World is not real as per Advaita

श्री गुरुभ्यो नम: | हरि: ॐ॥

सदाशिवसमारम्भां शङ्कराचार्यमध्यमाम् |

अस्मदाचार्य पर्यन्तां वन्दे गुरुपरम्पराम् ||

Fundamentals of Advaita - Part 17: The implications of the world's mithyAtva

In last few posts, we briefly examined the definition of mithyAtva and how it applied to the world. That is, the world is considered to be mithyA, because it is neither sat like Brahman, nor asat, like the hare's horn. 

A doubt may arise here - the world need not have permanent existence like Brahman, it need not have permanent non-existence like the hare's horn, why can it not have temporary / finite existence? Why should it be regarded as mithyA? Everything has a birth and a death - why can it not be said to be existent in the middle?

The answer is in the words of Gaudapada (kArika 2.6), आदावन्ते च यन्नास्ति वर्तमानेऽपि तत्तथा ।  वितथैः सदृशाः सन्तोऽवितथा इव लक्षिताः ॥ If an object is non-existent in the beginning, and non-existent in the end, it follows that it is non-existent in the present too. They are like illusions, but are considered to be real. 

Shankaracharya in his bhAShya to this kArika explains this thus: इतश्च वैतथ्यं जाग्रद्दृश्यानां भेदानाम् आद्यन्तयोरभावात् , यदादावन्ते च नास्ति वस्तु मृगतृष्णिकादि, तन्मध्येऽपि नास्तीति निश्चितं लोके ; तथेमे जाग्रद्दृश्या भेदाः आद्यन्तयोरभावात् वितथैरेव मृगतृष्णिकादिभिः सदृशत्वाद्वितथा एव ; तथापि अवितथा इव लक्षिता मूढैरनात्मविद्भिः ॥ "The objects perceived in the world in the waking state are unreal for this reason too - that they do not exist in the beginning or the end. It is well known that illusory objects such as the mirage water, etc, do not have a birth or death, nor do the exist in the middle (at the time of appearance). Similarly, these objects perceived in the waking state that do not exist in the beginning and the end, are also illusory, like the mirage water. Despite this, they are regarded as real by the ignorant, that is, by those that do not know the self."

There is nothing to differentiate the non-existence of the mirage water, from the non-existence of the world. If we consider one to be unreal, we should consider the other to be unreal too. 

If we say that the mirage water has no utility, but the world does, as explained in the previous post, utility is no basis to conclude reality. The water perceived in the dream is unreal, but it quenches the dream thirst - it has utility in the dream, even when being unreal. 

If we say that the mirage water only appears for a small period of time and disappears upon closer inspection, the period of (apparent) existence cannot be a basis for something to be real or unreal either. There are many living organisms that only live for a few seconds / minutes, does that make them unreal?

It may be said that in the case of the mirage water, it is sand that appears as water. That is, there is some real substratum underlying the illusion? What is the real substratum for the world. What is it that appears as the world? The upaniShads have been eagerly waiting for us to ask that question. 

That is Brahman. 

The ChAndogya upaniShad has a beautiful mantra that describes the process from which one starts with an analysis of the world and ends with Brahman. In the famous sixth chapter of the upaniShad (6.8.4) the following mantra occurs: 

तस्य क्व मूलं स्यादन्यत्रान्नादेवमेव खलु सोम्यान्नेन शुङ्गेनापो मूलमन्विच्छद्भिः सोम्य शुङ्गेन तेजो मूलमन्विच्छ तेजसा सोम्य शुङ्गेन सन्मूलमन्विच्छ सन्मूलाः सोम्येमाः सर्वाः प्रजाः सदायतनाः सत्प्रतिष्ठाः ॥

What is the root cause of the physical body (and by extension, the physical universe), other than the earth principle (food)? What then is the root cause for the earth principle, other than water? What then is the root cause for the water principle, other than fire? What is the root cause of fire, other than Brahman? Thus it is Brahman from which all these beings appear, in which they are sustained, and into which they resolve? All this is verily the self.

We can combine the two teachings above to arrive at the one non-dual self. To explain:

1) From the gauDapAda kArika (2.6), we gather that that which appears has no existence even when it appears.

2) From the ChAndogya mantra (6.8.4), we gather that it is Brahman that pervades everything and in which everything appears.

From 1) and 2), we arrive at advitIya Brahman, the non-dual Brahman. That all there is, is Brahman alone. There is no thing / nothing other than Brahman. 

This is the central message of all the upaniShad-s. In the words of the muNdakopaniShad (2.2.12) ब्रह्मैवेदममृतं पुरस्ताद्ब्रह्म पश्चाद्ब्रह्म दक्षिणतश्चोत्तरेण । अधश्चोर्ध्वं च प्रसृतं ब्रह्मैवेदं विश्वमिदं वरिष्ठम् ॥, and the ChAndogya upaniShad (7.15.2), आत्मैवाधस्तादात्मोपरिष्टादात्मा पश्चादात्मा पुरस्तादात्मा दक्षिणत आत्मोत्तरत आत्मैवेदं सर्वं - It is Brahman / Atma that is all this - it is that which appears in the east, in the west, in the north and the south. It is that which appears above, that which appears below. 

Thus, the cognisance of jaganmithyAtva (mithyAtva of the world) is an important stepping stone, a doorway, to the cognisance of the non-dual self. 

श्री गुरुभ्यो नम: । हरि: ॐ॥