Monism ( Advaitha ) Part 1

05/14/2004

Sarvey bhavanthu sukhinaha Sarvey santhu niraamayaa
Sarvey bhadraani pasyanthu Maa kaschit dukkha bhaag bhaveth.

- - - Vedic Santhi Manthra

( May everyone be happy. May everyone be blessed with sound health.
May everyone experience that which is good.
Let no one be ever subject to sorrow ).
- - - - - - - -
Hello everyone ! Sukravaaram Suprabhaath !

It is proposed to dwell upon the basic concepts of the philosophy of Monism
( Advaitha ), the core of Vedanta, the central pivotal theme of all Upanishads,
Brahma Soothras, and the crowning Bhagawad Geetha. This would be a very
elementary and superficial exposure of the vast subject on which there exists
endless literature based on India's ancient scriptures. It was Adi Sankaracharya
(supposed to be in eighth century A.D) who, in his brief life span of a little over
thirty years, wrote innumerable treatises (commentaries, sthothras and thathwa
slokas), and travelled on foot (paada yaathra) all over India, discussing and
debating, on logical basis, with intellectual stalwarts, and re-established the
supremacy of this doctrine, and checked the advances of the Soonya philosophy
of Buddhism.
The penetrating intellect and the discriminating mind of the ancient Seers of
India, posed to themselves the queery: " What is Truth ? ", and gave out
enlightening revelations. They stated that Truth is that which is Eternal and
ever unchanging at all times and under all circumstances. Its permanent
Existence is ever absolutely unaffected by anything whatsoever. It is beyond
birth and death, and, beyond time, space and causation. One might ask :
" Is there a need for such an entity ? ". Let's come to brass tacks. Everything
around us is moving and changing (movement itself is change); earth itself is
rotating and revolving continuously and endlessly; all planets, the solar system
itself, the stars and the galaxies and what not - - - everything in a state of move,
a state of change. That is at the macro level. Then, in this world, all interactions
in between animate beings, or, inanimate beings, or between them, all involve
change. Again, within the individual also there is continuous movement and
change. The body is a huge working machine. Breath and pulse are movements.
Cells are born and dying. Birth and death are changes. Mind is nothing but mere
thought-flow, a continuous change. In short, there is mostly nothing that is
perceived or experienced which is not changing, considering from the micro to
the macro level. Now comes the crux of the problem. To realise or experience
that things are changing, there must be something, a reference point, that is
absolutely unchanging. A relative velocity concept. For example, if two adjacent
vehicles are moving at same speed, a person sitting in one does not notice any
movement of the other; whereas if one is stationary and the other moving, then,
its movement is observed. Thus, it is quite logical to conclude that there must be
something that is stationary and unchanging, to observe everything else that is
moving and changing.
Now, such an unchanging entity has to be one only. Because, if there were
to be two or more such entities, again, relativity sets in, and there could be
interactions between them, which implies change. Thus there has to be One and
only One Eternal and changeless Truth, or by whatever name It may be called.
Actually, It has to be beyond name and form, because such attributes are again
susceptible to change. Hence It should satisfy all the requirements of being :
Niraakaara (formless), Niranjana (ever pure), Nischala (stationary), Nithya (eternal),
Nirvikaara (changeless), Nirguna (attributeless), Nithya Buddha (ever conscious, as
It has to be the silent Witness for all that is manifest, though Itself being unmanifest
being formless), All-inclusive and All-pervading (being Niraakaara). Being all the above,
It is Divine. It is Advaitha.
The topic would be continued in the next Fri-Call.