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Theories of Creation in Advaita Vedanta

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Hello. My name is Stephen Wenninger, and I have just joined this

excellent group. I am interested in the 3 theories of srishti-drishti

vada, drishti-srishti vada and ajata vada. Would anyone here care to

express their thoughts on these views? Thank you.

Steve

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advaitin , " Steve " <eugnostos2000 wrote:

>

> Hello. My name is Stephen Wenninger, and I have just joined this

> excellent group. I am interested in the 3 theories of srishti-

drishti

> vada, drishti-srishti vada and ajata vada. Would anyone here care to

> express their thoughts on these views? Thank you.

> Steve

>

Hari Om Shri Stephen Wenninger-Ji, Pranaams!

 

As you have rightly said these three belong to Advaita Vedanta i.e.

 

a. The Supreme Brahman is the vivarta-abhinna-nimitta-upAdhAna-kAraNa

( both the material as well intelligent cause but unchanging);

b. The creation is vivarta(transfiguration) and not Arambha

(production of a thing not existing before) or parinAma

(transformation).

 

1. yathA srShTi tathA drShTi - as the creation so the vision

(experience) is put forth by bahu-jIva-vAdins(advocates of many

individual souls). Hence creation of the world is by Ishvara; certain

experiences(universal) like fire burning whether you know it or not,

sun will rise in east and set in west even if you know truth to be

otherwise; sky will appear blue though colourless.... World has

vyavahAra-sattA empirical reality.

 

2. yathA drShTi tathA srShTi - as the vision(experience) so the

creation is put forth by eka-jIva-vAdins(advocates of single soul).

One's own like and dislikes (rAga-dvesha) are the cause for

experience of pleasure and pain and contact of senses with objects is

the producer of heat and cold. So whole world is subjective. World is

prAtibhAsika-sattA apparant reality.

 

3. ajAta - not seperately born is put forth by those who say there is

no jivA - individual soul seperate from brahman at any point of time.

As all have to agree that in the beginning(before world) only brahman

was there and after dissolution it is only going to be there, that

which was not in the beginning and not going to be in the end

(adau ca ante ca yat na asti); need not be aceepted to exist in the

middle (vartamAne api tat tathA). Since shruti declares all these are

brahman only they hold there at no point of time there is a jIva

(individual soul) ever seperated from brahman, to be re-united thro

efforts and become brahman - na baddhaH sa sAdhakaH na muktaH (none

in bondage or trying for release or as released).

 

Since brahman is apramAnika(cannot be grasped) but as the adhishThAna

of this superimposed world, they declare the world as upadeshAt ayam

vAdaH - all talk about world/its creation by shruti is to teach about

the brahman.

 

All three are advaitic in nature and based on shruti-pramANa. So no

one school need to criticise the other two.

 

In Shri Guru Smriti,

Br. Pranipata Chaitanya

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Shree Pranipatachaitanyji – PraNAms

 

Steve said he is new to advaita. Can you please explain to him in layman terms

what you mean, without scaring him away with lot of Sanskrit terms which he is

not familiar.

 

Otherwise we will not be communicating with him.

 

Hari Om!

Sadananda

 

--- On Fri, 2/20/09, pranipatachaitanya <pranipatachaitanya wrote:

 

 

advaitin@ s.com, " Steve " <eugnostos2000@ ...> wrote:

>

> Hello. My name is Stephen Wenninger, and I have just joined this

> excellent group. I am interested in the 3 theories of srishti-

drishti

> vada, drishti-srishti vada and ajata vada. Would anyone here care to

> express their thoughts on these views? Thank you.

> Steve

>

Hari Om Shri Stephen Wenninger-Ji, Pranaams!

 

As you have rightly said these three belong to Advaita Vedanta i.e.

 

a. The Supreme Brahman is the vivarta-abhinna- nimitta-upAdhAna -kAraNa

( both the material as well intelligent cause but unchanging);

b. The creation is vivarta(transfigura tion) and not Arambha

(production of a thing not existing before) or parinAma

(transformation) .

 

1. yathA srShTi tathA drShTi - as the creation so the vision

(experience) is put forth by bahu-jIva-vAdins( advocates of many

individual souls). Hence creation of the world is by Ishvara;

………….

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2009/2/20 Steve <eugnostos2000

>

> Hello. My name is Stephen Wenninger, and I have just joined this

> excellent group. I am interested in the 3 theories of srishti-drishti

> vada, drishti-srishti vada and ajata vada. Would anyone here care to

> express their thoughts on these views? Thank you.

 

Dear Steve,

 

ajAtivAda, variously translated as " birthlessness " , or " non-creation "

is generally viewed as the highest philosophical position with respect

to creation in advaita vedAnta. It is in some sense a " non-theory " as

it emphasizes that all creation theories are ultimately provisional

and based on the false premise of causality being real.

 

The other two are provisional theories to explain duality and

naturally lead to ajAtivAda.

 

A simple but authoritative discussion on the same may be found at

<http://www.advaita-vedanta.org/avhp/creation.html>

 

For a classical discussion on ajAtivAda, the best source is

undoubtedly the mANDUkya kArikA

 

Ramesh

 

 

--

santoShaH paramo lAbhaH satsa~NgaH paramA gatiH I

vicAraH paramaM j~nAnaM shamo hi paramaM sukham II

- yoga vAsiShTha

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advaitin , kuntimaddi sadananda

<kuntimaddisada wrote:

>

>

> Shree Pranipatachaitanyji †" PraNAms

>

> Steve said he is new to advaita. Can you please explain to him in

layman terms what you mean, without scaring him away with lot of

Sanskrit terms which he is not familiar.

>

> Otherwise we will not be communicating with him.

>

> Hari Om!

> Sadananda

>

>

Hari Om Shri Sadanandaji, Pranaams!

 

I thought Shri Steve said he is new to this advaitin group not as new

to Advaita Vedanta itself and his questions also looked like that.

 

However reproducing the reply taking out the Sanskrit terms.

 

----------

As you have rightly said these three belong to Advaita Vedanta i.e.

 

a. The Supreme Brahman is the both the material as well intelligent

cause but unchanging;

b. The creation is transfiguration and not production of a thing not

existing before or transformation.

 

1. yathA srShTi tathA drShTi - as the creation so the vision

(experience) is put forth by advocates of many

individual souls. Hence creation of the world is by God; certain

experiences(universal) like fire burning whether you know it or not,

sun will rise in east and set in west even if you know truth to be

otherwise; sky will appear blue though colourless.... World has

empirical reality.

 

2. yathA drShTi tathA srShTi - as the vision(experience) so the

creation is put forth by advocates of single soul.

One's own like and dislikes are the cause for

experience of pleasure and pain and contact of senses with objects is

the producer of heat and cold. So whole world is subjective. World is

apparant reality.

 

3. ajAta - not seperately born is put forth by those who say there is

no individual soul seperate from brahman at any point of time.

As all have to agree that in the beginning(before world) only brahman

was there and after dissolution it is only going to be there, that

which was not in the beginning and not going to be in the end; need

not be aceepted to exist in the middle. Since Vedas declare all these

are brahman only they hold there at no point of time there is a jIva

(individual soul) ever seperated from brahman, to be re-united thro

efforts and become brahman -none in bondage or trying for release or

as released.

 

Since brahman cannot be grasped but as the substratum of this

superimposed world, they declare all talk about world/its creation by

Veda is to teach about the brahman.

 

All three are advaitic in nature and based on Vedas. So no

one school need to criticise the other two.

-------------------

 

In Shri Guru Smriti,

Br. Pranipata Chaitanya

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