Is experience of Maya necessary ?

[Gummuluru Murthy]

On Wed, 15 Jan 1997, Rushikesh K. Joshi wrote:

> > On a related note, I read recently in Shri Swami Satchidananda Sarasvati's
> > book "The Method of Vedanta" (page 43) "The Absolute can only be revealed
> > through false attribution followed by retraction". Does it mean "If you
> > do not experience the maaya, you cannot experience the Absolute ?"
> >
> >
> > Regards
> > Gummuluru Murthy
>
>
> We do experience maaya. Everybody does, including ants and trees. But the
> experience of the Absolute is sought only when the experience of Mayya is
> acknowledged. Who will talk about the absolute when there is no awrareness
> of the experience of Maaya ?
>
> Regards,
>
> Joshi.
>

I think you are right.

Let us imagine the following hypothetical situation. We come across a
living soul (I use the word "living soul" because I could not think of
a better word) in a cave, completely untouched and uncorrupted by the
world and the worldly ideas.

Is such a soul the Absolute ? If so, will that soul know it is the
Absolute ? (That soul knows only One, the Absolute). Will that soul
enjoy the bliss of the Absolute because such a soul did not experience
maaya ?

Our enjoyment of the bliss of satchitananada (if ever we reach or
recognize That): Will that be different from the one above because
we experienced maaya and the miseries of the world ?

I tend to feel that delusion by maaya, followed by recognition of maaya
may be necessary to see the Absolute.

That person in the cave (untouched by the world, uncorrupted by maaya),
that state: is it similar to our deep-sleep state, or the Absolute ?

Regards
Gummuluru Murthy
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Adau ante ca yan nAsti vartamAnepi tat tathA !
                                GaudapAda in Mandukya kArika
What did not exist at the beginning and what is not going to exist at the
 end is as good as non-existent even in the present.
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