Ignorance-The Cause of Bodily Identification part3
Sun, 02/10/2008 - 17:36 — admin
TEACHER: I’m afraid he hasn’t been able to present a very sound explanation to convince us that this isn’t the case. His explanation of the workings of ignorance don’t give very satisfactory answers to this criticism, nor to several other matters raised by the Vaishnava scholars. Shankara states that it is the ignorant only on whom the ego is superimposed and that it is the ignorant only who seek to become liberated from this condition.12 This doesn’t really explain how the condition came about in the first place, nor does it explain why it is undesirable. What’s more, if it is undesirable, then who is it undesirable for? Was it imposed upon the Supreme Brahman? If so, then there exists something more powerful than the Supreme Brahman.
MICHAEL: If you don’t feel it’s too much of a sidetrack from the main point of our discussion, I’d like to hear Shankara’s answers to these questions.
TEACHER: Let me first sum up Shankaracharya’s doctrine concerning Brahman, the individual souls, and the world. Then we can hear Shankaracharya’s answers to the questions just raised and consider whether or not they are satisfactory.
Shankara says the Absolute Reality is the formless, impersonal Brahman. Other than this Brahman, nothing exists-no individual souls, no world, and no activities. It is on the basis of ignorance (avidya) only that we imagine that Brahman has transformed itself into the world and divided itself into the innumerable individual souls. Just as a person, due to improper knowledge, mistakes a rope to be a snake, so also we perceive the world and the individual souls when in reality there is only Brahman.13 Shankara further states that although Brahman appears as the universe and the individual souls, when in reality nothing other than Brahman exists, we should not think that it is Brahman that falsely thinks itself-due to ignorance-to be the individual souls and the world. Rather, it is that the ideas of the world and the individual souls have been superimposed upon Brahman.14 This condition of considering oneself to be separate from Brahman and seeing the world and other individual souls as separate from Brahman is called material bondage. Shankara says that this bondage, which is due to ignorance, can be overcome through knowledge. This is called liberation. One who is liberated through proper knowledge again sees things as they are.15
INNER PEACE, SELF-REALIZATION, SOCIAL HARMONYMICHAEL: So in effect, Shankara has been unable to escape the criticism that in his philosophical system God has become subjected to ignorance?
The yogi’s interest is inner peace and self-realization and social harmony.
Science of Identity Foundation – Siddhaswarupananda
TEACHER: I’m afraid he hasn’t been able to present a very sound explanation to convince us that this isn’t the case. His explanation of the workings of ignorance don’t give very satisfactory answers to this criticism, nor to several other matters raised by the Vaishnava scholars. Shankara states that it is the ignorant only on whom the ego is superimposed and that it is the ignorant only who seek to become liberated from this condition.12 This doesn’t really explain how the condition came about in the first place, nor does it explain why it is undesirable. What’s more, if it is undesirable, then who is it undesirable for? Was it imposed upon the Supreme Brahman? If so, then there exists something more powerful than the Supreme Brahman.
MICHAEL: If you don’t feel it’s too much of a sidetrack from the main point of our discussion, I’d like to hear Shankara’s answers to these questions.
TEACHER: Let me first sum up Shankaracharya’s doctrine concerning Brahman, the individual souls, and the world. Then we can hear Shankaracharya’s answers to the questions just raised and consider whether or not they are satisfactory.
Shankara says the Absolute Reality is the formless, impersonal Brahman. Other than this Brahman, nothing exists-no individual souls, no world, and no activities. It is on the basis of ignorance (avidya) only that we imagine that Brahman has transformed itself into the world and divided itself into the innumerable individual souls. Just as a person, due to improper knowledge, mistakes a rope to be a snake, so also we perceive the world and the individual souls when in reality there is only Brahman.13 Shankara further states that although Brahman appears as the universe and the individual souls, when in reality nothing other than Brahman exists, we should not think that it is Brahman that falsely thinks itself-due to ignorance-to be the individual souls and the world. Rather, it is that the ideas of the world and the individual souls have been superimposed upon Brahman.14 This condition of considering oneself to be separate from Brahman and seeing the world and other individual souls as separate from Brahman is called material bondage. Shankara says that this bondage, which is due to ignorance, can be overcome through knowledge. This is called liberation. One who is liberated through proper knowledge again sees things as they are.15