[Advaita-l] Gaudapada and Shankara hold the waking objects to be mithya

[V Subrahmanian]

On Thu, Jul 27, 2023 at 7:47 AM Sudhanshu Shekhar via Advaita-l <
advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote:

> Namaste.
>
> The problem is - how can a completely non-existent thing appear to exist
> even in the middle.
>
> Tuchchha and mithyA are both non-existent. While the former does not even
> appear to exist, the latter appears to exist.
>
> But how can something which is non-existent in past, present and future can
> even appear to exist?
>

Namaste

न हि दृष्टे अनुपपन्नं नाम |  When something is so glaringly experienced,
there is nothing unreasonable about it.

The stock example is: the experiencing of the unreal snake during a
bhrama.  The snake there is not in that locus rope during all three periods
of time.  Yet it is experienced by the one who is under the
spell/delusion.  Shankara says in the opening lines of the Sridakshinamurti
stotram:  पश्यन्नात्मनि मायया बहिरिवोद्भूतं यथा निद्रया:  a person
perceives/experiences the world within him just like one would experience a
dream. In a dream one experiences all as though it is 'outside' him, the
waking. Yet upon waking one would realize that they were never 'outside',
were inside alone but gave the feeling of outside.   The dream
objects/events are not there, they did no happen at all, during all three
periods of time. Yet one experiences them.  However, upon questioning, he
realizes their non-existence during all periods of time.  This is the
vaibhava of maya/avidya: Shankara said: अघटितघटनापटीयसी माया Maya is that
inscrutable power that is an expert in displaying something that is
impossible.

regards
subbu

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