All is illusion apart from your Self
Illusion
Ramana Maharshi – three theories of reality of the world (shristi-dristi vada, dristi-shristi vada/vivarta vada, ajata vada) – the 3 levels of the teaching
This is one of a series of introductory articles – please see the homepage of tomdas.com for more introductory articles. Also see: For those attached to the world, the world is considered to be a divine manifestation. For the advanced seeker, the world is considered to be an illusion
And The Suprising Meaning of ‘Real’ and ‘Unreal’ in Advaita Vedanta
In classical Advaita (Non-Dual) Vedanta, there are three main theories or viewpoints of reality, called shristi-dristi vada, dristi-shristi vada and lastly ajata vada. Whilst these Sanskrit words may appear complex, the idea is actually very simple, and Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi explains the meaning of these terms below.
It may be helpful to note that ‘vada’ means ‘theory’ or ‘viewpoint’, ‘shristi’ means ‘the world’ or ‘creation’, ‘dristi’ literally means ‘sight’ but in this context refers to consciousness, and ‘jata’ means ‘birth’ (or creation). Adding ‘a’ as a prefix to ‘jata’ negates the meaning so that ‘ajata’ means ‘unborn’ or ‘no creation’.
Therefore:
1) Shristi-dristi vada is the view that the world is primary and gives rise to consciousness, which is the most commonplace model of the universe, ie. that first there was a universe in which life gradually evolved on planet Earth and eventually human life and human consciousness evolved. In Western philosophy this is known as the Realist view of reality. This view also broadly corresponds to the waking state and to the Dvaita (dualistic) world view.
2) Dristi-shristi vada is the view that consciousness is primary and gives rise to the world appearance, ie. like in a dream, consciousness exists first and then this consciousness manifests the apparent dream-world and dream-subject/object duality. In Western philosophy this is known as the Idealist view of reality. This view broadly corresponds to the dream state and the view of Vasistadvaita (qualified non-duality or partial non-duality as I like to call it). This view is also known as, or at least is very similar to vivarta vada, which is the view that the world and individual are both projected illusions that simultaneously appear, and that the world and individual appear to appear but do not actually appear, rather like a dream. Vivarta vada could therefore be considered to be a sub-type of Drist-Shristi-Vada.
and
3) Ajata vada is the radical view that there never was any creation at all, and that there is only The Absolute, and that there never has even been the appearance of creation. This view broadly corersponds to the deep sleep state and also to Turiya, the ‘fourth’ state. This is the true Advaita (non-duality). In Vivarta-vada, it is said that Maya (the entire phenomenal appearance) appears to exist, but actually doesn’t, but in ajata vada it is almost imcomprehensibly stated that Maya never even came into existence, not even as an appearance. Hence the difference between Vivarta Vada and Ajata Vada. Vivarta vada states the snake appears to exist in the dimly lit rope, but that it isn’t real, whereas ajata vada states that the snake never even appeared to exist at ‘any time’ (‘any time’ is in quotes as the notion of time and space are also ‘seen’ to never have existed).
Note that whilst (1) and (2) can be understood conceptually with the mind, Ajata vada is an advanced and highly radical teaching that is very difficult to comprehend and it makes little sense to the mind. This is why liberation is said to be unfathomable. Ajata Vada is usually associated with Gaudapada’s commentary on the Mandukya Upanishad but also features in several other scriptures such as Ribhu Gita, Yoga Vasishtha, the final few verses of Shankara’s Vivekachudamani, the Ashtavakra Gita and Avadhuta Gita to name a few. Shankara’s commentaries on the Upanishads also commonly point to the radical ajata teachings.
Vedanta teachings often start by working in a Realist framework, which is the default conceptual framework of reality for most seekers especially at the start of their journey. Then the Idealist conceptual framework is introduced, and later the Ajata or no-creation viewpoint is brought in when the seeker is ready, in step-wise progression depending on how the seeker is progressing with the teachings. The nature and content of teachings differ depending on what framework of reality is being used. Note the purpose of the teachings is not that they are true, but the view is to be adopted in order to remove ignorance and reveal THAT which cannot be taught, explained or expressed in words – THAT which you – THAT which is all there is – beyond words.
Note that the stronger the ego (ie. the identification with being a body-mind), the stronger the attachment to the belief-concept that the world is real, and this means that the higher teachings are more likely to be rejected by the ego-mind. Conversely, the weaker the attachment to body-mind, the weaker the attachment to the belief in the world being real, and the more likely the higher teachings are to be accepted. This in turn facilitates Self-Enquiry and ‘attainment’ of Moksha (liberation).
Similarly, whenever we come across a teaching, it can be very helpful to see which of the 3 levels the teaching belongs to – this can be very helpful to avoid unnecessary confusion in what can otherwise seem to be contradictory teachings.
To explain further, here is an excerpt from Day by Day with Bhagavan from 15th March, 1946:
[Ramana Maharshi:] I do not teach only the ajata doctrine. I approve of all schools. The same truth has to be expressed in different ways to suit the capacity of the hearer. The ajata doctrine says, “Nothing exists except the one reality. There is no birth or death, no projection or drawing in [of the world], no sadhaka [no seeker], no mumukshu [no one seeking liberation], no mukta [no liberated person], no bondage, no liberation. The one unity alone exists ever.”
‘To such as find it difficult to grasp this truth and who ask. “How can we ignore this solid world we see all around us?” the dream experience is pointed out and they are told, “All that you see depends on the seer. Apart from the seer, there is no seen.”
Tom: Note here how Sri Ramana is distinguishing and differentiating vivarta vada/drist-sristi vada from ajata vada. Many people erroneously think that ajata vada states that world appears as a dream and non-creation means that the world is merely a dream-like appearance (as a dream appears, but is not real, and in that sense has not been created) – ie. many people erroneously equate ajata vada with vivarta vada/dristi-sristi vada. However here in the section above, if we read carefully, we can see that Sri Ramana is stating the Ajata vada is actually different to the idea that ‘all appears as the Self’. See here and here for more on this.
In Sri Ramana Paravidyopanishad we also see this same teaching in verses 147 and 330:
147. Creation is not other than seeing; seeing and creating are one and the same process. Annihilation is only the cessation of seeing and nothing else, for the world comes to an end by the right awareness of oneself.
330. There is no creation apart from seeing; seeing and creation are one and the same. And because that seeing is due to ignorance, to cease seeing is the truth of the dissolution (of the world).
‘This is called the drishti-srishti vada, or the argument that one first creates out of his mind and then sees what his mind itself has created.
‘To such as cannot grasp even this and who further argue, “The dream experience is so short, while the world always exists. The dream experience was limited to me. But the world is felt and seen not only by me, but by so many, and we cannot call such a world non-existent,” the argument called srishti-drishti vada is addressed and they are told, “God first created such and such a thing, out of such and such an element and then something else, and so forth.” That alone will satisfy this class. Their mind is otherwise not satisfied and they ask themselves, “How can all geography, all maps, all sciences, stars, planets and the rules governing or relating to them and all knowledge be totally untrue?” To such it is best to say, “Yes. God created all this and so you see it.”’
Dr. M. said, ‘But all these cannot be true; only one doctrine can be true.’
Bhagavan said, ‘All these are only to suit the capacity of the learner. The absolute can only be one.’
In Guru Vackaka Kovai (Garland of Guru’s Sayings), Ramana says the following (with a comment by Sri Sadhu Om):
100. Although Guru Ramana taught various doctrines according to the level of understanding of those who came to Him, we heard from Him that ‘Ajata’ alone is truly His own experience. Thus should you know.
Sri Sadhu Om’s comments: ‘Ajata’ is the knowledge that nothing – neither the world, soul nor God – ever comes into existence, and that ‘That Which Is’ ever exists as IT is.
Tom: here in Sri Sadhu Om, we have a close and direct devotee of Sri Ramana’s clearing stating what Ajata Vada actually is.
114. When the limited light [which is used to project pictures on the cinema screen] is dissolved in the bright sunlight [which enters the cinema], the pictures also will disappear instantaneously. Similarly, when the limited consciousness [chittam] of the mind is dissolved in supreme Consciousness [Chit], the picture show of these three prime entities [God, world and soul] will also disappear.
Here Sri Ramana explains why the teachings may initially concede the existence of the three primal entities (the individual or jiva, the world or jagat, and God the ordainer or Isvara):
115. Thus, since the Truth of the Source is One, why do all religions [and sometimes even Sages] start their teachings by at first conceding that these three prime entities are real? Because the mind, which is tossed about by objective knowledge, would not agree to believe in the One unless the Sages condescended to teach It as three.
122. Whatever high and wonderful state of tapas one may have attained, if one still identifies oneself with an individuality, one cannot be a Sahaja-Jnani [i.e. One in the State of Effortlessness]; one is only an aspirant of, perhaps, an advanced stage.
Here it is explained that for the teaching to ‘condescend’ to vivartha vada is the most practical method for seekers:
83. From his condescending opening words, “Because we see the world”, it is to be understood that the Great Master, Bhagavan Sri Ramana, who gives the most practical assistance to aspirants, sets aside all other doctrines and teaches that only the ‘Doctrine ofVivartha’is suitable to be taken as true.
Sri Sadhu Om’s comments: Though His experience of the Truth can only be adequately expressed by the ‘Doctrine of Ajata’, Bhagavan Sri Ramana uses only the ‘Doctrine of Vivartha’ for His Teachings…The ‘Doctrine of Vivartha’ is recommended to explain the standpoint of Advaita, ie. to explain how the world-appearance, its seer, and the seer’s knowledge of the appearance all come into existence simultaneously, unconditioned by cause and effect. However, since this accepts the appearance of the world, souls and God, it is only a working hypothesis to help aspirants. The‘Doctrine of Ajata’, on the other hand, never accepts even the appearance of this trinity, but proclaims that the One Self-shining Reality alone exists eternally and without modification; Ajata is therefore the highest of all doctrines and it is only suitable for the fully-ripened aspirants. Bhagavan Sri Ramana therefore comes down condescendingly and, setting aside ‘Ajata’ and the two lower doctrines He advocates through His Forty Verses on Reality the ‘Doctrine of Vivartha’ which is suitable for the ripe aspirants who have no faith in the lower doctrines, yet do not have the maturity to grasp the highest, ‘Ajata’.
Also see Ramana Maharshi: how to abide as the Self, the world is not real, attend to yourself
and How spiritual teachings work and Ramana Maharshi on those who claim to have surpassed the traditional notion of enlightenment
and Manonasa and The nature of Liberation | Ramana Maharshi | PDF download
Ajata Vada as taught in the Bhagavad Gita
REAL MEANINGS
When it is said ‘all is full’ or ‘all is whole’,
All that is really meant is nothing is required for liberation.
When it is said ‘nothing is real’,
All that is really meant is nothing is required for liberation.
When it is said ‘nothing is required for liberation’,
What is meant is that there is no separate ‘me’ that could require anything.
…JUST THIS…
Too simple for words!
ON APPEARANCES
‘Things appear’…’This appearance’…
…Appearance is a descriptive term. This is how things appear to be. To say something ‘is’ or ‘is not’ is to stray into the domain of concepts and beliefs. No need to go there.
Powerful quotes from Sri Ranjit Maharaj
Sri Ranjit Maharaj was the guru-brother of the more famous Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj, that is they had the same guru – Sri Siddharameshwar Maharaj. Sri Ranjit Maharaj shared the same teachings but in a very direct way and with his own unique flavour. Here are some quotes from Sri Ranjit Maharaj:
The body and the world
Everyone gives value to the world. The realised being, who has gone beyond the world, beyond knowledge, only gives value to zero. When you understand that the world is untrue and that everything is zero, then all that remains is Reality.
You reduce yourself to being a body and then you constantly worry for it. Why? By thinking “I am the body”, you have reduced yourself to such a small creature. The body is nothing. It comes from zero and will soon return to zero.
When you lose all love for the illusion, He automatically is there. You get absorbed into Reality because He and you are the same, nothing else. There is no “you” or “self” in Reality. Forget about self. The real understanding is, “I don’t exist.“
The world is nothing but a long dream, take it for granted.
There’s nothing there, so what is there to say? As long as the body is there, he acts, no doubt. He calls his mother “mother”, and his wife “wife”, but still he knows. If somebody asks him, “What is your name?”, he gives his name, but he knows, “I am not this.”
The Master
The master is the greatest illusion because all that he says with full hear and frankness is false. But the false words that the master tells you can make you reach Reality.
The master takes you to that place where there is no one to understand anything. There is no knowledge nor ignorance and so understanding has no meaning. Let everything appear within That, but say that it is not true. There is no need to change anything because it doesn’t exist. When you forget the sense of the world, which is nonsense, then you will know the real sense and Reality opens up to you.
An enlightened person says at once, “One plus two is three! I know!” He says it so strongly. Understanding should come. Master awakens your understanding.
Nobody comes, nobody goes. All is a dream. In a dream you can become a great master, but when you wake up, you come back to your ordinary state. Who has gone there and who has come back? Nothing has happened.
The concept of a “great master” has come upon you, and you have become the “great master”, but when you wake up you feel, “All this is nonsense. How can I be a great master? I know nothing!” Still, in the dream, you were giving lectures and were talking easily about all these things, but when awakening comes, all this knowledge vanishes. It was only a dream.
The so-called sage who says, “I am the reincarnation of God”, doesn’t know Him, doesn’t know Reality. On the contrary, he is the slave of his ego, of illusion. When knowledge itself has no entity, there is no question of all these things.
Thinking that the master has a form is only ignorance. I tell you. When you accept what He tells you then you are always with Him.
The ego
The ego is like the son of a barren woman – it doesn’t exist. It is a false projection of a confused and ignorant mind.
Knowledge & Understanding
Understanding should come, and finally one should see that knowledge is also not true. Forget everything. Knowledge, ignorance . . . all is zero.
[Tom – see the same written in a traditional Advaita Vedanta text here.]
Understand this way: that you should be free from ignorance and finally from knowledge, also. Knowledge is the greatest ignorance. Understand this way and forget everything. In that moment, you are He.
First mental understanding is required and after that comes a practical understanding. Intellectual talent is the greatest thing. Without the intellect, one cannot understand. So, you have to understand with the full intellect and then, that knowledge, or that understanding will submerge, because knowledge is a thought. A good thought or a bad thought, both are thoughts. So, knowledge is a golden thorn, and ignorance is an ordinary thorn and both are bondage. Suppose your hands have been put in handcuffs. Maybe they’re iron cuffs or maybe they’re golden, but it’s still bondage. So, both are thorns. One should understand and throw them away. It is very difficult to throw out the knowledge, because ego remains up till knowledge. Knowledge is the ego, nothing else. To erase that knowledge, one should say, “I know nothing.”
Ignorance came by hearing and is dispelled by hearing. By words you have become bound and by words you can be free. Words are false, but their meaning is true. The illusion is needed in order to go beyond it.
The only way
There is only one way to know Reality – forget everything and instantly you are He. Short and sweet. There are no words for Reality. Forget the illusion and He is there. Do everything, but say that it is not true. That is the main point.
A disciple should put a zero on everything, including himself, otherwise he cannot advance. No one wants to put a zero on their self because they fear not being accepted by others. Be mad and do it!
The Ignorance and the wise
An ignorant person always sees the world as true. The realised sage sees the world as not true. That is the difference.
Nothing
When you feel that something can touch you, or harm you, it means that you are in the illusion. How can nothing touch you? Everything in the illusion is nothing.
Why to fear? Nothing is there. Everything is illusion. Keep your mind in that fearless state only. Just as the poisonous tooth is taken out, in the same way, play with the world, play with the illusion, there is no harm. It won’t affect your mind. Live fearlessly; no death, no fear, knowing that “I am that real power.” There is nothing! What will harm you?
In the same way, here we experience many things due to the objectivity of the mind. You see all the objects and immediately believe that they are real. At the moment you realise who you are, you see that everything is nothing. That is the main point. Mind should accept that everything is zero. Once the mind accepts that everything is nothing, then nothing remains and my Self is Truth.
God
The world is full of Him. Nothing is there except Him. What you see is Him.
No matter if you are poor, sitting on a throne or lying in the gutter, still you are always Reality. The outside appearance has nothing to do with who you are. Everyone is He, no matter what state you may be in.
Fearless
For example, when you sleep you dream, and in the dream somebody gives you a slap on the face. You feel the slap and immediately you you wake up to find only pillows. You then realise, “Oh, it was nothing ! Nobody slapped me.” In the dream, somebody kills you, “Ahhh, I am killed!” Then you wake up. “All is false, nobody was there to kill me.” Then your fear goes away. Awakening brings makes you fearless. One should realise that by nature you are fearless. Being fearless, the mind becomes completely naked and you know that nothing is true.
Does time exist? Is the world real? Are spiritual practices useful?
Does time exist? Or is time an illusion?
Is the world real? Or is this all an empty projection?
Does the world disappear upon liberation, or does it persist?
Is a spiritual practice needed? Or do all practices simply reinforce the egoic-me?
…these are all questions for the egoic-mind, the false-I.
…Liberation is simply freedom from this egoic-mind.
Liberation already IS, fully and totally,
And Liberation is all that IS, always and already.
❤️
Be as you are
When you take yourself to be real, the world also seems real. Then problems too seem to exist, and with it suffering.
Please know this directly: all this is empty, all this is zero. Just like a dream, there is only You, so there is nothing to fear.
God, guru, and the apparent world – all these are You.
Your nature is peace, love and happiness. You need nothing. You are ever-whole, ever-complete, ever-undefiled.
Your nature is naturally unattached, without desire, unchanging and at peace.
So don’t take this body-mind-world to be real (they will take care of themselves). Instead be what you are: be at peace, be happy and rest naturally, ever-unchanging and unattached.
Namaste
🙏🙏🙏
How the illusion of separation causes suffering
The sense of being a doer vs. no doer
When the doer* is seen to be an illusion, an imagined fiction, the sense/feeling of being a doer may still continue. The sense/feeling of being a doer can arise like any other phenomena arises.
And notice – it arises spontaneously, meaning there is no doer there doing it. You see! It can be seen that even the sense of being a doer is something that has no doer behind it – it just happens, by itself.
So, in my daily life I often feel like I’m doing things, but there is an understanding there that there is no doer-entity doing it. It is all just happening.
This is the difference between experience and knowledge/understanding: I may feel like a doer, but I know/understand I am not a doer.
It is similar to realising the sun does not orbit a stationary earth, even though the appearance of the sun rising and setting each day continues. Or if you realise that a mirage is an illusion, the illusion persists even when not believed in. The sense of doership can continue even when the understanding ‘there is no evidence for a doer’ is present.
*By doer I mean the notion of being a separate entity which creates or authors thoughts and actions
Ranjit Maharaj: use a thorn to remove a thorn, then throw them both away
This passage below is taken from ‘Illusion vs. Reality’ (page 6) by Shri Ranjit Maharaj. Shri Ranjit’s guru (Shri Siddharameshwar Maharaj) was also the Guru of Nisardagatta Maharaj, making Ranjit and Nisargadatta ‘guru-brothers’, ie. contempories in the same teaching lineage.
The address is false but when you reach the goal, it is Reality. In the same way, all the scriptures and the philosophical books are meant only to indicate that point, and when you reach it they become non-existent, empty.
…For example, to remove a thorn in your finger you use another thorn; then you throw both of them away. But if you keep the second thorn which was used to remove the first one, you’ll surely be stuck again.
To remove ignorance, knowledge is necessary, but finally both must dissolve into Reality. Your Self is without ignorance, without knowledge.
…If you keep the second thorn, which means knowledge, even if it is a golden thorn, you’ll be stuck [by the second thorn].
…Knowledge is a great thing but it must be only a remedy. When the fever goes off thanks to the medicine you take, you must stop taking it. Don’t prolong the treatment or you will create more problems.
Knowledge is necessary only to remove the disease of ignorance. The doctor will always prescribe a limited dosage!
Also see here for more
Tom Das 