Posted on: 18 Dec 2017
Pañcadaśādhāyaḥ
[Opponent:- You may reject us to compare unimaginable awareness with imaginable awareness. But, the awareness of Eshwara is imaginable since Hiranyagarbha was also an individual soul created in the beginning of this creation and hence can be said as the ordinary imaginable awareness or soul leading to monism between God and ordinary soul.
Theorist:- Unimaginable awareness means that some unimaginable item is doing the work of knowing some object. Here, work (kriyaa) and working element (kaarakam) exist separately. When you are comparing imaginable awareness to unimaginable awareness, the common point of comparison is awareness or work done in the process of knowing. The working elements are imaginable and unimaginable entities existing separately. Since there is similarity in the work, there need not be similarity in working elements. If both the working elements are imaginable items, we can say that both are non-inert living beings. But, if one is unimaginable, it can’t be non-inert living being. In such case, you can’t say that unimaginable awareness is the same imaginable awareness to conclude that the relative awareness of a living being is the same unimaginable awareness. You may bring comparison between two entities of awareness (two living beings), but, how can you compare one living being having relative awareness to another unimaginable item (Parabrahma or Unimaginable God)? There may be one similarity between the two entities, which is in the work done by both items i.e., the work of knowing some object. In fact, even the process of knowing is unimaginable in God due to absence of neurons etc. There is lot of difference between the fruits of knowledge in both cases. Both God and soul know that this is pot. The similarity is confined to this point only. Here also, there is lot of difference since soul knows little part of the world (alpajna) whereas God knows every detail of every part of the world (sarvajna). One person is having 100 ten rupee notes. Another person is having 1 ten rupee note. Can you compare both saying that the 1 ten rupee note of second person is similar to one of 100 ten rupee notes of the first person? Is it not mocking if you say that both these persons are having qualitative similarity since both are having ten rupee notes only!
Let us take the relative imaginable awareness of Hiranyagarbha with which the absolute unimaginable awareness merged so that the relative imaginable awareness (of Hiranyagarbha) attained the unimaginable nature (after which Hiranyagarbha is called as Eshwara). You can’t compare even this awareness of Eshwara having unimaginable nature with the relative awareness of a living being (soul) since it (soul) doesn’t have unimaginable nature at all. The unimaginable awareness of unimaginable God or the imaginable relative awareness of Eshwara, which attained the unimaginable nature can create anything, modify anything in to anything and dissolve (make it disappear) anything whereas the imaginable awareness of a living being (soul) can’t do even a trace of any of these works. You can show common relative awareness in both and common qualitative work of knowing in both (quantitative difference exists since Eshwara knows everything and the soul knows litte). One more comparison point (that both are relative awareness basically) is added here, but, difference is lot.
You shall never try to compare unimaginable awareness of unimaginable God with imaginable awareness of imaginable living being since the first item is beyond your imagination and can’t be even indicated by you in anyway. Unimaginable God is creator since He created the first item called as space. Eshwara (actually unimaginable God in Eshwara is the real creator of anything) is also the creator of everything after space. You can take imaginable awareness having unimaginable nature of energetic-mediated God (Eshwara) and imaginable awareness of a living being without unimaginable nature (soul) in certain more points for comparison as well as difference:- 1) You can say that just like the soul is creator, maintainer and dissolver of its imaginary world, Eshwara is creator, maintainer and dissolver of this world. This is only a comparison and by this you shall not say that Eshwara is actually the soul and that this world is actually imaginary world. 2) The soul is really modified into imaginary world and due to imagination, the soul (nervous energy) gets reduced or becomes weak due to loss of a part of it. Eshwara is not reduced or doesn’t become weak after creation and hence we say that Eshwara has unimaginable nature (of unimaginable God present in Him). 3) The soul is simply awareness or work form of energy. Every day, in the deep sleep this work (soul) stops due to non-functioning of nervous system in rest. This means that soul disappears (completely absent) and reappears (Nityajaatam... Gita). The soul is basically inert energy and exists in this basic form in deep sleep to reappear again as awareness on awakening. Such daily birth and death are absent for both unimaginable awareness of unimaginable God as well as imaginable awareness of Eshwara having attained unimaginable nature.
In any simile, both compared items have similarities as well as differences. Face is compared to moon and similarity is that face is pleasant like moon. Several differences exist between these two. 1) Moon has black spots and face has no black spots. 2) Moon is reduced and also grows in a month. Face is constant. 3) Face is seen always on the earth and moon is seen only in the night in the sky. Due to one similarity of pleasantness, no fool says that face itself is moon and both are one and the same! Hence, neither God is soul nor soul is God by a fractional similarity in one aspect.
All this is regarding the general comparison of any soul with God (either unimaginable or mediated). The relationship between God and a specific devoted soul is totally a different specific topic that is covered by the three divine preachers.]
[Opponent:- Shankara says that in deep sleep, which is called as Praajna state, awareness remains as mere witness, the meaning of which is full awareness only as supported in Veda. In this state, bliss is mentioned and Shankara says that awareness or soul is leftover in deep sleep (Sushuptyekasiddhah).
Theorist:- The awareness totally disappears in deep sleep since nervous system stops functioning to take rest. After the deep sleep, as soon as awaken state starts, the soul experiences immense happiness obtained during deep sleep. The statement of Shankara shall be properly understood due to following reasons:- 1) The cause of happiness experienced in the beginning of awaken state is previous deep sleep. A golden jewel (effect) is called as gold (cause). Similarly, happiness (effect) generated from deep sleep (cause) can be called as deep sleep (cause). 2) A few immediate moments after deep sleep in which happiness is experienced can be taken as belonging to the deep sleep also just like a little distance from the city belongs to city only called as municipal limits of the city. 3) When the awareness or soul of a living being disappears, the leftover awareness of the body is unimaginable awareness or God maintaining the body along with the whole world by His will and this unimaginable awareness is the unimaginable God leftover in deep sleep. The unimaginable God is related to any specific soul in deep sleep through the maintenance-relationship. In support of this, in the Veda, the awareness leftover in this deep sleep-state is mentioned with adjectives like source of the world etc., which are indicating God only. 4) Shankara has to speak Arthavaada (a lie spoken for good purpose) that every soul is God in the context of atheists to be converted in to theists. An atheist will never agree to the existence of God other than soul. In the initial step, He was forced to speak like this. Moreover, such concept spoken initially gives self-confidence and courage to any spiritual aspirant. 5) Due to this Arthavaada, every soul is God and every living being is an incarnation of God. A human incarnation results when imaginable awareness (having unimaginable) of Eshwara merges with the imaginable awareness of a devoted human being component. Now, the imaginable awareness of the human being component contains i) Merged imaginable awareness of Eshwara and ii) Merged unimaginable awareness of unimaginable God (which is the unimaginable nature of imaginable awareness of Eshwara). In conclusion, the imaginable awareness of human being-component (which mixed with imaginable part of awareness of Eshwara) attains unimaginable nature or unimaginable God. In such case of human incarnation, the unimaginable awareness (in the form of imaginable awareness of Eshwara and human being component) exists in deep sleep as witness, which is God as supported by divine adjectives of the Veda. Due to all these reasons, the statement of Shankara is justified, which can’t be dragged to every human soul based on the climax of ambition to get highest fruit with zero effort i.e., you become God as soon as you know that you are God!
To be continued...