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Oppiliappan List Archive: Message 00019 Jul 2006

 
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Thus  consciousness is identical with existence because it is real 
and persists in all cognitions. But the sanmAthra, existence, being 
perceived becomes an object of consciousness and hence cannot be 
identical with it and only different from it. Advaitin meets this 
objection by saying that it has already been shown that the 
difference cannot be the object of perception nor can it be defined 
by any pramANa. Hence existence cannot be proved as an object of 
consciousness as it is not expereinced through any pramANa and hence 
it is identical with it.

Existence is svathassiddha, self-proved, being consciousness. If it 
depends on any other proof it will become an object of experience 
like a pot. It is always manifest while it exists and does not need 
any other consciousness to reveal it except itself. A thing by which 
everything else is illumined does not require an external agent for 
its  own manifestation, like a lamp.

But at the time of perception  of a pot, there is only the knowledge 
that this is a pot. The cognition   of the pot, anubhuthi, comes 
later. The pot is illumined by the indriyARthA sannikarsha, the 
contact of the indriya, eye, with the object, pot.The anubhuthi, 'I 
know the pot,' follows later and according to the school of 
MimAmsakas, the BhAttAs,  
( followers of KumArila Bhtta) this cognition is not through 
perception but by anumAna, inference. Thus the anubhuthi , being the 
object of anumaAna, becomes jada, insentient and not self 
illuminating, ajada, as claimed by the advaitin.

Advaitin contends that this ajadatvam pointed out by the opponent is 
not in any way a violation, vyabhichAra, of the self-illumination of 
the sattha.That is, the cognition 'I know the pot,'  is also 
illumined by the consciousness which is identical with the sattha. 
Hence its jadathva is not the criterion. For instance the experience 
of sukha is also not cognised at the first moment but only when the 
consciousness that ' I am experiencing sukha' arises. Moreover  the 
sattha, consciousness is the cause of all jnAna, cognition, it cannot 
cognize itself as the tip of the finger cannot touch itself.Therefore 
anubhuthi cannot be known through inference or through any other 
cognition. Hence anubhuthi, conscousness which is the cause of all 
cognitions is self- proved.

Consciousness is eternal and so has neither beginning nor end. There 
can be no prior or posterior nonexistence as that could be  cognised 
only  by conscousness which would have been nonexistentat that time.
Consciousness is devoid of all plurality, being unoriginated. That 
which is eternal must be one only and not many. All that is non-self 
is excluded from the self and hence  the Self, that is consciusness, 
cannot have any other knower but itself.

Neither the concept of knower as 'aham jAnAmi, I know,' can said to 
be the attribute of consciousness because knower is an object of 
consciousness, in the form of awareness that 'I know.' The concept of 
knower, jnAtrthA is bhraAnthimoola, illusory like the silver in 
nacre.Every cognition like 'I am a man'  etc. is the product of the 
ego, which  itself is unreal and hence cannot be the attribute of 
consciousness. In sushupthi,deep sleep  or murcchA, swoon when the 
ego is absent, the consciusness is present,as otherwise there would 
not have been the awareness 'maamapi aham na jnAthavAn, I did not 
know even myself, and hence the ego functions only through body, mind 
and intellect. Therefore the witness-self,sAkshi  is different from 
the ego. Even though it is jada, insentient, the ahamkara, ego, 
reflects the consciousness which is changeless, and creates an 
appearance as though it is the ego. This is just like the moon being 
reflected in the water, miiror etc. and creates an illusion that it 
is in them. It may be doubted as to how the self illumined 
consciousness can be illumined by insentient objects like ego. In 
actual practice we see that the rays of the Sun or of a gem falling 
on the hand manifest the light which is not existent there.

The MahApurvapaksha is concluded with the words,' thasmAth 
paramArTHathah nirasthasamasthabhedhavikalpa-
nirviseshachinmAthraikarasakutasTHanithyasamvid Eva bhrAnthyA 
jnAthrjnEyajnAnarupaviviDHavichithrabhedhA vivarthatha ithi 
thanmoolabhoothAvidhyAnibarhaNAya nithya 
suddhabuddhamukthasvabhAvabrahmAthmaikathvavidhyAprathipatthayE sarve 
vEdaAnthAh Arabhyantha.'

Therefore in reality, only the consciousness which is devoid of all 
differences,changes and attributes, which is the permanent Reality, 
appears as the manifold differences of knower,known and knowledge. So 
to remove the avidhya which is the cause of the appearence of 
diversity the study of vedantha should be started to get the 
knowledge of Brahman which is by nature suddha, purity itself, 
buddha, intelligence and muktha, everfree.









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