[Advaita-l] Can a mithyA-vastu produce an effect? असत्यवस्तुनः अर्थक्रियाकारित्वम्

[V Subrahmanian]

2011/5/18 Venkatesh Murthy <vmurthy36 at gmail.com>

> Namaste
>
> There can be objection from Visistadvaiti-
>
> The unreal snake is not the cause of real fear.  The Jnanas are the causes.
> But the Jnanas are real.  Real causes real. Advaiti has accepted this.

  Mithya woman in dream cannot cause real joy. The real Jnanas in every case
> are causing it.
>

Advaita has no problem with those objections.  What we say is this:
knowledge had in one level of reality can be the cause of producing
knowledge of another level of reality.  Thus, a knowledge had in a dream,
like for example the solution to a mathematical problem (a  very common
occurrence in the life of S.Ramanujam) can remain unsublated/unfalsified,
valid, in the waking.

In the present context, the knowledge caused by the unreal inputs like the
Veda, upadesha, the body/mind in the vyavaharika can bring about the
knowledge about the pAramArthika satya that remains unsublated.

As per the Chandogya Up. mantra quoted by Shankara in the BSB, the sighting
of a woman in a dream, when the dreamer is engaged in a karma, an endeavor,
in the waking, is indicative of success in the endeavor.  This is a case of
a knowledge obtained in the unreal dream state forming the basis for
indicating/informing something pertaining to the waking state.

Regards,
subrahmanian.v

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