Advaita

[Raghavendra Hebbalalu]

--- Rajiv Malhotra <rajiv.malhotra at WORLDNET.ATT.NET>
wrote:
> Om.
>
> Why is advaita called so ?  Why not ekata ?  The
> Rishis (and Shankara) seem
> to use two different means of expression.  They say
> "ekam sat" and also say
> "brahma advayam".  Is there a significance in the
> use of ekam (single) in
> the first and advayam (non-dual) in the next.  Or
> are these different ? Or
> are they mere appropriate choices for the meter in
> which they were
> cognized/composed.
>
> Om.
>
> There is a difference between unity with Brahman and
> identity with Brahman.
> Could that be reflected here?
>

The idea of 1 occurs when there are 2 or more
(including the observer) and you refer to one of them.
However, in the paramArtha state, only Brahman is. So
Brahman does not 'see' anything apart from it. In fact
brahman 'sees' no thing. So the word advaita  which
refers to the paramArtha state attempts to describe a
state of non-multiplicity or non-difference.
On the other hand, ekatA, would refer to two entities,
the seer seeing the seen as one.

 You can refer to a well written FAQ at
http://www.advaita-vedanta.org/avhp/ad_faq.html

Regards,
Raghavendra.

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