[Advaita-l] Mithya and Maya

[Dr D Bharadwaj]

Dear Shyam,

I do not contend that the jagat is, indeed, ephemeral, transient,
impermanent etc. I am sure Sri Sankara had meant this too.

But I am not sure that the word 'mithya' connotes something like 'anithya'
it as a 'meaning'. Can you check it?

The word may not mean 'false' in the sense of 'non existing'. But it may
mean false in the sense of seeming to be what it is truly not or not being
what it seems to the senses, say like a mirage or silveriness in a shell  or
a rope that 'seems' like a snake.


We can aver that the jagat is 'not false' only from the point of view of the
perception of the senses, indriyas.

Since, now, the gross perception is more widely and insistently accepted
than before, and trying to exclude other perceptions as 'false' in turn, we
seem to feel 'uncomfortable' in accepting the epithet, 'false'. It should
not be so for those who acknowledge possibility of the other perception from
which this sense limited perception is indeed 'false'. We need not be
apologetic about that 'meaning'. It is like the one that wakes up  from
sleep choosing to call the dream perception 'false'.




*SrIramaNArpaNamastu*


Dr. D. Bharadwaj
drdbharadwaj at gmail.com
dr.d.bharadwaj at gmail.com

sarvE bhavanthu sukhinah
sarvE santhu niraamayaah
sarvE bhadrANi pasyanthu
maa kaschit duhkhabhAg bhavEt.


On Tue, Sep 1, 2009 at 10:31 AM, Sarma KV <sarmakv at gmail.com> wrote:

> Dear Sri Jaldhar,
>
> The word *mithya* doesn't mean "false." It means "transient", not constant,
> not permanent, not lasting (naSvaram = bound to perish), and
> not-independent. Jagat is leela.
> In contrast brahma is satyam. It is not-transient. It is independent,
> Sudhdham and nityam.
>
> This is Sankara's view behind using the word "*mithya*" rather than "*
> asatyam*" or some other word to mean "false."
>
>
> On Mon, Aug 31, 2009 at 11:50 PM, Jaldhar H. Vyas <jaldhar at braincells.com
> >wrote:
>
> > 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>
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>
> --
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------
> नगुरोरधिकं नगुरोरधिकं नगुरोरधिकं नगुरोरधिकम्।
> शिवशासनतश्शिवशासनतः शिवशासनतश्शिवशासनतः ।।
>
> Best Regards,
> Syam
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