Vedanta - Reality or Unreality?

[Guest guest]

Tim and others,

The discusion about Advaita Vedanta has left me wondering, I understand

that everything we see and touch is made up of just the right blend of

other "stuff" to make it "appear" to be what we percieve it to be.

Like the glass.

And so the glass, if broken down to its elements is only an illusion,

that is all pretty basic.

I get confused as to why this is so important. All is god, all is one

and the same if broken down to the very beginings. But what is the big

deal with that? We have a "name" for elements put together in such a way

to "create" a glass, most people, I would think, understand it is made

up of "other" or is that "not-other" in any case, the creation we see

and feel is what we call a glass, got to name it something... otherwise

how would you ask for a glass of water? It simplifies life to have names

or gestures to comunicate with each other.

How exactly does this apply to our lives here and now? What use is it?

Understanding that these objects are 'not as they appear' doesnt change

the role they play in our daily lives, the glass remains constant, it

holds water, it breaks, it hurts to be hit in the head with it....

in the big picture it may be an illusion, but on this plane, it is has

substance.

I could understand this better if maybe say you were sitting in a bar

tossing down a few drinks and some nut throws his glass at your head,

and you were able to break the glass down to its "elements" before it

hit your head.. that is practical use of the knowlege that the glass is

indeed an illusion, but I supose thats NOT why this is so important.

Could someone explain what use there is in this understanding, other

than "knowing" all is the same.

sincerly wondering,

freda

[Guest guest]

Hi everyone,

 

There seems to be some confusion about how Advaita Vedanta normally views

maya. Some people think that Vedanta views everything other than Brahman

as "unreal." But that is an oversimplification and not really true. Let

me explain.

 

Take a glass of water. Vedanta might say that that glass of water is

unreal. But why is it unreal? Because it's really not a glass of water -

it's a collection of silicon atoms, containing a number of molecules

composed of hydrogen and oxygen. The mind says "This is a glass of water."

That is the unreality. Not the existence of the glass of water itself,

but the label the mind puts on it.

 

Let's break down the glass of water further. Those silicon atoms (glass)

"containing" the substrate of hydrogen and oxygen atoms in balance (water)

are not what they appear either. They are made of a fundamental substance.

That substance is called Brahman.

 

Thus, in this sense, the objective world is unreal. But it is sometimes

believed that Advaita Vedanta casually dismisses the objective universe,

which is an unfair claim.

 

Adi Shankara (who is certainly not "the modern spokesperson" for Advaita

Vedanta, yet is an important figure) states that it is ignorance that

causes us to see duality in the objective universe. Let me quote from the

*PREFACE* to Viveka-Chudamani -

 

"As long as man is within the limitations of Maya, the One is seen as many.

Ignorance can do no better than to worship Appearance; and Ishvara is the

ruler of all appearances--the highest idea which the human mind can grasp

and the human heart can love. The human mind can never grasp the absolute

Reality, it can only infer its presence and worship its projected image.

In the process of this worship, the mind becomes purified, the ego-idea

thins away like mist, superimposition ceases, Ishvara and world-appearance

both vanish in the blaze of transcendental consciousness when there is no

seer, no seen--nothing but Brahman, the single, all-embracing, timeless Fact."

 

This pretty well sums up the view of Advaita Vedanta. Sometimes Maya is

referred to as a "projected image" of Brahman, sometimes as the "Veil

covering Brahman," sometimes something else; it depends on who is being

quoted. But I see no absolute UNREALITY suggested of the objective

universe, only confusion as caused by ignorance is suggested. This does

not mean that the universe is unreal - simply that it is not what it

appears to be.

 

Thanks for reading,

 

Ayam Atma Brahma,

Tim

 

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