Posted on: 15 Jul 2021
Note: This article is meant for intellectuals only
Part-1 Part-2 Part-3 Part-4 Part-5 Part-6 Part-7 Part-8 Part-9
Part 8: Conclusions
1) Unimaginable God is absolutely real by Himself and world by itself is absolutely unreal. But, world also becomes absolutely real because God grants His absolute reality (Paramārtha sattā) to the world so that the absolutely real world gives absolutely real entertainment to God. The world being absolutely unreal by itself and being shining due to borrowed absolute reality from unimaginable God is called as relative reality (Vyavahāra sattā).
2) Śaṅkara called the relative reality as ‘Mithyā’, which He defined something different from absolute reality and absolute unreality (Sadasat vilakṣaṇā). It is not absolutely real because by itself it is absolutely unreal. It is not absolutely unreal because it exists by the borrowed absolute reality from God. Rope is absolutely real and snake is absolutely unreal. But, snake appears on rope as absolutely real since it borrowed absolute reality from the rope.
3) The absolute reality of world is not its inherent property whereas the absolute reality of God is His inherent property. Based on this difference only, God is called as absolute reality and the world is called relative reality. The inherent quality is called Svarūpa lakṣṇam and the borrowed quality is called Taṭastha lakṣaṇam.
4) In the formation of incarnation from God (everywhere God means unimaginable God only and mediated God is specifically mentioned as mediated God), the absolutely real God is merging with relatively real medium and you must remember that already the medium is also relatively real because it is a tiny part of the relatively real world. In this context, God need not again grant His absolute reality to the medium because the medium is already absolutely real that got the absolute reality from God. When God granted His absolute reality to the entire world, medium, being part of the world already got the absolute reality of God. Now, in this merge, what is granted by God to the medium as extra? In this merge, God granted His unimaginable nature also to the medium and therefore, the medium obtained total God by this merge. The absolute reality and the unimaginable nature are the total God. Hence, by this merge, the medium becomes fully God. Therefore, God granted only His absolute reality to the entire world whereas God granted His unimaginable nature also to the specific medium selected for merge to become incarnation. Due to this reason we treat that specific medium as God in totality and treat the incarnation as the total unimaginable God. Hence, no item of the world is God (Neti Neti…– Veda) whereas the incarnation alone is God (Mānuṣīṃ tanu māśritam—Gītā).
5) Therefore, God is absolutely real, world is relatively real, God granted His absolute reality to the world and God grants His unimaginable nature also to the specific medium along with already granted absolute reality in the context of formation of incarnation. Based on the granted unimaginable nature of God, the medium or incarnation also performs miracles. By this, the unimaginable God becomes imaginable and visible performing visible miracles (unimaginable events).
6) God is absolutely real and eternal. Hence, His imaginary world continues forever as long as He wishes the entertainment. Soul is relatively real and non-eternal. Soul is said to be eternal with reference to its perishing body and hence, such eternality of soul is only relative and not absolute like that of God. The eternality of God is absolute without any other reference. Soul is also said to be non-eternal from the point of view that it superimposes itself on its non-eternal body and this makes the soul to be under the influence of its superimposed extra non-eternality. Due to this reason, the imaginary world of the God is eternal and the imaginary world of the soul is non-eternal.
7) The problem of doubting God’s imaginary world as permanent and soul’s imaginary world as temporary comes when you take the night-dream of the soul for comparison. The sleep forces the soul to forget itself and forces self-ignorance on the soul in a night dream. The sleep is temporary and hence, night-dream is also temporary. Due to the absence of awareness of external world in the night dream, the soul is forced to think that the dream world is real. The day-dream (entertaining the imaginary world in awaken state) can be thought as unreal with reference to the outside existing external world, but, the soul can continue in the day-dreams throughout its life. Hence, people comment on a specific human being “he always lives in day-dreams till his end”. In view of comparison between day-dream and imaginary world of the God, this doubt that one is permanent and the other is temporary can’t rise. A person dreaming day-dreams can be also said that the imaginary world of the soul can be permanent as that of God because the total life period of a person is relatively permanent in the view of such person having day-dreams.
8) Night-dream shall never be referred in the context of creation of world by God. Only a day-dream can be referred, which is nothing but entertainment of imaginary world in awaken state. In both the day-dream of the soul (creation of imaginary world in awaken state by soul) as well as in the creation of imaginary world by God, the commonalities are:- 1) God as well as soul impose self-ignorance to get a better real entertainment, 2) God and soul can do any miracle in their corresponding imaginary worlds and 3) God and soul can feel their imaginary worlds as unreal also due to their own reasons (In the case of God, God knows that the imaginary world created by Him is originally unreal and that His imaginary world is real due to His own granted absolute reality. In the case of soul, the soul knows its imaginary world to be unreal because the soul is simultaneously aware of the external real world including itself having the absolute reality of God.).
9) There are only two states of reality:- One is reality and the other is non-reality only. Jainism presents the 7-fold theory of existence (Sapta bhaṇgi) by associating experience of existence and non-existence with the actual existence and non-existence. The first three are important:- 1) Syāt asti (experienced as existence and really it is existing), 2) Syāt nāsti (experienced as existence but it does not really exist) and 3) Syāt asti nāsti (experienced as existence but it exists as well as non-exists simultaneously). This clearly means that both existent and non-existent can be experienced as existents. This will help in understanding the absolute reality, absolute non-reality and the relative reality. The first reality belongs to God and the second reality belongs to world. The third reality also belongs to world, which actually belongs to both God and world because the absolute reality of world is borrowed from God and the absolute non-reality of the world is masked by the borrowed absolute reality of God.
10) Reason for the existent to appear as non-existent is due to the dilution of energy or matter or awareness. Awareness is the weakest form of energy that is flowing in the most tender nerves. A very little part of such weakest energy (weakest means mostly diluted) forms the imaginary world of the soul. Hence, the imaginary world is doubly weak. The soul also can grant its relative reality to its imaginary world just like God grants His absolute reality to His imaginary world and soul, due to which the world including souls appears absolutely real to God. Since the unimaginable nature along with the power to withdraw His absolute reality is retained by God and not granted to the world and souls, world and souls are under the full control of God. The soul also controls its imaginary world in the day-dream. The points here are 1) The soul can transfer its inherent relative reality only to its imaginary world but not its part of absolute reality (absolute reality is a part of relative reality) because its absolute reality is not in its control, which is in the full control of God only. By this, its imaginary world also gets the equal status of the soul, which is only relative reality. 2) Due to the weakest nature of awareness and due to minute quantity of awareness being converted into imaginary world, the soul or the maximum quantity of awareness experiences the imaginary world as unreal especially with reference to the external world. Actually, such weakest imaginary world formed by a minute quantity of awareness also is strictly existent as relative reality only and not really non-existent as absolute non-reality.
11) Whenever you speak about the soul and its imaginary world, you always confine to the weakest and most diluted awareness only and don’t bring powerful energy and most condensed matter in to the picture by referring to its body. If you refer to matter and energy (body) and superimpose soul on it, you can never feel about the experience of reality of your imaginary world. Especially in day-dream this is important because both body and external world are in the awareness of the soul. In the night dream, such superimposition does not exist due to the absence of experience of external world and body. Due to this reason also, the soul feels the imaginary (dreaming) world as fully real. For such experience the forced real ignorance on the soul by the sleep also co-operates.
12) For absolutely real God the relatively real world appears to be real and unreal simultaneously through logical analysis itself and for this, you need not use the omnipotence of God to make an impossible to be possible. What is such logical analysis? It is:- 1) world is real since it is gifted with the absolute reality of God by which the absolutely unreal world shines as absolutely real world and 2) world is unreal since its exhibited absolute reality is not its inherent property because its inherent property is only absolute non-reality. Hence, based on logical analysis itself there is no mutual contradiction in this context.
13) One can explain the word Mithyaa, which is simultaneously real and unreal by taking two different references, which are God and soul. We can say that the world is unreal to God and real to the soul. By this, we can avoid the mutual contradiction in this concept taking the system of concept having two different references. There is no wonder, which is root meaning of ‘Māyā’ in this explanation. But, this concept applied to one reference, which is God only, brings wonder especially when the solution is achieved with the help of logic and not with the help of omnipotence of God. The logic here proves simultaneously that the world is absolutely real due to the borrowed absolute reality of God and is absolutely unreal due to inherent non-reality. The words Mithyā and Māyā are co-related in this context.
14) Soul is a part of relatively real world. Therefore, the world is having equal status with the soul and hence, both are relatively real, which means that both are not absolutely real in their original sense. One item, which is relatively real becomes absolutely real to another item having the same relative reality. Unreal is real for another unreal. Hence, the soul feels that it is absolutely real by itself and the relatively real soul also feels the same relatively real world as absolute reality for all practical purposes, even though Advaita philosophers speak theoretically that the world is unreal.
15) Śaṅkara is human incarnation representing the unimaginable God having both absolute reality of God as well as the unimaginable nature of God. We can take Him as total unimaginable God even though His medium is relatively real. Śaṅkara passed through the bolted doors of Maṇḍanamiśra whereas His disciples could not pass through the bolted doors. Here, Śaṅkara as unimaginable God withdrew His absolute reality from the relatively real doors. By this, the relatively real doors lost their absolute reality and became absolutely unreal for Him. While doing so, He did not withdraw the absolute reality of the rest world (including that house). The doors became unreal with reference to Him only and not to His disciples even though they have the absolute reality with them because their such absolute reality is borrowed and not their inherent property. This means that the omnipotent unimaginable God can maintain the granted absolute reality of the entire world while withdrawing the same absolute reality of a portion (doors) of the world. Such withdrawal is done by Śaṅkara (being the original unimaginable God by perfect merge), not by the disciples and hence, for the disciples the doors are having the granted absolute reality. Due to this only, Śaṅkara could pass through the bolted doors and disciples had to stand before the bolted doors. If the unimaginable God in Śaṅkara wishes, the unreal doors can also be applied to the disciples and the disciples also could go through the bolted doors. If the unimaginable God withdraws His absolute reality from the entire world, this entire world will vanish at once along with the entire elemental space also. The space occupied by Śaṅkara will be the eternal space because the first energetic incarnation merged with Śaṅkara and the space occupied by the first energetic incarnation is always eternal (Paramavyoma). For unimaginable God, who is beyond space, space is not required at all if He quits the medium. But, the unimaginable God is always in merged state with the medium and hence, the eternal space is forever protected from dissolution. There is no trace of difference between eternal space and elemental space except that the former is eternal and latter is perishable in the entire dissolution of world.
16) The peculiar Advaita philosophers talk about existence as a separate entity. It is not correct because existence and non-existence are related to items only. Existence by itself is not an item since it is always related to an item, which may be known or unknown or knowable or unknowable. Unless God merges with the soul to form incarnation, the soul will not have the absolute reality as its inherent property and the soul can’t get the unimaginable nature of God. Every soul has the absolute reality brought from unimaginable God, which can never become its inherent property. This point makes the world or soul not to be God except in the case of incarnation.