World of Philosophy

Author(s): Christopher Key Chapple, Intaj Malek, Dilip Charan, Sunanda Shastri, Prashant Dave
Publisher: Shanti Prakashan

Page 893

to be illusion or māyā, removing ignorance, one attains this supreme Reality. 54
The doctrine of truth is also traceable to the Upanisads. Brhadāranyaka speaks of Brahman as the real of the reals and even as the Sole Reality S5 This statement is clearly an indication of plurality of truths understood by the Upanişadic sages. We are told in the Katha Upanisad that the reality is eternal among the transient 56 it is implicitly mentioned here that except Brahman or Supreme Reality everything else is empirical, transitory and not real. The īśāvāsya Upanisad tells us that the face of truth is covered with a golden disc. Here the word 'apihita' is used in the sense of cover (Saṁvrti). The real truth is covered by the phenomenal truth. The word 'saħvrti' satya is used by Asanga in the same sense as understood by the 'apihita' by the Upanisadic thinkers. This phenomenal world is Saṁvrti Satya (empirical) not real, ultimātely; only Paramartha Satya is real and it is the only reality.
In the Upanisads, the two terms Ātman and Brahman are used as synonyms. Māndūkya clearly mentions the identity of Ātman with Brahman by saying that this Ātman, is Brahman." Brhadāranyaka states that this is indeed the Atman, the immortal and the Brahman.58 Chandogya tells us that Atman is indeed all this, 59 There are many statements which show that Ātman is identified with Brahman in the Upanisads and these two words are used as synonyms in the ultimate sense.60
Asanga's notion of pure consciousness is nothing but Ātman or Brahman of Upanisads, even though he criticises Ātman of the Upanisads understanding it in the narrow sense of ego. Really, he does not deny the existence of Atman, i.e., Reality of the Upanisads. His Tathatā-Thatness is the same as Ātman or Brahman of Upanisads. He even calls this Tathata as Ātman of the Buddhists.61 He calls reality as Suddhātman i.e. pure Soul. His notion of reality is the same as that of Ātman of Upanişads. Only he denies the ego of the individual.
Asanga says that everyone has a germ of Buddha hood in his heart. 62 It is to be realised. This idea is the same as the notion of Ātman of the Upanisads which is within us.63
The word Vimokṣa is used in the Upanişads for liberation. In Brhadāranyaka, we find a statement saying that. Sir, please, instruct me further, for the sake of my liberation. This state of realisation of reality is described in the Katha Upanisad as, indescribable highest happiness. It is also called the state of eternal happiness. It is a state of eternal peace. It is called the highest state. Katha Upanisad tells us that when the five instruments of knowledge stand together with the mind, and the intellect does not stir, that they say is the highest state. Having known
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