Summary:

This session discusses key concepts in Advaita Vedanta philosophy, focusing on the relationship between Awareness and Concept, and the nature of reality. It explains attributeless Awareness as the cause of everything, free from all attributes. The document explores the classification of the entire universe (jagat) under sajatiya, vijatiya, and svagata bheda, ultimately resolving all objects into concepts. It emphasizes that only Awareness and Concept need to be resolved, with their relationship being Satya-mithya (real-unreal).

The session delves into two levels of mithya: Vyavaharika (empirically true) and Pratibhasika (subjectively true). It outlines the journey from Pratibhasika to Vyavaharika to Paramarthika (absolute reality), explaining how Vedanta reduces subjective realities and reveals the unchanging presence behind the empirical body-mind complex. The session also discusses two kinds of adhyasa (superimposition): subjective and empirical, and the conditions necessary for adhyasa to occur.

Furthermore, it explores the removal of adhyasa and its effects, distinguishing between Sopadhika-adhyasa (where appearance doesn't change) and Nirupadhika-adhyasa (where perception changes). The session emphasizes that liberation is cognitive rather than experiential, involving the removal of false notions without necessarily changing perceptions.

Kena Upanishad, Chapter 1, Verse 2: Continuing…

What does attributeless Awareness mean?

• For cause to be cause of everything, has to be free of everything.
• EG: Clear bottle sometimes appears red, sometimes green… says it’s free from all. IF intrinsically red, wouldn’t appear green.
• To appear as anything, has to be free from everything.
• Consciousness is not an object, thus non-experienceable. It is the subject because of whom objects are experienced. 

Having explained Consciousness, to see how whole world resolves into it…

• Only need to resolve Awareness & Concept:
  • Entire jagat (space-time-objects) classified under sajatiya, vijatiya, svagata bheda. Keep difference as they are. But…
    • Through analysis, when inquire into substance of any object, they resolve to concept. And because of which all differences are known, is Awareness. Ultimately only have to solve relationship between Awareness and Concept.
  • Meaning of concept:
    • Doesn’t mean “mental concept”; else means world is subjective.
    • Ultimately you come to intangible cause (concept) which can’t find the nature of. It’s undefinable.
• What is relationship between Concept and Awareness? Satya-mithya.
  • Can any concept exist without presence of Awareness? No. Because comes into being and dissolves, or manifests and unmanifests — and this changing phenomena is observed by the common presence (sadharana cit). While Awareness doesn’t need concept to exist.
  • Therefore idea that Awareness is vijatiya-bheda (distinct from everything else) is negated. There are no two things, just as table-wood aren’t two different things.

Missing out on Concept/Consciousness leads to…

• Nature of mistake: Long as identity placed in one of infinite mithya’s, “I feel small, want to engage in world to temporarily remove sense of limitation”. Things don’t go my way, misery.

2 Levels Of Mithya:

• Vyavaharika:
  • What is empirically true. It is, therefore I see it (not only I, but you too).
  • Vyavaharika, like table, is not product of ignorance. Lot of intelligence goes into it.
• Pratibhasika:
  • Subjectively true. I see it, therefore it is (for me).
  • EG:
    • It’s empirically a rope, but what I see is a snake.
    • Mixture: Water is cold. Both vyavaharika & pratibhasika.
  • Mithya’s mithya. We create superimposition on mithya rope.

How your identity gets placed in one of the two mithyas…

1. VYAVAHARIKA: Upon birth, Awareness is connected to one body-mind complex. Is this pratibhasika (your imagination) or vyavaharika? Vyavaharika. You didn’t imagine it. Therefore, mistake of taking “I” as a body-mind is universal mistake.  Leads to…
2. PRATIBHASIKA: Having been born with one body-mind, subsequent conclusions such as “I’m no good, I’m weak”, the conclusions are pratbhasika. Meaning “I” gets further loaded with subjective opinions.
   • SOLUTION: Vedanta reduces pratibhasika by speaking of right attitudes, values. Living less in projected realities, and more in empirical reality. As a result…
3. PARAMARHIKA: Then Vedanta shows you, your connection to the empirical body-mind is also mithya. You’re shown, despite this changing empirical body, there’s an unchanging presence, paramarthika (absolute reality).
   • Meaning: Both pratibhasika & vyavaharika is mithya (relative / dependent). Both depend on self-revealing presence, satyam (paramarthika). 

NEXT: How to remove adhyasa?…

2 Kinds Of Adhyasa & Condition For Adhyasa:

• 2 Kinds of Adhyasa:
  1. Subjective superimposition:
     • Rope-snake: Pratibhasika adhyasa. Where there is empirical rope, I project a snake on it.
  2. Empirical superimposition:
     • Your connection to this body-mind is empirical reality. It’s Ishvara’s design that Awareness is connected to a body-mind. As result of connection, “I” is mistaken as body-mind. Vyavaharika adhyasa. It’s not imagined.
• Condition for Adhyasa:
  • You can only mistake one thing for another when you see them both. Meaning condition for adhyasa is that you have to know it. EG: Rope is partially seen, snake is fully seen.
  • Similarly, Awareness (although not available for objectification, however it is self-revealing), too becomes subject of adhyasa.

Two Mithya's produce two kinds of superimpositions:

1. Sopadhika-adhyasa: (Appearance doesn’t change)
   • You open eyes and make conclusion earth is flat, or see sun rising in East, setting in West. This conclusion is vyavaharika, because everyone else also sees same. It’s not a personal projection, but empirical arrangement.
     • Meaning the phenomena of “flat earth” is not imagined. But it’s still adhyasa, because earth is round.
   • UPON CORRECTION:
     • You come to see earth is globe, appearance doesn’t change. Come to see table is nothing but wood, you still see/experience table.
     • NOTHING CHANGES, NOTION REMOVED: Similarly, coming to know world is mithya, which resolves in satyam, nothing changes.
       • Coming to know I am much more then this empirical body-mind, nothing changes. Only false notion is removed.
     • If looking for change of perception (in anything) upon enlightenment, you’ll go crazy. Therefore liberation (knowing the satya-mithya relationship) is not experiential, but cognitive.
2. Nirupadhika-adhyasa: (Appearance goes away, Perception changes)
   • Rope-snake.
   • UPON CORRECTION: Suppose someone throws light and you see rope. What happens to perception? Complete perceptual change.
   • Every time correct pratibhasika-adhyasa, perception changes.

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Recorded 10 July, 2024