The Real and The Unreal -

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Namaste, Advaitins,

 

May I second what Sri Sadaji said

 

<<Chittaranjanji - I donot know about others, but I have not graduated from the

first part yet and I request you to slow down to give us some time to digest the

second and third parts.>>

 

May I also kindly be permitted to say the following:

 

Sri Chittaranji said:

 

<<<<<<<<<There is something subtle hidden in these lines. Why is it that it is

only boys that are susceptible to this type of error? In the case of errors

between objects, say the snake in the rope, the person subject

 

to the error knows the meanings of both the snake and the rope, whereas in this

case - what is it that the boy knows as the sky? An adult who knows what 'sky'

means – as that which is expansive and pervasive through and through objects –

can never superimpose ideas such as concavity and dirt onto the sky. It is only

boys (children), who see the 'bowl' spread out above and take this bowl to be

the 'sky', that ascribe concavity to the sky. In the case of the snake-rope. . .

..>>>>>>>>>>>>

 

 

 

The word “bala” includes not only children, but those who are ignorant or not

very knowledgeable. Till we came to know that it is not the sun but the earth,

that goes around the sun, we were also “balas” about this particular piece of

knowledge. Even after this knowledge, the Sun continues “to appear” to us all as

going around the earth. Nothing happens to the sun, nor the earth, or even to

us, but only our error stands corrected.

 

In common parlance also, we come across people saying “He is a child or like a

child” when referring to one who is not very knowledgeable.

 

With regard to “mutual superimposition” or adhyasa between atma and anatma, i.e.

Self and the Body, Mind and Intellect, it is very much part of the creation, and

jeeva or individual has nothing to do with that. It is in the realm of

“Samashti”. The individual jeeva is ignorant about this mutual superimposition

and this ignorance causes the jeeva to feel “I am small” “I am Dukhi”, “I am

samsari” etc. etc. Further, the individual jeeva itself, (Vyashti) because of

its ignorance about its real swaroopa, (Sat Chit Anand), superimposes on the

world certain attributes taking the world for the cause for its happiness or

unhappiness.

 

It is my very humble understanding that the whole purport of the Upanishads is

to unfold “jeeva brahma aikyam” to remove the “smallness/bondage” on the part of

individual jeevas.

 

Again, IMHO, the Upanishads do not attempt to establish how/why the creation

came about or how/why the mutual superimposition exists between atma and anatma.

The invididual jeevas’ (born of human yonies) problems/suffering, etc. are not

because there is a world of objects out there, but because of their

superimposition on the world of objects.

 

When self-knowledge takes place, the ignorance in total gets dissolved i.e. both

about the jeevas’ swaroopa and also about the world of objects.

 

I may be excused, if I am not with the subject of discussion.

 

Warm Regards, Hari Om