[Advaita-l] Eka jiva vada and nana jiva vada.

[Srikanta Narayanaswami]

Namaste

Where Adi Sankara has said we have to accept Nana Jeeva Vada and move to
Eka Atma Vada? It is not necessary to believe there are other Jeevas and
they are also trying for liberation. Liberation is not a competition for
Nana Jeevas like a running race. Who will get it first?

Gaudapada Karika Vaitathya Prakarana -

9—10 In dreams, what is imagined within the mind is illusory and what is
cognized outside by the mind, real; but truly, both are known to be unreal.
Similarly, in the waking state, what is imagined within by the mind is
illusory and what is cognized outside by the mind, real; but both should be
held, on rational grounds, to be unreal.

In waking we think there are many people around us because they are
outside. But Gaudapada has said everything in waking inside the mind and
outside the mind is unreal like dream objects. He did not say seen people
in waking are Jeevas like you. In waking if I imagine a hare horns in my
mind I can say it is not real. In waking if I look at any object like
chair, table, person or anything they are also not real. There is no
difference between imagined things and seen things. Both are unreal.
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In the vyavaharika level we see nana-jivas.Then can we say that there is only Eka jiva?To say that there must be a transcendence to that dimension to see the Eka jiva.That is why Sri.Shankara,at the vyavaharika level,though there are nana jivas,there is only Eka atma.Hence to say there is Eka jiva is erroneous and misleading.
N.Srikanta.