[Advaita-l] Doubt

[Anand N]

Namaste,

All examples are limited, so we cannot stretch it beyond a point.
There is a saying that the drshtanta is only to give an indication of
the drashtanta.
I don't remember the exact Sanskrit maxim for that. Maybe someone in the
group can provide.

Avidya of each Jiva is based on their previous karma. So the Avidya Upadhi
will be different for each individual, hence the different colours, sizes
etc.
Brahman as the lamp is untouched by all this.
He is only illuminating whatever shows up in front of him.

The stock example is that of waves and water. That's probably easier to
digest.
Imagine yourself to be a bubble on a wave. Around you, above you, below
you,
you see many bubbles, big, small, you see white foam etc.
You see other waves, again big and small etc.
Now from the water's perspective, there is only water. So there is only
Brahman.
But from the bubble's perspective there are many other bubbles, waves, etc.
So this example is well suited to show that there is only one substance
which is appearing as many.
This is similar to the clay pot example.

Depending on the context of what is to be emphasised, different examples
are used in the Shastra.

Shri Gurubhyo Namah|
Om Namo Narayanaya|
Anand




On Mon, 3 Jan 2022 at 08:14, Kartik Vashishta via Advaita-l <
advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote:

> OM
> OM NAMAH SIVANANDAYA
>
> Revered Sri Anand Ji Maharaj,
>
> Sadar Pranam,
>
> Thank you for your input. My doubt still exists, per the analogy (I
> apologize if I am taking the analogy to a breaking point, which I ought not
> do) the individual "Selves" are still different, they being of different
> colors.
> How to reconcile the SAME self in all and from there as there being only
> one SELF?
>
> Thank you, again. Pranam,
>
> OM
> Kartik Vashishta
> OM
>
> On Sun, Jan 2, 2022 at 5:12 AM Anand N via Advaita-l <
> advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote:
>
> > Namaste,
> >
> > I too had this doubt, and I like to extend an example from the
> > Dakshinamurthy Stotram.
> > The Stotra Verse goes like this:
> > नानाच्छिद्रघटोदरस्थितमहादीपप्रभा भास्वरं
> > ज्ञानं यस्य तु चक्षुरादिकरणद्वारा वहिः स्पन्दते ।
> > जानामीति तमेव भान्तमनुभात्येतत्समस्तं जगत्
> > तस्मै श्रीगुरुमूर्तये नम इदं श्रीदक्षिणामूर्तये ॥४॥
> > Here is a literal translation from the internet:
> >
> > Just like the light shining out from the mighty diya placed inside a
> holed
> > lantern
> > Similarly, knowledge is emerging out from your eyes and other senses
> > And by whose consciousness the entire world is functioning
> > Salutations to such great guru Sri Dakshinamurthy, who awakens the
> supreme
> > knowledge.
> > Now, I added my own Masala to this example, so that my understanding
> > becomes clearer. Here is my extension as follows:
> > If we consider a lamp placed inside an inverted pot with many holes.
> > Now imagine each of these holes with different sizes.
> > Imagine each of these holes now being covered with different coloured
> > glass.
> > So if we take one hole emitting blue light as Jiva A.
> > Jiva A looks at different colour streams of pink , violet, green light
> > coming from different holes
> > with different intensity and sizes. So the pink stream is Jiva B, Violet
> > Stream is Jiva C etc.
> > These are the different Jivas he is interacting with.
> > So the Avidya Upadhi for each Jiva is the hole and the colored glass.
> > Jiva A experiences the rest of the world and other Jivas as they are
> > emitting their different coloured streams of light.
> > This is the multiplicity of the Jagat that we constantly see around us.
> > The whole pot with all the Jiva holes is the Maya Upadhi of
> > Ishwara/Hiranyagarbha.
> > The Brahman or Svaprakasha Atma is the one lamp inside. So there is no
> > multiplicity at all. It is
> > just one self-effulgent light (Self) that is illuminating everything.
> >
> >
> > Please feel free to comment/critique!
> >
> > Shri Gurubhyo Namaha||
> > Om Namo Narayanaya||
> > Anand
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > On Sun, 2 Jan 2022 at 08:14, Kartik Vashishta via Advaita-l <
> > advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote:
> >
> > > OM
> > > OM NAMAH SIVANANDAYA
> > >
> > > Revered Self,
> > >
> > > Sadar Pranam,
> > >
> > > I wish you comfort and peace. I wish you all a very happy new year.
> > >
> > > I have a doubt regarding the "self".
> > >
> > > Please help clarify this doubt.
> > >
> > > I think, that by the the grace of Guru, I understand that the "self" is
> > in
> > > everything, in every subject and also in every object. I am trying to
> > > understand how it is the  ONE self that is in
> > adibhauta/adiyatma/adidaiva.
> > >
> > > My logic(probably twisted) seems to suggest that I have a self and
> every
> > > other entity has a self, this self is not only inside me....nor is it
> > only
> > > inside a particle of sand or an atom or an ant. I seem to think that
> > every
> > > entity has/is a self and this self is different from everyone else's
> > self.
> > >
> > > How to understand and imbibe that there is, in fact, just ONE self? And
> > > that, that self is Brahman...
> > >
> > > If you suggest readings, please suggest English texts. Thank you.
> > >
> > > Pranam,
> > >
> > > OM
> > > Kartik Vashishta
> > > OM
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