmas, evil will not exist in the world at all.

(2). The cycle of action and thought, punya and papa and births and deaths is beginningless. This cycle is called, “ samsaara”. ( A single word for punya and papa is “ karma”). It is one’s own punya papa alone that determines the enjoyment and suffering (karmaphalam) in our lives. Iswara only arranges the environment, events and situations required for the working out of the karma of the multitude of jivatmas. He is only the administrator (called “ karmphaladhaata”).

(3) Samsara is related to ahamkaara. When we identify ourselves with the body mind complex and, in the ignorance of our real nature as the relationless atma, regard ourselves as karta and bhokta we are involved in the samsara. When we disidentify with the body mind complex and identify with the atma that is non-different from Brahman, karma is destroyed.

(4). The concept of karma is available in Brahadaranyaka Upanishad, Katopanishad and Prasnopaanishad. Brhadaranyaka Upanishad IV.4.vi – “Where his sukshma sarirais set, there he (the transmigrating jiva) goes along with his karma. He experiences (in the other world) the karma phalam (recompense for punya papa in the form of enjoyment and suffering) for whatever karma he had done in this world. When it is exhausted, it comes again from that world to this world for fresh 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 actions and thoughts”. Prasnopanishad III.7 – “ Uadana, in its upward journey ( i.e., the sukshma sarira, travelling after the death of the sthoola sarira),leads (the jiva) 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 nayati papena papam ubhayam eva manushyalokam).

( 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 5 – Free will.

It is not karma alone that governs human life. There is scope for free will ( called “purushaartha”) in human lives. Good action and good thought can mitigate the papa and enhance the punya content of the prarabdha. Whether free will or prarabdha will be more powerful, i.e., to what extent free will can rmitigate the suffering or enhance the enjoyment to be undergone as praarabdha depends on the relative strength of praarabdha and free will. Since there is no way of knowing what one’s prarabdha 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 in prarabdha. What physical and mental equipment one is born with, in which set up one is born, what situations one has to face and what opportunities are available are determined by one’s prarabdha. But, in any janma, how one develops one’s potential, how one reacts to situations, and how one makes use of opportunities 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, inference and scientific investigation and scientific 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 various passages that Brahman is nondual (“advayam” “advaitam” “advidiiyam”, “ekam”), eternal (“nityam”) and changeless (“nirvikalpam”, “nishkalam”). “Brahman is non-dual” means that there is no second thing. So, there cannot be a world. “Brahman is eternal” or “changeless” means that the world that we experience cannot be the effect or transformation of Brahman. But we do experience a world. 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, – “paaramaarthika satyam” ( absolute reality), “ vyavahaarika satyam” ( empirical reality ) and “pratibhasika satyam” ( subjective reality ). Brahman is paramarthika satyam. The universe comprising external objects and our bodies and minds is vyaavahaarika satyam. The dream world is pratibhaasika satyam. Objects that are erroneously perceived even while one is awake, such as serpent perceived on rope in semi-darkness, are also called “pratibhasika satyam”. To put it in a simpler language, Brahman alone is real; the world is unreal. The world of the waking stage, the dream world experienced by us, the snake perceived in the rope, the silver perceived in the shell and the mirage are illusion. 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 vyavahaarika satyam or pratibhasika satyam. Mithya is defined as that which is experienced but has no independent existence. Another definition of mithya is that which can neither be said to be existent nor said to be non-existent. (The technical word in Sanskrit is “anivacaniiya”). Since we experience a world, we cannot say that it is non-existent. Since it is negated when Brahman is known, we cannot say that it is existent. The dream world is experienced by the waker while he is dreaming but it is negated when the waker wakes up from sleep. (‘Waker’ is a technical term we use to indicate the person who is having a dream, takes the dream to be real while dreaming and realizes that it is unreal when he wakes up). The snake is perceived on the rope in semi-darkness but it is negated when light is flashed on the rope. The mirage is negated when we go to the spot in the desert where we perceived it. The dream world, the snake and the mirage are mithya of the praatibhaasika variety; the world is mithya of the vyaavahaarika variety. Whatever is mithya is a superimposition on a substratum (adhishtaanam). If there was no adhishtaanam, mithya cannot appear. When the adhishtaanam is known it disappears or is relegated to a lower order of reality. Snake cannot appear if there is no rope. Water will not be perceived if there is no desert sand. Dream world cannot appear without a waker. (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 “vyaavaaharika satyam” or “pratibhasika satyam”, depending on the context.)

Section 7 - Creation

(1). 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 the omniscient (referring to Iswara), the one with limited knowledge ( referring to jiva) and Maya (which transforms into the world) are said to be 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 who have to undergo their karmaphalam in the course of their janmas during that srshti. This requires conscious planning and skilful action on the part of the creator. According to Sastra, Brahman is eternal and changeless. In various passages , Upanishads state that Brahman is eternal (”nityam”); “nityam” implies changelessness. In Muktikopanishad and 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 transformation. (Transformation is called "parinaama" in Sanskrit). Upanishads also say that Brahman is neither a doer nor a thinker, thinking with a mind which undergoes modification. Put in Sanskrit, It is “akarta” and “amanah”. There are also statements to the effect that Brahman is neither cause nor effect in Katopanishad and Brhadaranyaka Upanishad”). A changeless Brahman, a Brahman that is akarta, cannot be the transforming material cause (parinaami upaadhaana kaaranam) of the world. Since Brahman is amanah, It cannot be the intelligent cause (“nimitta karanam.”) of the world, either. So, the question arises, how does creation come? Advaita Vedanta says that in Brahman, there is, as a lower order of reality, a mithya, anirvacaniiya entity, called “Maya”. Maya is inert matter, consisting of undifferentiated names and forms (naama roopsa), in seed form. Brahma caitanyam gets reflected in Maya, to constitute an entity called “Iswara”. Iswara is omniscient (sarvajnah), omnipotent (sarvasaktimaan) and all pervading (sarvagatah). Iswara has the caitanyam aspect of Brahman in the form of reflected consciousness as well as the matter (nama roopa) aspect in the form of Maya. Therefore Iswara has in himself the capacity to think, visualise and plan creation and the raw material in the form of undifferentiated nama roopas to transform them into differentiated nama roopas. When the differentiated nama roopas are superimposed on Brahman, the Existence, the universe appears. Creation is only differentiation of nama roopas and superimposition of nama roopas. The substratum is Brahman, the non-dual existence, the sat. Sat does not undergo any change. The nama roopa unfolded as a superimposition on sat 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 nama roopa accordingly, using the projectong power vikshepa sakti) of Maya. In the minds of living beings, the consciousness aspect of Brahman, (cit) is reflected to form cidabhasa. After the prarabdha karma of the jivas in the janmas of a particular srshti is exhausted through enjoyment and suffering, Iswara makes Maya withdraw the projected nama roopa unto Himself in his aspect as Maya, there to remain, for a period, called “pralaya”, in potential or seed form, until karmas of jivas fructify for the next srshti.

(2). The Advaita concept of creation is called “vivarta vaada”. Brahman , the Existence-Consciousness does not undergo change when creation takes place. 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 and it is Maya which, as a lower order of reality, located in Brahman that superimposes nama roopas on Existence, Upanishads talk of Brahman as the cause of the universe. This should be taken as a figurative expression; let us say that it is a case of transferred epithet. In reality, Brahman is not creator. As the direct agent, it is Iswara who, using Maya, is both the material and intelligent cause of the world. 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.”

Section 8 – The concept of Maya (avidya, prakriti, pradhana, avyaktam, avyaakrtam, ajNaanam and tamas are synonyms.) (Maya has two powers – “aavarana sakti” and “vikshepa sakti. When the word, ‘ajanam’ or ‘avidya,, is used for Maya, it should not be taken to refer to any ignorance. The ignorance connoted by the word ‘Maya’ as its primary function through its avarana sakti is the jiva’s ignorance of his true nature as Brahman. To distinguish this function of the avarana sakti, Maya is called “moola avidya”. To denote the other function of the avarana sakti, which is obscuring the real nature of an object in the world, the word used is “toola avidya”; the examples are obscuring the nature of rope so that it appears as snake etc. Avidya (Maya) is a positive entity; a negative entity cannot have powers. Maya is matter, constituted of three factors, satva, rajas and tamas. Iswara is not affected by the avarana sakti of Maya and is therefore ever aware of his true nature being Brahman. At the vyashti (microcosmic) level, in so far as jivas are concerned, both the avarana sakti and the vikshepa sakti of Maya come into play. The avarana sakti makes jivas ignorant of their true nature as Brahman and, as a consequence, adhyaasa is engendered. Adhyasa consists in our notion that the world is real and in our identifying ourselves with our body mind complex. Consequently, we regard ourselves as limited individuals, different from Brahman and other beings and take on ourselves the problems, the joy, suffering, fear, sense of insecurity etc. belonging to the body and the mind . Identifying with the body mind complex which does action, thinks, enjoys and suffers and forgetting that we are relationless (asanga) atma which is neither a doer nor enjoyer, we regard ourselves as the doer ( karta) and the enjoyer ( bhokta). Our transactions in the world, with the sense of being the doer (kartrtvam), result in our incurring the liability to get rewards for good thoughts and deeds (called punyam) and punishments for bad thoughts and deeds (called paapam) and, we have to discharge these in future births, in the form of enjoyment and suffering (called karmaphalam). In the future births, we engage ourselves in further transactions and incur further punyam and papam.. Thus, we are caught up in the cycle of births and deaths and enjoyment and suffering. This is called samsara. 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.

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 existence-consciousness-infinity. This identification with Brahman is called “jivabrama-aikyam”.. Sentences in the sastra that reveal jivabrahmaikyam are called mahaavaakyas. There are innumerable mahavakyas in the Upanishads. Four of them are famous, one in 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 “ prajnaanam brahma”, (Aitereya Upanishad – Rg. Veda). Translated in English, the four mahavakyas are “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 naaparah.” (“ 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 in this very life, is called, “jivanmukta”or “jnaani”.

(3). It is not essential that one should become a sanyaasi to gain the knowledge. If one can go through the methods ( called “saadhanas” ) prescribed for attaining mental purity, calmness and concentration of mind, 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. , one can become a jnani even while one continues to be engaged in the duties of one’s secular life.

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 and no sense of insecurity. 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. No doubt, the jnani has no sorrow, no anxiety, no fear, no worry, no craving, no attachment and no hatred. 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 or anxiety 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 chooses to take it, he 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 do anything unrighteous for it nor will he be be sad if he fails in his efforts.. 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 he 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 and it is the vyavaharik body that is engaged in the worship. 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 and, if he is so inclined to teaching Vedanta or establishing institutions for the such teaching. 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. Or If we can conceive of a person who is dreaming but is aware at that time itself that it is a dream and not real we can know the state of mind of the Jivanmukta.

(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 “ “sarvaatmabhava”. For him, everything that there is 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. It is only an intellectual attitude. Even a jnani can actually enjoy whatever falls within the scope of the antahkarana in the body with which he was born. Regarding enjoyment of others, enjoyment as his is only an 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. Thus, he has a sense of utter fulfillment (poornatvam)

(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 gloat. If something bad happens, he is not depressed. 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 “jiivanmukti” ( 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. Liberation is possible in this life itself . One who is so liberated, called jiivanmukta, attaINS videhamukti when the body falls.

(1)According to Advaita Vedanta, moksha is obtained only through knowledge of identity with Brahman and not through any karma or upasana

(2) 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.

(3) In 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 and merge in their cosmic source. When the ahamkara disintegrates, the sancita karma pertaining to that ahamkaara also dissolves and the jiivanmukta becomes pure Brahman. This is called videhamukti. “Becomes pure Brahman”is only a way of saying that one of the ahamkaras superimposed on Brahman from the point of us, jivas, is no more. Brahman and jiivanmukta are not different . Videhamukti is only the disappearance of one of the superimposed ahamkaras; the appearance and disappearance of superimposed ahamkaras are also merely incidents happening from the standpoint of jivas. For Brahman, there is nothing like superimpositions or their removal. The jiivanmukta was Brahman already

SECTION 12 – KRAMAMUKTI

Sastra also talks of a more difficult route of attaining liberation through knowledge. If one has done upasana throughout his life and also has that thought at the time of death – meditation on Omkara as Brahman or on Hiranyagarbha, a form of Iswara used by Iswara for creation, or on Iswara or any deity representing Iswara, imaging that deity to be himself (ahamgraha upaasana) 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 Brahmaa’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. (The word, “Brahmaa” should not be confused with Brahman. Brahmaa is an aspect of Iswara, personified as a God, called, also, Hiranyagarbha, subordinate to Iswara.)