[Advaita-l] Re: Advaita vEdAnta - Unit (11)

[Kris Manian]

Thanks to Shyam and Krisnamurthy Ramakrishnan. You have explained it well
and I think I have grasped it:-) Avidya is indeed beginning less.

I have another question. So Advaita does not believe in evolution and is founded on
Intelligent design? Am I correct?

If it is out of scope please ignore.
Pranam
Kris


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Message: 11
Date: Tue, 6 Feb 2007 09:31:17 -0800 (PST)
From: Shyam <shyam_md at yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: [Advaita-l] Re: Advaita vEdAnta - Unit (11)
To: A discussion group for Advaita Vedanta
	<advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org>
Message-ID: <20070206173117.28448.qmail at web53407.mail.yahoo.com>
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Pranams
The issue of beginning and end is all in the realm of
time and space.
>From the point of view of the jiva, there is ignorance
about his true nature which is none other than
Brahman.
Like any other ignorance this did not commence at a
particular point in time.
Time itself(the concept of it) is a product of the
very same ignorance.
Even in ordinary terms when i say i have ignorance of
"russian", the ignorance is a beginingless ignorance.
If i knew Russian then i cant get ignorant about it at
some point in time.
There is no "entity" that "develops" ignorance at some
point in time.
The Universe is better thought of in terms of being a
manifestation than a creation in that sense.
The Universe is time stretched out across space. In
reality there is nothing being created nor anything
being destroyed.
What is potential becomes manifest only to become
latent.
Brahman alone is.
So ignorance is beginingless and hence alone jivas are
beginingless. 

But ignorance, while it is beginingless, does
fortunately have an end.
And the end is with the dawn of knowledge.
A jiva's ignorance about his true nature disapperas as
soon as the right knowledge dawns.

So jiva and Brahman are One.
The jiva owes his "existence" to a notion of being
separate from Brahman.
This notion is due to (beginingless) ignorance.
This notion will end when knowledge dawns.

Trust this clarifies.

Hari OM
Shri Gurubhyo namah
Shyam