unreality of the world

[Greg Goode]

At 02:22 PM 10/13/97 -0230, Gummuluru Murthy wrote:

>During the weekend, in my study of Viveka chuDamaNi, the
>following three verses (404, 405 and 406) stood out.
>
>Na hy'asti vishvam paratattvabodhat
>sadAtmani brahmaNi nirvikalpe
>kAlatraye n'Apya'hirikshito guNe
>na hy'ambubindurmr^gatr^shhNikAyAm
>
>Even before the realization of the highest truth, the universe does not
>exist in the Absolute Brahman, the essence of Existence.

This is a very important point.  So we don't think that the universe
disappears only upon realization of the Absolute.  It already IS
non-existent.

>We have no difficulty in accepting the lack of water in the mirage of the
>desert, or absence of snake in the rope. But somehow, we do not seem to
>accept (convincingly to our mind and more particularly in our day-to-day
>life) that the world and us are as unreal as that water in a mr^ga
>tr^shhna. Why do we seem to hold on to this false concept much more than
>the other false concepts ?

Why this concept?  Maybe because of pain and fear.  It's easier to bask in
the realization of the illusoriness of the world when things are going are
way.  Easy to withdraw the senses and mind.  But let a bill collector come
to your job, flunk a physics class, or go in for an HIV test, or witness a
family member getting mugged.  These have a way of riveting the attention,
and the object of our attention is something that is easy to be taken
as real.  It's like our mind getting jerked away from Reality towards
something coming from the senses or the mind.  It's Grace that allows us to
see reality through these things, as it is Grace that allows us to see
reality when things are pleasant.

--Greg