[Advaita-l] Dependant existence

[V Subrahmanian]

On Sun, Oct 12, 2025 at 3:46 PM Krishnaprakasha Bolumbu via Advaita-l <
advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote:

> Hari Om|
>
> This is my understanding of the subject matter of Advaita
>
> “Dvaita rejects the *mithyātva* of the pot and affirms its objective
> reality. Advaita, however, does not call the pot *mithyā* in an illusory
> sense but regards its existence as *non-independent* — the pot has no
> reality apart from its constituents. In other words, Advaita denies that
> there can be a pot distinct from its material cause; its reality is
> conditional and borrowed from the underlying substratum (clay/Brahman).”
>

Yes, true.  But such a dependent existence itself also makes the 'effect'
mithya.  In the rope-snake analogy, the snake imagined there has no
'isness' apart from the rope there.  In other words the person in delusion
should have said 'there is a rope', but due to some defects, he says 'there
is a snake.'  He is actually unknowingly transferring the rope-isness to
the snake.

Shankara gives the rope-snake analogy while explaining the clay-pot analogy
in the Chandogya Upanishad:  6.2.3"

सदेव तु सर्वमभिधानमभिधीयते च यदन्यबुद्ध्या, यथा रज्जुरेव सर्पबुद्ध्या सर्प
इत्यभिधीयते, यथा वा पिण्डघटादि मृदोऽन्यबुद्ध्या पिण्डघटादिशब्देनाभिधीयते
लोके । रज्जुविवेकदर्शिनां तु सर्पाभिधानबुद्धी निवर्तेते, यथा च
मृद्विवेकदर्शिनां घटादिशब्दबुद्धी, तद्वत्
सद्विवेकदर्शिनामन्यविकारशब्दबुद्धी निवर्तेते — ‘यतो वाचो निवर्तन्ते ।
अप्राप्य मनसा सह’ (तै. उ. २ । ९ । १)
<https://advaitasharada.sringeri.net/display/bhashya/Taitiriya/devanagari?page=2&id=T_C02_S09_V01&hl=%E0%A4%AF%E0%A4%A4%E0%A5%8B%20%E0%A4%B5%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%9A%E0%A5%8B%20%E0%A4%A8%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%B5%E0%A4%B0%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%A4%E0%A4%A8%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%A4%E0%A5%87%C2%A0%E0%A5%A4%20%E0%A4%85%E0%A4%AA%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B0%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%AA%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%AF%20%E0%A4%AE%E0%A4%A8%E0%A4%B8%E0%A4%BE%20%E0%A4%B8%E0%A4%B9>
 इति, ‘अनिरुक्तेऽनिलयने’ (तै. उ. २ । ७ । १)
<https://advaitasharada.sringeri.net/display/bhashya/Taitiriya/devanagari?page=2&id=T_C02_S07_V01&hl=%E0%A4%85%E0%A4%A8%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%B0%E0%A5%81%E0%A4%95%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%A4%E0%A5%87%E0%A4%BD%E0%A4%A8%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%B2%E0%A4%AF%E0%A4%A8%E0%A5%87>
 इत्यादिश्रुतिभ्यः ।

Sat, Existence, Brahman, the Cause, alone appears as the whole universe,
the effect.  Just like the clay lump and pot, etc. are in truth clay
alone...Upon realizing the rope, the snake perception goes, so too upon the
clay realization the clay-lump, pot, etc. perception is known to be mithya,
so too when Sat is realized the the effect-world-is-real perception goes.

warm regards
subbu



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> Regards
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> Kp
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