Snake and the Rope

[Guest guest]

>Does anyone here know for certain whether Sri Sankara's "Rope and

snake"

>analogy were his own words, or did this analogy exist beforehand? I

>noticed that Sri Ramana Maharshi uses it himself, which is why I ask.

 

As GMurthy pointed out the analogy was used by GaudapAda prior to

Shankara. But even prior to GaudapAda the analogy was used by the

VijnAnavAdin Buddhists to assert the illusory nature of the empirical

world and the reality of only the perceiving consciousness - (VAsubandhu

in his Trimsika and Vimsatika). As is obvious, the implication of the

analogy is different in the VedAnta.

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