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Re :Problems in mu understanding of Advaita
Dear Giriji,
>
> Instead of calling these problems in advaita, wouldn't it
> be better if you called it problems in my understanding of advaita because
Sorry! I realised that and so changed the title :-)
> >First problem :
>
> >Since Advaita states that everything is illusory, it states its own unreality.
>
> By everything what do you mean ? Only Self IS.
Precisely-and since only the Self IS, the philosophy of Advaita itself must be
unreal. That's what I meant then : Advaita states its own unreality. It's like
saying that the mind can be shown to be unreal. How? By logic-i.e, the mind.
To prove the non-existence of something, we use that thing itself - how can it
then be unreal?
>
> >Why practise religion at all, since Avidya is anyway unreal, and the self is
> >already known ?
>
> The Self is not known to you [since i presume you are not self-
> realized].
right :-)
> The practice is to remove avidya, i.e to remove the delusion that
> you are separate human being whoi is limited, one who dies etc. Only
> when the avidya is removed that one perceives that the I is never born, nor
> does it die. Remember, this I is Self or Atman [which is Brahman in advaita]
> and not the ego self.
> Another way of looking at it is to use the mandukya karika. When
> we are awake, we use our senses and mind. When we dream, we use our mind
> but not our senses, while in deep sleep we don't use the senses and the mind.
> Therefore, there is a break in mind,senses and the ego etc, yet when we
> get up after the sleep we say 'i had a good sleep, i feel fresh etc...'.
> This points that there is a fourth state which is transcendantal to these
> states and IS all the time. This subject is dealt in detail in
> http://ddi.digital.net/~egodust
>
yes, I read it. It was good. the idea of continuity of something to say that
it exists...but again, how do I know that I didn't see anything in deep sleep?
I might have seen something, only forgotten it later...
For instance, I can emphatically deny that I saw such-and such thing when
I was 3 years old, but it might actually be true that I did see and forgot it
later. For all I know, many things might have happened during my deep sleep
and the MEMORY got "erased" when I got up.
> >Third problem :
> >Is there anything to "achieve"-like salvation, etc? If there is, you must accept
>
> Well, there is something to achieve if you believe that you are
> dual and you are different from every other person. The belief is that
> you are already enlightened, but due to avidya you perceive that you are
> limited, subjected to duality, death etc. The practice is only to remove
> avidya.
>
I'm trying...:-)
> i cannot answer more in detail, but read the introduction to
> upadesasahasri : thousand teachings of Shankara by Mayeda. He deals with
> your questions in detail.
IMHO, That is a good book. I got it. Am reading it...
-Kartik
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