17 Jun 2025
Note: This article is meant for intellectuals only
O Learned and Devoted Servants of God
[Prof. J.S.R. Prasad asked:- Sāṣṭāṅga namaskāraṃ, Swami. In yesterday’s online Satsanga, You told that in the case of a cat sitting on the centre of the compound wall separating two neighbour houses, the cat can neither be told belonging to one side nor be told belonging to the other side and similarly, the world can be told neither real nor unreal. But, here, we are discussing about the reality of the cat, which is the world and not about the position of the cat. Position does not mean reality. How do You correlate this, Swami? --At Your divine holy lotus feet.]
Swami replied:- The world is real in one position of time on one side and is unreal in another position of time on another side. If you are travelling on time co-ordinate only, you can say that in the time before first creation of world and in the time after final dissolution of the world, the world is unreal (Ajaativaada of Goudapaada). After first creation of the world and before the final dissolution of the world, the world is real since the created world is gifted with God’s absolute reality (Parinaamavaada of Ramanuja). I am mentioning the two words ‘first creation’ and ‘final dissolution’, which mean that before first creation and after final dissolution, the world does not exist at all. In between first creation and final dissolution, there are several cycles of creation and dissolution. In between two cycles, the world exists in subtle state (avyaktam) and only during the time of the cycle, the world exists in gross state (vyaktam). In both subtle and gross states, the world exists with the basic reality and is never unreal. Subtle and gross states do not mean dilution and concentration of reality respectively because reality always remains as reality only without any dilution and concentration. Dilution and concentration here mean the two states of the world, which are unclear subtle state and clear gross state respectively. In the film reel (subtle state), both items of matter and energy exist in least volume, whereas both exist in the film show (gross state) with large volume. In both subtle and gross states, the reality exists as the same, but, matter and energy are existing with uniform quality and variation in quantity/volume.
In between the two positions of time (after first creation and before final dissolution), Shankara told that the world is neither real nor unreal because it is inherently unreal and real due to gifted reality of God (Vivartavaada of Shankara). When the world is created by God, God has the plan of the world in His intelligence and such imagined world is made of nervous energy created by the omnipotence of God. In the analogy of the process of making the pot, the pot is present in the brain of potter as the pot made by nervous energy. Based on these two points, you should not say that the world or pot exists as energetic world or energetic pot in the brain of God and in the brain of potter. The unreal state of the world and the pot exist before the energetic world and energetic pot are generated in the brains of God and potter. Hence, the unreality of the world and the pot are inevitable and there is no damage to the Ajaativaada of Goudapaada.
God Datta through Shri Datta Swami says that the world is both unreal and real in different positions of time and not both real and unreal simultaneously in the same time. If you are travelling on the space co-ordinates only leaving the time co-ordinate, you cannot say that the cat is real on one side and is unreal on the other side so that you can say that the cat is neither real nor unreal when the cat is sitting exactly at the centre of the middle wall. The position of cat on the wall can also be related to both space and time integrated together, which results in the four-dimensional space and time model. This means that in such four-dimensional space-time model, the cat is towards one side at 9 AM, the same cat is on the other side at 10 AM and the same cat is at exact centre at 11 AM. Here, God Datta says that the world is both real and unreal in different times based on its positions of time. If you are discussing about the position of the cat, you can discuss about the position of the real cat only and not the position of the unreal cat.
There are two types of realities:- i) Absolute reality of God and ii) Relative reality of the world. Relative reality means the reality of the cat, which is a part of the world, appearing as real but is inherently unreal. The shape of the pot (world) appears to be real due to the gifted reality of the mud (God) since the shape of the pot (world) is inherently unreal in the absence of mud (God). Hence, we can say that the world (pot) is real as long as the reality of God (mud) supports it and the world (pot) is unreal when the reality of God (mud) stops supporting the world (pot). The world is real like the shape of the pot while God’s (mud’s) reality is supporting the world (pot). Before the first production of pot (world), the pot (world) is unreal and the same pot (world) is unreal when the pot (world) is destroyed forever. The shape of the pot (world) is existing in the time when mud’s (God’s) reality is supporting the reality of the shape of the pot (world). In this time, the shape of the pot (world) is real. In this stage, you can argue that the shape of the pot is real since we are bringing water with the help of the shape of the pot and you cannot bring water with mud alone. But, if mud (God) is removed, the shape of the pot (world) cannot bring water. This means that the shape of the pot (world) is real in one time (as long as the mud (God) is supporting it) and not real in some other time as long as the mud (God) is not supporting the pot (world). Hence, shape of the pot (world) is real in one time and unreal in another time. This type of dual nature is existing in the shape of the pot (world) because the shape of the pot (world) is both real and unreal at different times.
This dual nature is due to the real and unreal natures of the shape of the pot (world) at different times. Hence, the world (shape of the pot) is both real and unreal at different times. Hence, instead of telling that the shape of the pot (world) is neither real nor unreal (in such case, the opponent will mock by saying that the speaker of this theory is incapable of deciding whether the pot (world) is real or unreal), it is better to say that the shape of the pot (world) is real in one step of time and is unreal in another step of time. You should not mock the speaker, who is telling that the shape of the pot (world) is real and unreal simultaneously, since self-contradiction is arising because speaker is telling that the shape of the pot (world) is real and unreal simultaneously. But, the speaker did not use the word ‘simultaneously’ and instead, the speaker used the word ‘different times’. Actually, the shape of the pot (world) is real in one time and unreal in another time and not simultaneously real and unreal. Hence, there is no self-contradiction in the statement, if we say that shape of the pot (world) existed in one step of time and shape of the pot (world) did not exist in another step of time. We can also call that such state of reality as ‘Vyavahāra sattā’, which can be called as ‘mithyā’ also, which means that it is real in one time and unreal in another time.
Coming to the absolute reality of mud (God), the mud (God) is real in all times. The mud (God) existed before the generation of the shape of the pot (world) and also after the destruction of the shape of the pot (world). Hence, the absolute reality of God (mud) is defined as the reality that exists in all the times. Such absolute reality existing in all the times is called ‘Paramārtha sattā’.
This theory proposed by God Datta through Shri Datta Swami is named as ‘Datta Sattā Vāda’ by Dr. Nikhil, which has two meanings:-
i) Datta = Gifted, Sattā Vāda = Reality-Theory.
ii) Datta = God Datta’s, Sattā Vāda = Reality-Theory.
Dr. Nikhil was logician as Shri Sureshwara Acharya (disciple of AdiShankara) in the previous birth and is a scientist in the present birth, who can be represented as the double edged sword!
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