[Advaita-l] Can a mithyA-vastu produce an effect? असत्यवस्तुनः अर्थक्रियाकारित्वम्

[V Subrahmanian]

2011/5/19 V Subrahmanian <v.subrahmanian at gmail.com>

>
>   Again, here, the jnAnams are akin to objects and the one who has
> experienced these jnaanams, the Chit, the sAkShi, the Immortal
> Consciousness, never is negated.
>
>  Regards,
> subrahmanian.v
>

I felt a few words to explain the above remark made by me will be found
necessary to appreciate the remarks better.

In the Bhagavadgita 13th Chapter, the 'kShetram', the inert prakRti, is
enumerated in concise form:

महाभूतान्यहङ्कारो बुद्धिरव्यक्तमेव च।
इन्द्रियाणि दशैकं च पञ्च चेन्द्रियगोचराः।।13.5।।

The great elements, egoism, intellect and the Unmanifest itself; the ten
organs and the one, and the five objects of the senses;
इच्छा द्वेषः सुखं दुःखं सङ्घातश्चेतनाधृतिः।
एतत्क्षेत्रं समासेन सविकारमुदाहृतम्।।13.6।।
Desire, repulsion, happiness, sorrow, the aggregate (of body and organs),
sentience, fortitude - this field, kShetram, together with its
modifications, has been spoken of briefly.

From the above we can see easily that the Scripture considers the mind and
all the contents of it as kShetram, the inert, experienced, prakRti.

Thus all knowledge, vishaya jnanam, comes under the observed, dRshya,
category; the observer, the dRk, being the kShetrajna, the Consciousness.

By categorising पञ्च चेन्द्रियगोचराः the entire range of sense objects, the
elementals, also as kShetram, the Scripture considers the
mind/thoughts/jnanam arising there as being on par with the objects of the
world.

Anything observed, being different from the observer, comes under mithyA
category.

We have to carefully note that the knower, the jnAta, the pramAtR, who is
distinct from the Consciousness, kShetrajna, also is only a mode of the
mind, the chidAbhAsa, the ego.  Thus, the tripuTee consisting of jnAtR,
jnAna and jneya is not anything other than kShetram, the inert prakRti.

Regards,
subrahmanian.v