[Advaita-l] Can the 'real' pose an obstacle in knowing the Real?

[V Subrahmanian]

In the Upanishads an 'Adhyatma Yoga' is taught to get the direct
realization of Brahman:

तं दुर्दर्शं गूढमनुप्रविष्टं गुहाहितं गह्वरेष्ठं पुराणम् ।
अध्यात्मयोगाधिगमेन देवं मत्वा धीरो हर्षशोकौ जहाति ॥ १२ ॥
Kathopanishat.1.2.12

That which is seated secretly in the cave of our intellect, is to be known
through the adhyatma yoga and become liberated.

The method of this Yoga is also taught there:

यच्छेद्वाङ्मनसी प्राज्ञस्तद्यच्छेज्ज्ञान आत्मनि ।
ज्ञानमात्मनि महति नियच्छेत्तद्यच्छेच्छान्त आत्मनि ॥ १३ ॥  1.3.13

The sense/motor organs have to be resolved in the manas, this in turn in
the buddhi, this to be merged in the Hiranyagarbha tattva and that in the
Pure Consciousness, the Truth.

However, this is not an easy thing to achieve, says this Upanishad:

पराञ्चि खानि व्यतृणत्स्वयम्भूस्तस्मात्पराङ् पश्यति नान्तरात्मन् ।
कश्चिद्धीरः प्रत्यगात्मानमैक्षदावृत्तचक्षुरमृतत्वमिच्छन् ॥ १ ॥ 2.4.1

The Creator has damned the sense/motor organs to be outward turned.  Hence
one is always busy with the outside world and does not get to know his true
nature. Some rare one, determined to achieve the goal, puts all efforts to
restrain his outward turned nature and directs the power to realize the
Truth. And succeeds.

That the world is not to be contacted during this exercise is taught in the
Bh.Gita:

स्पर्शान्कृत्वा बहिर्बाह्यांश्चक्षुश्चैवान्तरे भ्रुवोः ।
प्राणापानौ समौ कृत्वा नासाभ्यन्तरचारिणौ ॥ २७ ॥  5.27

The sound, touch, etc. world perception is to be given up and one is to be
inward turned.

शनैः शनैरुपरमेद्बुद्ध्या धृतिगृहीतया ।
आत्मसंस्थं मनः कृत्वा न किञ्चिदपि चिन्तयेत् ॥ २५ ॥ 6.25

The mind is to be resolved in the Atman and nothing else is to be thought
of.

Thus, for a direct realization of the Truth, the world-perception is taught
to be an obstacle.

The question arises: Brahman is the Real entity. If the world too is
admitted to be real, how and why does a real be an obstacle to realize the
Real? It is clear that a real world is a contradiction to the knowledge of
the Real Brahman.

The remedy/answer is: The inevitable division, categorization, of real into
two different ones: One is primarily real and the other, secondarily. With
the help of various adjectives one will have to say: eternal real and
fleeting real,  independent real and dependent real, Immutable and the
mutable real, etc. The terminology in Advaita for this is: Paramarthika and
Vyavaharika satya (mithya). This is the only way to get over the problem of
real being an obstacle for realizing the real.

There is no way other than admitting a two-fold Real for all schools.
Shankara has stated this in the Brihadaranyaka Bhashya 3.5.1:


नामरूपोपाधिदृष्टिरेव च भवति स्वाभाविकी, तदा सर्वोऽयं
वस्त्वन्तरास्तित्वव्यवहारः । अस्ति चायं भेदकृतो मिथ्याव्यवहारः, येषां
ब्रह्मतत्त्वादन्यत्वेन वस्तु विद्यते, येषां च नास्ति ; परमार्थवादिभिस्तु
श्रुत्यनुसारेण निरूप्यमाणे वस्तुनि — किं तत्त्वतोऽस्ति वस्तु किं वा
नास्तीति, ब्रह्मैकमेवाद्वितीयं सर्वसंव्यवहारशून्यमिति निर्धार्यते ; तेन न
कश्चिद्विरोधः । न हि परमार्थावधारणनिष्ठायां वस्त्वन्तरास्तित्वं
प्रतिपद्यामहे — ‘एकमेवाद्वितीयम्’ (छा. उ. ६ । २ । १) ‘अनन्तरमबाह्यम्’ (बृ.
उ. २ । ५ । १९), (बृ. उ. ३ । ८ । ८) इति श्रुतेः ; न च नामरूपव्यवहारकाले तु
अविवेकिनां क्रियाकारकफलादिसंव्यवहारो नास्तीति प्रतिषिध्यते । तस्मात्
ज्ञानाज्ञाने अपेक्ष्य सर्वः संव्यवहारः शास्त्रीयो लौकिकश्च ; अतो न काचन
विरोधशङ्का ।

*सर्ववादिनामप्यपरिहार्यः परमार्थसंव्यवहारकृतो व्यवहारः ॥**[ For all
proponents, the division as to Paramarthika and Vyavaharika is
inevitable.] *

One may not like the term mithya but when it is clear that one aught not to
think of the world during the exercise for realizing the Truth, one comes
to the conclusion that the world has no place in Brahman, the Real. For the
one who is in the process, the world is not there. If one considers it to
exist, the Upanishad/Gita says 'there is no realization of the Truth.'  One
has to, by default, realize that Brahman which is bereft of, devoid of, the
world. In other words, one has to realize that Brahman has no relation
whatsoever with the world. However, even though Brahman, in truth, is
totally unrelated to the world, we forcefully, ignorantly, superimpose it
on Brahman.  This is what we get to know from the message of the Upanishad
and the Bh.Gita.

Om