From illusion to illumination

The philosophy of Advaita Vedānta

In a parallel universe, on a planet like Earth, lived an extraordinary comic creator known as Nambhar. Nobody had ever seen him, but his comics were praised for capturing the intellect, wisdom, and emotions in the two-dimensional world of words and panels. His greatest character, Namtā, was loved by everyone, for she would help the other two-dimensional characters find peace and solace in their intricacies of life. But the irony was that Namtā was not at peace with herself. She was happy but not content. There was an intense desire to know the ultimate truth - What is real? Was she living in an illusionary world meant to satisfy the unquestioning mind? Her questions transcended the medium in which she lived; there has to be more than what meets the eye. Like a sage in search of the Truth, Namtā spent her every living moment looking for eternal bliss.

And then something extraordinary happened. Namtā heard an ethereal voice - words of pure wisdom that were like nectar to her ears. Never had she come across such knowledge that completely changed her perspective about everything in life and beyond. Call it magic or mysticism, Nambhar’s narrative content written in captions was now accessible to Namtā. There must be a creator, she thought. A creator that’s beyond her world - pure consciousness, absolute Truth. She started compiling the words of wisdom heard from another dimension and called it “Creator’s Voice.” There was an energy within her that was indescribable in words - a truth beyond truth, consciousness beyond consciousness, bliss beyond bliss.

At last, Namtā was at peace. Time lost its meaning as the finite became infinite. She had realized her oneness with the creator.

Nambhar is Namtā. Namtā is Nambhar.

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The story of Namtā is not different from our metaphysical quest of the transcendent. Philosophers, from east and west, have spent their lives in search of the Absolute. But it was Adi Shankaracharya, a philosopher’s philosopher¹, who made a significant impact with the theory of Advaita Vedānta (अद्वैत वेदांत).

Vedānta, meaning “end of the Vedas,” is one of the six Āstika schools of Indian philosophy. It’s based on three canonical texts - Upanishads, Brahma Sūtra (ब्रह्म सूत्र), and the Bhagavad Gita, together called Prasthānatrayī (प्रस्थानत्रयी).

Advaita Vedānta is one of the Vedānta schools that has Adi Shankaracharya as its central figure. Advaita (अद्वैत) translates to non-dualism (अ - Non, द्वैत - Dualism).

It only accepts Brahman as Reality, everything else being an illusion, not of the magician’s kind, but the one resulting from nescience (Avidyā, अविद्या).

अविद्या विपरीतग्राहक: संशयोस्थापकः अग्रहनात्मको अग्रहणात्मको वा ²

Avidyā is of the nature of causing a wrong knowledge or creating a doubt, or not knowing anything. 

The objective is to get rid of our ignorance to realize Brahman. But what is Brahman?

Brahman (ब्रह्मन्)

In the fourth issue of Indian Philosophy, we learned that the sage Yājñavalkya (याज्ञवल्क्य) describes Brahman through negation in Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad (बृहदारण्यक उपनिषद्)

स होवाच, एतद्वै तदक्शरः, गार्गि ब्राह्मणा अभिवदन्ति, अस्थूलमनण्वह्रस्वमदीर्घमलोहितमस्नेहमच्छायमतमोऽ-

वाय्वनाकाशमसङ्गमचक्शुष्कमश्रोत्रमवागमनोऽ-

तेजस्कमप्राणममुखममात्रमनन्तरमबाह्यम्, न तदश्नाति किंचन, न तदश्नाति कश्चन ॥ ८ ॥

Brahman is neither gross, nor fine, neither short, nor long, neither like fire, nor like water, neither shadow, nor darkness, neither air nor space, unattached, without taste, without smell, without eyes, without ears, without voice, without mind, without radiance, without breath, without mouth, without measure, having no within and no without. It eats nothing, and no one eats it.

But that’s not the only description you will find in the Upanishads. Different sages across centuries contributed their ideas resulting in a heterogeneous concept of Brahman.

Around 500 BCE, Bādarāyaṇa, who some speculate as Ved Vyāsa, systemized the heterogeneous ideas in a single work known as Brahma Sūtra to give a coherent picture of Brahman.

Centuries later, Adi Shankaracharya wrote a detailed commentary, Brahma Sūtra Bhāshya, to establish Advaita as a primary school of Vedānta.

Every Sūtra or Bhāshya always begins by stating the objective of the text. This also holds for Brahma Sūtra, with the first aphorism defining its essence.

अथातो ब्रह्मजिज्ञासा

Now, therefore, the desire to know Brahman

According to Adi Shankara, one needs a clear and controlled mind with cessation of all materialistic needs and desires before they begin their journey to know Brahman.

The following two aphorisms recognize Brahman as the cause for the creation of the cosmos and the Vedas.

जन्माधस्य यतः

That (is Brahman) from which (are derived) the birth etc. of this (universe). 

The compound word (बहुव्रीहि समास), janmādi, implies birth, continuance, and dissolution. Hence, Brahman is the cause for the creation, preservation, and destruction of the universe.

शास्त्रयोनित्वात्

(Brahman is omniscient) because of being the source of the scriptures (Vedas)

Brahman is the yoni (योनि) (the material and the efficient cause) of the great scriptures.

तत्तु समन्वयात्

The fourth sutra asserts that the scriptures present a consistent and unitary truth about the Brahman, and the remainder of the work serves as an attempt to prove that this is true. ³

These four sūtras, known as Chatuhsūtrī (चतु: सूत्री), contain the essence of what follows in the remaining 550 sūtras. Adi Shankara’s commentary also refutes all other schools that do not believe in Brahman as the only Reality. He makes effective use of Reductio ad absurdum to negate the arguments of Sānkhya, Buddhist and Jain philosophers.

Adi Shankaracharya also wrote detailed expositions on Upanishads and Bhagavad Gita. The breadth and depth of his work made him the most important figure of Vedānta.

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Brahman and Māyā

The Absolute Reality, Brahman, is Nirguna (निर्गुण ब्रह्मन) - without attributes, formless and eternal. It is invisible, ungraspable, and without any origin.

If we make an analogy, a character in a one or two-dimensional world will perhaps have similar thoughts for a being in a higher dimension. But Brahman, being formless, is even beyond the dimensions.

This sounds much like the all-mighty God. However, equating Brahman with God is not entirely correct.

The formless Brahman manifests as God (Isvara, ईश्वर) or Saguna Brahman (सगुण ब्रह्मन) in association with Māyā (माया), an abstract concept in Advaita philosophy.

Māyā is understood as the adjunct of Brahman. There’s no beginning to Māyā, and it cannot be categorized as real or unreal. Hence, Māyā is described as indeterminate (अनिर्वचनीय). We can only understand Māyā through its effects. It is akin to understanding something not through direct observation but with causation.

It is only through Māyā that Isvara (God) becomes the material and efficient cause of the world. One should note that the Brahman is still the only Reality. Brahman and God do not imply dualism. As Nirguna-Brahman is non-dual, it is Saguna Brahman (Isvara) who, with the power of Māyā, brings forth this creation. ⁴

We can recall a similar role of Prakriti from Sankhya philosophy. It gives rise to everything in the universe through a process of transformation.

Hence, Māyā has also been called as Prakṛti (प्रकृति).

वैष्णवीं स्वां मायां मूलप्रकृतिं वशीकृत्य

So, what happens to mere mortals like us in this illusionary world? How can we know Brahman if it is formless?

Adi Shankaracharya says that the study of the scriptures (Upanishads) is a path to liberation. But there's much more to it. The answer lies within.

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You are Brahman (अहं ब्रह्मस्मि)

A remarkable philosophical insight from Upanishads is the recognition of Self (Ātman) with Brahman. The individual Self and the Absolute Brahman are one and the same.

But if that’s the case, what prevents us from realizing it?

Adi Shankara explains that the erroneous superimposition (अध्यास) due to nescience (Avidyā, अविद्या) leads to the misidentification of the Self (Ātman) with the not-Self, which is just a superficial notion of our name, occupation, and position in society. The individual misperceives the world as reality, just like we can mistake a rope for a snake.

Aristotle placed essence before existence; existentialists believed in existence before essence. But for Adi Shankaracharya, neither existence nor essence matters. They are nothing but a superimposition of the unreal on the real. We need to get rid of this nescience through knowledge of the Brahman. But the path is arduous and only for those who have an intense desire to realize the Brahman.

The path to liberation

A retreat to some meditation camp can calm your mind but will not go far in realizing Brahman. An essential pre-requisite is to have complete control over your mind — Self-restraint and a detachment from worldly pursuits. While this is an “end” for most of us, it’s just a means to an end for Adi Shankaracharya.

With an undistracted mind, the seeker must undertake a rigorous study of the Upanishads involving the three stages of:

• Shravana (श्रवण)(Active listening)

• Manana (मनन) (Reflection)

• Nidhidhyasana (निधिध्यासन) (Meditation)

If the will is strong and the goal true, you will find your way from illusion to illumination.

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The four Māhāvākyas (The Great Sayings) contain the core of Advaita - Brahman is Ātman.

• प्रज्ञानम् ब्रह्म (Bramhan is insight)

• अयम् आत्मा ब्रह्म (Self (Atman) is Bramhan)

• तत् त्वम् असि (You are That.)

• अहम् ब्रह्मास्मि (I am Bramhan)

Adi Shankaracharya established four monasteries (Maṭha, मठ) in different parts of India for teaching and propagating the Advaita philosophy. His detailed expositions and philosophical debates across the nation made Advaita the most widely known philosophy amongst the Āstika schools.

The philosopher is in awe of the depth and richness of Advaita. The sage finds his peace with it. And commoners learn that they are not common. The potential lies within waiting to be kindled with knowledge — You are what you seek.

1. Classical Indian Philosophy - Adamson and Ganeri

2. Bhagavad Gita Bhashya 3.2

3. Badrayana’s Brahmasūtra - George Adams

4. The roots of Vedānta - Sudhakshina Rangaswami (Penguin Classics)