[Advaita-l] Query: Axioms of advaita

[Aditya Varun Chadha]

Greetings advaitins,

For some time now I have been searching for the axioms of advaita.
That is, those truths which advaita assumes without proof, and all
teachings of advaita may be derived from these truths.

A starting point might be: 

1. brAhmaN is.
2. Only brAhmaN is.

or combined simply, 

brAhmaN alone is.

but I am not very sure whether these are axioms (unprovable truths) in
advaita, and if so, are these the only axioms? (that is to say that
all other truths can be derived from these two and these two alone,
and these two together cannot be used to derive a contradiction)

I want to know whether it is possible to "prove" the above statements
somehow. If so, then what are the atomic truths that are used in such
a "proof"? If such a proof is not possible (that is to say that these
statements are simply assumed true), then can all other manifestations
of truth be arrived at by the application of these statements?

Please forgive the 'technical' or 'dry' sounding nature of this query,
but i think it would be useful to try and define a lowest common
denominator for advaita. Once we have that, answering more complex
questions and verifying the validity of theories can become an easier
task.

Maybe I am asking a stupid question, or maybe I am asking for too much
information, I do not know. But I hope I can involve some fellow
advaitins in my quest. The motivation behind this is the intellectual
pursuit of advaita. I find it very difficult to pursue anything with a
full heart unless I subject it to my mind. Kindly advise if this
approach is considered incorrect.

Aum.

-- 
Aditya Varun Chadha
adichad at gmail.com
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