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The ] term '''''Ajativada''''' is one of several alternately-held ] in ], meaning "non-]" (of the world). The ] term '''''Ajativada''''' is one of several alternately-held ] in ], meaning "non-]" (of the world). In the book 'I am that', Nisargadatta Maharaj said only one in Bombay, about ten million people at the time, could really understand what non duality really meant...


==Etymology== ==Etymology==
* "A" means "not" * "A" means "not", or "non" as in Ahimsa=non harm.
* "Jāti" means "creation" or "origination{{sfn|Sarma|1996|p=127}} * "Jāti" means "creation" or "origination{{sfn|Sarma|1996|p=127}}
* "Vāda" means "doctrine"{{sfn|Sarma|1996|p=127}} * "Vāda" means "doctrine"{{sfn|Sarma|1996|p=127}}


Taken together, "ajātivāda" means "the Doctrine of No-origination"{{sfn|Sarma|1996|p=127}} or non-creation. Advaitins translate the concept of ''Ajativada'' also with the phrase "nothing ever happened", or "not even the ''appearance'' of creation exists".{{source?|date=February 2013}} That is to say, not even the ''unreality' of the world "exists". This is pointed at with the question "Where does the world go in deep sleep, turiya, nirvikalpa ] and nirvikalpa sahaja samadhi/meditation?"{{source?|date=February 2013}} Taken together, "ajātivāda" means "the Doctrine of No-origination"{{sfn|Sarma|1996|p=127}} or non-creation. Advaitins translate the concept of ''Ajativada'' also with the phrase "nothing ever happened", or "not even the ''appearance'' of creation exists". This is patently obvious to even the neophyte that if there is appearance there must be mind, and if there is mind there is duality and that is not possible with NirGuna Brahman, ( see glossary below on this page). That is to say, not even the ''unreality' of the world "exists". This is pointed at with the question "Where does the world go in deep sleep, turiya, nirvikalpa ] and nirvikalpa sahaja samadhi/meditation?" As noted in the book on Nisargadatta's teachings ' I am that' and Ramana Maharshi's teachings 'Be as you are'.


The ] implies that searching for a source of the ] of the world in a Creator is futile. The ] implies that searching for a source of the ] of the world in a Creator is futile. In other words Ajativada is not Advaita as it is about being above non duality....It is above Para, non duality, advaita....


==Creation theories== ==Creation theories==
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# Srishti-drishti-vada: what is created is being perceived. The universe is held to be created by the Brahman in his capacity as Ishwara. Srishti (creation) is therefore prior to ] (perception). A thing has to exist for it to be perceived.<ref group=web name ="missinglink" /> # Srishti-drishti-vada: what is created is being perceived. The universe is held to be created by the Brahman in his capacity as Ishwara. Srishti (creation) is therefore prior to ] (perception). A thing has to exist for it to be perceived.<ref group=web name ="missinglink" />
# Drishti-srishti-vada: perception is simultaneous with creation # Drishti-srishti-vada: perception is simultaneous with creation
# Ajativada: creation is not an absolute real event # Ajativada: creation is not an absolute real event. It actually never happened.


==Usage== ==Usage==
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"Ajātivāda" is the fundamental philosophical doctrine of ].{{sfn|Sarma|1996|p=127}} According to Gaudapada, the Absolute is not subject to birth, change and death. The Absolute is ''aja'', the unborn eternal.{{sfn|Sarma|1996|p=127}} The empirical ] of ] is considered ], and not ].{{sfn|Sarma|1996|p=127}} "Ajātivāda" is the fundamental philosophical doctrine of ].{{sfn|Sarma|1996|p=127}} According to Gaudapada, the Absolute is not subject to birth, change and death. The Absolute is ''aja'', the unborn eternal.{{sfn|Sarma|1996|p=127}} The empirical ] of ] is considered ], and not ].{{sfn|Sarma|1996|p=127}}


In the ''Mandukya Karika'', Gaudapada's commentary on the ], Gaudapada explains that Ajativada means that ] is internally ] and entails the ] that ] is ] unborn.{{source?|date=February 2013}} As stated in Gaudapada’s Karika Chapter II Verse 48:<ref group=web></ref> In the ''Mandukya Karika'', Gaudapada's commentary on the ], Gaudapada explains that Ajativada means that ] is internally ] and entails the ] that ] is ] unborn. As stated in Gaudapada’s Karika Chapter II Verse 48:<ref group=web></ref>
{{quote|No jiva ever comes into existence. There exists no cause that can produce it. The supreme truth is that nothing ever is born.<ref group=web></ref>}} {{quote|No jiva ever comes into existence. There exists no cause that can produce it. The supreme truth is that nothing ever is born.<ref group=web></ref>}}


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Sadhu Om, a chronicler and devotee of Ramana wrote, Sadhu Om, a chronicler and devotee of Ramana wrote,
{{quote|At times Sri Ramana Maharshi used to reveal some information which was not given by the scriptures and Puranas such as: how, in the ''Bhagavad Gita'', Sri Krishna began His teachings with the doctrines of Ajata and Advaita, but then condescendingly came down to various stages of Dvaita, and how He carefully used words which, though suited to Arjuna's limited grasping power, also gives room for well-ripened aspirants to discover, even now, the motive behind those words.{{source?|date=February 2013}}}} At times Sri Ramana Maharshi used to reveal some information which was not given by the scriptures and Puranas such as: how, in the ''Bhagavad Gita'', Sri Krishna began His teachings with the doctrines of Ajata and Advaita, but then condescendingly came down to various stages of Dvaita, and how He carefully used words which, though suited to Arjuna's limited grasping power, also gives room for well-ripened aspirants to discover, even now, the motive behind those words.


===Nisargadatta Maharaj=== ===Nisargadatta Maharaj===
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===Other traditions=== ===Other traditions===
The Buddhist Meditation of ], or observing the rise and fall of created or compounded things and the development of insight, is an indication of the unreality of the so-called 'creation'.{{source?|date=February 2013}} Similar teachings can be found withf the Sufis, like Din Attar, Ibn Arabi, Jalala'din Rumi, Al Hussein Ibn Al-Mansour, Hadrat Muinudin Chisti, Al-Hallaj{{source?|date=February 2013}}, other Indian saints such as Kabir, Guru Nanak, and Christian mystics such as St John of the Cross, St Theresa de Avila and many more, most of whom were really considered out of the main steam, by their peers. The Buddhist Meditation of ], or observing the rise and fall of created or compounded things and the development of insight, is an indication of the unreality of the so-called 'creation'. Similar teachings can be found withf the Sufis, like Din Attar, Ibn Arabi, Jalala'din Rumi, Al Hussein Ibn Al-Mansour, Hadrat Muinudin Chisti, Al-Hallaj other Indian saints such as Kabir, Guru Nanak, and Christian mystics such as St John of the Cross, St Theresa de Avila and many more, most of whom were really considered out of the main steam, by their peers.


==Philosophical aspects== ==Philosophical aspects==
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# Ultimate Truth as NirGuna Brahman # Ultimate Truth as NirGuna Brahman


According to Y.K. Menon, for Sankara the goal of Advaita Vedanta is knowledge of the non-duality of Atman and Brahman, thereby realising ], or Being, Consciousness, Bliss.{{source?|date=February 2013}} According to Ramana Maharshi these are actually qualities, and therefore attributes and still within illusion. In other words not ]{{refn|group=note|"The Absolute without qualities", the ultimate transcendental, indescribable 'Beyond'}}, but still ].{{source?|date=February 2013}}{{refn|group=note|"The Absolute with qualities", being or 'Consciousness' associated with 'manifestation'}} According to another interpretation, the realisation of Saguna Brahman and Nirguna is simultaneous, unless the person is a ]/Devotee of some 'God Figure' and a believer in form.{{source?|date=February 2013}} According to Y.K. Menon, for Sankara the goal of Advaita Vedanta is knowledge of the non-duality of Atman and Brahman, thereby realising ], or Being, Consciousness, Bliss. According to Ramana Maharshi these are actually qualities, and therefore attributes and still within illusion. In other words not ]{{refn|group=note|"The Absolute without qualities", the ultimate transcendental, indescribable 'Beyond'}}, but still ].{{refn|group=note|"The Absolute with qualities", being or 'Consciousness' associated with 'manifestation'}} According to another interpretation, the realisation of Saguna Brahman and Nirguna is simultaneous, unless the person is a ]/Devotee of some 'God Figure' and a believer in form.
⚫ On the ] or Dissolution of the Universe, it is Saguna Brahman, or Awareness, that 're-manifests' the universe, and not Nirguna Brahman. This is due to the seeds of manifestation being still present in subtle form or in potentiality, while the material is dissolved in Maha-Pralaya or the Great Dissolution. Absolutely seen, Saguna Brahman is ultimately an illusion that never ever happened, Nirguna Brahman being or the only Truth.

⚫ On the ] or Dissolution of the Universe, it is Saguna Brahman, or Awareness, that 're-manifests' the universe, and not Nirguna Brahman. This is due to the seeds of manifestation being still present in subtle form or in potentiality, while the material is dissolved in Maha-Pralaya or the Great Dissolution.{{source?|date=February 2013}} Absolutely seen, Saguna Brahman is ultimately an illusion that never ever happened, Nirguna Brahman being or the only Truth.


This can be compared in Vedantic Meditation to ] (temporary realisation) and ] (permanent ]). A person doing Kevala Nirvikalpa Samadhi is at the temporary stage. This can be compared in Vedantic Meditation to ] (temporary realisation) and ] (permanent ]). A person doing Kevala Nirvikalpa Samadhi is at the temporary stage.


===Levels of Vedanta=== ===Levels of Vedanta===
Another term for Ajativada could be Para-Advaita{{source?|date=February 2013}}{{refn|group=note|The term is used in ], meaning "the supreme and absolute non-dualism to describe Kashmir Shaivism".<ref group=web></ref>}}, comprising a fourth level of Vedanta: Another term for Ajativada could be Para-Advaita{{refn|group=note|The term is used in ], meaning "the supreme and absolute non-dualism to describe Kashmir Shaivism".<ref group=web></ref>}}, comprising a fourth level of Vedanta:
# ] - duality # ] - duality
# ] - partial duality # ] - partial duality
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* Saguna Brahman = Brahman along with Maya, as Creator of the Universe * Saguna Brahman = Brahman along with Maya, as Creator of the Universe
* Mukta = a free/realised person. * Mukta = a free/realised person.
* Nirguna Brahman = Pure Consciousness * Nirguna Brahman = Pure Consciousness.ie.Nir=Nil and Guna = modes;So beyond all mind.
* Nirvikalpa Samadhi = where subject-object division is not there * Nirvikalpa Samadhi = where subject-object division is not there; No mind, no modification.
* Sat-Cit-Ananda = Existence-Consciousness-Limitlessness, * Sat-Cit-Ananda = Existence-Consciousness-Limitlessness,
* Pralaya = Dissolution or resolving of the Universe, * Pralaya = Dissolution or resolving of the Universe,
* Maha-Pralaya = Dissolution of the material and subtle universe, * Maha-Pralaya = Dissolution of the material and subtle universe,
* Para = Above/beyond, * Para = Above/beyond,para-advaita=beyond non duality itself
* Vedanta = The concluding portions of the Vedas, the teachings of the Upanishads, * Vedanta = The concluding portions of the Vedas, the teachings of the Upanishads,
* Turiya = Fourth State * Turiya = Fourth State
* Sahaja = natural meditation, * Sahaja = natural meditation,permanent state of NirVikalpa Samadhi.
* Sakshin = Witness, * Sakshin = Witness,
* Siva/Sakti = Consciousness/Universal Energy, * Siva/Sakti = Consciousness/Universal Energy,
Line 104: Line 103:
* Manas = Mind, one of the four faculties of the antahkarana(the other three being buddhi, cittam and ahamkara) * Manas = Mind, one of the four faculties of the antahkarana(the other three being buddhi, cittam and ahamkara)
* Vasanas = past impressions of the mind. * Vasanas = past impressions of the mind.

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note|2}}


==References== ==References==
Line 112: Line 108:
===Published references=== ===Published references===
{{reflist|2}} {{reflist|2}}

===Web-references===
{{reflist|group=web}}


==Sources== ==Sources==

Revision as of 01:07, 14 February 2013

The Sanskrit term Ajativada is one of several alternately-held creation theories in Advaita Vedanta, meaning "non-creation" (of the world). In the book 'I am that', Nisargadatta Maharaj said only one in Bombay, about ten million people at the time, could really understand what non duality really meant...

Etymology

  • "A" means "not", or "non" as in Ahimsa=non harm.
  • "Jāti" means "creation" or "origination
  • "Vāda" means "doctrine"

Taken together, "ajātivāda" means "the Doctrine of No-origination" or non-creation. Advaitins translate the concept of Ajativada also with the phrase "nothing ever happened", or "not even the appearance of creation exists". This is patently obvious to even the neophyte that if there is appearance there must be mind, and if there is mind there is duality and that is not possible with NirGuna Brahman, ( see glossary below on this page). That is to say, not even the unreality' of the world "exists". This is pointed at with the question "Where does the world go in deep sleep, turiya, nirvikalpa samadhi and nirvikalpa sahaja samadhi/meditation?" As noted in the book on Nisargadatta's teachings ' I am that' and Ramana Maharshi's teachings 'Be as you are'.

The concept implies that searching for a source of the origin of the world in a Creator is futile. In other words Ajativada is not Advaita as it is about being above non duality....It is above Para, non duality, advaita....

Creation theories

In Advaita, there are three creation theories:

  1. Srishti-drishti-vada: what is created is being perceived. The universe is held to be created by the Brahman in his capacity as Ishwara. Srishti (creation) is therefore prior to Drishti (perception). A thing has to exist for it to be perceived.
  2. Drishti-srishti-vada: perception is simultaneous with creation
  3. Ajativada: creation is not an absolute real event. It actually never happened.

Usage

Gaudapada

"Ajātivāda" is the fundamental philosophical doctrine of Gaudapada. According to Gaudapada, the Absolute is not subject to birth, change and death. The Absolute is aja, the unborn eternal. The empirical world of appearances is considered unreal, and not absolutely existent.

In the Mandukya Karika, Gaudapada's commentary on the Mandukya Upanishad, Gaudapada explains that Ajativada means that causality is internally incoherent and entails the belief that Atman is eternally unborn. As stated in Gaudapada’s Karika Chapter II Verse 48:

No jiva ever comes into existence. There exists no cause that can produce it. The supreme truth is that nothing ever is born.

Shankara

Adi Shankara wrote:

On account of constant absorption in Brahman, freed from the sense of reality of external objects, only seemingly enjoying them when offered by others, like a sleepy baby, perceiving the world as that seen in a dream and recognising it only now and then, such a man is indeed rare. He is the enjoyer of the fruits of untold merit and is truly held blessed and revered on earth.

Ramana Maharshi

The twentieth-century Sage Ramana Maharshi was an articulate adherent to the concept of Ajativada. On Sri Ramana's view, Ajativada or non-creation is a part of the highest form of consciousness that can be attained. Sri Ramana described three consecutive steps, each of which corresponds to a different understanding of reality:

  1. Somebody or some god created the world
  2. The world arises simultaneously with our perception of it
  3. Ajativada, the view that the world never happened at all.

Sadhu Om, a chronicler and devotee of Ramana wrote, At times Sri Ramana Maharshi used to reveal some information which was not given by the scriptures and Puranas such as: how, in the Bhagavad Gita, Sri Krishna began His teachings with the doctrines of Ajata and Advaita, but then condescendingly came down to various stages of Dvaita, and how He carefully used words which, though suited to Arjuna's limited grasping power, also gives room for well-ripened aspirants to discover, even now, the motive behind those words.

Nisargadatta Maharaj

Main article: Nisargadatta Maharaj

Nisargadatta Maharaj's main teaching was that all was consciousness, and that consciousness was awareness interfaced with manifestation and using energy or prana.. He distinguished three levels of discenrment:

  1. Individuals begin with first believing they are making things happen;
  2. Then they realise that things are in fact happening to them;
  3. Then finally they realise that nothing is happening at all.

Other traditions

The Buddhist Meditation of vipassana, or observing the rise and fall of created or compounded things and the development of insight, is an indication of the unreality of the so-called 'creation'. Similar teachings can be found withf the Sufis, like Din Attar, Ibn Arabi, Jalala'din Rumi, Al Hussein Ibn Al-Mansour, Hadrat Muinudin Chisti, Al-Hallaj other Indian saints such as Kabir, Guru Nanak, and Christian mystics such as St John of the Cross, St Theresa de Avila and many more, most of whom were really considered out of the main steam, by their peers.

Philosophical aspects

Nirguna Brahman and Saguna Brahman

Main articles: Nirguna Brahman and Saguna Brahman

Four levels of awareness or truth can be discerned:

  1. Small Ego/Ahamkara - 'I am'
  2. Big 'I Am' consciousness of Siva/Sakti-Prana
  3. Pure Awareness of SaGuna Brahman
  4. Ultimate Truth as NirGuna Brahman

According to Y.K. Menon, for Sankara the goal of Advaita Vedanta is knowledge of the non-duality of Atman and Brahman, thereby realising Sat-Cit-Ananda, or Being, Consciousness, Bliss. According to Ramana Maharshi these are actually qualities, and therefore attributes and still within illusion. In other words not Nirguna Brahman, but still Saguna Brahman. According to another interpretation, the realisation of Saguna Brahman and Nirguna is simultaneous, unless the person is a Bhakta/Devotee of some 'God Figure' and a believer in form. On the Pralaya or Dissolution of the Universe, it is Saguna Brahman, or Awareness, that 're-manifests' the universe, and not Nirguna Brahman. This is due to the seeds of manifestation being still present in subtle form or in potentiality, while the material is dissolved in Maha-Pralaya or the Great Dissolution. Absolutely seen, Saguna Brahman is ultimately an illusion that never ever happened, Nirguna Brahman being or the only Truth.

This can be compared in Vedantic Meditation to Kevala Nirvikalpa Samadhi (temporary realisation) and Sahaja Nirvikalpa Samadhi (permanent Moksha). A person doing Kevala Nirvikalpa Samadhi is at the temporary stage.

Levels of Vedanta

Another term for Ajativada could be Para-Advaita, comprising a fourth level of Vedanta:

  1. Dvaita - duality
  2. Visishtadvaita - partial duality
  3. Advaita - nonduality
  4. Para-Advaita - respectively and finally above non duality.

Ontological levelss of Reality

Shankara uses sublation as the criterion to postulate an ontological hierarchy:

  • Pāramārthika (paramartha, absolute), the absolute level, "which is absolutely real and into which both other reality levels can be resolved". This experience can't be sublated by any other experience.
  • Vyāvahārika (vyavahara, empirical or pragmatical), "our world of experience, the phenomenal world that we handle every day when we are awake". It is the level in which both jiva (living creatures or individual souls) and Iswara are true; here, the material world is also true.
  • Prāthibhāsika (pratibhasika, apparent reality, unreality), "reality based on imagination alone". It is the level in which appearances are actually false, like the illusion of a snake over a rope, or a dream.

Glossary of Sanskrit Terms used in this article

  • Atman = the individual being, identical with Brahman
  • Jiva = Individual being
  • Advaita = Non-dual
  • Dvaita = dual
  • Visishtadvaita = Non-dual with distinction
  • Ajativada = non-creation,
  • Bhakta = Devotee,
  • Brahman = Pure Consciousness.
  • Saguna Brahman = Brahman along with Maya, as Creator of the Universe
  • Mukta = a free/realised person.
  • Nirguna Brahman = Pure Consciousness.ie.Nir=Nil and Guna = modes;So beyond all mind.
  • Nirvikalpa Samadhi = where subject-object division is not there; No mind, no modification.
  • Sat-Cit-Ananda = Existence-Consciousness-Limitlessness,
  • Pralaya = Dissolution or resolving of the Universe,
  • Maha-Pralaya = Dissolution of the material and subtle universe,
  • Para = Above/beyond,para-advaita=beyond non duality itself
  • Vedanta = The concluding portions of the Vedas, the teachings of the Upanishads,
  • Turiya = Fourth State
  • Sahaja = natural meditation,permanent state of NirVikalpa Samadhi.
  • Sakshin = Witness,
  • Siva/Sakti = Consciousness/Universal Energy,
  • Jiva = The individual,
  • Mukti = Freedom, liberation
  • Manas = Mind, one of the four faculties of the antahkarana(the other three being buddhi, cittam and ahamkara)
  • Vasanas = past impressions of the mind.

References

Published references

  1. ^ Sarma 1996, p. 127.
  2. The Crest-Jewel of Discrimination', Mohini M. Chaterjee, The Theosophical Publishing House, Adyar, 1932. Verse 426
  3. David Godman (1986), Be as you are. The Teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi. London and New York, Arakana
  4. 'I am that'
  5. 'I am That', Acorn Press. N.C. 1999
  6. ^ Puligandla 1997, p. 232.

Sources

  • I Am That. Durham, N.C.: Acorn Press, 1999.
  • Mohini M Chatterji, Viveka-Cudamani. Adyar, Chennai, 1973
  • David Godman, Be As You Are: The Teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi. London: Arakana, 1986, pp 181–3, 184.
  • William Hart, Vipassana Meditation as taught by S.N. Goenka. San Francisco: Harper and Row, 1987.
  • Puligandla, Ramakrishna (1997), Fundamentals of Indian Philosophy, New Delhi: D.K. Printworld (P) Ltd.
  • Sarma, Chandradhar (1996), The Advaita Tardition in Indian Philosophy, Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass

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