Advaita Unveiled

Advaita Unveiled: A Concise Exploration and Definition:

Chit (pure awareness) is the ground of all appearance and these appearances are caused by ajnana (ignorance). Chit is Brahman and ajnana is maya. Brahman which is chit (pure awareness) is also sat (pure existence) and ananda (pure bliss). Moreover, Brahman is nitya (eternal) ananta (infinite) svayam prakasa (self-luminous) and akhanda (distinctionless). Brahman transcends all empirical existence, attributes and determinations; it is transcendental and immutable. The Upanishads describe Brahman as satyam (truth), įnanam (knowledge) and anantam (infinite). Since Brahman is the ground of all appearances which are due to the operation of maya, it will be necessary for us to explain the nature of relation between Brahman and maya. Since Brahman is akhanda (distinctionless), there can be nothing real other than Brahman. But there can be something which is not real. But what is not real need not be unreal (ie, it may not be real in the sense of Brahman being real, but may still exist); nor can it be both real and unreal which is a contradiction in terms. Thus, maya, which is other than Brahman is neither real (sat) nor unreal (asat), nor both real and unreal, but peculiar (vilakshana). Hence it described as sadasadvilakshana and regarded as mithya (false or illusory). Since maya is mithya, its relation to Brahman is also mithya for, there can be no real relation between a real entity (Brahman) and another (maya) which is neither real nor unreal. This mithya relation is called aropa or adhyasa (superimposition). In this adhyasa, Brahman appears to be conditioned by maya, and maya appears to have the characteristics of Brahman whereby it exists, appears to consciousness and comes to be liked by it. Thus in adhyasa there is mutual superimposition (iteretaradhyasa); but while maya as such is superimposed on Brahman, Brahman being akhanda (distinctionless) is not as such superimposed on ajnana: it is only the relation of maya to Brahman that is superimposed on maya. courtesy ahambrahmaasmi. org

Thus Brahman is the absolute ground of all appearances. But it cannot be proved as such by any pramana (means of knowledge), since all pramanas presuppose the truth of Brahman. Hence the function of philosophy is mainly to remove the misconceptions that lie in the way of our knowing the truth. Dualism is a misconception and removing it is a function of this system of philosophy. Hence this system of philosophy which seeks to affirm the non-dualilty of Brahman by removing the faulty dual conceptions of it is called Advaita. - Dr G Srinivasan

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