Is the world Mithya? - Sringeri Jagadguru

[Prashant Parikh]

Sri Sringeri Jagadguru Swamiji's talk
summarized by suresh srinivasamurthy

Many people are spreading the misconception that Advaita says the world is mithya or false.

They are thus confusing themselves and others. But Mithya is not false or nothing.

Mithya means that which exists due to anjAna / ignorance and gets removed after jnAna / knowledge.

Satya or Truth is of three types:

1. pAramArthika - Always exists in time - past present and future.

2. vyAvahArika - changes in time and gets removed upon Brahma jnAna

3. prAthibhAshika - fictitious like rope in snake and removed with another correct vyavahAra jnAna.

Time itself is very huge and divided into many yugas, chaturyugas so on in our shAstras.  

The experienced world which is dualistic and plural is vyAvahArika sathya. But it is not

pAramArthika as it gets destroyed upon attainment of brahma jnAna. If the world is also

pAramArthika, then it will never get destroyed and our sorrow will never get removed.

Some people also spread the misconception that Advaita is preaching the oneness of everything.

That means there is no difference in dharma and karma and anybody can do or not do anything.

But that is not true.

In Advaita, untill the attainment of Brahma jnAna and removal of mAya, dvaita vyavahAra is

going to be there and performance of duty according to varna/ashrama must go on.

As example when someone is filling an application form they have to write the name, fathers name,

address, pin, phone so on in their prescribed locaton and order. One cannot write pin against phone number. 

But all of these are written in a one paper only which is like Brahman.

"NistraiguNye pathi vicharatAm ko vidhih ko nishedhAh"

But for a Brahman jnAni who is moving on the path devoid of triguna, there is no such restriction

of dos and donts, because for them, there is nothing other than parabrahman.

Therefore, even in Advaita, jagat and all dualistic vyavahAra is considered to be real. It is not

false and continue to be real until the attainment of advaita Brahma jnyAna. All great

maharshis, AchAryas of Advaita like Adishankara, Madhusudhana saraswathi, Appayya deekshita and

so on have taught the same in all their shAstras and works.

Sri Shankara bhagavadpada has made this very clear in his bhAshyas that mithya means vyAvahArika

sathya. It simply does not mean illusion or just for name sake. All vidhi nishedha or dos and donts

of shAstra are real and need to be followed until attainment of brahma jnAna.