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2. Finitization

 

Recently in the Tai. Up. class, I used a phrase- finitization of the infinite-

in explaining Brahman as the cause for creation (yatova imaani bhuutani

jaayante…). Even if one considers the universe as infinite, any

objectification involves finitization. Ms. Julie, a student of Vedanta, said

after the class, that the word intrigued her, since it is not a word that could

be found in English dictionary; although thinking about it, the word describes

correctly the exact state of affairs in accounting Brahman as the cause for

creation. Let us contemplate on it more to see if the missing word in the

dictionary makes some sense.

 

Why finitization word is not there in the Dictionary? Finitization obviously

involves an operation that makes some thing finite. Finite need not be

finitized, since it is already finite. Infinite cannot be finitized, since it is

infinite. No wonder, the word, finitization, is not found in the dictionary. To

make finitization as a valid word, it involves an impossible task of making

infinite into finite. If we can do that, we can also do the opposite that

involves infinitization of the finite, which ‘in a way’ is what is involved

in self-realization. Both are not processes that can be defined. That which

cannot be done but appears to have been done is, what we call in Vedanta as,

maayaa – aghaTita ghaTanaa paTiiyasii, maayaa- That which makes impossible

possible is maayaa. In addition, maayaa itself is maayaa, since maayaa is yaa

maa saa maayaa – that which is not there but appears to be there, not as

apparent but apparently real, is maayaa.

So both finitization and infinitization are due to maayaa only. The real truth

is I am infinite all the time, nitya shuddha mukta swaruupoham, eternally

liberated from all finitizations.

 

To understand this apparent process, let us first look at the two words: finite

and infinite. We all think that we know what they mean. Right? Let us discuss

what we know. We know finite is that, which is limited. We can also say that

whatever we know is finite, not only in terms of total knowledge content that we

know, but knowledge content of a given object too. Epistemologically, we can

say that we can only know a thing that is finite. What is finite is formally

defined as that which has desha, kaala, vastu-paricchinnam, that is, finite is

that which is space-wise, time-wise and object-wise limited. Space-wise

limitation involves having a boundary that defines the form for the object which

can be perceived. Form or ruupa is used in a generic sense that covers all the

attributes that the senses can perceive or measure. Hence, it includes all the

five sense-inputs; shabda, sparsha, ruupa, rasa and gandha; sound, touch, form,

taste and smell. Any

finite object must have one or all of the above qualities that the five senses

can measure, for anyone to establish the existence of an object, and its

knowability. The knowability of an object depends first on the capacity of the

senses and the mind to translate attributes of the object to the thought, or

vRitti, of the object in the mind. In the formation of vRitti of the object in

the mind, the existence of the object ‘out there’ is imaged as the existence

of the thought of an object in the mind, with attributes of the objects

‘mapped’ as the attribute-content of the vRitti. When the thought of the

object rises in the mind, I say, I know the thought or I know the object.

According to Vedanta ParibhaaSha, the knowability condition is fulfilled when

the consciousness of the subject unites with the existence of the vRitti of the

object. This happens when the all pervading consciousness gets reflected by the

thought, making the thought known.

This is similar to the process that we are all familiar. Any object is known

when light in the room falls on the object, gets reflected by the object, and

therefore is seen. Reflected light of consciousness from the thought is the

knowledge of the thought in the mind, that translates to the knowledge of the

object ‘out there’, as perceived by the senses. By this unity of the

consciousness of the subject and the existence of the object, one becomes

conscious of, the existence of, the object via its ruupa or attributes of the

object. The object thus known is assigned by a name, established by a convention

via shabda (hearing from others), or by a naming or naamakaraNa ceremony. Thus

every object that is perceived is reduced to a name for a form – naming

involves knowing or being conscious of the object and form involves limitations

of the attributive existence. In essence every object is known via its

attributes which are finite and thus

measurable by senses. If none of the five senses function, the existence of the

object cannot be established. If there is no conscious entity, the existence

of any inert entity is not established. There is a well known puzzle that asks

if a tree falls in the forest that no one knows, can any one hear the sound of

the falling tree. Problem with the puzzle is – how to establish the existence

of the tree and then its falling before we can discuss the sound that the

falling tree generated. If there is a conscious entity that sees the existence

of the tree and its falling, it will also be able to hear the sound of the fall,

if the sense of hearing is functioning. The important point is a conscious

entity has to be pre-existing before we can discuss the existence of an inert

entity, nay even before we discuss anything in the world.

 

Thus, an object is limited by the boundaries of the object – that is, object

is there within the boundaries and not present outside the boundaries. This is

termed as spatial limitation. Time-wise limitation arises due to its perception

within some time span. An object is technically defined by Nyaaya as that which

is praagaabhaava pratiyoginii – that which is counter to its previous

non-existence. All it means is - now it is there, but there was a time when it

was not there. We can also define as ‘counter to its posterior absence’,

uttaraabhaava pratiyogini. Taking an example of a pot –pot is an object which

was not there before it became a pot and will not be there in future when the

pot breaks into pieces. Thus every object is a creation and every created object

has a beginning and whatever that has a beginning must have end, says Krishna

(jaatasya hi dhRivo mRityuH). The birth and death have to be noted by a

conscious entity, otherwise it is

mere speculation. Therefore every object is time-wise limited. Finally, every

object is ‘object-wise’ limited. Taking the example of a pot, pot is limited

by its pot-ness, which is different from jug-ness that jug has; similarly

different from every other object that is not a pot. Thus every object is

finite, since its attributes as measured by senses are finite. Sensitivity of

the sense-measurement can be enhanced by karaNaas or instruments that include

microscopes or telescopes and all other scopes, which augment the capacity of

the senses. All objects that are perceived or perceivable are inert. Even in the

living beings what we perceive is only inert entities or bhoutika shariira or

external body only. We cannot perceive even the subtle entities like subtle

bodies, etc., although we can deduce that they have minds of their own. By this

discussion, we establish few aspects: 1. Every object is finite and 2. Objects

are perceived via their

attributive content by a conscious entity, the subject, and 3. Without the

conscious entity the subject, the existence of the object cannot be

independently established. Ultimately every object is reduced to naama and ruupa

or name and form, name brings in the conscious subject and form brings in the

attributive content. Note that in the name and form – there is no substantive.

Substance part is not there because what we perceive is only a form for which a

name is given. There is an assumption involved that there is a substance with

attributes, form, sound, etc., but substance of that object itself is not

perceived by the senses. Several philosophers wrongly assume that senses gather

substantive too along with attributive content by arguing that attributes can

not be separated from their substantive. The truth is perceptual process is

exactly like the image formation by the mirror. Mind is like a mirror. When we

stand in front of the mirror in a

lighted room, our image can be seen. Now, is there any substantive for the

image in the mirror? In forming the image, no substance is transferred from the

original to the image in the mirror. Let us thank God for that, since we will

soon be reduced to nothing by standing in front of mirrors. What is seen in the

image is only attributive content of the original but not the substantive

content of the original. Hence every object perceived is only based on its

attributive content, that too as measured by the senses of the perceiver. This

is the reason why errors in perception about the objects perceived can also

occur since no substantive of the object is perceived. Thus when I mistake rope

as a snake, it is because of partial or incomplete attributes perceived, without

the substantive of the rope along with those attributes.

 

World is nothing but objects that we see. If we do not see the world, as in

deep-sleep state, then the existence of the world becomes indeterminate. Objects

exist in space but space itself exists independent of the objects. Space cannot

be perceived, but is inferred by the mind. Distance between any two objects or

more correctly distance between any two non-collinear points establishes space.

The presence of two eyes, or two ears, or the sense of touch that are spatially

separated form the basis for the stereo perception. Time is also an inference in

the mind. Movement in space is the origin of time, movement being observed by a

mind supported by a consciousness. It is a gap between two sequential events

observed by an independent entity which does not change with the events. Even

the biological or chronological time as observed by the changes in biology or

events outside the body, requires an observer to recognize the changes and thus

time. Thus

existence of space, time and world of objects, which are all inert, cannot be

established independent of the observer, or a conscious entity. On the other

hand the existence of consciousness is independent of the inert entity. One is

dependent and the other is independent entity. One is inert, the other is

conscious entity. Consciousness is not only self existent but self-conscious

too, while inert has to be illumined by the consciousness for it to be revealed.

This is what was discussed above as the knowability condition, where

consciousness of the subject and the existence of the object in the form of

vRitti or thought in the mind have to unite for a conscious entity to be

conscious of the existence of the object. On the other hand, one is always

conscious of one’s presence. Even in deep-sleep, although the mind is folded,

the presence of a quite mind is experienced by the one who is awake (saakshii)

during the deep-sleep too. Only after the mind is

awake, a person says, ‘I slept very well’, that is when the mind becomes

available to express that experience.

 

Every object is finite, the world is sum total of all objects. The sum total of

all finite objects is still finite. All objects, in principle, are perceptible

through their attributes by a conscious entity when the perceptuality conditions

are met. Space is also an object (hence inert), yet it is not perceptible, since

the five senses cannot perceive its attributes. In addition, space is infinite;

if it is finite then a question arises - what is there on the other side of the

space. If some thing is there on the other side, that something must be in

space. Being infinite, space is formless; hence eyes cannot see. Similarly it

has no other attributes that can be measured by our senses. Since all objective

knowledge is attributive knowledge, one cannot perceive the space. Hence mind

has to infer the infinite space. The conditioned space, as the space in the

house or in the pot etc., which is conditioned by walls of the house or pot,

‘as though’ can

be conceived by the mind. When there is no mind as in deep sleep, there is no

space or time, since both are inferences at mental level. World includes the

objects, space and time, some are perceptible and others are inferred; but all

are inert. Being inert cannot exist independent of a conscious entity since

their very existence can only be established by the conscious entity, either by

perception or by inference.

 

Hence we arrive at a very fundamental law of Vedanta that existence of inert

depends on the existence of the conscious entity, while converse is not true.

Scripture says the relation between consciousness and the world is like the

relation between gold and golden ornaments. Existence of gold as such is

independent of the existence of the ornaments while the existence of ornaments

depends on the existence of the gold. If I remove the gold out of ornaments,

they cannot exist separately. All ornaments are names and forms or naama and

ruupa of gold. The gold and its ornaments are related by material cause-its

effect or kaaraNa-kaarya sambandha. It was stated before that naming involves

knowing and form involves attributive content. Similarly the world that includes

space and time are dependent on the conscious entity for their existence. Hence

the scripture says: world is the product of consciousness with kaaraNa-kaarya

sambandha – that is cause-effect

relationship.

 

Scripture declares that consciousness is Brahman, prajnaanam brahma. Brahman

means infiniteness. Hence by this declaration, scripture establishes the

following: consciousness is infinite. There is nothing other than consciousness,

since there is nothing other than Brahman as it is one without a second, ekem

eva advitiiyam. Now we need to reconcile these two diagonally opposite entities.

Consciousness that is one without a second, and the other is the inert world,

which is an assemblage of finite objects made of matter. As mentioned before all

objects are finite, the substantive of any objects cannot be known through

perception, and all objective knowledge is attributive knowledge involving some

kind of inference that what I see is what is there; the proverb seeing is

believing is not without a basis. It is indeed a belief that there is a

substantive object out there based on what I see through the perceptual process.

Now, we can formally define the word

finitization. It is the process by which infinite consciousness appear to be a

multitude of finite objects, which are inert, with each object having different

attributive content that helps to distinguish one from the other. The

impossibility of infinite becomes a finite and consciousness appearing as inert

are achieved by the power of maayaa. Just as we define a force, which cannot be

perceived otherwise, as that which causes an object to accelerate or change its

direction, maayaa is that force which cannot be perceived but can be defined as

that which causes the infinite to appear as finite and consciousness appear as

unconscious entities. Just as the proof for the existence of an imperceptible

force is the perceptible movement of an object, the proof for the existence of

the imperceptible force of maayaa is the existence of perceptible world of

objects whose existence can only be known through the attributive knowledge

through the senses by a

kshetrajna or knower of the field. No wonder we cannot find this word,

finitization, in the English dictionary. Hence the scripture defines Brahman as

the material cause (upaadana kaaraNa) of this material world, where it being

pure consciousness and has no material of its own. The clear understanding of

the impossibility of finitization of the infinite requires scriptures as pramANa

with shravanam, mananam and nidhidhyaasanam on the scriptural teaching, since we

cannot find even this word finitization in the English dictionaries.

Infinitization of the apparently finite subject also requires discriminative

understanding that in the perception of the finite object, the consciousness

which is infinite and part-less appear as the subject and the object united into

one. The play of maayaa becomes clear in this understanding.

 

 

Hari Om!

Sadananda

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