Veda51- That indeed was a long journey!

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The journey I am referring to is both the journey of our ancestors over thousands of years as well a journey that I took you along for the past several episodes talking about that.

Veda50- Let us dream, but not nightmares!

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We have been discussing about Upanishadic truths and how different people view them. I personally go by the obvious meaning of the Upanishads without resorting to any mental gimmicks. I do it not just because I revere the Upanishads but also for the reason that the idea of unification as put forth by the Upanishads has a deeper implication in our lives.

Veda49- Don’t entangle yourself in a web of contradictions

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I had a friend who believed firmly in the theory of Maya talked about by modern Advaitis. This elderly gentleman used to drive a long distance just to meet me and engage me in a lively debate. He somehow wanted to convince me that this world is an illusion and all that exists is just Atma and nothing else!

Veda48- Just surrender to the boss!

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Advaitis who propagate the theory of illusion or Maya have a tough time explaining many mundane things they keep doing. Most of these people indulge in worship of some deity or sometimes even their own preceptors who are deified!

Veda42- Is Jesus really God?

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Many devout Christians believe so. It is a different matter though, Jesus never claimed that he is God! He almost always addressed himself as ‘son of man’ or at most as ‘son of God’ but not as ‘I am God’.

Veda41- Ramana and his ‘pot’ joke!

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Ramana Maharshi was a great saint who lived amidst some of us till recently. He passed away in 1950. There are many people alive even today who have seen and interacted with him in a place called Arunachala in Southern India.

Veda40- The drama of life!

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We were discussing a mind game in the previous episode where an actor plays multiple roles ‘simultaneously’. What does this game have to do with the Advaita and the concept of Maya that we were discussing about in previous episodes?

Veda39- Let us play a mind game!

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I have a smart neighboring kid who is just 2-year-old. She can hardly express herself clearly. But some of her utterances amaze me and show how shallow we, the ‘so called adults’ are!

Veda38- This world is like a movie show!

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The analogy and explanation that I am going to discuss now apparently is first put forth by some well known Swami of Ramakrishna order, successors of Swami Vivekananda. This analogy is often used by many modern Advaita teachers to explain the concept of Maya or illusory nature of this world. The analogy is quite interesting and very close. But not quite close. Let us see how.

Veda37- Saying it all in just twelve sentences!

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The world we know of is unfathomable, and infinite in dimension. There could even be worlds beyond the reach of our senses. Added to this, this world has an unfathomable past and hopefully future too. Can we describe this massive entity, at least the intelligent part of it, in just twelve sentences? One of the Upanishads namely the Mandukya Upanishad from the Atharva Veda seems to make exactly such a claim! What does it say?

Veda36- There are things that cannot be inferred by reasoning!

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Many of us over emphasize on logic and reasoning. Rightly so, if you are scientifically oriented person. Science does stress on logic and reasoning and discourages subjective opinions or views. Many of the scientific ‘truths’ are accepted not because some great scientist like Newton or Einstein has said so, but because they can be arrived at using logic and reasoning and of course mathematics. Even when some of their findings are yet to be proven empirically, we take it for granted that they are true since these scientists based their discoveries on sound foundation of logic and reasoning.

Veda35- World is not an illusion but it is real!

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In the previous episode, we were talking about how the great philosopher Sankara came up with his theory of illusion or Maya in the process of explaining how the single Atma that alone exists ‘appears’ as many things. 

 

I am not sure whether there is any basis for this concept of illusion in any of the well-known Upanishads that Sankara often quotes. So, obviously later opponents of Sankara criticized him for inventing this concept. It is a different matter though that their objection was mainly because the concept of Maya as put forth by Sankara, did not fit in their philosophy of personified God.

Veda34- You need to understand the fundamentals!

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Many of us often gloat over our limited knowledge. We think that we have understood everything in this world and we deem ourselves qualified to question deep philosophical truths.

Veda33- No amount of wealth can make you happy forever!

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In the ritual parts of the Vedas the emphasis has been on performing various rituals to please the Devas and get whatever you want from them. This ‘whatever’ refers to worldly riches, good companions and children, a secure and comfortable life, protection from enemies, and may be heavenly abodes after death. But do all these make you happy forever?

(QnA-05)- Which is right – Monism or Dualism?

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Before I discuss further, let me clarify that what I intend to discuss  is about Advaita and Dwaita which are often wrongly translated as Monism and Dualism respectively.

(Mind14)-It is just a grand illusion!

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Buddhism that started with its anicca or impermanence theory, gradually developed into many more forms. 

First, they said that both the body and the mind appear and disappear in quick succession, both being impermanent. Then some of them came up with the theory that bodies don’t exist at all, and ‘it is all in the mind’ as we discussed in the previous episode.

Illusion! For whom? (Upanishads...)

The Advaitic concept of Maya or illusion is often taken for granted and projected as the obvious conclusion of the Upanishads. But is it really that obvious?

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.

Where is the silver screen? (Upanishads...)

There is an interesting allegory given by one Swami of Rämakrishna order (successors of Swami Vivekananda). The allegory tries to explain how Turïya is the substrate of the entire world we see around, but still it is not apparent. The allegory goes as follows.

Is Turïya a state or reality? (Upanishads...)

In the previous posts I talked about Turiya as a state – one of the four states of cognition. That is my understanding of the Mändükya Upanishad in which it is described. But Advaita philosophers don’t agree. What do they say?