GRD 5A:SECTION 3 ( C ) THE CONCEPT OF MAYA OR ILLUSION

[Guest guest]

Greatness of Bhagavad RamAnuja Darsanam (GRD 5A)

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SECTION 3 ( C ) THE CONCEPT OF MAYA OR ILLUSION

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[Please read the note and request given while introducing the series.

If anything has been expressed forcefully it is only to bring home the point

more graphically and is not meant to hurt anyone's feelings]

Dasoham

Anbil Ramaswamy

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The indisputable fact of the " reality " of the universe that is so palpable

remained to be explained. This was done through the concept of 'mAya' which

Advaitins interpret as 'illusion'

Having projected a *unitary reality* in Nirguna Brahman, they allude to a

*threefold reality* to explain this: viz.,

i) Apparent reality (PrabhAsika Sat) like mistaking a rope for a serpent,

ii) Relative reality (VyavahArika Sat) like the phenomenal world, the sky,

the water etc., and

iii)Absolute reality (ParamArtika Sat) which is the Brahman.

 

So, according to them, except for the last, everything else is " mAya " or

illusion. They hold that whatever is perceptible is illusion -'brama',

another term for " mAya " . They offer several examples in support of this. We

will presently examine them critically.

 

( i ) From at a distance in dim light, a person mistakes a rope for a snake.

The snake is only an illusion; the rope alone is the reality. So also, the

Universe we see and live in is an illusion; realization that it is an

illusion will reveal the reality of Brahman

COMMENT OF THE OTHER SCHOOLS:

The question is to whom does the rope appear as a snake? It is to a person

other than Brahman. This second person is the JeevAtma who is different from

Brahman.

*If it is said that it is an illusion to Brahman, it will be degrading to

the almighty omniscient Brahman as suffering from an illusion.

 

( ii ) A person sees a toy elephant made out of wood. The elephant is only

an imagination; the wood is the reality. When the person realizes this, he

will see only the wood and not the elephant. So also, whatever we see in the

world is only our imagination; what is real, however, is Brahman.

COMMENT OF THE OTHER SCHOOLS:

An artist would appreciate the beauty of the elephant and only a dull witted

lay man would insist on its being wood. It is in the beholder's eye, whether

it appears as elephant or a mere piece of wood.

*Again, who is imagining?

Surely, a person other than the Brahman. which when admitted,

Advaita gets demolished*

 

( iii ) The Advaitins hold that " mAya " is inseparable from Brahman

like the poison of a cobra which rests inseparably with the cobra.

COMMENT OF THE OTHER SCHOOLS:

The question is - whom does this mAya affect?

Is it the Brahman or somebody else?

*If it affects somebody else, the unitariness of Advaita is gone.

If it is said to affect Brahman it will be a slur on the Brahman who is

claimed to be unaffected and unaffectable*

Also, the Cobra and its poison are not that absolutely inseparable

since we see from the process of extraction of the poison from the

snake.

 

( iv ) The Advaitins cite several examples like

(a) mirage in the desert which has the appearance of water where there is

none,

(b) the shell appearing as silver,

© a tree appearing as a robber in hiding ,

(d) a garland, or rope or a broken floor or even a streak of water that

had spilled appearing in dim light like a snake.

 

In the same way, they say, a person views Brahman as the world. The person

to whom the wisdom dawns will know that what he had been viewing as world

was only an illusion and he would thenceforward see Brahman himself.

COMMENT OF THE OTHER SCHOOLS:

Even though there is -

(a) no water in the mirage,

(b) no silver in the shell,

© no robber in the tree,

(d) no snake in the garland etc.,

there undoubtedly is some 'characteristic' of the former lurking in the

latter which gives rise to the mistaking of the one for the other. But for

the existence of this 'characteristic,' such illusions could not have

arisen.

*Hence, so far as the 'characteristics' themselves are concerned, they are

real and real to the observer and real so long as the appearance lasts.*

 

(v) Just as a magician is able to bring forth

(a) a mango tree with the help of a dry mango seed,

(b) a lifelike snake with the help of a snakeskin at least for the time

being,

 

Brahman creates the world with the help of his mAya.

It is this illusion that is called 'Prakriti' accompanied by the three gunas

of Satva, Rajas and Tamas. Since Prakriti is created by mAya, what is

created by untruth and illusion can only be unreal and illusory.

COMMENT OF THE OTHER SCHOOLS:

*It is sacrilegious to impute jugglery, subterfuge and deception which these

imply debasing the very Brahman they seek to extol*

Further, what Svetaswatara Upanishad says is

'Know mAya as Prakriti and ParamAtma as the mAyi " .

This means that by His " mAya " , Brahman is instrumental in shaping Prakriti.

Also, when the Vedas refer to Moola Prakriti as mAya, it meant the

'WONDERFUL FEATURE' of Prakriti AND NOT ANY 'FALSEHOOD'.

 

( vi ) When you go for a movie, the first thing that happens as the show

begins is the disappearance of the silver screen. The events, places and

persons that appear in the story seem so real. It is this appearance of the

images that is responsible for the disappearance of the screen. So also, the

world that we see conceals Brahman that is the very basis of the world.

COMMENT OF THE OTHER SCHOOLS:

This does not mean that either the screen or the scene depicted thereon is

false - so far as the spectator is concerned.

*To the observer-

the screen is true when the show is off,

the scene is true when the show is on and

true for the duration of the show.*

 

( vii ) Just like a small cloud that forms from the water of the sea

absorbed by the heat of the Sun is able to cover the very Sun responsible

for its existence mAya arising from Brahman envelopes and covers the very

Brahman.

COMMENT OF THE OTHER SCHOOLS:

*The concealment of the sun does not disprove either the existence of the

sun or that of the cloud. Both are equally true*

 

(viii) Just like smoke emanating from fire envelopes and covers

the very fire which is its originator, mAya conceals the Brahman, its

originator.

COMMENT OF THE OTHER SCHOOLS:

Both the smoke and the fire are true and neither can be deemed to be false.

*The fact of smoke is said to indicate the presence of fire and in a sense

provides the proof for the reality of fire*

 

The three examples cited are called by the Advaitins as the

" AVARANA SAKTI' of mAya- " the power of concealment " .

 

(ix) When a number of mirrors are placed in a room on all sides, above,

below and all around, the reflections would show as if there are as many

persons as there are reflections even though in reality, there may be only

one person. So also, the only Brahman looks like several souls. Also,

depending upon the defects or construction of the mirrors, an ordinary

person might look leaner, fatter, taller, shorter, uglier than the real

person. They are due to 'Optical illusion' and not on account of the defects

in the person.

COMMENT OF THE OTHER SCHOOLS:

*This does not in any way disprove the fact of reflection as it does not

disprove the reality of the person whose image is reflected*

 

( x ) When you see the reflection of the moon on water, it would

appear to be moving and touching the rims of the vessel in which

the water is kept. Actually, there is no moon in the water or in the

vessel. It is the ‘Optical illusion' that gives the appearance of the

moving moon.

COMMENT OF THE OTHER SCHOOLS:

So long as the moon is reflected on the water, its movements are real to the

onlooker.

*The example does not disprove this fact nor of the presence of the moon

that is reflected*

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To Continue:

GRD 5 B: SECTION 3 © THE CONCEPT OF MAYA OR ILLUSION

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