Mirage water analogy for the world in the Bhagavatam

[V Subrahmanian]

The Mirage Analogy for the World in the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam

मृगतृष्णां यथा बाला मन्यन्त उदकाशयम् ।

एवं वैकारिकीं मायां अयुक्ता वस्तु चक्षते ॥ ११ ॥

(श्रीमद्भागवतपुराणम्/स्कन्धः १०/उत्तरार्धः/अध्यायः ७३)

Just as those who lack discernment (viveka) mistake a mirage for a body of water, in the same way, the ignorant perceive this illusory world (māyā-prapañca) as real.
Therefore, the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam describes the world as being like a mirage (mṛgatṛṣṇā). The view is that māyā is not the ultimate reality (pāramārthika satya).

Śrīdhara Svāmī’s Commentary:

किञ्च अवस्तु सद्वस्तुतया पश्यन्तीत्याहुः - मृगतृष्णामिति । वैकारिकीं सृष्ट्यादिविकारापन्नाम् अयुक्ता अविवेकिनः |

People imagine something to exist when in fact it does not. This refers to māyā (or prakṛti), which appears as this manifest world, a product of the transforming Māyā.

In the Advaita literature there is this analogy extremely widely used to show the world to be mithya.

regards

subbu

---

[putran M]

Namaskaram,

Just as those who lack discernment (viveka) mistake a mirage for a body of water, in the same way, the ignorant perceive this illusory world (māyā-prapañca) as real.
Therefore, the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam describes the world as being like a mirage (mṛgatṛṣṇā). The view is that māyā is not the ultimate reality (pāramārthika satya).

People imagine something to exist when in fact it does not. This refers to māyā (or prakṛti), which appears as this manifest world, a product of the transforming Māyā.

That the world is vivarta, adhyasa, appearance on brahman, like snake on rope, is extremely profound and 'daring assertion' (knowledge) of Advaita Vedanta. That the seen is a category of visualization/imagination of/by/in/on Brahman/Consciousness, and even that level of duality (of Shiva+shakti) is mithya. It is mind-boggling. All other sampradayas are frazzled by this "extremism"! They demand reality for world and distinct God, or parinama of some kind. Advaita will not allow it in paramarthika, which completely frazzles them. 

Of course in vyavaharika we are very amenable  to practical considerations within the plane of ajnana, but the fact that we still deem it ajnana and will not adulterate the paramartha satya of Atma with ishvara-jiva bheda has deep and distinguishing implications in our considerations of jnana, including aspects of higher sadhana, vichara, mananam, etc. 

thollmelukaalkizhu 

In the Advaita literature there is this analogy extremely widely used to show the world to be mithya.

regards

subbu

---

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "advaitin" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to advaitin+u...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/advaitin/CAKk0Te2vweqiez7N%3Dcs-pVrpLo16%3D6dvoqoYkGmyZ3s8fAx2%3Dw%40mail.gmail.com.

[Sudhanshu Shekhar]

Namaste.

A very profound implication of illusory character of seen is illusoriness of causation. For me, this is the single most important thing for a meditative living in accordance with Vedanta. Somehow, I don't see enough attention being paid on this.

The seen is just a dream. In my dream, a potter made a pot from clay. The dream-clay is not a cause of dream-pot. There is no causal relationship between two seen.

Similarly, in this so called "waking", the seen at moment 1 and seen at moment 2 don't have a causal connection. It is a momentary disjoint appearance. The seeing connection between seen-1 and seen-2 is as much a product of ignorance as are seen-1 and seen-2.

This understanding leads one to completely reject past and future. And situate in present. And that too as disinterested witness.

Desire needs causation. Fear needs causation. With causation gone, the desires and fears vanish. 

And one situates in present. Free from desire and fear. The root of these, time and causation, go away with the dawn of understanding that seen is dream.

Regards,

Sudhanshu Shekhar.

[Sudhanshu Shekhar]

Namaste Subbu ji.

The crucial point is this. In waking world, we see A as the cause of B. Father as a cause of son. Study as a cause of passing exam. Exercise as a cause of health. 

This causation is accepted in siddhAnta to be as much illusory as A and B. So, just as A and B have simultaneous creation, their causal-connection is also simultaneously created.

The emphatic statement is - यो विवर्तः स न कस्यचिदपि कारणम्. (Sanskrit VichAra SAgara: page 212). If x is a vivarta, then x is not a cause of anything.

So, father and son appear together, and together appears their causal-connection. And together appears the पूर्वभाविता of father and पश्चाद्भाविता of son.

So, fom avidyA, not only are the objects born, but चिरन्तनत्व, पूर्व-पश्चात्-भावित्व and परस्पर कार्य-कारणता are also born.

This understanding transforms the way we look at world and the efforts we make to say prepare food, going to office etc. 

We dissociate ourselves from the activities. We start seeing them. Even I is being seen. That is why VivaraNa would say - अहम् इति तावत् प्रथमो अध्यासः। Even I is an object of perception.

So, "am" is replaced by "is". Instead of "I am going to office", it is "I is going to office". Instead of "I am eating food", it is "I is eating food". Just as "you" is seen, "I" is also seen. So, AshTAvakra GItA would say - चेष्टमानं शरीरं स्वं पश्यत्यन्यशरीरवत्। संस्तवे चापि निन्दायां कथं क्षुभ्येत् महाशयः।। (३.१०)

The seen is momentary and disjoint. Seen-1 and seen-2 have no mutual connection and dependence. They are products of ignorance. They do not exist, they just appear as if they exist. Like a mirage.

So, what would a sane person's attitude towards such products of ignorance be?

To ignore them. To be disinterested thereto.

And ignore the "lack of disinterest" also. Basically, whatever is seen, is worthy of being ignored.

"I have not been able to ignore", "I am unable to live in accordance with this teaching" - are equally worthy of being ignored being products of ignorance.

Methodical presentation

1. One appreciates his misery and finds that his misery is rooted in desire and fear.

2. He enquires into the cause of desire and fear. So that he can remove the cause of desire and thereby end his misery.

3. He enquires and he finds a surprising thing. He finds that seen is illusory. That his desires and fears are illusory. That they are momentary and disjoint. That they have no cause. That they appear existing but they do not exist. They are illusory. To find the cause of desire/fear will lead him nowhere as causation itself is illusory. 

4. His hitherto effort to find cause ceases. For he appreciates the illusoriness of causation. Knowing seen to be nothing but illusion, he ignores them. The entirety of seen is ignored.

5. Illusion needs substratum. Seen needs non-seen. Ignoring seen is identical to situating as non-seen.

And here ends the matter.

----------------

Now: with this knowledge:

The persistence of desire is ignored. The persistence of fear is ignored. Comparison with past is ignored. Anxiety for future is ignored. "Nothing has changed despite this knowledge" - is ignored. "I am experiencing bliss" - is ignored. "My meditation has been superb" - is ignored. "I am comparing with past" - is ignored. "My meditation is not happening well" - is ignored. "I am wasting my time" - is ignored. "I am progressing well in spirituality" - is ignored. "I have become worse" - is ignored.

In a nut-shell, the entirety of seen is ignored. The "ignoring of seen" is also ignored.

And here ends the matter. No desire for freedom is entertained for desire is ignored. No desire for bliss, kundalini, moksha is entertained for desire is ignored. Desire for knowing Brahman is ignored. 

Ignoring the seen in entirety is situating as non-seen, the substratum, the truth, the reality. This is meditation for me.

Regards.

Sudhanshu Shekhar.

[Akilesh Ayyar]

Largely a good presentation of the idea of surrender. However, all should be ignored — but the desire for moksha should not be ignored, because without that, the perpetual vigilance required to keep ignoring everything will not have fuel. Surrender of this kind requires continuous, every-moment rigorous effort, because it will be fought tooth and nail by the vasanas… until a certain point. 

Until that point, mumukshutva is the prime necessity. It is generated and grown by partial surrender, and as surrender becomes more and more continuous, it grows until by God’s grace it becomes a blazing, all-consuming fire.

Akilesh Ayyar

--

You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "advaitin" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to advaitin+u...@googlegroups.com.

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/advaitin/CAH9%3D%2BBD1BQJB5W64XKRBG_F9LVdV1LLE9PaKdREtMd82VpAx-A%40mail.gmail.com.

[Kalyan Chakravarthy]

Namaste Sri Sudhanshu-ji

Your message actually reminds me of VijnAna-vAda Buddhism.

And I don't mean to say this as a criticism.

Best Regards

[Ajāti]

इदं जगदसद्ब्रह्म सत्यमित्येव वक्ति यः ।
तमुन्मत्तमिवोन्मत्तो विमूढोऽपि हसत्यलम् ॥ २१ ॥

"He who preaches the unreality of the world and the reality of Brahma,

is derided by the ignorant as a mad man;" - Yoga-Vasistha Ramayana 4.31.21