Non-duality inspite of duality

[Guest guest]

Dhyanasaraswatiji asked me to explain the phrase -

non-duality in spite of duality.

 

Here is my explanation:

 

Advaita itself - is a-dvaita, non-duality. It is not

mono-ism emphasizing oneness but it is a negation of

any duality. Why it is not oneness - if one

understands that there is only one, then problem is

already solved and no need for any declaration of

oneness since the very declaration requires duality.

 

a-dvaita is emphasized even in scriptures - Mandukya

7th suutra says " .... shaantam, shivam, advaitam,

chaturtham manyante, sa aatmaa sa vijneyaH' - and

Shree Goudapaada wrote whole chapter 'advaita

prakaraNa' just explaining that one word in the

mantra. The reason the mother shruti says it is

advaitam is She comes down to our level and with full

compassion and understanding makes us to see oneness

in spite of apparent duality - thus the truth

according to scriptural teaching is non-duality in

spite of apparent duality. Apparent becomes apparent

only for those who investigate or inquires the reality

of the duality. For that viveka or discriminative

analysis is required, where discrimination of what is

eternal and what is ephemeral (nitya-anitya vastu

viveka) since that which is eternal has to be sat or

real and that which is ephemeral is only apparently

sat or mithyaa. dvaitins and vishiShTaadvaitins argue

that which is not sat has to be asat and that which is

not asat has to be sat. But viveka involves nitya

anitya vastu viveka which is more difficult than just

satya asatya vastu viveka - discriminative analysis of

eternally existent and non-existent entities. That

which appears to exists but not eternally existing (

eternal is not a concept in time but it is beyond the

time concept)can neither come under sat nor asat.

Hence Shankara defines Viveka very precisely - nitya

anitya vastu viveka - Krishna declares sat is that

which is - na abhaavo vidyate sataH -that which can

never cease to exist or trikaala abhaadhitam satyam -

exists all the time or three periods of time.

 

The world is called jagat - that which continuously

changes. Since it is experienced it cannot come under

unreal. (There were recently some discussions on B.S

II-29 concerning the dream world. But B.S. II-28 it

self says world is not unreal since it is experienced.

It is a statement of the negation that it is not asat

- like vandhyaa putraH - son of barren woman). It

cannot come under real either since it continuously

changing. In any change, there has to be some

substratum that is changeless with reference to which

a change can be noticed. Ice becoming water or water

becoming steam - in these changes there is a

changeless entity - H2O - which remains changeless in

these changes. Similarly if the world is changing the

substantive of the world should remain changeless.

Substantive is that which it is made up of - Upaadana

KaaraNa. According to Vedanta, Brahman is the

substantive of the world - since He is the upaadaana

kaaraNa or material cause.

But Brahman is consciousness (prajnaanam brahma) and

not inert matter to be upaadana kaaraNa or material

cause. If the consciousness is the substantive of the

world then world can only be mithyaa, a projection on

the substantive which is consciousness. Hence

advaitam chaturtham manyante - that which is non-dual

is the turiiyam that pervades all the three states is

the essential truth and that is advaita - non-dual.

Hence any duality that one sees can only be mithyaa or

apparent and not real.

Hence advaita is non-duality in spite of apparent

duality - and for those to whom this is not apparent,

it is non-duality in spite of duality.

 

Hari Om!

Sadananda