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A SOURCB-BOOK IN JAINA PHILOSOPHY
99 empirical existence are not real but are only appearance caused due to avidyā. Everything is Brahman, and jiva and the distinctions between the jīvas are not real distinctions. The Brahman and the atman are identical, 'Ahar brahmāsmi'.1 Madhvācārya's conception of reality was different from that of Samkarācārya. His was dualistic conception of reality. Brahman is real, jīva is also real. Jiva is not merely an appearance. Brahman and Atman are both equally real. There are innumerable jīvas. They are all eternal.
Bhāskara and other Ācāryas have maintained that jīvas are real. They are the consequential expressions of the Brahman. It may be said that they are the products of the Brahman. They are expressions of the Brahman, therefore, they cannot become an appearance.
In the Mahābhārata, there are three views of the conception of the jīvas based on the Särirkhya philosophy: (1) There are of 24 principles (24 tartvarādi) (2) those who maintain an independent eternal Puruşa still belonging to the 24 principles theory, i.e., 25 tattyavādī, and (3) those who maintain that puruşa is different from Brahman and belonging to the chavvisatartvavāda' i. e. 26 Tattvavādi.
It appears that ancient philosophers discussed these three streams of thought and the discussions were mainly based on the Upanişadic thought. In brief, the philosophical discussions concerning the trature of the self based on the Upanisadic tradition can be summari. sed into some forms of philosophy as (1) kevalādvaita (2) sat yopādhi. advaita (3) visiştādvaita (4) dvaitādvaita (5) avibhāgādvaita (6) suddhadvaita (7) Acintya bhedābheda and such other various forms. In general, we have exponents of the Advaita and Dvaitavada including Rāmānuja's Visiştādvaita.
Šamkara presented kevaladvaita. According to him, Brahman is the only reality. All else is appearance. The world is an appearance. Brahman is the ultimate reality and phenomenal world is only an appearance. According to him, the empirical individual soul is not an independent reality. It is only the phenomenal state of the atman. Aman and the Brahman are identical and the phenomenal reality of the ātman is due to avidyā and ābhāsa. Samkara takes recourse to the conceptions of māyā, avidyā aad ābhāsa for explaining the pheno
1 (a) Brahma Siddhi, p. 9–Jivobrahmiva nā parah.'
(b) Dr. C.D. Sharma : Bauddhadarśana and Vedānta, p. 234,
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