[Advaita-l] [advaitin] The Grandeur of the Atman transcending time

[Sudhanshu Shekhar]

Namaste Subbu ji.

Indeed.

Everything is Brahman, means everything is not, only Brahman is.
BAdhAyAm-sAmAnAdhikaraNya.

The snake is rope, means snake is not, only rope is.

The crunch line is - if something is seen, it is illusory. It does not
exist, it just appears to exist. असत् एव, सद् इव अवभासते - says भाष्यकार।

So, if something is seen/known, it is illusory, useless and downright
unimportant. No need to pay any attention to that.

A remarkable takeaway of this, in my understanding, is illusoriness of
causation. Causation is seen, and is hence illusory. And is hence
non-existent, just appears to exist. Just as the causation seen in dream.

In dream, I saw the Potter making pot from clay. And I said - this pot is
made from this clay. That this clay is cause of this pot. However, there
was neither any clay, not any pot and certainly no causal connection
between the seen clay and seen pot. Both were two distinct mental
fluctuations. And there was an illusory pratyabhijnA.

This waking world is same. The seen clay is not the cause of seen pot. Nor
is there any causal connection between the two. These two are just two
mental fluctuations devoid of causal connection.

The result of understanding of illusoriness of causation is the following:

1. A "why" becomes unaskable. "Why" means acceptance of causation. Why does
the wind blow -- there is no answer. Why is fire hot -- there is no answer.
We cannot say - wind blows because there is pressure difference. The
dream-wind did not have pressure difference. Similarly the waking-wind. The
dream-fire was hot not because there were hot gases constituting it.
Similarly the waking-fire.

2. There is no answer to - why I am happy, why I am sad.

3. There is cessation of "should". I should meditate- is a meaningless
assertion as it seeks to causally connect meditation with the result of
meditation.

4. Desire is a cause of suffering - is a meaningless assertion as it
causally connects desire and suffering.

So, why, when, should, what will happen etc are all useless.

There is a perception of suffering. I see it. And I ignore it.

I don't ignore it "as a result of my knowledge of its illusoriness". I
don't investigate why I ignore. There is perception of suffering, and there
is non-attention thereto.

At times, I pay attention to suffering despite there being the knowledge
"seen is illusory".

So be it. Paying attention, not paying attention are both illusory. And it
is useless to investigate.

I see ignorance. And I ignore it. I don't seek its cause. It is an illusory
appearance.

So, complete indifference to seen is the key.

Cessation of why, should, when, what will happen is coupled with this
knowledge - seen is illusion. How and why it is coupled -- is not required
to be investigated.

And that is same as situating as what we are. As purusha, as Brahman, as
AtmA.

Regards.
Sudhanshu Shekhar.




On Fri, 25 Oct, 2024, 10:42 pm V Subrahmanian, <v.subrahmanian at gmail.com>
wrote:

> In the Panchadashi, Swami Vidyaranya makes this mind boggling statement
> about the Atman transcending time:
>
> *मासाब्दयुगकल्पेषु गतागम्येष्वनेकधा । *
>
> *नोदेति नास्तमेत्येका संविदेषा स्वयंप्रभा || 1.7*
>
> Through the many months, years, ages and world cycles, past and future,
> consciousness is the same; it neither rises nor sets (unlike the sun); it
> is self-revealing.
>
> When we contemplate on the above, we are reminded of the famous statement
> in the Purusha Suktam:
>
> पुरुष एवेदं सर्वं यद्भूतं यच्च भव्यम् ।
>
> All this observed creation is Brahman, and all the past and the future.
>
> The Veda says that the creation is Brahman alone, appearing so. All that
> has gone by, all that is experienced in the present and all that is to come
> by, is Brahman.  The observed does not stay but the observer Consciousness
> is eternal.
>
> We are also reminded of the famous statement in the Vishnu Sahasra Nama
> mangala:
>
> सहस्रनाम्ने पुरुषाय* शाश्वते* सहस्रकोटियुगधारिणे नमः ॥
>
>  Salutations to thee, oh Lord, Who runs the immeasurable time of thousand
> crore yugas..
>
> Thus, the Atman is the substratum, adhishThAnam, for the creation that has
> been appearing all the time.
>
> This contemplation frees one from the fear of death, the fear of losing
> existence.  One can experience here and now that one is eternal.
>
> *See also this article: *
> https://www.advaita-vedanta.org/archives/advaita-l/2014-March/036856.html
>
> The BG 2.16 and The Three States (avasthAtraya)
>
>
> Om Tat Sat
>
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