World of Philosophy

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

Page 924

standpoint, pure subject ceases to be subject. It becomes something non conceptual.21 This dialectical awareness compelled him to transcend his Idealism to Absolutism. Adopting Nāgārjuna's dialectic method, he came to the conclusion that ultimate Reality, i.e., Pure Consciousness is something that cannot be called as a subject in the ultimate analysis. Owing to influence of transcendental illusion, consciousness itself appears as the subject and the object. The objectivity is only mode of consciousness. When this illusory idea of objectivity is removed the subject-consciousness also ceases to exist. When there is nothing to know, consciousness also ceases to exist.22 At the transcendental level pure consciousness alone exists. This is ultimate Reality, the essence of everything. Consciousness free from the false duality of subject and object is the Absolute.
Asanga defines Absolute Reality (Tattva) as "That which is free from duality; ground for illusion, indescribable and non-determinate'.23 It is called dvayarahita' (free from duality) because in it there is no room for subject and object, positive and negative. The highest Reality transcends all opposites and in it, the positives and negatives are one and the same.24 Reality is indescribable and non-determinate.25 It is indescribable because words are not capable of describing it. It is non-determinate, beyond all thought descrimmations. Thought descriminations imply duality. Duality is ignorance and it is unreal but Reality is non-dual, free from all types of duality. It is beyond the grasp of intellect. Reason or intellect has its own limit. The reason cannot lead us to Realijy.26 It cannot be described positively or negatively. It is Self existent (sat) and non-relative. Thought categories are emperical. Thought cannot go beyond these categories of existence and non-existence. Reality cannot be conceived by any thought category. Asanga, therefore, denies the positive as well as negative predicates to Reality by saying that "rise above the categories of thought-existence and non existence, as both or neither is Reality.27
Asanga calls this Absoluse Reality in dilferent terms such as Paramarthasatya (the highest truth), Dharmadhātu (essence of all things), Sünya, (beyond thought determination), Buddhatva (Buddhahood), Nirvana (Liberation), Suddhātman (Pure Soul) and Mahātman (Universal Soul).
Asanga identifies highest Reality with Paramarthasatya saying that, highest truth is that which is neither such nor otherwise, neither born, nor destroyed, neither increase nor decrease, neither pure nor impure.28 Reality is also called as Dharmadhātu, i.e., essence of all elements. It is substratum of all phenomena, the permanent background of world of phenomena. It is the principle of unity underlying the entire phenominal world. It is essentially identical with all elements and yet cannot be defined in terms of any elements, it transcends all of them.29
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