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reality, then alone these expressions are meaningful. But to one who has realized the truth, these expressions have no significance at all. For such a person even the "Veda is no longer Veda." But all our philosophical discussions about the nature of reality are confined to vyavahārika world. Therefore, these expressions have tremendous significance to every pragmatic individual.
The expression "advaita" refers to non-dual reality; and it is the ultimate Truth. Brahman/Atman is infinite and indescribable. It is trans-relational. As a matter of fact, the distinction between the various levels of reality arises only in the context of infiniteness of Brahman/Atman. In the Upanisadic statement, "All this is only Brahman" the prefix "all" refers to the world of plurality. Then the question that arises is: How can the many be One? Advaita has no problem in answering this question because the many gets dissolved into one absolute reality, Brahman/Ätman.
Types of metaphysics
There are two types of metaphysics, according to Advaita. They are transcendental and immanent. The metaphysics of Advaita is immanent for the real enquiry into Brahman/Atman starts at the empirical level. It is the basis and of one's experiences. Brahman is not consciously present to one's consciousness unlike the objects of the empirical world. Brahman is not consciously present to one's consciousness unlike the objects of the empirical world. The individual must make a sincere attempt to have the knowledge of Brahman/Atman through discrimination. It is not something to be gained afresh. All that one has to do is to differentiate it with non-self. The search for Brahman/Atman is not aloof from one's own day-to-day experi ences. It is part and parcel of one's day-to-day experiences at all levels. Therefore, the pursuit of reality starts from here and now. There is no need for an individual to look for it elsewhere or outside one's own experiences.
Advaita maintains that when the Upanisads state that Brahman is nirguna what it means is that Brahman is attributeless and is devoid of all qualities. Pure Being (sat), pure Consciousness (cit) and pure Bliss (ānanda) are not the qualities of Brahman/Atman, but they are the very constitutive aspects (svarůpalakṣaṇa) of it. The saguna Brahman or Isvara is Brahman associated with maya the cosmic illusion. The two potencies (śaktis) of māyā are: 1, the power of concealment (āvaraṇa śakti), and 2. the power of projection (vikṣepa śakti). With its power of concealment māyā conceals the real nature of Brahman, and with its power of projection it projects Brahman as something other than what it is. Maya is the principle of inexplicability. It is anadi, but has a beginning. Anything that has beginning must also have an end. Therefore, māyā cannot be sat. But, where does this māyā exist? Does it exist outside Brahman? If it is so, then there is another entity apart from Brahman which has an independent existence. But this goes
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| SR No. | 007005 |
| Book Title | World of Philosophy |
| Original Sutra Author | N/A |
| Author | Christopher Key Chapple, Intaj Malek, Dilip Charan, Sunanda Shastri, Prashant Dave |
| Publisher | Shanti Prakashan |
| Publication Year | 2011 |
| Total Pages | 1002 |
| Language | English |
| Classification | Book_English |
| File Size | 30 MB |