sTUDY MATERIAL second semester CORE COURSE

indian metaphysics (PHL2C0 )

sTUDY MATERIAL

second semester

CORE COURSE

MA PHILOSOPHY

UNIVERSITY OF CALICUT

SCHOOL OF DISTANCE EDUCATION Calicut University P.O, Malappuram, Kerala, India 73 35.

190406

CBCSS (2020 ADMISSION onwards)

SCHOOL OF DISTANCE EDUCATION

STUDY ATERIAL

SECOND SEMESTER

CORE COURSE :

PHL2C06 : INDIAN METAPHYSICS

Prepared by : Sri. Ratheesh. D,

Assistant Professor on contract (Philosophy)

School of Distance Education

University of Calicut.

Scrutinized by: Dr. Balamurali.P.B

Assistant Professor

Department of Philosophy

University of Kerala,

Kariavattom, Thiruvananthapuram

MA PHILOSOPHY (2020 ADMISSION)

PHL2 C06- INDIAN METAPHYSICS

(Core)

Credit 5

Unit 1

Upanishads - Metaphysics

Nature of reality- Brahman-Atman-Creation-Degrees of Reality.

Unit II

Jainism-Metaphysics

Reality and Existence,-Ontology- Jiva – Ajiva

Unit III

Buddhism –Metaphysics

The four noble truths, eight fold path and

The Doctrine of Dependent Origination

Unit IV

Sankyha yoga -Metaphysics

Reality – Prakrthi-Purusha- Theory of evolution

Unit V

Schools of Vedanta

Sankara’s Advaita System- Visistadvaita and Dvaita


PHL2C06-INDIAN METAPHYSICS Page 2

Reference:

Dr. S. Radhakrishnan ;Indian Philosophy Vol I and II; .

C.D Sharma ;A Critical Survey of Indian Philosophy

Hiriyanna; Essentials of Indian Philosophy ;

Datta and Chatterjee ;Indian Philosophy

S.N. Das Guptha ;Indian Philosophy (relevant vols)



INDIAN METAPHYSICS

The term Indian philosophy may refer to any of several traditions of philosophical thought that

originated in India. Indian philosophy has a longer history of continuous development than any other

philosophical tradition, and philosophy encompasses a wide variety of schools and systems. Almost every

school of Indian philosophy is associated with a religious sect, including the six orthodox (astika) schools

(darshanas) like, Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Samkhya, Yoga, PurvaMimamsa, and Vedanta; and the heterodox

schools (nastika) which include Buddhism, Jainism and the materialistic Carvaka school.All the schools of

Indian philosophy are characterized by some common themes. Indian philosophy conceives of man as

spiritual in nature, and relates him to a spiritual or metaphysical concept of the universe. Indian philosophy is

intimately associated with practice in everyday life. It takes an introspective approach to reality, concerning

itself with knowledge of the inner life and self of man (atmavidya), rather than with the nature and structure

of the physical world. Indian philosophy is predominantly idealistic. Intuition is often accepted as the only

method for knowing the ultimate truth; truth is generally not known intellectually, but must be realized.The

Indian metaphysics is expressed through a rich variety of thoughts and practices that have developed over

more than three thousand years. There is no single Indian metaphysics, but rather a plurality of ways of

understanding and relating to Being from a stock of widely held ideas reflected in the Vedas, and particularly

in the classical systems of Hinduism, Budhism, and Jainism. Metaphysics becomes thematic at various levels

and in different contexts, in debates concerning the status of certain concepts as the soul, God, substances,

universals, time, change, permanence/impermanence, one and many, etc.



UNIT-1

UPANISHADS- METAPHYSICS

The Upanishads are ancient texts from India that were composed orally in Sanskrit between

about 700 B.C.E. and 300 B.C.E. There are thirteen major Upanishads, many of which were likely

composed by multiple authors and are comprised of a variety of styles. The Upanishads makes enquiry

into a number of perennial philosophical questions concerning the nature of being, the nature of the self,

the foundation of life, what happens to the self at the time of death, the good life, and ways of interacting

with others. The word Upanisads is derived from the root ‘sad’ which means (i) to sit down (ii)to

destroy (iii)to loosen. ‘Upa’ means nearby and ‘ni’ means ‘devotedly. The word therefore means the

sitting down of the disciple near his teacher in a devoted manner to receiving instruction about of the

highest reality which loosens all doubts and destroys all ignorance of the disciple. Gradually the word

came to signify any secret teaching about reality and it is used by the Upanisads in this sense(rahasya or

guhyavidya). The muktikopanisad gives the number of the upanisads as 108. But ten or eleven upanisads

are regarded as important and authorities on which Shankaracharya has commented. They are as

follows: Isa, Kena, Katha, Prasna, Mundaka, Mandukhya, Chandogya, Brahadaranyaka, Aitereya and

Taittiriya. The Upanishads contain some of the oldest discussions about key philosophical terms such as

ātman (the self), brahman (ultimate reality), karma, and yoga, as well as samsāra (worldly

existence), moksa (enlightenment), purusa (person), and prakrti (nature)—all of which would continue

to be central to the philosophical vocabulary of later traditions.

Nature of Reality

The ultimate reality was described in the hymns of Vedas as being One (Ekam Sat) that realized

itself in multiple things. The Upanishads refer to this same reality as both Atman and Brahman. But the

concept of Atman in these books is obscure. In Rig Veda it is taken to mean ‘breath’ or ‘vital essence’

which is also the general meaning of soul. The Atman, cannot be said to have the common attributes that

people ascribe to it. The self is beyond the qualities and attributes. Besides, it is also generally thought

that the reality of self can become an object in the case of introspective experiences. But whatever

becomes an object relates to the not self and all the things that are known as actual in the world are

different from self.



The person who looks into other eyes or into the mirror or looks at himself into the water, he sees just a

picture that is not the self. Such a self undergoes changes, and is amenable to disease and death. Atman

and Brahman are inseparable because they are one. The Atman has two sides: one side of it is connected

with universal truth that is known as Brahman and the other side relates to human body. The relation to

body however doesn’t change its eternality for while at the Jiva level it undergoes changes, at the rest of

levels it remains same. The truth of man is Atman and Atman is nothing but Brahman. According to

Upanishads at the first Atman is the empirical self but gradually it develops to bodily self and then

through the dream and deep sleep it finally changes into absolute.

Thus the two concepts that are of paramount importance in the Upanishads

are Brahman and Atman. The Brahman is the ultimate reality and the Atman is individual self

(soul).Brahman is the material, efficient, formal and final cause of all that exists. It is the pervasive,

genderless, infinite, eternal truth and bliss which does not change, yet is the cause of all changes.

Brahman is the infinite source, fabric, core and destiny of all existence, both manifested and un-

manifested, the formless infinite substratum and from which the universe has grown. The

word Atman means the inner self, the soul, the immortal spirit in an individual, and all living beings

including animals and trees. Ātmanis a central idea in all the Upanishads, and "Know your Ātman" their

thematic focus. However, Brahman and Atman are the terms used in the Upanishads to stand for the

ultimate reality. It manifests itself as the subject as well as the object and transcends them both. The

same reality is called from the subjective side as ‘Atman’ and from the objective side as ‘Brahman’. The

two terms are used as synonyms. “He, who is this Brahman in man, and who is that in the sun, those are

one’. The true self has been the main topic of investigation in the Upanisads.

Brahman

The word ‘Brahman’ is derived from the root ‘Brh’ which means to grow, to evolve. In the

beginning it meant sacrifice, then prayer and then it acquired its present meaning of ultimate reality. It

is the ultimate cause of the universe which spontaneously bursts forth as nature and soul.

Brahman connotes the highest Universal Principle, the Ultimate Reality in the universe. It is the

material, efficient, formal and final cause of all that exists. It is the pervasive, infinite, eternal truth and

bliss which does not change, yet is the cause of all changes. Brahman as a metaphysical concept refers

to the single binding unity behind diversity in all that exists in the universe.



In the Chandogya Upanishad, it is cryptically described as ‘Tajjalan.’ Tajjalan means that (tat) from

which the world arises (ja), into which it returns (la), and by which it is supported and it lives (an). In

the Taittiriya Upanishad, Brahman is described as that from which all beings are born, by which they

live, and into which they are reabsorbed. The evolution of the elements is given in this order. From

Brahman arises ether, from ether air, from air fire, from fire water and from water earth. But the real

theory of evolution is given in the doctrine of five sheaths (koshas) in the Taittiriya. The lowest level is

that of matter. Annam Brahma(annamaya) matter is unconscious and dead and cannot account for life.

It is purely on the physical plane. Brahman cannot rest content with matter. The purpose of matter is

fulfilled only when life is evolved. The highest state of matter is therefore life. Though matter cannot

account for life, yet there can be no life without matter. The inorganic matter must be transformed into

organic life. Hence the second state of evolution is life. Prana is Brahma(pranamaya). Now we are on

the biological plane. The vegetable life emerges first but the vegetable life must lead to the animal life.

The vegetable products must be transformed into living animal cells. Life provides the universe and

binds man with the rest of creation. But the destiny of life is fulfilled only when consciousness is

evolved. Hence the third state of evolution is mind or perceptual consciousness. Manas isBrahma

(manomaya). Here we are on the mental or psychological plane. This state is shared by lower animals

with man. Even this will not suffice, for there are intellectual facts which mere perceptual consciousness

does not take into account. Hence the fourth state of evolution is self-conscious reason. Vijnana or

intelligence is Brahma (vijnanamaya). Here we are on the metaphysical plane. This state is the sole

monopoly of human beings. Reason becomes self-conscious only at this state and this fact distinguishes

human beings from lower animals. The empirical trinity of knower, knowledge and known has been

evolved. But even this will not suffice. There must be something higher than mere intellect, where

existence is no longer formulated in terms of knowledge. The unity of existence requires that we must

transcend the intellectual level. Reality is different from thought, and can be reached in the turiyastate

of highest immediacy, which transcends thought and its distinctions, where the individual coincides

with the central reality. The fifth and the highest state of evolution, therefore, is the non-dual bliss.

Ananadais Brahma (anandamaya). Here we are on the mystic plane. The empirical trinity of knower,

known and knowledge has been fused into a transcendental unity. Here philosophy terminates, the

suggestion being that there is nothing higher than ananda. From it all things flow. By it all things are



sustained, and into it all things are dissolved. As all spokes are contained in the axle and the wheel, so

all beings, all gods, all world, all organs are contained in the universal self the Brahman.

It is regarded that Brahman is the ultimate "eternally, constant" reality, while the observed

universe is a different kind of reality but one which is "temporary, changing". Maya pre-exists and co-

exists with Brahman—the Ultimate Reality, The Highest Universal, the Cosmic Principles. According to

Upanishads Brahman is to be understood as being of two kinds: Para and Apara. The word ‘Para’ is

used for the higher Brahman which is acosmic, quality-less, indeterminate, indescribable,

(Nisprapancha, Nirguna, NirvisheshaandAnirvachaniya). The word Apara, on the other hand, refers to

lower Brahman which is cosmic, all-comprehensive, and full of all good qualities— (Saprapancha,

SagunaandSavishesha). The first is the Absolute God while the second is called the Ishvara. In essence,

Brahman and Ishvara are conjoined like fire and its power to burn, like the sleeping and the moving

serpents. Matter, Self and God are only manifestations of the Absolute.

The words Brahman and Ishvara are two aspects of the same entity i.e. impersonal and personal

God. Personal God or Ishvararefers to ultimate reality that has qualities and impersonal God is the one

that is devoid of attributes. The cosmic Brahman is regarded as the cause of production, maintenance

and destruction of this universe. All beings arise from Him, live in Him and are absorbed in Him. The

Mandukya calls Him ‘the Lord of all, the knower of all, the inner controller of all. Like sparks arising

from fire, like earthen-ware arising out of earth, like gold ornaments being made out of gold, like cob-

web coming out of a spider, like the musical sound coming out of a flute, the entire creation arises out of

Brahman. Just as when clay is known everything made out of clay becomes known, for it is only name

and form similarly when Brahman, the cause is known, everything , being a mere effect, becomes

known, for the effects are only names and forms, the reality is Brahman alone.

The Brahman or Nirguna Brahman is unconditioned Brahman or Brahman that is without

attributes. He is beyond all relations and creativeness. This state is the un-manifested state of Brahman

and is beyond our intelligence. The acosmic Brahman is the transcendental absolute, the Turiya or the

fourth, the Amatraor the measureless, the Anirvachaniya or the indescribable. The absolute can be best

described only in a negative way, though it is not itself negated by it. Yajnavalkya describes it thus.

“This is the imperishable, which wise people adore and not gross, not subtle, not short, not long,

without shadow, without darkness without air, without space, without attachment without taste, without



smell, without sight, without ears without speech, without mind, without light, without breath, without

mouth, and without either inside or outside. It does not eat anything nor can anything eat it”. The

negative description of Brahman does not mean that it is a blank nothingness. It only signifies that the

absolute cannot adequately be represented by the categories known to human thought. ‘It is not this, not

this’(Netineti). The best possible description gives is Saccidananda(sat- cit -ananda). Sat means

‘existence’ which points to the eternal nature of the absolute compared to things of temporal existence.

Cit means ‘consciousness’ which shows that it is spiritual. The last epithet anandastands for the blissful

nature of the reality. The terms are interpreted also as satyam(truth), jnanam(knowledge) and

anantam(infinite) respectively. The Brhadaranyaka describes Brahman as ‘the Real of the real’

(Satyasya Satyam).

Atman

Ātman is a central idea in all of the Upanishads, and "know your Ātman" is their thematic focus.

These texts state that the core of every person's self is not the body, nor the mind, nor the ego,

but Ātman, which means "soul" or "self". Atman is the spiritual essence in all creatures, their real

innermost essential being. It is eternal, it is the essence, and it is ageless. Atman is that which one is at

the deepest level of one's existence. The term ‘Atman’ was used in the Rgveda to denote the unborn part

or the immaterial soul of human. Atman is derived from ‘an’ to breathe, ‘at’ to move, and ‘ma’ to blow.

So the oldest meaning of Atman is ‘breath.’ It can also be literally translated as ‘vital force.’Ātman is

the first principle, the true self of an individual beyond identification with phenomena, the essence of

an individual. In order to attain Moksha (liberation), a human being must acquire self-knowledge

(atma jnana). In the Rgveda, Atman is sometimes used to indicate the animating principle or the

essence. The sun, for example, is called the Atman of all things moving and non-moving and Soma, a

plant juice, which was an essential libation of vedic sacrifices and called the celestial dew, is called the

Atman of sacrifice. Atman is the essence or ultimate reality of anything. When we consider the whole

universe, its reality or essence is ‘Brahman’ and therefore the term ‘Atman’ is applied to Brahman in the

sense of cosmic self. As Brahman is the ultimate Reality of everything, He is called Paramatman, to

distinguish him from other Atmans which are not ‘para,’ ultimate.

In Upanishads while the identity of Brahman with the Atman is clearly established, a certain

ambiguity remains about Brahman’s relation with the physical world. On the one hand is the saying that

‘The world is nothing else than Atman’ but on the other hand the world as objective form of Atman is



made to take up a position over against the Atman. Atman as the first principle is contrasted not only

with the world, whose outward form it has put on, but also with the self within us with which it is said

to be ultimately identical. This idea of otherness of self and world opens the possibility of a theistic

view.

The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad describes Atman as that in which everything exists, which is of

the highest value, which permeates everything, which is the essence of all, bliss and beyond

description. In BrihadaranyakaUpanishad describes Atman as Brahman, and associates it with

everything one is, everything one can be, one's free will, one's desire, what one does, what one doesn't

do, the good in oneself, the bad in oneself. That is, that Atman (self, soul) is indeed Brahman. It is also

identified with the intellect, the Manas(mind), and the vital breath, with the eyes and ears, with earth,

water, air, and ākāśa (sky), with fire and with what is other than fire, with desire and the absence of

desire, with anger and the absence of anger, with righteousness and unrighteousness, with everything —

it is identified, as is well known, with this and with that. As Ātman does and acts, so it becomes: by

doing well it becomes good, and by doing evil it becomes evil. It becomes virtuous through good acts,

and vicious through evil acts.

This theme of Ātman, that is soul and self of oneself, every person, every being is the same as

Brahman, is extensively repeated in Brihadāranyaka Upanishad. The Upanishad asserts that this

knowledge of "I am Brahman", and that there is no difference between "I" and "you", or "I" and "him" is

a source of liberation, and not even gods can prevail over such a liberated man. The self is the ground of

waking, dream and sleep states and yet ittranscends them all. The self is universal, immanent as well as

transcendent. The whole universe lives and moves and breathes in it. It is immortal, self-luminous, self-

proved and beyond doubts and denials, as the very principle which makes all doubts, denials and

thoughts possible. It is the ultimate subject which can never become an object and which is to be

necessarily presupposed by all knowledge. The self is the whole. This fundamental identity, which is the

presupposition of both self and not self, is called the Atman. None can doubt it reality.The

MandukhyaUpanisads gives us an analysis of consciousness leading to thesame conclusion. The soul has

three conditions which are all included in a fourth. They are waking, dreaming, sleeping, and what is

called turiya. The first condition is that of wakefulness, where the self is conscious of the common

world of external objects. It enjoys the gross things. Here the dependence on the body is predominant. It

is called Vishva. The second condition is that of dreaming, where the self enjoys subtle things, fashions

for itself a new world of forms with the materials of its waking experience and is called Taijasa. The



third is the condition of sound sleep, where we have neither dreams nor desires. It is called susupti. The

soul is said to become temporarily one with Brahman and enjoy bliss. Here the self is called ‘prajna’.

The Mandukya Upanishad prints out that the highest is not this dreamless sleep, but another, a fourth

state of the soul, a pure intuitional consciousness, where there is no knowledge of objects internal or

external. It is called Turiya. The fourth is not that which is conscious of the subjective, nor that which is

conscious of objective nor that which is conscious of both, nor that which is simple consciousness, nor

that which is an all –sentient mass, nor that which is all darkness. It is unseen, transcendent, in

apprehensible, un-inferable,unthinkable, indescribable, the sole essence of the consciousness of self, the

completion of the world, the ever peaceful, all blissful, the one unit, this indeed is the Atman. It is

symbolized by the Aumkara, with its parts of A-U-M, the waking, the dreaming and the sleeping states.

This self is the common ground of all these states. It manifests itself in these three states and yet in its

own nature it transcends them all.

Creation

According to Upanishads universe has come out of Brahman and it gets its essence from

Brahman and will return back to Brahman. Upanishads also speak about two aspects of world: organic

and inorganic. All the organic things such as animals, plants and humans possess souls while the

inorganic matter is without soul. The Brahman entered into three elements namely, fire (Tejas), water

(Ap) and earth (Ksiti) and all the rest of bodies were formed by their combination. All things are made

by the transforming of these three basic elements and permeated by Brahman. Although in the Taittiriya

Upanishad some more elements such as air and ether are added they are still considered to proceed from

the one Brahman. Rig Veda speaks of a cosmicsoul or universal soul (Purusha/ Hiranyagarbha) which

is responsible for the creation of world from primeval waters.

Upanishads rejected the materialistic theories of evolution because materialists believe the

creation of the world to be based on matter. But for the Upanishads Brahman is different from matter.

Matter by itself cannot be the origin and essence of world unless it had the potential cause in itself.

Ananda or bliss cannot be the end of evolution unless it was also the beginning. Every creature like

material things, animals and humans possess the characteristics of their ultimate source and end.

According to Upanishads, “Whatever there is belonging to the son belongs to the father; whatever there

is belonging to the father belongs to the son.” Not only humans but every creature has eternal essence in

itself. The manifestation of things from potential to actual causes evolution to take place. Radhakrishnan

says that “Development means the manifestation of potential of things by the removal of the obstructing



energies.” According to Upanishads the origin of the world is a unity; it means that the plurality of

universe is based on the One that is eternal.

According to Upanishads Ananda is the lord of world, it is final cause and efficient cause. It is

the beginning and end of universe. The matter that exists in objective world, having gone through the

process of evolution, is a different entity compared to what it originally was as based on Ananda.

Generally the evolution means the transforming of potential into actual. In this view of evolution the

matter has more potential in itself than life. Also, what comes before has more potentiality than what

comes later and whatever has come later has more form and more actuality. In the Upanishads this God

is known as active self-consciousness. All changes in the world happen because of Prajnana from God.

He is responsible for the process of evolution in universe. Even if we separate God from matter, we

cannot run away from dualism where God is opposed to matter. According to Upanishads both of them,

matter and form, active consciousness and non-active consciousness are rooted in one ultimate reality.

Matter itself is in God. The first forms of three elements: water, fire and earth are regarded as divine as

they are embedded in a single spirit.

Universe is generally conceived as possessing an identity of purpose and a well-designed

structure generated by the mind of a creative being called God. But Upanishads make the Brahman to be

both cause and effect. He is the end point of evolution, and also its beginning. He is the root of evolution

that starts with matter and ends in Ananda. Brahman is both the producer and produced. Prajapati is the

form of Brahman that lets the process of evolution to happen within himself. He divides himself in two

parts of male and female. Half of him becomes male and the other half female. Thus acting as both male

and female the Brahman produces the substances of the world. And this substance of things manifests

itself as created existence. (Chan. Up., III. 39) This kind of generation or production is likened to the

sun rays proceeding from the sun. The world coming out of Brahman, moreover, does not affect change

into it. The two remain substantially united. The Atman entering in things is likened also to salt mixing

into the water. The things are also said to have originated from Atman as sparks fly out from the fire or

as sound emanates from the flute.

According to Upanishads the realm of multiplicity is not outside of Atman. It means that Atman-

Brahman and empirical world are not separated from each other. The world of plurality can be explained

by the oneness of Brahman. The Upanishads thus recognize oneness of Brahman as the root and source

of all that exists. It tries to explain all the multiplicity in terms of a single unity. In order to explain the



co-existence of multiplicity and unity, the Upanishads are constrained to using the language of symbols,

even though it doesn’t really solve the problem. But when we don’t have knowledge of Brahman, it isn’t

possible to dogmatize about the relation of world’s multiplicity to the unity of Brahman. The two

however cannot be without relationship. There are for sure different views given by different scholars to

unravel the difficulty. But whatever one’s answer the bottom line remains that the changeability and

plurality of the world does not affect the non-changeability and unity of Brahman. As Radhakrishnan

says, “The presumption is that the world of relations doesn’t in any way affect the nature of Brahman.

The destruction of the world of experience does not in the least take away from the being of Brahman.”

Brahman can exist apart from the world of multiplicity. The existence of the physical world is not part

of the existence of Brahman for in that case it will have the limitation of time and space. Brahman

however comprehends the world and all things of past, future and present. It should be mentioned that

Brahman is not the cause antecedent in time to the world as effect. According to Upanishads world is

only an appearance and manifestation of absolute Brahman. The world evolves as a result of self-

energizing of Brahman that is eternal and absolute. In this process of evolution, two factors are involved:

first the self-consciousness or God and the second the potential matter that is passive. One cannot

describe exactly how the absolute makes a unity with difference. All that can be said is that the self and

the not-self make the emergence of the world possible. The self is the absolute and the activity belongs

to the domain of appearance.

For the Upanishads the relation between subject and object cannot be explained because of the

limitation of human mind. Due to this limitation, man experiences the world as divided into subject and

object although the reality is one. According to Shankara’s Vedanta this duality of subject and object is

based on Maya. Maya makes us see the real as dual. If the veil of Maya is removed, the oneness of

Brahman will be revealed. According to Deussen there are four aspects to the theory of creation in

Upanishads. These are as follows: the first is that matter gets its existence from God. He fashions the

world but doesn’t create it. The second, the universe is formed by God from nothing. The third, the

universe is generated by way of God transforming himself into it. The fourth is that the reality is of God

and other than him there is no reality. According to Upanishads the universe that is limited in space and

time, is a reflection of God.

When Upanishads say that there is nothing real other than Atman it means universal

consciousness consists of all. But again, when it says that the external world exists outside us, it refers to



empirical individual that is comprised of mind and body. But finally the point is that Atman is entirely

real and also consists of universe. According to empirical view there is a distinction between individual

self and objective world but this duality dissolves into the oneness of the universe when the right insight

is available. We look at the world as duality but this duality that makes distinction between object and

subject isn’t ultimate. When however it is said that duality of subject and object isn’t real it doesn’t

mean that duality doesn’t exist at all. Upanishads give the examples of salt and water, fire and spark,

spider and web, flute and sound, to exemplify the relation of Brahman to universe. In Upanishads God is

an eternal spirit that transcends and consists of subjective man and objective world. The unity of subject

with object and the world is relative. Although Upanishads say that the multiplicity of the world,

succession of time, co-existence in space, the relation of cause and effect, cannot be the highest reality,

but they do not yet say that these are absolute non-existence.

Degrees of Reality

In the Upanishads, the Ultimate Reality is called Brahman. The Upanishads and the Brahma

Sutra have been interpreted by Sankara and the Advaita Vedanta based on the monistic conception of an

Impersonal Brahman. The unity of such thought has been arrived at by rejecting the reality of the

material world. The fundamental thought of the entire Upanishadic philosophy, may be expressed by the

simple equation: Brahman-Atman. That is to say the Brahman, the power which presents itself to us,

materialized in all existing things which creates, sustains, preserves, and receives back into itself again

all worlds, this eternal infinite divine power Is identical with the Atman, with that which after wiping off

everything external, we discover in ourselves as our real, most essential being, our individual self, the

soul. This identity of the Brahman and the Atman, of the God and the soul is the fundamental thought of

the entire doctrine of the Upanishads.

Max Mullar admitted Sankara's interpretation of the Upanishads as the correct interpretation and

enforces the Sanskrit view of the illusory world and the Brahman-Atman unity.S. Radhakrishnan says

that, "If a logical account is permitted, then we may say that the Brahman of the Upanishads is no

metaphysical abstraction, no indeterminate identity and no void of silence. It is the fullest and the most

real being. It is a living dynamic spirit, the source and container of the infinitely varied forms of reality."

The word 'Brahman' means growth which expresses the dynamic character of Brahman. The world is

real though its reality is not the same as that of Brahman. The general trend in Upanishads is that

Brahman can be denoted only by negation statements. Yet there are positive statements about Brahman



also. For example, this same immutable Brahman is the ultimate seer without himself being seen, is the

ultimate hearer without himself being heard, is the ultimate knower without himself being known, is the

ultimate in tuitor without himself being intuited. There is no seer nor hearer nor thinker nor intuitor

beyond him. It was in this immutable Brahman alone that ether is itself metaphysically grounded. Based

on the Upanishadic thought, the classical Advaita Vedānta explains all reality and everything in the

experienced world to be same as the Brahman. To Advaitins, there is a unity in multiplicity, and there is

no dual hierarchy of a Creator and the created universe. All objects, all experiences, all matter, all

consciousness, all awareness, is not the property but the very nature of this one fundamental reality

Brahman. There are three levels in Advaita Vedanta regarding reality. They are Pratibhasika,

Vyavaharika and Paramarthika.

Pratibhasika

The Pratibhasika is the most unreal. It is the level of experience in which the mind constructs its

own reality.Dream is in Pratibhasika level. In dream we perceive different things. But in a strict sense,

dream is not completely unreal because those things, which we see, in dream, have external substratum

in the phenomenal world. Take the example of a sky-flower. Even though, no sky-flower exists in the

world and thus it is unreal, yet, sky and flower, taken separately, are real things that we have seen in the

external world prior to dreaming. That is, we can dream of only those things which we have seen in the

phenomenal world. But in dream, these real things get combined in strange and different proportions,

making quite new unreal objects, in dream.Thus what we call as dream is not the opposite of the

Ultimate Reality because even in dream, elements, which have substratum outside the dream, are

present. To say that the dream is unreal, we should be in waking state. We can know the unreality of

dream only from the waking state. As long as we are dreaming, we won’t understand that dream is

unreal. i.e., when we get a ‘higher waking knowledge’ we will understand that dream is not real and is a

little below the common waking experience. But to conclude thus, we must have waking experience. As

long as we remain in the dream state, we cannot comprehend the unreality of dream. In the same way, in

waking state we will consider the external, phenomenal world as Real and ultimate. But when we get the

‘higher knowledge about Brahman’ (Brahma-vidya) we will realize that the phenomenal world is not

ultimately real.



Vyavaharika

Vyavaharika is the relative plane of reality. It is the level in which both jiva (living creatures or

individual souls) and Iswara are true; here, the material world is also true but this is incomplete reality

and is sublatable.This is the realm of cause-effect and human intellect works here. Phenomenal world is

in this level. Everything that exists in this level depends on each other and we cannot say what their

essence is. The things in vyavaharika world can be said to exist by itself from the phenomenal, relative

point of view. However when a person gets Brahma-vidya, the higher knowledge, then phenomenal

world things are said to be an appearance. In this condition, we can say that phenomenal world exist

because we see them. It can also said to be non-existing because it has no essence and it depends on

Brahman for existence. Thus, since, the phenomenal objects exist and non-exist, from the ultimate

viewpoint, their state of existence is said to be ‘indescribable or maya’. In short for the one who have

realized Brahman, external world is indescribable or Maya. And for those who had not realized

Brahman (because of Avidyain them), external world is real, existing and ultimate; i.e., not indescribable

or Maya. Dream world and phenomenal world are not in the same level of reality. The phenomenal

world has more reality. We can comprehend the relative nature of phenomenal world only when we

reach Paramarthika level. Else we will continue to think, phenomenal world is the ultimate and real.

Paramarthika

Paramarthika is the ultimate truth level. It is the state of experiencing that "which is absolutely

real and into which both other reality levels can be resolved". This reality is the highest; it can't be

sublated (assimilated) by any other. It only is ultimately real. It can exist by itself without depending on

anything. This is spiritual in experience and subject – object duality, cause-effect formula, etc. are not

here. This is beyond the realm of human intellect. Human intellect cannot comprehend this ultimate

level of reality. This can be realized only by direct experience with the help of Brahma-vidya.

The Upanishads states that the nature of the Ultimate Reality, paramarthasatya, can be

expressed only by the word ‘Neti, Neti’. This is an attempt to define something by rejecting all other

possibilities on what it can be. Since the ultimate should be beyond human intellect, we can spoke about

it only by negation statements. When we negate a particular thing, telling it is not akin to Brahman, and

then we are a step advanced in our attempt to define Brahman. This is almost same manner, when we

negate all non-blue colors to reach to the Blue color. i.e., every negation inherits an affirmation.

Paramarthika is the Ultimate level that everyone can realize. There is no higher level than this. In this

level, all plurality vanishes. Only pure monism exists. It is one without a second.



UNIT-II

JAINISM- METAPHYSICS

Jaina philosophy is the oldest Indian philosophy. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history

through a succession of twenty-four leaders or tirthankaras. Among them, the first tirthankara is

Rishabhadeva and the twenty-third tirthankara Parshvanatha, whom historians date to 8th or 7th

century BCE, and the twenty-fourth tirthankara, Mahāvīra around 500 BCE. It is regarded that Jainism

is an eternal dharma with the tirthankaras guiding every cycle of the Jaina cosmology.The word Jainism

is derived from the word ‘Jina’ which means ‘conqueror—one who has conquered his passions and

desires. It is applied to the liberated souls who have conquered passions and desires and karmas and

obtained emancipation.The principal ingredients of Jaina metaphysics are, an ultimate distinction

between living substance or soul (jiva) and nonliving substance (ajiva); the doctrine of anekantavada, or

non-absolutism, and the doctrine of karma, in Jainism a substance, rather than a process, that links all

phenomena in a chain of cause and effect.

Reality and Existence

According to Jain metaphysics the universe is an uncreated entity that has always been in

existence and shall always be there. There was neither any beginning of the universe nor is there going

to be any end. In other worlds neither the universe was created at any time nor will it be destroyed, there

being no origin in the past nor any end in the future. Since the universe was never created, the question

of creation or a creator do not arise.The Jain thinkers have mentioned the word “Sat”, “tattva”, “artha”,

padartha”, and “tattvatha” as synonyms for the world reality. They generally did not make any

distinction among substance, reality, existence etc.

The Jaina metaphysics is a realistic and relativistic pluralism. It is called Anekäntaväda or the

doctrine of the manyness of reality. Anekāntavāda is literally the doctrine of "non-onesidedness" or

"manifoldness;" it is often translated as "non-absolutism." It states that the ultimate truth and reality is

complex and has multiple aspects. Jain doctrine states that objects have infinite modes of existence and

qualities so they cannot be completely grasped in all aspects and manifestations by finite human

perception. Only the Kevalins—the omniscient beings—can comprehend objects in all aspects and



manifestations; others are capable of only partial knowledge. Consequently, no specific human view can

claim to represent the absolute truth. As opposed to it, ekānta (eka+anta - solitary attribute) is one-

sidedness. Jains compare all attempts to proclaim absolute truth with the "maxim of the blind men and

elephant." In this story, one man felt the trunk, another ears and another tail. All the blind men claimed

to explain the true appearance of the elephant, but could only partly succeed, due to their narrow

perspectives.

According to the Jainas, Matter (pudgala) and spirit (jiva) are regarded as separate and

independent realities. There are innumerable material atoms and innumerable individual souls which are

all separately and independently real. And each atom and each soul possesses innumerable aspects of its

own. A thing has got an infinite number of characteristics of its own. Everyobject possesses innumerable

positive and negative characters. It is not possible for us, ordinary people, to know all the qualities of a

thing. We can knowonly some qualities of some things. To know all the aspects of a thing is to become

omniscient. Therefore the Jainas say that he who knows all the qualities of one thing, knows all the

qualities of all things, and he who knows all the qualities of all things, knows all the qualities of one

thing.

A thing has many characters and it exists independently. It is called substance (dravya). It

persists in and through all attributes and modes. Substance is defined as that which possesses qualities

and modes. Out of these innumerable qualities of a substance, some are permanent and essential, while

others are changing and accidental. The former are called attributes (guna) and the latter modes

(paryaya). Substance and attributes are inseparable because the latter are the permanent essence of the

substance and cannot remain without it. Modes or modifications are changing and accidental. Reality is

a unity-and-difference or difference-and-unity. Viewed from the point of view of substance, a thing is

one and permanent and real; viewed from the point of view of modes, it is many and momentary and

unreal. Substance, therefore, is also defined as that which possesses the three characteristics of

production, destruction and permanence. Substance has its unchanging essence and therefore is

permanent. But it also has its changing modes and therefore is subject to origination and decay.

Ontology- Jiva- Ajiva

Jainism is both dualists—in that it posits that the soul is different from nature—and pluralist—in

its acceptance of the existence of a multitude of separate entities in the universe. The whole universe is



brought under the two everlasting, uncreated, eternal and co-existing categories which are called Jiva

and Ajiva. These are the uncreated existing constituents of the Universe which impart the necessary

dynamics to the Universe by interacting with each other. These constituents behave according to the

natural laws and their nature without interference from external entities.Jiva means the conscious spit it

and Ajiva means the unconscious non-spirit. Ajiva includes not only matter which is called ‘Pudgala’,

but also space, motion, rest and time. Spirit, matter, motion, rest and space (respectively called jiva,

pudgala, dharma, adharmaandakasa) are described as astikayadravyas or substances which possess

constituent parts extending in space; while time (kala) is the only anastikayadravya which has no

extension in space.

Jiva is generally the same as the Atman or thePurusa in other pluralistic schools with this

important difference that it is identified with life of which consciousness is said to be the essence.

According to the Jain philosophy, there are infinite independent souls. Infinite knowledge, perception

and bliss are the intrinsic qualities of a soul. The jivas are divided first into those who are liberated

(mukta) and those who are bound (baddha). The bound souls are further divided into mobile (trasa) and

immobile (stavara). The latter live in the atoms of earth, water, fire and air and in the vegetable

kingdom and have only one sense—that of touch. The mobile souls are again classified as those who

have two senses (e.g. worms), three senses (e.g. ants), four senses (e.g. wasps, bees etc.) and five senses

(e.g. higher animals and men).

Consciousness is regarded as the essence of the soul. Every soul from the lowest to the highest

possesses consciousness. The degrees of consciousness may vary according to the obstacles of karma.

The lowest souls which inhabit material atoms appear to be lifeless and unconscious, but in fact life and

consciousness are present in them though in a dormant form. Purest consciousness is found in the

emancipated souls where there is no shred of karma. All souls are really alike. The degrees of

consciousness are due merely to the karma- obstacles. The soul in its intrinsic nature possesses Infinite

Faith, Infinite Knowledge, Infinite Bliss and Infinite Power. In the case of the bound souls these

characteristics are obscured by karma. A jiva is a real knower (jnata), a real agent (karta) and a real

experient (bhoktha). It is included in the astikäyadravyas because its constituents possess extension in

space. But it does not extend in space like matter. It is like the light. Just as the light fills the space

where it is burning and just as many lights may remain in the same place without coming into conflict

with one another, similarly the soul fills the space and many souls may remain together without any

conflict. Though itself formless, it takes the form of the body which it illuminates. The soul is



coextensive with the body. Though we find souls in this world as embodied and as possessing the senses

and the manas which help the souls to know, yet really the body, the senses and the manas are

obstructions placed by karma and hinder the souls in their direct knowledge. Knowledge is not a

property of the soul; it is its very essence. Every soul, therefore, can directly and immediately know

everything if it is not obstructed by matter. Freedom from matter means omniscience and emancipation.

The category of Ajiva is divided into matter (pudgala), space (äkäsha), motion (dharma), rest

(adharma) and time (kala). They are all without life and consciousness. Time is anastikâyabecause it

does not extend in space. It is infinite. It is not perceived, but inferred from its characteristics which

make possible continuity (vartana), modification (parinama), activity (kria), now or new (paratva), and

then or old (aparatva). It is one and indivisible. Some Jaina writers have distinguished between real

(paramarthika) and empirical vyavaharika) time. The former makes continuity or duration possible and

is infinite, one and indivisible. The latter can be divided into moments, hours, days, months and years

and makes other changes, except duration, possible. Like time, space is also infinite, eternal and

imperceptible. It is inferred as the condition of extension. All substances except time have extension and

extension is afforded only by space. Space itself is not extension; it is the locus of extension. Two kinds

of space are distinguished. In one, motion is possible and it is calledLokakasa or filled space; in the

other, motion is not possible and it is called Alokakasaor empty space. The former contains all the

worlds where life and movement are; the latter stretches itself infinitely beyond the former. At the

summit of Lokäkäsha is Siddhashilä, the Abode of the Liberated Souls.

Dharma and Adharma are used here not in their popular sense of merit and demerit, but in the

technical sense of the conditions of movement and rest. Like space and time, these also are eternal and

imperceptible. They are inferred as the conditions which help motion and rest respectively. They are

formless and passive. Dharma cannot generate motion nor can Adharma arrest it. They only help or

favor motion or rest, like water helping the motion of a fish or like earth supporting things which rest on

it.

Matter is called Pudgala which means that which is liable to integration and disintegration. This

word is used in Buddhism in the sense of a soul, while in Jainism it is used for matter. An atom (anu) is

supposed to be the smallest part of matter which cannot be further divided. Compound objects

(sanghätaorskandha) of the material world including senses, mind (manas) and breath are the

combinations of atoms. Matter possesses the four qualities of colour, taste, smell and touch. Sound is

regarded not as quality, as other systems have done, but only as a modification (parinäma) of matter. All



atoms are qualitatively alike and indistinguishable. They become differentiated by developing the

qualities of color, taste, smell and touch. Hence the distinction of the elements of earth, water, fire and

air is secondary and transmutation of elements is quite possible. Matter in its subtle form constitutes

karma which infiltrates into the souls and binds them to samsära.



UNIT-III

BUDDHISM- METAPHYSICS

Buddhism is a non-theistic school of Indian philosophy and a moral discipline, originating

in India in the 6th and 5th centuries BCE. It was founded by the sage Siddhartha Gautama. The Buddha

developed the belief system at a time when India was in the midst of significant religious and

philosophical reform. The Buddha came to understand that desire and attachment caused suffering and

humans suffered because they were ignorant of the true nature of existence. People insisted on

permanent states in life and resisted change, clung to what they knew, and mourned what they lost. In

his quest for a means to live without suffering, he recognized that life is constant change, nothing is

permanent, but one could find inner peace through a spiritual discipline that recognized beauty in the

transience of life while also preventing one from becoming ensnared by attachment to impermanent

objects, people, and situations. His teaching centers on the Four Noble Truths, the Wheel of Becoming,

and the Eightfold Path to form the foundation of Buddhist thought and these remain central to the

different schools of Buddhism which continue in the modern day. Buddhism is a path of practice and

spiritual development leading to Insight into the true nature of reality. Buddhist practices

like meditation are means of changing oneself in order to develop the qualities of awareness, kindness,

and wisdom. The experience developed within the Buddhist tradition over thousands of years has

created an incomparable resource for all those who wish to follow a path — a path which ultimately

culminates in Enlightenment or Buddha hood. An enlightened being sees the nature of reality absolutely

clearly, just as it is, and lives fully and naturally in accordance with that vision. This is the goal of the

Buddhist spiritual life, representing the end of suffering for anyone who attains it.

The Four Noble Truths

In order for life to be anything other than suffering, one had to find a way to live it without the desire to

possess and hold it in a fixed form; one had to let go of the things of life while still being able to

appreciate them for the value they had. After attaining enlightenment, he phrased his belief on the nature

of life in his Four Noble Truths ( Arya Satya). The Four Noble Truths are a contingency plan for dealing

with the suffering humanity faces -- suffering of a physical kind, or of a mental nature. The four noble

truths or "truths of the noble one" are a central feature of the teachings and are put forth in

the DhammacakkappavattanaSutta. They are as follws:

Life is suffering



The cause of suffering is craving

The end of suffering comes with an end to craving

There is a path which leads one away from craving and suffering.

1. There is suffering (duhkha).

The First Truth identifies the presence of suffering. Life is full of misery and pain. Even the so-

called pleasures are really fraught with pain. There is always fear lest we may lose the so-called

pleasures and their loss involves pain. Indulgence also results in pain. That there is suffering in this

world is a fact of common experience. Poverty, disease, old age, death, selfishness, meanness, greed,

anger, hatred, quarrels, bickering, conflicts, exploitation are rampant in this world. That life is full of

suffering none can deny.

2. There is a cause of suffering (duhkha-samudaya).

The Second Truth, on the other hand, seeks to determine the cause of suffering. In Buddhism,

desire and ignorance lie at the root of suffering. Everything has a cause. Nothing comes out of nothing—

ex nihilo nihil fit. The existence of every event depends upon its causes and conditions. By desire,

Buddhists refer to craving pleasure, material goods, and immortality, all of which are wants that can

never be satisfied. As a result, desiring them can only bring suffering. Ignorance, in comparison, relates

to not seeing the world as it actually is. According to Buddhism, Everything in this world is conditional,

relative, limited. Suffering being a fact, it must have a cause. It must depend on some conditions. ‘This

being, that arises’, ‘the cause being present, the effect arises', is the causal law of Dependent

Origination.Without the capacity for mental concentration and insight, Buddhism explains, one's mind is

left undeveloped, unable to grasp the true nature of things. Vices, such as greed, envy, hatred and anger,

derive from this ignorance.

3. There is a cessation of suffering (duhkha-nirodha).

The Third Noble Truth, the truth of the end of suffering, has dual meaning, suggesting either the

end of suffering in this life, on earth, or in the spiritual life, through achieving Nirvana. When one has

achieved Nirvana, which is a transcendent state free from suffering and our worldly cycle of birth and

rebirth, spiritual enlightenment has been reached. Because everything arises depending on some causes

and conditions, therefore if these causes and conditions are removed the effect must also cease. The

cause being removed, the effect ceases to exist. Everything being conditional and relative is necessarily



momentary and what is momentary must perish. That which is born must die. Production implies

destruction.

4. There is a way leading to this cessation of suffering (duhkha- nirodha-gâminîpratipat).

There is an ethical and spiritual path by following which misery may be removed and liberation attained.

This Fourth Noble truth charts the method for attaining the end of suffering, known to Buddhists as the

Noble Eightfold Path. The steps of the Noble Eightfold Path are Right Understanding, Right Thought,

Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness and Right

Concentration. Moreover, there are three themes into which the Path is divided: good moral conduct

(Understanding, Thought, Speech); meditation and mental development (Action, Livelihood, Effort),

and wisdom or insight (Mindfulness and Concentration).

Eight fold path

In Buddhism, the Noble Eightfold Path is often represented by means of the dharma wheel or

dharmachakra, in which its eight spokes represent the eight elements of the path.In early Buddhism,

these practices started with understanding that the body-mind works in a corrupted way (right view),

followed by entering the Buddhist path of self-observance, self-restraint, and cultivating kindness and

compassion; and culminating in dhyana or samadhi, which reinforces these practices for the

development of the body-mind. The eightfold path, although referred to as steps on a path, is meant as

eight aspects of life, all of which are to be integrated in everyday life. The eightfold path is at the heart

of the middle way, which turns from extremes, and encourages us to seek the simple approach.The

eightfold path is Right Understanding, Right Intent, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood,

Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, and Right Concentration. In Buddhism, the eightfold path is meant as a

guideline, to be considered, to be contemplated, and to be taken on when, and only when each step is

fully accepted as part of the life you seek. The meaning of Right has several aspects, and includes an

ethical, and a balanced, or middle way. When things go ‘right’, we often experience a special feeling

inside which confirms that this is the correct decision or action.

Right Understanding: The first step of the eightfold path is Right Understanding or Right View. This is

a significant step on the path as it relates to seeing the world and everything in it as it really is, not as we

believe it to be or want it to be. Just as one may read the directions on a map, and then make the journey,



studying, reading and examining the information is important but only the preparation for the journey.

The purpose of right view is to clear one's path from confusion, misunderstanding, and deluded thinking.

It is a means to gain right understanding of reality. At a deeper level, direct personal experience will

then lead us to Right Understanding.

Right Intent: The second step on the Eightfold Path is Right Intent. This is the step where we become

committed to the path. Right Understanding shows us what life really is and what life’s problems are

composed of, Right Intent urges us to decide what our heart wants. Right Intent must come from the

heart and involves recognizing the equality of all life and compassion for all that life, beginning with

yourself. It means persistence and a passion for the journey. Setting out to climb a high mountain means

one must understand the lay of the land and the pitfalls, the other team members, and the equipment he

need. This is similar to Right Understanding. But he will only climb the mountain if he really want to

and have a passion for the climb. This is Right Intent. The mountain we climb here is our journey

through life. To summarise, Right Understanding will eliminate ignorance. With Right Intent and

correct understanding, we then remove desire, which in turn causes the suffering defined in the Four

Noble Truths.

Right Speech: Right Speech is the next step of the Path. We tend to underestimate the power of the

spoken word, and often regret words said in haste. Right speech involves recognition of the truth, and

also an awareness of the impact of idle gossip and of repeating rumors. Communicating thoughtfully

helps to unite others, and can heal dissention. By resolving never to speak unkindly, or in anger, a spirit

of consideration evolves which moves us closer to everyday compassionate living.

Right Action: Right Action recognizes the need to take the ethical approach in life, to consider others

and the world we live in. This includes not taking what is not given to us, and having respect for the

agreements we make both in our private and business lives. Right Action also encompasses the five

precepts which were given by the Buddha, not to kill, steal, and lie, to avoid sexual misconduct, and not

to take drugs or other intoxicants. This step on the path also includes a whole approach to the

environment, with Right Action being taken whenever possible to safeguard the world for future

generations.

Right Livelihood: The next on the Eightfold Path follows on from Right Action, and this is Right

Livelihood. If our work has a lack of respect for life, then it will be a barrier to progress on the spiritual



path. Buddhism promotes the principle of equality of all living beings and respect for all life. Certain

types of work were discouraged by the Buddha; in particular those deal in harmful drugs and

intoxicants, those dealing in weapons, and those harmful to animal or human life. So a dedicated

Buddhist would not be recommended to have a liquor store, own a gun shop, or be a butcher. In his time,

he also discouraged the slave trade, which dealt in human workers. And he was also against the practice

of fortune telling as this made assumptions about a fixed future, where his teaching stresses that the

future is created by what we do today. Right Livelihood also implies that a Buddhist who is able, will

undertake some work, either as part of a Buddhist community, or in the workplace, or, alternatively, do

home based or community service. Many communities of monks ensure that each member has daily

chores, which remind him of this step on the Eightfold Path.

Right Effort: Right Effort means cultivating an enthusiasm, a positive attitude in a balanced way. Like

the strings of a musical instrument, the amount of effort should not be too tense or too impatient, as well

as not too slack or too laid back. Right Effort should produce an attitude of steady and cheerful

determination. In order to produce Right Effort, clear and honest thoughts should be welcomed, and

feelings of jealousy and anger left behind. Right Effort equates to positive thinking, followed by focused

action.

Right Mindfulness: While Right Effort is a very easy concept for most of us, Right Mindfulness is

somewhat trickier to grasp, and may involve quite a change of thinking. Right Mindfulness means,

being aware of the moment and being focused in that moment. When we travel somewhere, we are

hearing noises, seeing buildings, trees, advertising, feeling the movement, thinking of those we left

behind, thinking of our destination. So it is with most moments of our lives. Right Mindfulness is

closely linked with meditation and forms the basis of meditation. Right Mindfulness asks us to be aware

of the moment, and of our actions at that moment. By being aware, we are able to see how old patterns

and habits control us. In this awareness, we may see how fears of possible futures limit our present

actions. Sometimes you may be absorbed in what you are doing. At that moment, you are mindful, and

the Buddha showed how to integrate that awareness into our everyday lives.

Right Concentration: Once the mind is uncluttered, it may then be concentrated to achieve whatever is

desired. Right Concentration is turning the mind to focus on an object, such as a flower, or a lit candle,

or a concept such as loving compassion. This forms the next part of the meditation process. Right

concentration implies that we select worthy directions for the concentration of the mind, although



everything in nature, beautiful and ugly, may be useful for concentration. At deeper levels, no object or

concept may be necessary for further development. The benefits of Right Mindfulness and Right

Concentration are significant as they teach the mind to see things, as they really are. At the same time,

they also lead to a feeling of calm and peace with the world. By being in the moment and being able to

concentrate effectively, a sense of joy in the moment is felt. Release from the control of past pains and

future, mind games takes us closer to freedom from suffering.

The Doctrine of Dependent Orgination

The doctrine of pratityasamudpada or Dependent Origination is the foundation of all the

teachings of the Buddha. It is contained in the Second Noble Truth which gives us the cause of

suffering, and in the Third Noble Truth which shows the cessation of suffering. Suffering is Samsara;

cessation of suffering is Nirvana. Both are only aspects of the same Reality. In early Buddhism, the

concept of dependent origination was most likely limited to processes of mental conditioning and not to

all physical phenomena. The Buddha understood the world in procedural terms, not in terms of things or

substances. His theory posits a flux of events arising under certain conditions which are interconnected

and dependent, such that the processes in question at no time are considered to be static or independent.

Craving, for example, is always dependent on, and caused by sensations. Sensations are always

dependent on contact with our surroundings. Buddha's causal theory is simply descriptive: ‘This

existing, that exists; this arising, that arises; this not existing, that does not exist; this ceasing, that

ceases.’ This understanding of causation as ‘impersonal law like causal ordering’ is important because it

shows how the processes that give rise to suffering work, and also how they can be reversed.

Pratityasamutpada, viewed from the point of view of relativity is Samsara; while viewed from

the point of view of reality, it is Nirvana. It is relativity and dependent causation as well as the Absolute,

for it is the Absolute itself which appears as relative and acts as the binding thread giving them unity and

meaning. All phenomenal things hang between reality and nothingness, avoiding both the extremes. It is

in this sense that Buddha calls the doctrine the Middle Path, Madhyamapratipatwhich avoids both

eternalism and nihilism. Buddha identifies it with the Bodhi, the Enlightenment which dawned upon him

under the shade of the Bodhi tree in Gaya and which transformed the mortal Siddhartha into the

immortal Buddha. He also identifies it with the Dharma, the Law: ‘He who sees the

Pratityasamutpada sees the Dharma, and he who sees the Dharma sees the Pratityasamutpada- Failure

to grasp it is the cause of misery. Its knowledge leads to the cessation of misery.



Troubled by the sight of disease, old age and death, Buddha left his home to find a solution of

the misery of earthly life. Pratityasamutpada is the solution which he found. Why do we suffer misery

and pain? Why do we suffer old age and death? Because we are born. Why are we born? Because there

is a will to be born. Why should there be this will to become? Because we cling to the objects of the

world. Why do we have this clinging? Because we crave to enjoy the objects of this world. Why do we

have this craving, this thirst for enjoyment? Because of sense- experience. Why do we have this sense-

experience? Because of sense- object-contact. Why do we have this contact? Because of the six sense-

organs (the sixth sense being the mind). Why do we have the six sense- organs? Because of the psycho-

physical organism. Why do we have this organism? Because of the initial consciousness of the embryo.

Why do we have this consciousness? Because of our predispositions or impressions of Karma. Why do

we have these impressions? Because of Ignorance. Hence Ignorance is the root-cause of all

suffering.Thus we get the twelve links of the CausalWheel of Dependent Origination:

(1) Ignorance (avidya)

(2) Impressions of karmic forces (samskara).

(3) Initial consciousness of the embryo (vijnäna).

(4) Psycho-physical organism (nama-rupa).

(5) Six sense-organs including mind (sadayatana).

(6) Sense-object-contact (sparsha).

(7) Sense-experience (vedana).

(8) Thirst for sense-enjoyment (trsna).

(9) Clinging to this enjoyment (upadana).

(10) Will to be born (bhava).

(11) Birth or rebirth (jati).

(12) Old age and death (jara-marana).

Out of these twelve links the first two are related to past life, the last two to future life and the rest to

present life. This is the cycle of birth- and-death. This is the twelve-spoked wheel of Dependent

Origination. This is the vicious circle of causation. It does not end with death. Death is only a beginning

of a new life. It is called Bhava-chakra, Samsâra- chakra, Janma-marana-chakra, Dharma-chakra,



Pratityasamutpada- chakra etc. It can be destroyed only when its root-cause, Ignorance, is destroyed.

Otherwise, Ignorance being present, impressions arise; impressions being present, initial consciousness

arise and so on. And Ignorance can be destroyed only by Knowledge. So Knowledge is the sole means

of liberation. Ignorance is bondage; Knowledge is liberation. An analysis of these twelve links shows

their psychological significance. It is important here to note that life is not regarded by Buddha as a

product of the blind play of mechanical nature, but as due to the internal urge, the life-force, and the will

to be born.



UNIT- IV

SANKHYA YOGA- METAPHYSICS

Sankhya is one of the six astika schools of Indian philosophy. The founder of Sankhya

philosophy was sage Kapila and is referred as the ‘first psychologist’ and ‘Father of Cosmology’ in the

history of mankind. The word Sankhyais derived from the Sanskrit noun Sankhyā (number) based on the

verbal root khya(make known, name) with the preverb sam(together).Sankhya thus denotes the system

of enumeration or taking account. It is most related to the Yoga school, and it was influential on other

schools of Indian philosophy. It forms the theoretical foundation of Yoga. The Sänkhya theory explains

the depth of Yoga and provides a clear map to transcendent our Physical, Mental and Psychological

limitations.Yoga, as the counterpart of Sänkhya, means action or practice and tells us how the theoretical

metaphysical teachings of Sänkhya might be realized in actual practice. Yoga takes the Samkhya

philosophy into the realm of experience, through gradual and systematic progression. Based on the

understanding we gain from Samkhya, we teach yoga starting from the gross or physical level, moving

next to the subtler levels of mind and spirit, and then returning to the gross with a higher level of

consciousness. We return to our ‘outer’ lives rejuvenated and relatively more enlightened. Thus

Sänkhya-Yoga forms one complete system, the former being the theoretical while the latter being the

practical aspect of the same teaching. Sänkhya is also the philosophy of numbers, because it deals with

twenty-five categories. It is a pluralistic spiritualism, atheistic realism and uncompromising dualism.

Reality

Samkhya is dualistic realism. It is dualistic because it advocates two ultimate realities: Prakriti,

matter and Purusha, self (spirit). Samkhya is realism as it considers that both matter and spirit are

equally real. Samkhya is pluralistic also because of its teaching that Purusha is not one but many.These

two realities exist parallel without affecting each other. TheSankhya reduction of the numerous

Categories (especially those of Nyaya-Vaisheshika system) into two fundamental categories of

PurushaandPrakriti for describing the world makes the Sankhya philosophy a real advance on the

theory of atomic pluralism. The universe is described by this school as one created by Purusha-prakriti

entities infused with various combinations of variously enumerated elements, senses, feelings, activity



and mind. That is, the Sankhya advocates the dualism of Prakriti and Purusha. Prakriti is unconscious

while Purusha is conscious. According to Samkhya, the efficient cause of the world is Purusha and the

material cause is the Prakriti. Here Purushastands for the ‘Supreme spirit’ and Prakriti stands for

‘matter’. Purusha (spirit) is the first principle of Samkhya. Prakritiis the second, the material principle

of Samkhya.Prakritiis known, while Purusha is knower. Prakriti cannot give rise to a soul which also

cannot give rise to Prakriti. So the Sankhya advocates neither Materialism not Spiritualism. It holds that

prakriti evolves for the sake of the purusha. The evolution of Prakritiis subservient to the ends of the

Pursuhsas, experience and liberation. It is not mechanical but teleological though there is unconscious

finality in it. During the state of imbalance, one or more constituents overwhelm the others, creating a

form of bondage, particularly of the mind. The end of this imbalance and bondage is called liberation or

kaivalya by the Samkhya School.

Prakrthi

According to Sankhya system the theory of causation means a real transformation of the material

cause leads to the concept of Prakrtias the root-cause of the world of objects. Prakṛtiis the first cause of

the manifest material universe—of everything except the puruṣa. Prakṛti accounts for whatever is

physical, both mind and matter-cum-energy or force. Since it is the first principle (tattva) of the

universe, it is called the pradhāna, but, as it is the unconscious and unintelligent principle, it is also

called the jada. The products are caused, dependent, relative, many and temporary as they are subject to

birth and death or to production and destruction; but Prakrtiis uncaused, independent, absolute, one and

eternal, being beyond production and destruction. The extreme subtleness of Prakrti makes it unmanifest

and imperceptible; we infer its existence through its products. As the source of the inanimate world, it is

unconscious. The entire world of objects is implicit in the bosom of Prakrti. Evolution is the explicit

manifestation of this world of objects, while dissolution is the returning of this world to

Prakrti.Unintelligent, un-manifest, uncaused, ever-active, imperceptible, eternal and one Prakrti alone is

the final source of this world of objects which is implicitly and potentially contained in its bosom.

Prakrtiis composed of three essential characteristics (trigunas), namely sattva, rajas and tamas.

The term guna, in ordinary sense means quality or nature. But here, it is to be understood in the sense of

constituent (component) in Samkhya. Sattva is concerned with happiness. While rajas is concerned with

action, tamas is associated with ignorance and inaction.Sattva is the guna whose essence is purity,

fineness and subtlety. Sattva is the component concerned with lightness, brightness and pleasure. Sattva

is associated with ego, mind and intelligence. Its association with the consciousness is the strongest.



Though sattva is an essential condition for consciousness, it is not sufficient. It should be remembered

that consciousness is exclusively the Purusha . Rajas is concerned with the of rajas. In living beings not

only activity and restlessness, but pain also are caused by rajas. Tamas is the constituent concerned with

the inertia and inaction. In material objects, it resists motion and activity. In living beings, it is

associated with coarseness, negligence, indifference and inactivity. In man, it manifests itself as

ignorance, insensitivity and inaction.

Sankhya gives five proofs for the existence of Prakrti which are as follows:

(1) All individual things in this world are limited, dependent, conditional and finite. The finite cannot be

the cause of the universe. Logically we have to proceed from the finite to the infinite, from the limited to

the unlimited, from the temporary to the permanent, from the many to the one. And it is this infinite,

unlimited, eternal and all-pervading Prakrti which is the source of this universe.

(2) All worldly things possess certain common characteristics by which they are capable of producing

pleasure, pain and indifference. Hence there must be a common source composed of three Gunas, from

which all worldly things arise.

(3) All effects arise from the activity of the potent cause. Evolution means the manifestation of the

hitherto implicit as the explicit. The activity which generates evolution must be inherent in the world-

cause. And this cause is, Prakrti.

(4) The effect differs from the cause and hence the limited effect cannot be regarded as its own cause.

The effect is the explicit and the cause is the implicit state of the same process. The effects, therefore,

point to a world-cause where they are potentially contained.

(5) The unity of the universe points to a single cause. And this cause is Prakrti.

Purusha

The other of the two co-present co-eternal realities of Sankhya is thePurusa, the principal of pure

Consciousness.Purusa is the soul, the self, the spirit, the subject, the knower. It is absolute, independent,

free, imperceptible, and unknowable through other agencies, above any experience by mind or senses

and beyond any words or explanations. It remains pure, non-attributive consciousness. Purusa is neither

produced nor does it produce. The purusa is considered as the conscious principle, a passive enjoyer

(bhokta) and the prakrti is the enjoyed (bhogya). Samkhya believes that the purusa cannot be regarded

as the source of inanimate world, because an intelligent principle cannot transform itself into the

unconscious world. It is neither body nor senses nor brain nor mind (manas) nor ego (ahankara) nor



intellect (buddhi). It is not a substance which possesses the quality of Consciousness. Consciousness is

its essence. It is itself pure and transcendental Consciousness. It is the ultimate knower which is the

foundation of all knowledge. It is the pure subject and as such can never become an object of

knowledge. It is the silent witness, the emancipated alone, the neutral seer, the peaceful eternal. It is

beyond time and space, beyond change and activity. It is self-luminous and self-proved. It is uncaused,

eternal and all- pervading. It is the indubitable real, the postulate of knowledge, and all doubts and

denials pre-suppose its existence.

The Sankhya recognizes the purarity of purusha and the spiritual unity of each purusha. The

soul is distinct from its material vestment, the body, mind, intellect and egoism. It is distinct

fromprakriti and its effects and devoid of satva, rajas and tamas, it is discriminating, simple intelligent,

non-productive, uncaused, eternal and immutable. It is beyond time space and causality. It is the

conscious knower.Sankhya gives the following five proofs for the existence of the Purusa:

(1) All compound objects exist for the sake of thePurusa. The body, the senses, the mind and the

intellect are all means to realize the end of the Purusa. The three gunas, the Prakrti, the subtle body—all

are said to serve the purpose of the self. Evolution is teleological or purposive. Prakrti evolves itself in

order to serve the Purusa’s end. This proof is teleological.

(2) All objects are composed of the three gunas and therefore logically presuppose the existence of the

Purusa who is the witness of these gunas and is himself beyond them. The three gunas imply the

conception of a nistraigunya—that which is beyond them. This proof is logical.

(3) There must be a transcendental synthetic unity of pure Consciousness to co-ordinate all experiences.

All knowledge necessarily presupposes the existence of the self. The self is the foundation, the

fundamental postulate of all empirical knowledge. All affirmations and all negations equally presuppose

it. Without it, experience would not become experience. This proof is ontological.

(4) Non-intelligent Prakrti cannot experience its products. So there must be an intelligent principle to

experience the worldly products of Prakrti. Prakrti is tlie enjoyed (bhogyä) and so there must be an

enjoyer (bhoktâ). All objects of the world have the characteristics of producing pleasure, pain and

bewilderment. But pleasure, pain and bewilderment have meaning only when there is a conscious

principle to experience them. Hence Purusha must exist. This argument is ethical.

(5) There are persons who try to attain release from the sufferings of the world. The desire for liberation

and emancipation implies the existence of a person who can try for and obtain liberation. Aspiration

presupposes the aspirant. This proof is mystical or religious.



Theory of evolution

The idea of evolution in Samkhya revolves around the interaction ofprakṛti and Purusha. Prakṛti

remains unmanifested as long as the three gunas are in equilibrium. This equilibrium of the gunas is

disturbed when prakṛti comes into proximity with consciousness or Purusha. The disequilibrium of the

gunas triggers an evolution that leads to the manifestation of the world from an un-manifestedPrakṛti.

The metaphor of movement of iron in the proximity of a magnet is used to describe this process. As the

material cause of the world, Prakriti is dynamic. Its dynamism is attributed to its constituent gunas.

The gunas are not only constituents, nor are they simply qualities. The gunas are the very essence

of Prakriti. Gunas are constituents not only of Prakriti but also of all world-objects as they are produced

by Prakriti. Prakriti is considered homogeneous and its constituent gunas cannot be separated.

The gunas are always changing, rendering a dynamic character to Prakriti. Still a balance among

three gunas is maintained in Prakriti. The changes in the gunas and in the Prakriti may take two forms:

Homogeneous and Heterogeneous. During the state of dissolution (pralaya) of the world, the gunas

change homogeneously, i.e., sattva changes into sattva, rajas into rajas and tamas into tamas. This

change does not disturb the equilibrium of the gunas and unless the equilibrium is disturbed and one

predominates over the other two, evolution cannot take place. Evolution starts when there is

heterogeneous change in the gunas and one predominates over the other two and brings about terrific

commotion in the bosom of Prakrti. Homogeneous changes do not affect the state of equilibrium in

the Prakriti. As a result, worldly objects are not produced. Heterogeneous changes involve radical

interaction among the three gunas. They disturb the state of equilibrium. This is the preliminary phase of

the evolution. The evolutionary process is initiated by the rajas, which activates sattva and then the

two gunas overpower the inertia of the tamas. An important factor behind the disturbance is Purusha .

The relation between Purusha and Prakriti may be compared to that between a magnet and a piece of

iron. Purusha itself does not come into contact with Prakriti. But it influences Prakriti. Thus,

the Prakriti is prompted to produce. As the gunas undergo more and more changes, Prakriti goes on

differentiating into numerous, various world-objects. Thus it becomes more and more determinate. This

is what is termed as evolution.

For the Sankhya system the manifold world is not created by God out of nothing, but it is

evolved from Prakriti. The world is unconscious and cannot be the transformation of a sprit which is

unchangeable and immutable. It is the transformation of the unconscious prakritior of satva, rajas and

tamas. Prakrti and its evolutes are subject to transformations. They can never be deprived of their



essential nature of modifiability evolution and dissolution. Prakriti is first transformed into mahat’ or

cosmic intellect (Buddhi). Mahat is transformed into Ahankaraor cosmic egoism. Ahankara is

transformed into the eleven sense organs, and the five tranmatras or subtle essences of sound, touch

colour, taste and smell. The five subtle essences are transformed into five gross elements of sky, air, fire,

water and earth. These are the twenty four principles. In addition to these there are purushas. These are

the twenty five principles according to Sankhya. That is, Prakriti -Purusha –Mahat- Ahankara- Eleven

sense organs- (mind, 5 sense organs, 5 motor organs) – 5 tanmatras- 5 mahabutas.The Sankhya

recognizes above twenty five principles of reality. Of these purusha is neither a cause of the aggregate

of all effects in the world. It is their ultimate cause, which is not the effect of any other cause. If it had

any other cause, it would lead to infinite regress. Prakritiis a cause but not an effect. It is not a

modification of any other ultimate cause.



UNIT- V

SCHOOLS OF VEDANTA

Vedanta or Uttara Mimamsa is one of the six astika schools of Indian philosophy. Literally it

means ‘end of the Vedas’, that is the word Vedanta is a compound of veda, ‘knowledge’ and anta, ‘end

or conclusion’.Vedanta reflects ideas that emerged from, or were aligned with, the speculations and

philosophies contained in the Upanishads, specifically, knowledge and liberation. It relies on three

textual sources called the Prasthanatraya, it gives a unifying interpretation of the whole body of

Upanishads, the Brahma Sutras,and the Bhagavad Gita. The main traditions of Vedanta are: Advaita

Vedanta, Vishishtadvaita, Dvaita, Dvaitādvaita, Shuddhadvaita, and AchintyaBhedābheda. All Vedanta

schools, in their deliberations, concern themselves but differ in their views

regarding ontology, soteriology and epistemology.Vedanta schools have a number of doctrines in

common, including transmigration of the self (samsara) and the desirability of being released from the

cycle of rebirths; the authority of the Veda; the understanding that Brahman is both the

material (upadana) and the instrumental (nimitta) cause of the world; and the concept of the self (atman)

as the agent of its own actions (karma) and, therefore, the recipient of the consequences, of those actions

(phala). The primary philosophy captured in the Upanishads, that of the one absolute reality

termed Brahman, is the main principle of Vedanta. The concept of Brahman, the Supreme Spirit or the

eternal, self-existent, immanent and transcendent Supreme and Ultimate Reality which is the divine

ground of all Being, is central to most schools of Vedānta. There is also a concept of God or Ishvara,

and the Vedantic sub-schools differ mainly in the manner in which they define the relationship between

God (Ishvara) and Brahman.

Advaita Vedanta

Advaita Vedānta is the most influential school of all, and has influenced many philosophers. It

was propounded by AdiSankara and his ParamaGuruGaudapada, who described Ajativada. According

to this school of Vedanta, Brahman is the only reality, and the world, as it appears, is illusory. As

Brahman is the sole reality, it cannot be said to possess any attributes whatsoever. An illusionary power

of Brahman called Mayacauses the world to arise. Ignorance of this reality is the cause of all suffering in

the world, and only upon true knowledge of Brahman can liberation be attained. When a person tries to

know Brahman through his mind, due to the influence of Māyā, Brahman appears as God (Ishvara),

separate from the world and from the individual. In reality, there is no difference between the individual



soul jīvātman and Brahman. Liberation lies in knowing the reality of this non-difference, a-dvaita, not-

two-ness. Thus, the path to liberation is finally only through knowledge (jñāna).

Vishishtadvaita

Vishishtadvaita was propounded by Ramanuja (1017 -1137) and says that

the jīvātman (individual soul) is a part of Brahman, and hence is similar, but not identical. The main

difference from Advaita is that in Visishtadvaita, Brahman is asserted to have attributes, including

individual conscious souls and matter. Brahman, matter and the individual souls are distinct but

mutually inseparable entities. This school propounds Bhakti, or devotion to God visualized as Vishnu, to

be the path to liberation. Māyā is seen as the creative power of God.

Dvaita

Dvaita was propounded by Madhva (1238- 1317). It identifies God with Brahman completely

and in turn with Vishnu or his incarnation Krishna. It regards Brahman, all individual souls (jīvātmans),

and matter as eternal and mutually separate entities. This school also advocated Bhakti as the route to

liberation. There is no concept of Māyā as an illusionary power behind the world.

Dvaitādvaita

Dvaitādvaita was propounded by Nimbārka, based upon an earlier school called Bhedābheda,

which was taught by Bhāskara. According to this school, the jīvātman is at once the same and yet

different from Brahman. The relationship ofjiva with Brahman may be regarded as Dvaita from one

point of view andAdvaita from another. There are three categories of existence, cit, acit, and Isvara.

Isvara is independent and exists by Himself, while the existence of cit and acit is dependent upon Him.

At the same time, cit and acit are different from Isvara, in the sense that they have attributes (guna) and

capacities (swabhaava), which are different from those of Isvara. Difference means a kind of existence

which is separate but dependent, while non-difference means the impossibility of independent existence.

Shuddhadvaita

Shuddhadvaita propounded by Vallabha (1479 – 1531). This system also encouraged Bhakti as

the only means of liberation. The world is said to be the sport of Krishna, who is Sat-Chit-Ananda.



According to the version of Vaishnava Theology he espoused; the glorious Krishna in His

Sacchidananda form is the Absolute Brahman.

Achintya Bhedābheda

Achintya Bhedābheda propounded by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (Bengal, 1486-1534). This

doctrine of inconceivable one-ness and difference states that the living soul is intrinsically linked with

the Supreme Lord, and yet at the same time is not the same as God, the exact nature of this relationship

being inconceivable to the human mind.

Sankara’s Advaita System

Advaita Vedanta is propounded by Gaudapada (7th century) and AdiShankara (8th century),

espouses non-dualism and monism. Brahman is held to be the sole unchanging metaphysical reality and

identical to the individual Atman. The physical world, on the other hand, is always-changing

empirical Maya. The absolute and infinite Atman-Brahman is realized by a process of negating

everything relative, finite, empirical and changing.The school accepts no duality, no limited individual

souls (Atman / Jivatman), and no separate unlimited cosmic soul. All souls and their existence across

space and time are considered to be the same oneness. Spiritual liberation in Advaita is the full

comprehension and realization of oneness, that one's unchanging Atman (soul) is the same as

the Atman in everyone else, as well as being identical to Brahman.

Ultimate Reality, according to Shankara, is Atman or Brahman which is Pure Consciousness

(jnana-svarupa) or Consciousness of the Pure Self (svarupa-jnana) which is devoid of all attributes

(nirguna) and all categories of the intellect (nirvishesa). Brahman associated with its potency (shakti)

mayaor mulavidya appears as the qualified Brahman or the Lord (Ishvara) who is the creator, preserver

and destroyer of this world which is His appearance.Jiva or the individual self is a subject-object

complex. Its subject- element is Pure Consciousness and is called the Saksin. The source of the internal

organ is Avidyâwhich causes individuality. Maya or Avidya is not pure illusion. It is not only absence of

knowledge. It is also positive wrong knowledge. It is a cross of the real and the unreal. In fact it is

indescribable. It is neither existent nor non-existent nor both. It is not existent for the existent is only the

Brahman. It is not non-existent for it is responsible for the appearance of the Brahman as the world. It

cannot be both existent and non-existent for this conception is self-contradictory. It is called neither real



nor unreal. It is false or mithya. Brahman is the ground on which the world appears through Maya.

When right knowledge dawns and the essential unity of the jiva with the Paramatmanis realized, Maya

or Avidya vanishes.

Sankara emphasizes that from the phenomenal point of view the world is quite real. It is not an

illusion but is a practical reality. He distinguishes the dream state from the waking state. Things seen in

a dream are quite true as long as the dream lasts; they are sublated only when we are awake. Similarly,

the world is quite real so long as true knowledge does not dawn. But dreams are private. They are

creations of the jiva. The world is public. It is the creation of Ishvara. Jiva is ignorant of the essential

unity and takes only diversity as true and wrongly regards himself as agent and enjoyer. Avidyä conceals

the unity and projects names and forms (viksepa). Ishvara never misses the unity. Maya has only its

viksepa aspect over him. The Highest Brahman (Para-Brahma) is both the locus and the object of Maya.

When the jiva realizes through knowledge and knowledge alone, karma being subsidiary, this essential

unity, liberation is attained here and now (jivan-mukti) and final release (videha-mukti) is obtained after

the death of the body.

Vishishtadvaita

Vishishtadvaita, propounded by Ramanuja asserts that Jivatman (human souls)

and Brahman (as Vishnu) are different, a difference that is never transcended. With this qualification,

Ramanuja also affirmed monism by saying that there is unity of all souls and that the individual soul has

the potential to realize identity with the Brahman.On the relation between the Brahman and the world of

matter (Prakriti), Vishishtadvaita states both are two different absolutes, both metaphysically true and

real, neither is false or illusive, and that saguna Brahman with attributes is also real. Ramanuja states

that God like man has both soul and body, and the world of matter is the glory of God's body. The path

to Brahman (Vishnu), according to Ramanuja, is devotion to godliness and constant remembrance of the

beauty and love of the personal god (bhakti of saguna Brahman).

According to Ramanuja, the Absolute is an organic unity, an identity which is qualified by

diversity. It is a concrete whole (vishista) which consists of the interrelated and inter-dependent

subordinate elements which are called vishesanas and the immanent and controlling spirit which is

called vishesya. Unity means realization of being a vital member of this organic whole. God or the

Absolute is this whole. He is the immanent inner controller, the Supreme Real who holds together in

unity the dependent matter and individual souls as His body. Ramanuja recognizes three things as



ultimate and real (tattva-traya). These are matter (achit), souls (chit) and God (Ishvara). Though all are

equally real, the first two are absolutely dependent on God. Though they are substances in themselves,

yet in relation to God, they become His attributes. They are the body of God who is their soul. God is

the soul of nature. God is also the soul of souls. Our souls are souls in relation to our bodies, but in

relation to God, they become His body and He is their soul. The relation between the soul and the body

is that of inner inseparability (aprthaksiddhi). This is also the relation between substance and attribute.

Aprthak-siddhi is the relation between the body and the soul, between a substance and its attributes,

between parts and whole, and may be between one substance and another. It is an inner, inseparable,

vital and organic relation. God is qualified by matter and souls. They form His body and are inseparable

from and utterly dependent on Him. Ramanuja defines a body as that which is controlled, supported and

utilized for its purposes by a soul. Matter and souls are called attributes of God; they are the controlled,

the supported, the parts and the accessory means, while God is their substance, controller, support, the

whole and the principal end. They are eternal with God, but are not external to him. He possesses

internal differences (svagatabheda) as His organic body is made of real and diverse elements like matter

and souls. His relation with them is natural (svabhavika) and eternal (sanatana). God is both the material

and the instrumental cause of the world. He is the immanent as well as the transcendent ground of the

world. He is immanent in the whole world as its inner controller (antaryami) and yet in His essence He

transcends the world. His is a perfect personality. He is full of all good qualities—Existence, Knowledge

and Bliss, Truth. Goodness and Beauty, Love and Power.

Dvaita

Dvaita, propounded by Madhvacharya is based on the premise of dualism. Atman (soul)

and Brahman (as Vishnu) are understood as two completely different entities. Brahman is the creator of

the universe, perfect in knowledge, perfect in knowing, perfect in its power, and distinct from souls,

distinct from matter. In Dvaita Vedanta, an individual soul must feel attraction, love, attachment and

complete devotional surrender to Vishnu for salvation, and it is only His grace that leads to redemption

and salvation. Madhva believed that some souls are eternally doomed and damned, a view not found in

Advaita and Visistadvaita Vedanta. While the Visistadvaita Vedanta asserted qualitative monism and

quantitative pluralism of souls, Madhva asserted both qualitative and quantitative pluralism of souls.

Madhva advocates the reality of five-fold differences —between soul and God, between soul and

soul, between soul and matter, between God and matter, and between matter and matter. His bias for



difference is so great that he advocates difference of degrees in the possession of knowledge and in the

enjoyment of bliss even in the case of liberated souls—a doctrine found in no other system of Indian

philosophy. Madhva believes that knowledge reveals the knower and the known as independently real

and upholds the intrinsic validity of knowledge. The world is real and so are the differences that

constitute it. Difference is the very nature of things. To perceive things is to perceive their uniqueness

which constitutes difference. Distinctions of things account for the distinctions of ideas.

Madhva, like Ramanuja, believes in God and souls and matter as the three entities which are

eternal and absolutely real, though souls and matter are absolutely dependent on God. God alone is

independent. He possesses infinitely good qualities. Existence, knowledge and bliss constitute His

essence. He is the creator, preserver and destroyer of this universe. He has a divine body and is

transcendent. But He is also immanent as the inner ruler of all souls. His is a perfect personality. He is

the Lord of Karma. He is pleased only by bhakti. He manifests Himself in the various Vyuhas and in

incarnations and is present in sacred images. Laksmi is His consort. She is all-pervading and eternal like

Him, but her qualities are a little less than those of her Lord. She is ever-liberated (nityamukta) and

possesses a divine body. She is the Power of God. The individual souls are numberless and are atomic in

size. The soul is by nature conscious and blissful. It becomes subject to pains and imperfections on

account of its connection with the material body, sense-organs, mind etc. which connection is due to its

past karmas. The souls are eternal and are of three kinds—eternally free (nityamukta), freed (mukta) and

bound (baddha). Though God controls the soul from within, yet it is a real agent and a real enjoyer and

is responsible for its acts. Bhakti is the only means of liberation. It is defined as the Eternal Love for

God with a full sense of His Greatness. Prakrti is primal Matter. Under the influence of God when He

wants to create the world, it evolves itself into the various material products which return to it again at

the time of dissolution. Creation means manifestation of subtle matter as gross and the embodiment of

the souls in order to reap the fruits of their acts.

For Madhva differences have separate existence and constitute the unique nature of things. They

are not mere qualifications of identity. He explains the relation of identity and difference by means of

unique particulars (vishesa) in the attributes of a substance. The attributes are also absolutely real.

Matter and souls are different from each other and from God. They do not qualify God because they

have substantive existence themselves. Though God is the immanent ruler of the souls and though the

souls as well as matter depend on God, yet they are absolutely different from God and cannot form His

body. Madhvaalso advocates both quantitative and qualitative pluralism of souls. No two souls are alike



Each has, besides its individuality, its peculiarity also. Madhva, therefore, believes that even in

liberation the souls differ in degrees regarding their possession of knowledge and enjoyment of bliss.

Hence, he regards God as only the efficient cause of the world and not its material cause which is

Prakrti. God creates the world out of the stuff of Prakrti.Madhva emphasizes the difference of the

liberated soul from God. The soul becomes similar to God in some respects when it is liberated, yet even

in these respects it is much inferior to God. It does not enjoy the full bliss of God. The bliss enjoyed by

the redeemed souls is fourfold- salokya or residence in the same place with God;samipya or nearness to

God; sarupyaor having the external form like that of God; and sayujya or entering into the body of God

and partially sharing His bliss with Him. Thus, according to Madhva even the most qualified soul which

is entitled to sayujya form of liberation can share only partial bliss of Brahman and cannot become

similar to Brahman in the strict sense of the term.

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sTUDY MATERIAL second semester CORE COURSE