Shankara's Concept of Ignorance part1
Sun, 02/10/2008 - 18:14 — admin
The whole creation is nothing but a resolve in the mind of God. When He has a desire for creation the universe is produced in no time. A parallel case we find in our dream, when the whole dream world is brought into being in an instant by a mere wish.22
This idea has been developed even more extensively by Swami Muktananda, who is one of the most well-known Mayavadi philosophers in the modern age. He declares that God voluntarily places Himself under ignorance and enters the world in the form of the innumerable living entities, becoming totally forgetful of His real nature.23
He and other Mayavadi philosophers propagate the idea that God, through the agency of maya or ignorance, creates the material world and the living entities as a type of pleasurable pastime.24
MICHAEL: But that’s a contradiction. How can they speak of liberation from bondage and simultaneously declare that God created this world as a place of enjoyment? If the world is created by God as a place of pleasure, then where is the question of seeking liberation? Why do the Mayavadi teachers encourage us to try to get out of the world?
TEACHER: This is a very important point. If we accept both of these assertions, then it leads to the absurd conclusion that God is never happy. To say that the one, undifferentiated Absolute Truth created the world and then entered into it in the form of all individual souls is to say that in the undifferentiated condition the Absolute Truth, the Supreme Lord, was not satisfied. And to say that this world is a place of misery, and that we should try to remember our true nature-that we are the impersonal Brahman-thereby liberating ourselves from the bondage of this world, is to say that this world is not a place of happiness. It is to say that God is not happy here in the material world. So if He is not happy in the material world and He is not happy in the merged condition, then where is His happiness? If I am God and I am miserable here in the material world and therefore I take up meditation and philosophy to try to extract myself from it, then what have I got to look forward to if I am successful? If I chose to leave the merged condition and come here due to lack of satisfaction, then how am I to be happy if I enter back into that merged condition again? If I was there previously and was not happy, why should it be any different this time?
MICHAEL: This theory also seems to imply that God is not all-powerful-that He’s a lousy creator. Supposedly He desired to enjoy and made the world as a place of enjoyment, but now He has ended up suffering and therefore wants to return to the undifferentiated condition.
TEACHER: Yes, there are many contradictions in the Mayavadi philosophy. To discuss all of them, however, would take us off on many unnecessary tangents. I think we’ve covered the subject of ignorance fairly well-do you have any more questions on the subject?
MICHAEL: Yes-I’m very anxious to hear what the Vaishnavas have to say about the ignorant condition of the living entities. The Vaishnavas meditate, ‘Aham Brahmasmi,’ meaning ‘I am Brahman’. ‘They also acknowledge that the living beings have become covered by ignorance. If in their philosophical system they admit that Brahman can be covered by ignorance, aren’t they guilty of the same contradiction as the Mayavadis?
(On the other hand,) for a person who cultivates wisdom or true knowledge, the results are inner peace, satisfaction, patience, respect for others, freedom from duplicity, compassion, joyfulness, remembrance of his spiritual identity, freedom from the fear of death, freedom from anxiety and depression, and so on.Swami Vimuktananda comments on this verse as follows:
Science of Identity Foundation – Siddhaswarupananda
The whole creation is nothing but a resolve in the mind of God. When He has a desire for creation the universe is produced in no time. A parallel case we find in our dream, when the whole dream world is brought into being in an instant by a mere wish.22
This idea has been developed even more extensively by Swami Muktananda, who is one of the most well-known Mayavadi philosophers in the modern age. He declares that God voluntarily places Himself under ignorance and enters the world in the form of the innumerable living entities, becoming totally forgetful of His real nature.23
He and other Mayavadi philosophers propagate the idea that God, through the agency of maya or ignorance, creates the material world and the living entities as a type of pleasurable pastime.24
MICHAEL: But that’s a contradiction. How can they speak of liberation from bondage and simultaneously declare that God created this world as a place of enjoyment? If the world is created by God as a place of pleasure, then where is the question of seeking liberation? Why do the Mayavadi teachers encourage us to try to get out of the world?
TEACHER: This is a very important point. If we accept both of these assertions, then it leads to the absurd conclusion that God is never happy. To say that the one, undifferentiated Absolute Truth created the world and then entered into it in the form of all individual souls is to say that in the undifferentiated condition the Absolute Truth, the Supreme Lord, was not satisfied. And to say that this world is a place of misery, and that we should try to remember our true nature-that we are the impersonal Brahman-thereby liberating ourselves from the bondage of this world, is to say that this world is not a place of happiness. It is to say that God is not happy here in the material world. So if He is not happy in the material world and He is not happy in the merged condition, then where is His happiness? If I am God and I am miserable here in the material world and therefore I take up meditation and philosophy to try to extract myself from it, then what have I got to look forward to if I am successful? If I chose to leave the merged condition and come here due to lack of satisfaction, then how am I to be happy if I enter back into that merged condition again? If I was there previously and was not happy, why should it be any different this time?
MICHAEL: This theory also seems to imply that God is not all-powerful-that He’s a lousy creator. Supposedly He desired to enjoy and made the world as a place of enjoyment, but now He has ended up suffering and therefore wants to return to the undifferentiated condition.
TEACHER: Yes, there are many contradictions in the Mayavadi philosophy. To discuss all of them, however, would take us off on many unnecessary tangents. I think we’ve covered the subject of ignorance fairly well-do you have any more questions on the subject?
MICHAEL: Yes-I’m very anxious to hear what the Vaishnavas have to say about the ignorant condition of the living entities. The Vaishnavas meditate, ‘Aham Brahmasmi,’ meaning ‘I am Brahman’. ‘They also acknowledge that the living beings have become covered by ignorance. If in their philosophical system they admit that Brahman can be covered by ignorance, aren’t they guilty of the same contradiction as the Mayavadis?