Advaita Philosophy

[Guest guest]

Here is an attempt to answer the questions posed by Dharam Dev Singh.

 

1) What is maya if not Brahman?

 

Maya is a product of BRAHMAN, the same way that a knowingly created

thought is a product of YOU.

 

So, you say to yourself, " No matter what, I am going to be a doctor. "

You have created a postulate (you have put something out there to be

realized). And you work to make that postulate a reality in the

physical universe.

 

Anything created may be considered MAYA. It is not permanent. It may

be destroyed. It starts with a postulate. And the postulate is

totally arbitrary in its origin. The underlying desire is simply to

have a game. That is all.

 

 

2) If maya is somehow different from Brahman, how has maya arisen in

Brahman?

 

As I stated above, " The underlying desire is simply to have a game.

That is all. "

 

 

3) Is maya real or unreal? If unreal, how can it affect Brahman?

 

As I stated above, " Anything created may be considered MAYA. It is

not permanent. It may be destroyed. It starts with a postulate. And

the postulate is totally arbitrary in its origin. "

 

Maya is the reality of this physical universe. It is as real as a

hypnotic command is real to a hypnotized person. But the enlightened

can see how this maya is being generated, and they are not influenced

by it.

 

You are " Brahman affected by maya " at this moment. You are affected

to the degree that you have decided " not to know " the truth and to

accept the illusion as your reality.

 

 

4) Who practices " neti neti, " etc., and why?

 

" Neti, neti, " means, " Not this, not this. " Essentially, it is the

recognition that whatever you perceive is NOT Brahman. The moment you

perceive something for what it really is, you discover that it was

being postulating it into existence all this time by you only. One

practices " neti, neti " to recognize the ultimate reality.

 

 

5) On what basis is the claim of reality being advaita made? Who

makes this claim, to whom, and for what purpose?

 

Reality is a relative term. The most fundamental reality may be

described in terms of " Creator and the Creation. " When there is no

Creator, there is no Creation. Again, when there is no Creation,

there is no Creator. No duality is being created. We have Advaita. It

is beyond all reality. From our current viewpoint it would be

ABSOLUTE POTENTIAL.

 

 

6) Why has the totality of ignorance not ended for all? (assuming

that someone has become enlightened, and that there is no factual

difference between one and all)

 

For the whole to be enlightened, each part must be enlightened.

 

 

7) I have heard that when Krishna says " I " or " Me " in the

Bhagavad-gita, advaitins have claimed that He means " the impersonal

Brahman within Me. " How is this claim of duality between Krishna and

the impersonal Self within Him to be understood?

 

The closest we can come to describing BRAHMAN is ABSOLUTE POTENTIAL.

That potential manifests itself as Creator and Creation. In truth,

Brahman always remains impersonal as the Creator. Any personal form

or attributes are part of the Creation. That is what Krishna referred

to in the Bhagavad Gita.

 

The above is just a quick stab at the answers. I expect them to

answer some questions but raise other.

 

Vinaire