The rope that appears like a snake! (Upanishads...)

In the previous post we saw a very interesting allegory used by a Swami to explain the concept of Turïya – the ultimate reality as per the Advaita philosophy. The original allegory used by the well known Advaita philosopher Šankara is what I am going to explain now.

This is the so called “Rope-Snake” (Rajju-Sarpa) allegory often used to explain the concept of “illusion” (Mäya) – one of the fundamental tenets of Advaita philosophy. The allegory goes as follows.

Once, a person was walking in a lonely path in the middle of the forest. It was night and almost dark. 

Suddenly, the person felt that he stepped over a huge snake that seemed to attack him with its wide open hood.

The man was startled and jumped with fear. He thought he is bitten by the snake. Next day, after sunrise, he passed through the same route. He came to the same area where he had stepped over the snake. But now, in broad daylight, he was surprised to see that it was not a snake but merely a bundle of rope!. His fear at once vanished.

The idea is that a benign rope can appear like a deadly snake in the darkness. The person who stepped over it, is almost sure that he stepped over a snake till he realizes that it was only a harmless rope. He comes out of his illusion, once there is light, and he can see clearly.

Darkness or light, did not change the reality. The rope was a rope always. It is only that the perception, that it is a snake changes, when the light is shed. The light ‘removes’ the ‘illusory’ snake, and exposes the ‘real’ rope.

As per Advaita, the only reality in the world is the Turïya or Ätma. This Ätma ‘appears’ like a world with multiplicity, when one is shrouded by the darkness of ignorance. The moment the ignorance is eliminated, by due process of enquiry and meditation, the illusion vanishes, and the Turïya appears as it is, with all its glory. This, according to Advaitic scholars, is the real import of the Upanishads.

Both the allegories - movie screen as well as the rope-snake, are quite illuminating. They seem to convey the point beautifully. But some simple, nevertheless important questions are often overlooked.

We will see that in the next post.

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