[Advaita-l] Mithya and Maya

[Jaldhar H. Vyas]

Rajeev Kumar who recently joined the list asked

> 1. What actually Sankaracharaya meant by Gagat Mithya and Maya ?

Advaita Vedanta is not idealistic in the philosophical sense meaning it 
does not believe "it is all in your head"  There is an objective reality 
out there.  But what your senses perceive is not it.  This is due to 
Bhagavans power of delusion which manifests in two forms: veiling the 
true nature of things, and causing the illusion of reality to unreal 
things.  This avidya (ignorance) in a jivatma causes it to think of the 
world-appearance to be of multiplicity and its contents (including 
himself) to have finite beginnings and ends.  Jnana or knowledge is the 
realization that this world-appearence in all its names and forms is 
mithya (false) and only the one, eternal, imperishable Brahman exists.




-- 
Jaldhar H. Vyas <jaldhar at braincells.com>