Avidyā
Śaṅkarācārya in his book titled ātma bodhā uses examples from our every day
experiences to introduce the topic of avidyā.
We shall look at two of the most frequently used examples, rope-snake ─ rajjusarpa and shell-silver in this write-up. These examples are used to
address avidyā - ajñānaṁ which is the root cause of संसारsaṁsāra.
तावत्सत्यं जगद्भाति शुक्तिकारजतं यथा।
Audio from Atma Bodha:
Commentary on ātma
bodhā verse 7 by Swami Paramarthananda
is as per the link below.
तावत्सत्यं जगद्भाति शुक्तिकारजतं यथा।
यावन्न ज्ञायते
ब्रह्म सर्वाधिष्ठानमद्वयम्॥
७॥
tāvatsatyaṁ jagadbhāti śuktikārajataṁ
yathā |
yāvanna jñāyate brahma sarvādhiṣṭhānamadvayam
|| 7||
Rope-Snake and Shell-Silver:
Suppose there is a rope lying around and
its shape is very much like a snake as shown in the picture above. When it is totally
dark and you cannot see the rope, then there is no problem. Total ignorance is
bliss. And when there is a good light and you are able to see the rope clearly,
then there is no problem. Total knowledge is bliss.
When there is partial darkness, then you
mistake the rope for a snake.
This is extended to self-knowledge. We
are partially ignorant about brahman. We are not totally unaware of brahman. Saṁsārā
─ the cycle of birth and death is caused by this partial self-ignorance as
explained below.
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Rope-snake
makes us run away from that. Rope-snake causes द्वेष - dveṣa - Dislike
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Advaita vedanta also uses the example of
silver superimposed on a sea shell ─ śuktikārajataṁ
yathā. Bright sun light shining on the sea shell causes one to mistake
the shell for silver.
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A small mistake makes us mortal:
The sequential events which leads us to
mortality are as below.
1. अज्ञानं
ajñānaṁ leads to अध्यास
adhyāsa
Partial
ignorance leads to superimposition. Snake is superimposed on the rope. And
silver is superimposed on the sea shell.
2. अध्यास
adhyāsa ─ Unreal mistaken as real leads to राग
द्वेष rāga dveṣa ─ likes and dislikes.
We like the
silver and are drawn towards it ─ राग
rāga.
And we dislike
the snake and are driven away from it ─ द्वेष
dveṣa.
3. राग
द्वेष rāga dveṣa –likes and dislikes leads
to प्रवृत्ति pravṛtti and निवृत्ति
nivṛtti
We want to
acquire the silver ─ प्रवृत्ति pravṛtti. We want to get rid of the snake - निवृत्ति
nivṛtti.
4. This leads to कर्म
karma ─ actions. We run away or towards the object.
5. Karma leads to पाप
पुण्य pāpa puṇya.
As per our
deeds we accumulate pāpam and puṇyam.
6. This leads to the cycle of birth and
death.
Ignorance to mistaken identification to
likes and dislikes to papa and punya to the cycle of birth and death.
Snake superimposed on the rope by itself
does not cause a problem. It is only when the unreal snake is presented as a real object,
it causes fear, anxiety and pain to us. So avidyā or ajñānaṁ causes first
superimposition and then transfers the attributes of unreal to real. The
reality, which is the rope, cannot harm you. The attributes of the unreality,
the snake are transferred to the rope by ignorance.
Sankara says that “ajñāna janita mityā
prapanja is samsāra”. The unreal duality projected by ignorance is the cause
of all problems.
Misrepresentation of facts is the
cause for samsara. Ignorance transposes reality and unreality.
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The experience of dreams is used to
eloborate on adhyāsa. In our dreams we mistake dream-self as our own real-self.
A superimposed unreal self is mistaken to be the real self. Anyonya‑Adhyasa is the mutual
transference of the attributes. We look upon the dream world as
real.
Some Definitions:
The following definitions are from The
Divine Life Society book “An Introduction to
Advaita Vedanta Philosophy” by Swami Tejomayananda Saraswati of The
Divine Life Society.
35. Q. What is meant by Adhyasa?
A. It means superimposition. The
attributes of one thing are falsely attributed or transferred to another thing.
One thing is mistaken for another.
36. Q. Illustrate.
A. Mother‑of‑pearl is mistaken for
silver. Silver is superimposed on the mother‑of‑pearl. Body is Jada (non‑intelligent).
But it appears to be intelligent or conscious through Adhyasa. The attributes
of the Atman are superimposed on Buddhi and body.
Labels: Secret of immortality. Nectar of immortality. Amrtam. Avidya. Ajnanam. Adhayāsa. Super imposition. Maya. māya. DLS.
Labels: Secret of immortality. Nectar of immortality. Amrtam. Avidya. Ajnanam. Adhayāsa. Super imposition. Maya. māya. DLS.