Still Confusion regarding Shankara’s co

[Jaldhar H. Vyas]

On Thu, 30 Jan 1997, Cameron Reilly wrote:

> You miss my point. My question was designed to help you understand that
> Observer A, Observer B and the pot are all mental constructs.

Constructed by whom?

> It is incorrect to assume that your observation of the world is the same
> as anybody elses.

So your answer to the question above is each jiva is responsible for
constructing its own reality.

>
> Take for example, myself. You have one conception of who 'Cameron' is. I
> have another. My spouse has another. My mother, another. Which is the real
> concept? Who can say their concept (description) is the real 'Cameron'?
>
> And for that matter, IS there a real 'Cameron'? Am I anything more than
> someone's description? And all descriptions are mental constructs. Your
> mind takes the data received by your senses, observes a pattern in that
> data and gives that pattern a name. But that is all it can ever be - a
> description. And the description is NEVER the reality.
>

The question of what is "Cameron" is more complicated because a human
being is an aggregate of things so we will start with a simple thing like
a pot.  Once we've worked out its status we can extrapolate up to you.

Now if we showed a pot to various people and one saw it as a pot, and one
as a plate and another as a cat, you're view would have some merit.
However if we actually do this we'll see that I will see it as a pot, you
will, see it as a pot and every other person we show it to will see it as
a pot.  (Leaving aside those whose perception is defective such as the
blind and insane.)  Now the name the pot is known by may be different.
The Gujarati may call it "ghado", the Australian may call it "pot" but
this is just a matter of custom.  For a human being its more complicated
because more of a humans qualities are customary but there is still an
essential Cameron that we can know and use to seperate you from the false
Camerons.  (Through a method called DNA testing.  Ask your local police
station for details.)

> The question "who is the observer" is the starting point of
> all self  enquiry

It goes without saying this is only at the vyavaharic level but that
is the only level at which such the self-enquiry you are suggesting can
take place.

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