Beyond Contemporary Advaita

Note: This article is meant for intellectuals only

O Learned and Devoted Servants of God,

Shankara told “chaitanyam mayopahitam Brahma, Mayavachhinnam Eshwarah, Avidyopahitam Atma, Avidyavachhinnam Jivah”. This means that the pure awareness (Mula Maya) associated with Maya is Brahman, integrated with Maya is Eshwara, associated with Avidya is Atman and integrated with Avidya is Jiiva. This concept is to be clarified for clear understanding. Let us take an example. The pure standstill water is Mula Maya. The vibrated pure water is Maya. Assume that the water has the property of awareness. When the standstill water is aware of itself, it is Brahman. If the vibrated water is aware of itself, it is Eshwara. Such explanation given by scholars is not complete because in such explanation Brahman and Eshwara are big quantities whereas Brahman in small quantity is Atman and Eshwara in small quantity is Jiiva. The scholars say that there is no qualitative difference between Brahman and Atman and between Eshwara and Jiiva. Such explanation misleads the human being to think himself Brahman or Eshwara.

The real explanation should be given in the following way:

All the above explanation is correct but is incomplete. You should say that Brahman is standstill water in which Parabrahman or God is pervading like the dissolved sugar. In the case of Atman and Jiva, the sugar is absent. Thus, there is qualitative and quantitative difference. Brahman is an ocean of standstill sweet water. Eshwara is the ocean of vibrated sweet water. Atman is a drop of sugarless (sweet less) standstill water. Jiva is a drop of sugarless vibrated water. Thus, Brahman and Eshwara are divine since they are charged by the God. Atman and Jiva are not divine since they are not charged by God. Now let us take the case of Brahman. Brahman is ocean of standstill sugar water. In this case, the awareness may be limited to sugar or water. It means Brahman may be aware of the Parabrahman, which is the divinity of Brahman. Alternatively, Brahman may be aware of itself (pure awareness), but in this state also it remains divine though it forgets its divinity. Same is the case with Eshwara but in Eshwara there will be three states of awareness. Eshwara is vibrated ocean of sugar water. The awareness may be limited to sugar or the core water or the vibrated water. This means that the awareness may be limited to Parabrahman or Brahman or Eshwara. The divinity always exists in the awareness of Parabrahman only. The divinity though exists but is forgotten in the awareness of Brahman or Eshwara. In Brahman or Eshwara, the forgotten divinity is not real ignorance but is only apparent and temporary. It is just like a daydreamer enjoying in his daydream temporarily with apparent ignorance of himself.

If you take the state of Atman, the awareness is limited to itself, which is a drop of standstill pure awareness. There is no divinity in Atman and thus, there is no case of forgetting the divinity. In the case of Jiva, there will be two states of awareness. In one state, the awareness is limited to vibrated water and in another state, the awareness is limited to the core water present in the vibrations. In both states, there is no divinity and there is no question of forgetting the divinity.

In the case of Brahman and Eshwara since there is no real ignorance, the awareness of Parabrahman exists in the state of Brahman or in the state of Eshwara. The state of Brahman existed before the creation and will exist after the dissolution of creation. Ofcourse, before creation the pure awareness was in standstill state. After dissolution of creation, the creation is condensed into a state of trace (Avyaktam). But this trace is negligible and therefore, after dissolution also the pure awareness is almost in the standstill state only. Even in the state of Eshwara, the awareness of Brahman exists. This means that though the vibrations are present, the awareness of the standstill water still persists. This means the vibrations exist but due to awareness of standstill pure awareness, Brahman is not really affected by the vibrations. The awareness of vibrations also simultaneously exists which creates entertainment. Brahman is watching the vibrations but is not vibrated. You are watching the cinema peacefully and yet you are watching the scenes, which lack peace. All this is possible in the case of Atman and Jiiva also. A realized soul remains as Atman while simultaneously continuing in the state of Jiiva. A realized soul and Brahman are equal in having such equal state of entertainment. But by such equal state, the realized soul and Brahman are not equal. A king and a beggar are equally enjoying the cinema, which does not mean that the king and beggar are equal. The awareness of Parabrahman is always alive in the state of Brahman or Eshwara and therefore, the entertainment, finally goes to Parabrahman only.

Unimaginable Parabrahman is like the sugar. Mula Maya is the ocean of pure awareness, which is like the ocean of sugar less standstill water. This ocean developed vibrations and the vibrated ocean is Maya. From this ocean a pot of water is taken out which is the creation or Prakruti. The Jiiva is a drop of vibrated water present in the pot. The core water present in the drop is called soul. In the case of realized soul, the vibrations cease and the soul results in its original state. Jiiva is qualitatively similar to the ocean but differs quantitatively. But the sugar enters the ocean and now this ocean is called as Eshwara. The core water present in the ocean is called as Brahman. This ocean before the entry of sugar is called as Mula Maya with reference to the core water and Maya with reference to the vibrated water. Such ocean without sugar was also called as Mahat Brahma in the Gita (Mama Yonih…). Once the sugar enters, the ocean became divine. The ocean is Brahman with reference to the core water and Eshwara with reference to vibrated water. The vibration is will. Now, the Jiiva is different from the ocean both qualitatively and quantitatively. Atman or Jiiva can be compared with Mula Maya or Maya in qualitative nature. But once the Mula Maya or Maya is transformed to Brahman or Eshwara by the entry of Parabrahman, Atman or Jiiva is different from Brahman or Eshwara both qualitatively and quantitatively. By this, Parabrahman, Mula Maya, Maya, Prakruti, Atman, Jiiva, Brahman and Eshwara are explained. If these terms are clearly understood separately, the ninth term Avatara (Human incarnation) can be understood.

The human incarnation is a drop of vibrated sugar water from one angle, which is simultaneously the ocean of vibrated sugar water. Thus, this case is looked as Jiiva or Atman from one angle and is looked as Brahman or Eshwara form another angle simultaneously. The sugar enters a drop of water present in the pot and this is mentioned in the Veda (Tadevanu pravishat…) and in the Gita (Manushiim tanumashritam…). Thus, the human incarnation differs from any human being qualitatively and quantitatively, if viewed from the other angle. The Avatara appears as human being with qualitative and quantitative similarity in the view of ordinary human beings. But in the view of realized devotees the human incarnation differs qualitatively and quantitatively from any human being. Krishna proved this to Arjuna by giving divine vision of His cosmic form (Vishwaroopam). Since, sugar is beyond spacial dimensions, the drop of sugar water is exactly the infinite ocean of sugar water. This is true only in the case of human incarnation. An ordinary human being is a drop of sugar less water, which is different from the ocean of sugar water both qualitatively and quantitatively. The Advita philosophers mistake every Jiva as a drop of sugar water and thus, equate with the ocean of sugar water both qualitatively and quantitatively because sugar is beyond space.

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