[Advaita-l] The world is mithya - says the Skanda Purana

V Subrahmanian v.subrahmanian at gmail.com
Thu Apr 21 14:09:01 EDT 2022


The world is mithya - says the Skanda Purana

 In this chapter of Skanda Purana, there are many doctrinal aspects and
analogies of Advaita:

 स्कन्दपुराणम्/खण्डः १ (माहेश्वरखण्डः)/केदारखण्डः/अध्यायः ३१

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Some verses are cited here:

 निरंतरं निर्गुणं ज्ञप्तिमात्रं निरंजनं निर्विकाशं निरीहम्॥

सत्तामात्रं ज्ञानगम्यं स्वसिद्धं स्वयंप्रभं सुप्रभं बोधगम्यम्॥ ३१.५३ ॥

  The are words that denote the Advaitic Brahman.


एतज्ज्ञानं ज्ञानविदो वदंति सर्वात्मभावेन निरीक्षयंति॥
सर्वातीतं ज्ञानगम्यं विदित्वा येन स्वस्थाः समबुद्ध्या चरंति॥ ३१.५४ ॥

अतीत्य संसारमनादिमूलं *मायामयं* *मायया* *दुर्विचार्यम्॥*
*मायां* *त्यक्त्वा* निर्ममा वीतरागा गच्छंति ते प्रेतराणिनर्विकल्पम्॥ ३१.५५ ॥

 Bondage is illusory.

संसृतिः कल्पनामूलं कल्पना ह्यमृतोपमा॥
यैः कल्पना परित्यक्ता ते यांति परमां गतिम्॥ ३१.५६ ॥

Bondage is only imagined; giving up the imagination is what liberation is.

शुक्त्यां रजतबुद्धिश्च रज्जुबुद्धिर्यथोरगे॥
मरीचौ जलबुद्धिश्च मिथ्या मिथ्यैव नान्यथा॥ ३१.५७ ॥

Just as the shell-silver and the mirage-water are mithya,  so too the world
is unreal.

सिद्धिः स्वच्छंदवर्त्तित्वं पारतंत्र्यं हि वै मृषा॥
बद्धो हि परतंत्राख्यो मुक्तः स्वातंत्र्यभावनः॥ ३१.५८ ॥

Non-dependence is liberation and dependence is bondage. He who thinks
he is dependent is bound; he who has the conviction that he is free is
liberated.

 एको ह्यात्मा विदित्वाथ निर्ममो निरवग्रहः॥

कुतस्तेषां बंधनं च यथाखे पुष्पमेव च॥ ३१.५९ ॥

Atman is One; not many. Realizing this is liberation. Bondage is akin to
sky-flower.

शशविषाणमेवैतज्ज्ञानं संसार एव च॥
किं कार्यं बहुनोक्तेन वचसा निष्फलेन हि॥ ३१.६० ॥

Thinking that bondage is real is akin to taking the hare’s horn to be real.

...

एतत्सर्वं समासेन कथयामि निबोध मे॥
एको ह्यनेकधा चैव दृश्यते भेदभावनः॥ ३१.७० ॥

One Truth alone appears to be many variegated things.

यथा भ्रमरिकादृष्टा भ्रम्यते च मही यम॥
तथात्मा भेदबुद्ध्या च प्रतिभाति ह्यनेकधा॥ ३१.७१ ॥

For those sitting in the cradle of a merry-go-round, while rotating,
the scene outside too appears to rotate. This is an illusion. Likewise
the Atma appears to be the variegated world due to the illusory idea
of difference: bhedabuddhi.


तस्माद्विमृश्य तेनैव ज्ञातव्यः श्रवणेन च॥
मंतव्यः सुप्रयोगेण मननेन विशेषतः॥ ३१.७२ ॥

 So you need to resort to the shaastra and get rid of the bondage by
realizing the Atman.


निर्द्धार्य चात्मनात्मानं सुखं बंधात्प्रमुच्यते॥
मायाजालमिदं सर्वं जगदेतच्चाराचरम्॥ ३१.७३ ॥

This world of the moving and unmoving is all but a magic show.

मायामयोऽयं संसारो ममतालक्षणो महान्॥
ममतां च बहिः कृत्वा सुखं बंधात्प्रमुच्यते॥ ३१.७४ ॥

Bondage is illusory.

Om Tat Sat


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