[Advaita-l] The liberated soul...

[S Jayanarayanan]

I feel it is common to misunderstand the essential way of interpreting
advaita VedAnta at the philosophical level: the logical system used is
three-fold and not the regular two-fold kind.

In other words, there is Reality (Brahman), Unreality (saMsAra), and
the Neither-Reality-nor-Unreality (anirvachanIya avidyA). avidyA is
what makes the Unreality (saMsAra) appear as the Reality (Brahman), but
itself cannot be categorized as either.

All of the questions below seem to make the implicit assumption that it
is possible to fit advaita into the two-fold (Real-Unreal) logic
system, and simply shows that it is indeed impossible to fit advaita
into this mould. When this two-fold system of logic is renounced, the
questions answer themselves:


--- Kiran B R <kiranbr at rocketmail.com> wrote:
> 1. What I undestand from responses to my query is that
> some people here believe that there is a saMsAra
> different from the Brahman. This is wrong, for it goes
> against  the "anaMtatva" of the Brahman. The
> postulation of any sort of duality is "apriya" to true
> advaitins.
> 

saMsAra is Brahman viewed through avidyA. Again, avidyA is not
categorized as either identical with Brahman nor different from it. 

> 2. Some said that there is no "I" which has to return
> to saMsAra after realization. True. What is also true
> is that nobody leaves the saMsAra, which is
> non-differentiable from the Brahman who is
> non-differentiable from "I" whom am "anaMta".
> 

"Leaving saMsAra" raises fresh difficulties which are not encountered
when one speaks of "destruction of avidyA" instead. 

> 3. The Brahman can desire to create jalebis, create 
> jalebis and eat them by either choosing to become an
> ajnAni or a jnAni. In fact, whether a jnAni eats
> jalebis or an ajnAni does, it is none but the Brahman
> who does.
> 

Desire has its root in avidyA. Only through avidyA is the Self seen as
fulfilling its desires.

> I don't have any more time to argue on this. Go ahead
> and label me as an ajnAni if you wish. I don't even
> care if I truly am, because if I am, I became so
> voluntarily. There are other things I want to do
> voluntarily now, which are of higher priority. Please
> excuse me.
> 
> Thanks and cheers
> Kiran
> 

-Kartik

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