Summary:

In this session, we explore the concept of Maya and how an attribute-full universe emerged from an attribute-less reality. The discussion begins by addressing the apparent contradiction of attributes arising from an attributeless source, introducing the concept of maya as Awareness's potential to manifest the universe.

The explanation uses the analogy of dreaming to illustrate how a single, unchanging Awareness can manifest multiple realities. This is then expanded to the macrocosmic level, where Awareness (Brahman) manifests the universe through its potential (maya), becoming the Creator (Ishvara).

The session delves into the nature of Ishvara and Brahman, distinguishing between their characteristics. Brahman is described as unchanging (kutastha-nityatvam) and a vivarta upadana karanam, while Ishvara is characterized by eternal change (pravaha-nityatvam) and as a parinami upadana karana.

Various examples are provided to illustrate these concepts, including the rope-snake illusion, milk becoming curd, and gold forming different ornaments. The session emphasizes the importance of understanding Ishvara in Vedanta and cautions against reducing everything to mere Awareness.

Introduction to Maya: Explaining How Attribute-full Universe Came from an Attribute-less Reality

• REVISION: V1.1 – 1.8:
  • Presence because of which everything operates, and itself is free from all functions (eyes, ears, mind). We collapsed whole universe into concept. And remains is Awareness. Their relationship is satya-mithya.
  • THIS RAISES QUESTION OF HOW UNIVERSE CAME: How did eyes, prana, hearing, mind come about? How did multiplicity come in first place. How did times-space-objects come? Requires further inquiry.
• OBJECTION:
  • You said Awareness (sat-cit) is attributeless, and now you’re saying so many attributes came from attributeless reality? And we also said there can’t be another sat-cit (from which attributes supposedly came) — else infinite regression (this sat-cit was born in another sat-cit, born in another sat-cit, etc).
• EXPLANATION TO OBJECTION ABOVE:
  • To explain, there’s intervening factor. Awareness, without undergoing any change, has potential to manifest as time-space-objects. Awareness in reference to it’s potential, is called maya.
  • How to understand? Mandukya Upanishad says, whatever is at universal (samasti) level, also happens at individual (vyasti) level. In other words, you’re doing at individual level, what is happening at universal level. Dream. Let’s explain with a dream below…
• MICROCOSM: First let’s look at Microcosm level (then we’ll expand later to whole universe)…
  1. Potential:
     1. How many dreams you have per night? Average four, all different theme. Right now, you’re carrying potential for four different worlds tonight. Each has dream time-space-characters-with-emotions. So you have knowledge-power to create dream, but right now it’s in potential. And to create tree/emotions, means this potential (of yours), is knowledge/power in reference to dream.
     2. What is relationship between the potential and you (Awareful being)? Satya-mithya. Dream can’t manifest without you. And you are much more then capacity to create dream. You are free of happenings in dream. NOTE: Don’t confuse Awareful person with Awareness. This is only example at microcosm.
  2. Manifest:
     1. When Dream is Created, You Called Creator: When dream is created, the Awareful being gains a different name “Creator of Dream”. You can’t be called “Creator” before dream has manifest. Within dream creation, you DON’T see yourself as creator/resolver/sustainer of dream, but as one of many different characters.
     2. Conclusion:
        • The whole dream has it’s being in you (one Awareful being). And you undergo no intrinsic change (nothing in dream sticks to you). You are one and your potential creates many out of you.
• MACROCOSM: Now let’s look at Macrocosm level:
  1. The reality is Awareness (your true nature). It has potential to manifest time-space-object universe. Potential is called maya (potential to manifest). When potential manifests, Awareness as though, becomes “Creator OR Cause of universe”. Awareness as creator is called “Ishvara”. When Universe is manifest, you (Awareness) see yourself as one individual (called jiva), within grand scheme of things.
  2. Whether talking about maya, Ishvara, jiva — they all depend on Awareness.
  3. Question: Is Ishvara (God) mithya?
     • Wherever there is mithya, that’s exactly where Satyam is. Where there’s table, that’s where wood is. There’s no table “there”, and wood “here”. Don’t think “I’m above Ishvara / world, therefore I don’t need to talk about them”; that’s pseudo-Vedanta. You need Ishvara to help you remove ignorance of what-is. Awareness doesn’t save you.
• MICROCOSM VS MACROCOSM:
  1. In case of dream, your knowledge/power potential is limited. For example, you only dream about things known to you within 30-70 years of your life. In case of Awareness, it's all-knowledge-power manifests itself as the entire unierse, including you who can dream your own world. Total knowledge-power in Sanskrit is called: sarvajna sarva-shaktiman Ishvara.
     • Logic: ghatasya karta ghatajna, sarvasya karta sarvajna:  Pot maker must have pot-knowledge to make pot. Whereas creator of everything, must have knowledge of everything. Creator of everything must know about all objects that constitute “everything”, including how to connect them, and what relationship they'll have to each other.  That’s why self-knowledge comes from Ishvara, as Ishvara isn’t ignorant of it's nature.
  2. In case of both the Microcosm and the Macrocosm, what is the content of the manifested? Knowledge-power.
     • Anything you experience is knowledge, within knowledge. Not a belief, because if examine anything, it’s knowledge. EG: Just to become ophthalmologist (eye specialist), takes 5 years for medical school. Another 3 years for retina.
• ALL ABOUT ISHVARA:
  • Vedanta is all about Ishvara, and ends with Ishvara. When you turn Vedanta into Awareness, you keep creating own realities (to explain away forms), and Ishvara keeps you as jiva.
• CAN ISHVARA & BRAHMAN WORDS BE INTERCHANGED? No.
  1. Brahman:
     1. Kutastha-nityatvam (changeless for eternity):
        1. Presence that never undergoes change. Remains exactly as is eternally.
        2. Attribute-free, thus able to manifest as one set of objects, swallow it, manfiest different set of objects. If Awareness (Brahman) underwent change to become world, then wouldn’t find Awareness right now as self-evident “I”.
     2. Vivarta Upadana Karanam: (Apparently changing material cause)
        • Explanation:
          • Produces effect without undergoing any change. 
          • Material cause that does not undergo any change while bringing about effects. Material cause that doesn't undergo change, but remains as Consciousness. Whatever happens at level of knowledge-power, doesn't change presence of Consciousness.
          • Content of all-knowledge-power, and content of manifest time-space-objects. Content is known to you as “I am, I am, I am”.   
        • Examples:
          • Rope isn't actually changed by your snake vision. Just because you see a snake, doesn't make the rope a snake. Rope remains exactly what it is all along, but has seemingly changed by your ignorance of it.
  2. Ishvara:
     • Pravaha-nityatvam (changing for eternity):
       • From potential to manifestation, requires change. And within manifest, there's constant change. So even though Ishvara precedes time-space-objects, it’s under constant flux. Thus it’s pravaha-nityatvam (in constant flux between unmanifest-potential and manifest-potential). Meaning knowledge-power goes through cycles of manifest & unmanifest. And even when knowledge-power is in manifest, even then it's reshuffling itself to obtain as time-space-objects. 
       • Knowledge-power doesn't change status of being knowledge-power, but has to reshuffle to manifest forms.
       • Pravaha means “flow”. Eternal changing.
       • Example showing how ishvara constantly undergoes changes between manifest-unmanifest: What was unmanifest yesterday, is manifest today. What is manifest now, is constantly going through manifest-unmanifest. And tomorrow is unmanifest. Today this body-mind in this condition, won't be there tomorrow. But “I” of today (the conscious being), will be there tomorrow, as much as I am here today. So Brahman continues, whereas Ishvara (yesterday, today, tomorrow) undergoes flux between manifest and unmanifest.
     • Parinami Upadana Karana (actually changing material cause): 
       • Explanation:
         • Knowledge-power (as the Material Cause), reshuffles itself (undergoes change) to produces effect. Knowledge-power remains knowledge-power, while appearing as different objects. 
         • Material cause that undergoes transformation to become effect (universe), but without any change in essential nature of the material cause. 
         • While all-knowledge-power modifies as objects, it doesn't loose its status as all-knowledge-power. So any object you see is modification of knowledge-power.
         • HOW CAN ALL-KNOWLEDGE-POWER UNDERGO CHANGE? If knowledge-power was non-changing, then can't have changing creation.
       • Examples:
         • Milk/Curd: Milk (cause) becomes curd (effect), without changing its essential nature, but manifesting in a new form.  So all knowledge-power changes to become different forms, but without changing the essential nature of knowledge power.
           • Milk was sweet and liquid; now it is sour and semi-solid. It has undergone some change. No doubt milk is the upādāna-kāraṇa for the yogurt, but the yogurt is definitely not in the form of milk.
         • CLAY-POT: A lump of clay (cause) becomes a pot (effect) through modification. 
         • GOLD-ORNAMENT: Gold appearing as different ornaments.
         • Seed undergoes change to become tree.
         • Ocean changing to become waves: The ocean's essential nature remains the same, but appears to take on a different form as waves.
         • All marbles in the universe re-arranging themselves: The marbles' essential nature remains the same, but their arrangement changes.

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Recorded 11 July, 2024