Growing up in the Advaita tradition, I was taught that the world is Maya, an illusion. Dva means two. Advaita means that there is no two, there is only one, which is Brahman (God). But if all is one & the Atman (soul) alone is Brahman, isn't an illusory world of Maya different from the Atman? How can this be called Advaita then?
Advaita is the most prominent philosophy of Hindus. A competing philosophy, Vishishta-advaita states that all is one, but the one is qualified as Chit (conscious material), Achit (unconscious material) & Ishwaram (God). Within the one, the Jivatmans can aim to serve Vishnu, but the Jivatman is not Paramatman. The subsequent competing philosophy, Dvaita, states that there is Paramatman God Vishnu & everything else. Followers have attacked Advaitins for considering the world as Maya. The world is real, and part of the body of Paramatman. The Gaudiya Vaishnavas, popularly part of the ISKCON movement, criticize the Advaitins as Mayavadis.
But is that really true? Is that what Adi Shankara, the founder of Advaita said? Is the world Maya? Let's examine this further.
Adi Shankara:
श्लोकार्घेन प्रवक्ष्यामि यदुक्तं ग्रन्थकोटिभिः।
ब्रह्म सत्यं जगन्मिथ्या जीवो ब्रह्मैव नापरः।
I expound in half a verse, what has been spoken of in a million texts: Brahman is the true reality and the world is a misunderstanding of this truth; the Jiva (soul) is no different from Brahman.
Note the key phrase here. ब्रह्म सत्यं जगन्मिथ्या : Brahman satyam, Jagath Mithya. Brahman is the truth. The world is Mithya.
What is Mithya?
The word myth seems to originate for Mithya. But that seems similar to Maya. An illusion. So, what is Mithya? Why is this a separate word from Maya?
Shankara explains this with an analogy.
A traveler is walking in the dark. He steps on a snake. He is terrified. Later when there is light, he looks at what he stepped on. It is actually a rope. He had misunderstood the rope to be a snake.
Advaita is the most prominent philosophy of Hindus. A competing philosophy, Vishishta-advaita states that all is one, but the one is qualified as Chit (conscious material), Achit (unconscious material) & Ishwaram (God). Within the one, the Jivatmans can aim to serve Vishnu, but the Jivatman is not Paramatman. The subsequent competing philosophy, Dvaita, states that there is Paramatman God Vishnu & everything else. Followers have attacked Advaitins for considering the world as Maya. The world is real, and part of the body of Paramatman. The Gaudiya Vaishnavas, popularly part of the ISKCON movement, criticize the Advaitins as Mayavadis.
But is that really true? Is that what Adi Shankara, the founder of Advaita said? Is the world Maya? Let's examine this further.
Adi Shankara:
श्लोकार्घेन प्रवक्ष्यामि यदुक्तं ग्रन्थकोटिभिः।
ब्रह्म सत्यं जगन्मिथ्या जीवो ब्रह्मैव नापरः।
I expound in half a verse, what has been spoken of in a million texts: Brahman is the true reality and the world is a misunderstanding of this truth; the Jiva (soul) is no different from Brahman.
Note the key phrase here. ब्रह्म सत्यं जगन्मिथ्या : Brahman satyam, Jagath Mithya. Brahman is the truth. The world is Mithya.
What is Mithya?
The word myth seems to originate for Mithya. But that seems similar to Maya. An illusion. So, what is Mithya? Why is this a separate word from Maya?
Shankara explains this with an analogy.
A traveler is walking in the dark. He steps on a snake. He is terrified. Later when there is light, he looks at what he stepped on. It is actually a rope. He had misunderstood the rope to be a snake.
When the mind is uncontrolled & in darkness, the world appears to be a snake, but that is not its true nature. Once you realize your Jiva (also called self or Atman) after Dhyanam and see the light, you realize the world as it actually is, like a rope. The nature of the world did not change. Only your own understanding of the nature of the world changed after you realized yourself.
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