1. sadasadbhyAm anirvAchanIya cannot be said as real or unreal. Can’t say that it exists nor can we say that it doesn’t exist.
Anirvachaniya Maya – Anirvachaniya means unexplainable. We can speak or explain anything which has name and form. What cannot be comprehended by the intellect falls into this category. We find this type of situation in Scientific field also. After probing into essential nature of universe, scientists have come to conclusion “uncertainity principle” is essential nature of universe.
Sad-asad Vilakshanaha – Time, space and causation are the effect of maya. Time, space and causation are in the empirical domain of experience. Brahman, the transcendental reality. Maya is the lens through which the absolute, transcendental reality of Brahman is perceived as relative world.
Maya is beyond the category of it exists (sad) or it exists not (asad). Does the water in mirage exist? It exists. On closer examination there is no water in the mirage. We experience dream everyday. We see dream elephant. Does the dream elephant exist? It exists in the dream. On waking up dream elephant does not exist. Similarly maya exists in perceptual domain.
Science also tries to address this question of time and space. There is no answer for the question, “when does the time originate and where does the space originate?”
Another example : We see blue sky. Is sky blue? Sky is definitely blue for our sense perception. Scientists tell us there is no blueness in sky. Which is true? Blue sky exists or exists not. Blueness of sky experientially exists but factually exists not! Water in the mirage experientially exists but factually exists not!
2. Trigunatmakam – Maya is composed of Sattva-Rajas-Tamas.
Trigunatmika Maya – The entire world is manifestation of maya shakti (power of maya). Three gunas – satva, rajas tamas manifest as Ichcha shakti (power of desire), Kriya Shakti (power of action) and Jnana Shakti (Power of knowlege). Power unmanifest is maya.
3. Jnanavirodhi – Opposed to Knowledge. It is an ignorance which can be negated or cancelled by Knowledge.
Jnana Virodhi Brahman is perceived as world through the lens maya (time, space, causation). Ignorance of Brahman is Jnana Virodha. When we do not have knowledge of rope, we can perceive snake. Similarly ignorance of Brahman (jnana virodha) appears as effect of maya. Dream world is experiencially real as long as we are dreaming. Once we wake up from dream, dream world does not exist. Brahma Jnanam – Knowledge of Brahman, destroys maya. Brahman is non-dual. In realization of non-duality, there is no trace of maya which is cause for perception of duality.
4. Bhavarupam – Maya cannot be said as just “absence of Knowledge”, it is a positive something because it has 2 powers avarana and vikshepa. How can there be two functions for Maya if it is a nothing? So, Maya is a positive something “as if it exists”.
Bhava rupam – Maya has two powers – avarana (covering) and vikshepa (projection). Bhava rupam means it is a positive entity not mere absence of something because effect of maya can be felt. Darkness covers an object from my vision. Similarly SELF nature is covered by avarana shakti of Maya. Darkness is destroyed by light. If darkness is non-existent entity (abhava rupam), darkness cannot be destroyed by light. Similarly, avarana shakti of maya can be destroyed by SELF knowledge.
5. Yatkinchit – Maya is a mysterious something. We cannot characterize Maya as “it is like this”, you just cannot pin down Maya, because the moment I try to focus on it, it vanishes. Maya is something “which does not bear the light of reason”.
Yat Kinchit – Kinchit means something appears to be existing. Only reality is non-dual Brahman. Nanya Kinchit asti – Other than Brahman, nothing second exists. Hence when we do SELF enquiry and realize non-dual Brahman, maya disappears altogether. Snake appears to be existing (yat kinchit) until we examine. Once we recognize the rope, snake does not exist. Rope alone exists (nanya kinchit asti). Please refer sadasadbhyam anirvachaniyam explanation.
6. Where is the locus of Maya?
It cannot be in Brahman. Just like darkness cannot be in sunlight. Maya cannot be in Brahman. Next available place is Jiva. Because it can be only in 2 places, jiva or Brahman.
But Jiva is Brahman itself (Jivo brahmaiva naparaha).. how can jiva have ignorance?
Advaita says – Brahman alone is appearing (again this word appearance) as jiva because of Maya. So does that mean that Maya precedes jiva? So, where is this ignorance?
Answer:
Brahman is absolute – non dual luminousity. There is no place for maya in Brahman. Jiva is product of maya. Jiva cannot come into existance without maya. Hence neither Brahman nor jiva can be locus of maya. From jiva point of view we can say locus of Maya is Brahman while from Brahman point of view there is no trace of maya.
Maya is appearance of time, space and causation. If we ask a question when and where time and space originated, there is logical fallacy. We are asuming prior reality of time and space before the appearance of maya.
As an example let us take a person sleeping on the bed “Mr sleeper”, he dreams that he is “Mr Dreamer” living in America. If Mr Dreamer asks the question where did dream America originate we can say from “Mr Sleeper”. However Mr Dreamer cannot find Mr Sleeper in the dream. Mr Sleeper is happily sleeping on bed – not aware of Mr Dreamer or America. Dream analogy is given as an example of “nidra shakti – sleep power”. Maya Shakti – power of maya is likewise. Jiva is equivalent of dream character – Mr Dreamer. Brahman is equivalent of Mr Sleeper.
7. What is this ignorance? How can it be real and unreal at the same time? What is the nature of this Ignorance? Because non-dualists say that Maya exists and also does not exist at the same time.
I don’t know about a subject called mathematics. In a sense I was ignorant of subject called mathematics. Is ignorance real ? Yes. But I don’t even know I have ignorance. Is the effect of ignorance rea l? Yes. WhenI go to shop, I cannot pay proper money because I don’t have knowledge of mathematics. Unfortunately I don’t even know that there is subject called mathematics. Is my ignorance of mathematics real or unreal ?
8. If you say that it exists and also doesn’t exist at the same time, then isn’t it a logical inconsistency. Because in a logical explanation, either there is a True or False. In logic, it is said that there is something called “Law of the excluded middle”. Advaitins cannot just say that it is both true and false. And they cannot say that it is neither True not False. Non-dualists just use the word “Anirvacahaniya”, it cannot be expressed.
True. Logically existance and non-existance cannot be simultaneously true in a given frame work. All logic is applicable in the frame work of empirical reality. Logic fails in transcendental reality. This is the experience of Scientists also – called “uncertainity principle”. There is famous experiment in Quantum physics called “Schrodingers Cat”. Shrodingers cat is both dead and alive at the same time !
In the empirical domain logic is consistant. What is small cannot be big simultaneously but not for SELF Atma. Please see the statement of Kathopanishad. Self is smaller than the smallest and bigger than biggest simultaneously.
अणोरणीयान् महतो महीयान्
आत्मास्य जन्तोर्निहितो गुहायाम् ।
तमक्रतुः पश्यति वीतशोको
धातुप्रसादान्महिमानमात्मनः ।।
aņor aņīyān mahato mahīyān
ātmā’sya jantor nihito guhāyām
tam akratuh paśyati vīta-śoko
dhātu-prasādān mahimānam ātmanah – Kathopanishad 1.2.20
Smaller than the smallest,
larger than the largest,
the self of every being
is hidden within the cavity of the heart.
When the senses (, the body and the mind)
are completely at peace,
then one who is without craving and from whom all anguish has dropped,
perceives this self-splendour.
9. Advaita says, Brahman appears as Jiva because of Maya and then Maya obscures Brahman. How can the absolute, the existence-consciousness-bliss be obscured? How can Brahman be hidden or not known or seen because of Maya? Isn’t that again contradictory to the definition of Brahman? Then, we might as well shut our eyes and say that the Sun has vanished.
This is a question about the impossibility of Maya veiling Brahman.
Clouds cannot cover the Sun fully. Maya cannot veil the SELF fully. Everybody knows I exist. We say “I AM”. Here I refers to consciousness (chit) and AM refers to existance (sat). Sat-Chit is experience of everyone. Only Ananda – infinite nature of SELF is veiled. Hence veiling is not full but partial.
10. Maya is defined as bhavarupa which portrays Maya as a positive something. As mentioned in Vendantsara.. it is a positive something because it has 2 functions of avarana and vikshepa. Again this is a huge contradiction or paradoxical statement because Maya has been defined as Ignorance of my true self knowledge. Ignorance is just absence of knowledge, either know or I do not know something. Absence of knowing is “not knowing”.. that’s all.
So, “what is this positive not knowing”?
Bhava rupam – Maya has two powers – avarana (covering) and vikshepa (projection). Bhava rupam means it is a positive entity not mere absence of something because effect of maya can be felt. Darkness covers an object from my vision. Similarly SELF nature is covered by avarana shakti of Maya. Darkness is destroyed by light. If darkness is non-existent entity (abhava rupam), darkness cannot be destroyed by light. Similarly, avarana shakti of maya can be destroyed by SELF knowledge.
11. What will remove this so-called ignorance? According to Advaita, it is about the knowledge of “Nirguna Brahman”, Brahman which is beyond all attributes, all qualities, all adjectives. But according to Ramanuja, the Ultimate reality has many qualities, you cannot talk about an unqualified Reality. The logic he gives is, “anything that you know, must have certain characteristics, otherwise how will you know it?” How will you know it as, “it is like this”.
Ramanuja says, Brahman is Anantagunagana, Kalyana Gunagana – that’s why so many Gods which are his own qualities. There is no such thing as Nirguna Brahman and hence no knowledge of Nirguna Brahman is possible.
And then Non-dualists say, Nirguna Brahman and then they say, ignorance destroyed by Knowledge – knowledge of Nirguna Brahman? How is knowledge of Brahman possible? And they also say, “Brahmavid Brahmaiva Bhavati” , How can there is knower of Nirguna Brahman?
In that case, “overcoming ignorance is not possible, because knowledge of Nirguna is not possible”.
Brahman is Ananta guna kalyana Paripurna – How can Brahman be Nirguna
Brahman as Saguna Ishvara – Lord of Universe is Anantha Guna Kalyana Paripurna (full of auspicious qualities). Brahman is nirguna as transcendental reality. Brahman as Ishvara is anantha guna kalyana purna. Brahman as para Brahman – nirguna.
One and same reality can appear in different ways depending on the perceiver and mode of perception. What is water for a common man is atoms and hydrogen molecules for scientist looking through electron microscope. For quantum physist same water is packets of energy – quanta. Perception is different depending on perceiver.
Depending on the nature of the perceiver, Brahman appears differently.
1). For Kamsa, Hiranyakashyapu whose nature is Tamo guna, Brahman appears as fearsome, terrible.
2). For a common man who is a mixture of satva-rajas-tamas Brahman appears as world. He looks through lens of maya – time, space, causality.
3). For Arjuna same Brahman appeared as Virat Purusha (Vishva rupa).
4). For Prahlada, same Brahman appears as Narasimha -half man, half lion.
5). For Dhruva same Brahman appeared as Vishnu.
6). For a devotee Bhakta full of Satva guna same Bhagavan appears as anantha Kalyana guna purna (full of auspicious qualities). He sees Brahman through lens of Satva Guna.
7). For a Jnani who is beyond three gunas (Gunatita as per Bhagavadgita chapter 14), same Brahman is Nirguna nirakara. Gunatita has dropped ego and hence there is no perceiver and perceived. River has merged with ocean. For him Brahman is SELF (atma).
8). Different ways people approach Brahman as per their capacity. Arto,jijnasu, artharthi, Jnani – Srimad Bhagavadgita 7.16. Of the four category people Jnani who is beyond three gunas is one with Bhagavan.
For a person with red glasses world appears as red. For a person with yellow glasses world is yellow. For a person who is colour blind, there is no colour in the world. Brahman appears in different ways depending on our vision – satva guna-rajo guna-tamo guna or gunatita. For a person who is Bhakta stone idol looks divine. For a non believer divine looks stone idol and he/she may destroy the stone idol. Beauty is in the eyes of Beholder.
12. How is it possible to have knowledge of Nirguna Brahma?
Knowledge is pratyaksha/anumana – available to sense organs and mind. Aparoksha is aperception. Nirguna Brahman realization is Aparoksha Jnana. Here Brahman is not realized as object through sense organs and mind. Brahman is realized as my own SELF – “Aham Brahmasmi”. Knowledge of Brahman is removal of ignorance that ” I am body, mind, intellect – falsely superimposed upadhis. SELF is self evident when superimposition is removed. When the cloud moves, Sun shines by itself.
13. Going beyond maya.
And then they talk about “going beyond Maya” where they say that Maya is beginningless, it exists and also doesn’t exist, it is unreal and you cannot pin it down.
So, if such a Maya is there, then I am just forever trapped in that.
By birth I am ignorant of many things. I don’t know physics, chemistry and many subjects. When I am ignorant/illiterate, the effect is felt when I interact in the society. Similarly by birth I am ignorant of my SELF nature (atma jnana). Due to ignorance of SELF nature, I suffer in life without knowing why I suffer. Due to grace of Ishvara, Lord, I come to Sadguru and Shastras. Understanding of the teaching of Shastras – “Tat twam Asi, Ayamatma Brahma, Aham Brahmasmi”, through Shravana (listening), manana (getting rid of doubts), niddhidhyasa (contemplation) under the guidance of Sadguru I realize my true SELF. Without grace of Sadguru, Shastras, it is impossible to overcome maya.
Realization of Nirguna means – dropping of ego. Once ego is dropped, non-duality is realized. It is like river merging with ocean.