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{{short description|The Absolute is not subject to birth, change and death}}
The ] term '''''Ajativada''''' is one of several alternately-held ] in ], meaning "non-]" (of the world).
{{Advaita}}
'''''Ajātivāda''''' ('''अजातिवाद''') is the fundamental philosophical doctrine of the ] philosopher ].{{sfn|Sarma|1996|p=127}} According to Gaudapada, the ] is not subject to ]. The Absolute is ''aja'', the unborn eternal.{{sfn|Sarma|1996|p=127}} The ] of ] is considered ], and not ].{{sfn|Sarma|1996|p=127}}

Gaudapada's perspective is based on the '']'',{{sfn|Comans|2000|p=36}} applying the philosophical concept of "ajāta" to the inquiry of Brahman,{{sfn|Renard|2010|p=157}}{{sfn|Comans|2000|p=35-36}} showing that Brahman wholly transcends the conventional understanding of being and becoming. The concept is also found in Madhyamaka Buddhism, as the theory of nonorigination.{{sfn|King|1995|p=138}}<ref>{{cite book|author=Karl H. Potter |title=Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies: Volume 3|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TCWU_ua5kxgC |year=1981|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn= 978-81-208-0310-7|pages=21 }}</ref>


==Etymology== ==Etymology==
{{See also|Jāti (Buddhism)}}

Ajātivāda:
* "A" means "not", or "non" as in Ahimsa, non-harm * "A" means "not", or "non" as in Ahimsa, non-harm
* "Jāti" means "creation" or "origination{{sfn|Sarma|1996|p=127}} * "]" means "birth", "creation", or "change";{{sfn|Sarma|1996|p=127}} it may refer to physical birth, but also to the origin or change of mental phenomena{{sfn|Analayo|2007|p=93-94}}
* "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. Taken together "ajātivāda" means "The Doctrine of no-change" or "the Doctrine of no-origination".{{sfn|Sarma|1996|p=127}}

The concept of "ajāta" was borrowed by Gaudapada from Madhyamika Buddhism{{sfn|Renard|2010|p=157}}{{sfn|Comans|2000|p=35-36}}, which uses the term ]:{{sfn|Bhattacharya|1943|p=49}}
* "An" also means "not", or "non"
* "Utpāda" means "genesis", "coming forth", "birth"<ref group=web></ref>

Taken together "anutpāda" means "having no origin", "not coming into existence", "not taking effect", "non-production".<ref group=web></ref>

Contemporary 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}}

==Creation theories==
In Advaita, there are three creation theories:<ref group=web name ="missinglink"></ref>
# 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
# Ajativada: creation is not an absolute real event. It actually never "happened". Ajativada implies that searching for a source of the ] of the world in a Creator is futile.


The term "ajāta" is similar to the term ]{{sfn|Bhattacharya|1943|p=49}} from Madhyamika Buddhism, {{sfn|Renard|2010|p=157}}{{sfn|Comans|2000|p=35-36}} which means "having no origin", "not coming into existence", "not taking effect", "non-production".<ref group=web></ref> This has led some scholars to believe that the concept of Ajātivāda itself could have been borrowed from Madhyamika Buddhism.{{sfn|Dasgupta|1922|p=420-429}} However, it notably diverges from the main tenets of Buddhism, viz. ] (momentariness) and ] (dependent origination) which all schools of buddhist philosophy accept as foundational.{{sfn|D.|2013|p=1-2}}{{sfn|Karmarkar|1953|p=10-12}} This distinction is further confirmed by Gaudapada's rejection of ] (non-self) in favor of ] (self). {{sfn|Karmarkar|1953|p=10-12}}
==Usage== ==Usage==

===Gaudapada=== ===Gaudapada===
{{See also|Prajnaparamita|Rangtong-Shentong}}
"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 ]. The Absolute is ''aja'', the unborn eternal.{{sfn|Sarma|1996|p=127}} The ] of ] is considered ] (unreal as it is transitory), and not ].{{sfn|Sarma|1996|p=127}}
Gaudapada, who was strongly influenced by Buddhism, borrowed the concept of "ajāta" from ] ] philosophy of Buddhism.{{sfn|Renard|2010|p=157}}{{sfn|Comans|2000|p=35-36}} The Buddhist tradition usually uses the term "anutpāda" for the absence of an origin{{sfn|Renard|2010|p=157}}{{sfn|Bhattacharya|1943|p=49}} or ].{{sfn|Renard|2010|p=160}}{{refn|group=note|The term is also used in the ].{{sfn|Suzuki|1999}} According to D.T Suzuki, "anutpada" is not the opposite of "utpada", but transcends opposites. It is the ]{{sfn|Suzuki|1999|p=123-124}}, the seeing that "all objects are ]".{{sfn|Suzuki|1999|p=168}} Another well-known use is in ] "Unborn".{{sfn|Dumoulin|2005-B|p=316}}}}


But Gaudapada's perspective is quite different from Nagarjuna.{{sfn|Comans|2000|p=36}} Gaudapada's perspective is based on the ].{{sfn|Comans|2000|p=36}} n the Vedic Nasadiya Sukta. 10:29. The first linr reflects Ajativada , "Then even nothingness was not ,nor existence. This was multi thousand years before Buddhism,and the night sky in the Rig Veda is 8000 Bce. This sUkta reflects 'ajAtavAda'. This is further elaborated by the word 'visRShTiH' which raises a doubt upon 'creation'. This also is again in perfect tuning with Sri Raman's assertion; 'Where-from this 'visRShTi' came into being? And once again, 'visRShTi' itself can be interpreted according to Vedik Grammar as 'chaos' or 'appearances'. *********************************************************************************************** This indicates Gaudapada had no need to learn from the Buddhists more likely the other way around.In the ''Mandukya Karika'', Gaudapada's commentary on the Mandukya Upanishad, Gaudapada sets forth his perspective. According to Gaudapada, Brahman cannot undergo alteration, so the phenomenal world cannot arise from Brahman. If the world cannot arise, yet is an empirical fact, than the world has to be an unreal{{refn|group=note|C.q. "transitory"}} appearance of Brahman. And if the phenomenal world is an unreal appearance, then there is no real origination or destruction, only apparent origination or destruction. From the level of ultimate truth (''paramārthatā'') the phenomenal world is '']''.{{sfn|Comans|2000|p=36}} According to Comans, Gaudapada's perspective is quite different from Madhyamika Buddhist philosophy.{{sfn|Comans|2000|p=36}} Gaudapada's perspective is based on the '']''.{{sfn|Comans|2000|p=36}} In the ''Māṇḍūkya Karika'', Gaudapada's commentary on the ''Māṇḍūkya Upanishad'', Gaudapada sets forth his perspective. According to Gaudapada, Brahman cannot undergo alteration, so the phenomenal world cannot arise independently from Brahman. If the world cannot arise, yet is an empirical fact, then the world has to be an unreal (transitory) appearance of Brahman. And if the phenomenal world is a transitory appearance, then there is no real origination or destruction, only apparent origination or destruction. From the level of ultimate truth (''paramārthatā'') the phenomenal world is '']'', "illusion",{{sfn|Comans|2000|p=36}} apparently existing but ultimately not real.{{sfn|Hiriyanna|2000|p=25, 160-161}}


In ''Gaudapada-Karika'', chapter III, verses 46-48, he states that the quietened mind becomes one with ] and does not perceive of any origination:
As stated in Gaudapada’s Karika Chapter II Verse 48:<ref group=web></ref>
{{quote|
{{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>}}
When the mind does not lie low, and is not again tossed about, then that being without movement, and not presenting any appearance, culminates into ]. Resting in itself, calm, with Nirvana, indescribable, highest happiness, unborn and one with the unborn knowable, omniscient they say. No creature whatever is born, no origination of it exists or takes place. This is that highest truth where nothing whatever is born.
|Gaudapada Karika|3.46-48, Translated by RD Karmarkar<ref>RD Karmarkar, , Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute</ref>}}


Acknowledgeing the strong Buddhist influences, but arguing for the need of an "unchangeable permanent reality," Karmakar opinions that the ajātivāda of Gaudhapada has nothing in common with the Sūnyavāda concept in Buddhism.<ref>RD Karmarkar, , Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, pages xxxix-xl</ref> While the language of Gaudapada is undeniably similar to those found in Mahayana Buddhism, Coman states that their perspective is different because unlike Buddhism, Gaudapada is relying on the premise of "Brahman, ] or Turiya" exists and is the nature of absolute reality.{{sfn|Comans|2000|p=36}}
===Shankara===
] wrote:
{{quote|On account of constant absorption in ], freed from the sense of ] of external objects, only seemingly enjoying them when offered by others, like a sleepy baby, perceiving the world as that seen in a ] 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.{{sfn|Chaterjee|1977}}}}


===Ramana Maharshi=== ===Ramana Maharshi===
{{Main|Ramana Maharshi}}
The twentieth-century ] ] 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 ] that can be attained. Sri Ramana described three consecutive steps, each of which corresponds to a different understanding of reality:
# Somebody or some ] created the world
# The world arises ] with our ] of it
# Ajativada, the view that the world never happened at all.{{sfn|Godman|1986}}


Ramana Maharshi gave a translation in ] of Gaudapada’s ''Māṇḍūkya Upanishad Karika'', chapter two, verse thirty-two:
Sadhu Om, a chronicler and devotee of Ramana wrote,
{{quote|There is no creation, no destruction, no bondage, no longing to be freed from bondage, no striving to be free , nor anyone who has attained . Know that this is the ultimate truth.<ref group=web name="Ajata"></ref>{{refn|group=note|David Godman: "This rendering appears as ‘Stray verse nine’ in Collected Works and as ‘Bhagavan 28’ in Guru Vachaka Kovai. Variations of this verse can also be found in the ] (verse 10), Atma Upanishad (verse 30) and Vivekachudamani (verse 574)."<ref group=web name="Ajata" />}}}}
{{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}}}}


According to David Godman, the ajata doctrine implies that since the world was never created, there are also no ]s within it who are striving for or attaining liberation. Ramana Maharshi regarded this as "the ultimate truth."<ref group=web name="Ajata" />
===Nisargadatta Maharaj===
{{Main|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.{{sfn|Dikshit|1999}} He distinguished three levels of discenrment:
# Individuals begin with first believing they are making things happen;
# Then they realise that things are in fact happening to them;
# Then finally they realise that nothing is happening at all.{{sfn|Dikshit|1999}}

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.{{source?|date=February 2013}}

===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.


==Levels of truth== ==Levels of truth==
{{See also|Two truths doctrine|Trikaya|Essence-Function}}
Advaita discerns levels of truth. It is at the level of the highest truth (''paramārtha'') that there is no origination.{{sfn|Bhattacharya|1943|p=49}}


Advaita took over from the Madhyamika the idea of levels of reality.{{sfn|Renard|2010|p=130}} Usually two levels are being mentioned,{{sfn|Renard|2010|p=131}} namely ''saṃvṛti-satya'', "the empirical truth",<ref group=web name="EB-samvriti"></ref> and ''paramārtha-satya'', "ultimate truth".<ref group=web name="EB-samvriti" /> According to Plott,
===Ontological levels of Reality===
{{quote|"Ajativada is nothing but extreme and exhaustive application of an extreme version of the distinction between the paramartha satya and the samvrtti satya."{{sfn|Plott|1980|p=283}}}}
Advaita took over from the Madhyamika the idea of levels of reality.{{sfn|Renard|2010|p=130}} Usually two levels are being mentioned{{sfn|Renard|2010|p=131}}, but Shankara uses ] as the criterion to postulate an ontological hierarchy of three levels:{{sfn|Puligandla|1997|p=232}}<ref group=web name=Discrimination></ref>
* {{IAST|Pāramārthika}} (paramartha, absolute), the absolute level, "which is absolutely real and into which both other reality levels can be resolved".<ref group=web name=Discrimination /> This experience can't be sublated by any other experience.{{sfn|Puligandla|1997|p=232}}
* {{IAST|Vyāvahārika}} (vyavahara), or samvriti-saya{{sfn|Renard|2010|p=131}} (empirical or pragmatical), "our world of experience, the phenomenal world that we handle every day when we are awake".<ref group=web name=Discrimination /> It is the level in which both '']'' (living creatures or individual souls) and '']'' are true; here, the material world is also true.
* {{IAST|Prāthibhāsika}} (pratibhasika, apparent reality, unreality), "reality based on imagination alone".<ref group=web name=Discrimination /> It is the level in which appearances are actually false, like the illusion of a snake over a rope, or a dream.


The distinction between the two truths (''satyadvayavibhāga'') was fully expressed by the ]. In ] '']'' it is used to defend the identification of dependent origination (''pratītyasamutpāda'') with emptiness (''śūnyatā''):
Gaudapada states that, from the absolute standpoint, not even "non-dual" exists.{{sfn|Comans|2000|p=36}}
{{quote|The Buddha's teaching of the Dharma is based on two truths: a truth of worldly convention and an ultimate truth. Those who do not understand the distinction drawn between these two truths do not understand the Buddha's profound truth. Without a foundation in the conventional truth the significance of the ultimate cannot be taught. Without understanding the significance of the ultimate, liberation is not achieved.{{sfn|Garfield|1995|p=296, 298, verse 24:8-10}}}}


Shankara uses ] as the criterion to postulate an ontological hierarchy of three levels:{{sfn|Puligandla|1997|p=232}}<ref group=web name=Discrimination></ref>
===Nirguna Brahman and Saguna Brahman===
# {{IAST|Pāramārthika}} (paramartha, absolute), the absolute level, "which is absolutely real and into which both other reality levels can be resolved".<ref group=web name=Discrimination /> This experience can't be sublated by any other experience.{{sfn|Puligandla|1997|p=232}}
{{Main|Nirguna Brahman|Saguna Brahman}}
# {{IAST|Vyāvahārika}} (vyavahara), or samvriti-saya{{sfn|Renard|2010|p=131}} (empirical or pragmatical), "our world of experience, the phenomenal world that we handle every day when we are awake".<ref group=web name=Discrimination /> It is the level in which both '']'' (living creatures or individual souls) and '']'' are true; here, the material world is also true.
# {{IAST|Prāthibhāsika}} (pratibhasika, apparent reality, unreality), "reality based on imagination alone".<ref group=web name=Discrimination /> It is the level in which appearances are actually false, like the illusion of a snake over a rope, or a dream.


It is at the level of the highest truth (''paramārtha'') that there is no origination.{{sfn|Bhattacharya|1943|p=49}} Gaudapada states that, from the absolute standpoint, not even "non-dual" exists.{{sfn|Comans|2000|p=36}}
A distinction can be made between ], "The Absolute without qualities", the ultimate transcendental, indescribable 'Beyond', and ], "The Absolute with qualities", being or 'Consciousness' associated with 'manifestation'. This is another expression of the difference between Absolute and relative, or Reality and maya.{{sfn|Plott|2000|p=283}}


==Advaita Vedanta and Madhyamaka Buddhism==
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.
Many scholars, states Richard King, designate Madhyamaka Buddhism as ''Ajativada''.{{sfn|King|1995|p=138}} The concept ''Ajati'', he adds, exists in both Vedanta and Buddhism, but they are different in the following way:
{{quote|1. ] (Madhyamaka), and
2. "There is an ]." (Advaita Vedānta.){{sfn|King|1995|p=138}}}}


Ajativada in Madhyamaka refers to its doctrine that things neither originate nor is there cessation.{{Sfn|Murti|2008|p=343}} This is also called the theory of non-origination of Madhyamaka.{{Sfn|Murti|2008|p=343}}<ref>{{cite book|author=Karl H. Potter |title=Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies: Volume 3|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TCWU_ua5kxgC |year=1981|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn= 978-81-208-0310-7|pages=21 }}</ref>
===Four levels of awareness===
Four levels of awareness or truth can be discerned, which correspond to the ] and pure consciousness which are discerned in Advaita Vedanta:{{sfn|Siddharameshwar Maharaj|2008}}{{sfn|Wilber|2000|p=132}}
# Small Ego/], the notion of 'I am' - The Physical Gross Body
# Big 'I Am' consciousness of ]/]-] - ]
# Pure Awareness of SaGuna Brahman - ]
# Ultimate Truth as NirGuna Brahman - The Great-Causal Body (])<ref group=web name=rm></ref><ref group=web name=sc1></ref>

The goal of Advaita Vedanta is knowledge of the non-duality of Atman and Brahman, thereby realising ], or Being-Consciousness-Bliss.{{sfn|Menon|2004}} According to Ramana Maharshi these are actually qualities or attributes, which is still within illusion Saguna Brahman.{{source?|date=February 2013}} 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}}

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

==Glossary of Sanskrit Terms used in this article==
{{div col|cols=2}}
* ] = the individual being, identical with Brahman
* ] = Individual being
* ] = Non-dual
* ] = dual
* ] = Non-dual with distinction
* Ajativada = non-creation,
* ] = Devotee,
* ] = Pure Consciousness.
* ] = Brahman along with ], as Creator of the Universe
* ] = a free/realised person.
* ] = Pure Consciousness. Nir=Nil and Guna=modes; so "beyond all mind".
* ] = where subject-object division is not there; no mind, no modification.
* ] = Existence-Consciousness-Limitlessness,
* ] = Dissolution or resolving of the Universe,
* ] = Dissolution of the material and subtle universe,
* Para = Above/beyond,
* ] = The concluding portions of the Vedas, the teachings of the Upanishads,
* ] = Fourth State
* ] = natural meditation, permanent state of NirVikalpa Samadhi
* Sakshin = Witness,
* ]/] = Consciousness/Universal Energy,
* ] = Freedom, liberation
* ] = Mind, one of the four faculties of the antahkarana (the other three being ], cittam and ])
* ] = past impressions of the mind
{{div col end}}


==See also== ==See also==
* ] * ]
* ]
* ] * ]
* ]


==Notes== ==Notes==
Line 125: Line 72:


==References== ==References==

===Published references===
{{reflist|2}} {{reflist|2}}

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


==Sources== ==Sources==
===Printed sources===
{{refbegin}} {{refbegin}}
* {{Citation | last =Analayo | year =2007 | title =Rebirth and the Gandhabba | journal =Journal of Buddhist Studies 1: 91-105 | url =https://www.buddhismuskunde.uni-hamburg.de/pdf/5-personen/analayo/rebirth-gandhabba.pdf}}
* {{Citation | last =Bhattacharya | first =Vidhushekhara | year =1943 | title =Gauḍapādakārikā | place =Delhi | publisher =Motilal Banarsidass}} * {{Citation | last =Bhattacharya | first =Vidhushekhara | year =1943 | title =Gauḍapādakārikā | place =Delhi | publisher =Motilal Banarsidass}}
* {{Citation | last =Chatterji | first =Mohini M. | year =1973 | title =Viveka-Cudamani | place =Adyar | publisher =Chennai}} * {{Citation | last =Chatterji | first =Mohini M. | year =1973 | title =Viveka-Cudamani | place =Adyar | publisher =Chennai}}
* {{Citation | last =Comans | first =Michael | year =2000 | title =The Method of Early Advaita Vedānta: A Study of Gauḍapāda, Śaṅkara, Sureśvara, and Padmapāda | place =Delhi | publisher =Motilal Banarsidass}} * {{Citation | last =Comans | first =Michael | year =2000 | title =The Method of Early Advaita Vedānta: A Study of Gauḍapāda, Śaṅkara, Sureśvara, and Padmapāda | place =Delhi | publisher =Motilal Banarsidass}}
* {{Citation | last =Dikshit | first =Sudhaker S. | year =1999 | title =I Am That. Talks with Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj | place = Durham, N.C. | publisher =Acorn Press}} * {{Citation | last =Dikshit | first =Sudhaker S. | year =1999 | title =I Am That. Talks with Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj | place = Durham, N.C. | publisher =Acorn Press}}
* {{Citation | last =Dumoulin | first =Heinrich | author-link = | year =2005-B | title =Zen Buddhism: A History. Volume 2: Japan | place = | publisher =World Wisdom Books | ISBN =9780941532907}} * {{Citation | last =Dumoulin | first =Heinrich | year =2005b | title =Zen Buddhism: A History. Volume 2: Japan | publisher =World Wisdom Books | ISBN =9780941532907}}
* {{Citation | last =Garfield | first =Jay L. | year =1995 | title =The Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way: Nagarjuna's Mulamadhyamakakarika | publisher =Oxford University Press}}
* {{Citation | last =Godman | first =David Godman | year =1986 | title =Be As You Are: The Teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi | place = London | publisher =Arakana | pages =181–3, 184}} * {{Citation | last =Godman | first =David Godman | year =1986 | title =Be As You Are: The Teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi | place = London | publisher =Arakana | pages =181–3, 184}}
* {{Citation | last =Hart | first =William | year =1987 | title =Vipassana Meditation as taught by S.N. Goenka | place =San Francisco | publisher =Harper and Row}} * {{Citation | last =Hart | first =William | year =1987 | title =Vipassana Meditation as taught by S.N. Goenka | place =San Francisco | publisher =Harper and Row}}
* {{Citation | last =Hiriyanna | first =M. | year =2000 | title =The Essentials of Indian Philosophy | publisher = Motilal Banarsidass | isbn =978-8120813304}}
* {{Citation | last =King | first =Richard | year =1995 | title =Early Advaita Vedanta and Buddhism: The Mahayana Context of the Gaudapadiya-Karika | publisher =SUNY Press}}
* {{Citation | last =Menon | first =Y. Keshava | year =2004 | title =The Mind of Adi Shankaracharya | publisher =Jaico Publishing House}} * {{Citation | last =Menon | first =Y. Keshava | year =2004 | title =The Mind of Adi Shankaracharya | publisher =Jaico Publishing House}}
* {{Citation | last =Murti | first =T.R.V. | year =2008 | title =The Central Philosophy of Buddhism: A Study of the Madhyamika System | publisher =Taylor & Francis Group}}
* {{Citation | last =Plott | first =John C. | year =1980 | title =Global History of Philosophy: The Patristic-Sutra Period, Volume 3 | place =Delhi | publisher =Motilal Banarsidass}}
* {{Citation | last =Plott | first =John C. | year =2000 | title =Global History of Philosophy: The Patristic-Sutra Period, Volume 3 | place =Delhi | publisher =Motilal Banarsidass}} * {{Citation | last =Plott | first =John C. | year =2000 | title =Global History of Philosophy: The Patristic-Sutra Period, Volume 3 | place =Delhi | publisher =Motilal Banarsidass}}
* {{Citation | last =Puligandla | first =Ramakrishna | year =1997 | title =Fundamentals of Indian Philosophy | place =New Delhi | publisher =D.K. Printworld (P) Ltd.}} * {{Citation | last =Puligandla | first =Ramakrishna | year =1997 | title =Fundamentals of Indian Philosophy | place =New Delhi | publisher =D.K. Printworld (P) Ltd.}}
* {{Citation | last =Dasgupta | first =Surendranath | year =1922 | title =A History of Indian Philosophy, Volume 1 | place =Cambridge, UK | publisher =Cambridge University Press}}

* {{Citation | last =Karmarkar | first =Raghunath | year =1953 | title =Gaudpāda-Kārikā | place =Poona | publisher =Bhaskar Oriental Research Institute}}

* {{Citation | last =D. | first =Pramitha | year =2013 | title =Conceptual Interrelatedness in Ksanikavada and Svabhavoparamavada | place =Kerala | publisher =International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications, Volume 3, Issue 4}}
* {{Citation | last =Renard | first =Philip | year =2010 | title =Non-Dualisme. De directe bevrijdingsweg | place =Cothen | publisher =Uitgeverij Juwelenschip}} * {{Citation | last =Renard | first =Philip | year =2010 | title =Non-Dualisme. De directe bevrijdingsweg | place =Cothen | publisher =Uitgeverij Juwelenschip}}
* {{Citation | last =Sarma | first =Chandradhar | year =1996 | title =The Advaita Tradition in Indian Philosophy | place =Delhi | publisher =Motilal Banarsidass}} * {{Citation | last =Sarma | first =Chandradhar | year =1996 | title =The Advaita Tradition in Indian Philosophy | place =Delhi | publisher =Motilal Banarsidass}}
* {{Citation | last =Siddharameshwar Maharaj | year =2008 | title =Master Key to Self-Realization | publisher =Lulu.com}} * {{Citation | last =Siddharameshwar Maharaj | year =2008 | title =Master Key to Self-Realization | publisher =Lulu.com}}
* {{Citation | last =Suzuki | first =Daisetz Teitarō | authorlink =D.T. Suzuki | year =1999 | title =Studies in the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra | place =Delhi | publisher =Motilal Banarsidass}} * {{Citation | last =Suzuki | first =Daisetz Teitarō | author-link =D. T. Suzuki | year =1999 | title =Studies in the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra | place =Delhi | publisher =Motilal Banarsidass}}
* {{Citation | last =Wilber | first =Ken | year =2000 | title =Integral Psychology | publisher =Shambhala Publications}} * {{Citation | last =Wilber | first =Ken | year =2000 | title =Integral Psychology | publisher =Shambhala Publications}}
{{refend}} {{refend}}

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


==External links== ==External links==
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* * {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100413065021/http://www.spiritual-teachers.com/mandukya.htm |date=2010-04-13 }}
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The Absolute is not subject to birth, change and death
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Ajātivāda (अजातिवाद) is the fundamental philosophical doctrine of the Advaita Vedanta philosopher 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.

Gaudapada's perspective is based on the Māṇḍūkya Upanishad, applying the philosophical concept of "ajāta" to the inquiry of Brahman, showing that Brahman wholly transcends the conventional understanding of being and becoming. The concept is also found in Madhyamaka Buddhism, as the theory of nonorigination.

Etymology

See also: Jāti (Buddhism)

Ajātivāda:

  • "A" means "not", or "non" as in Ahimsa, non-harm
  • "Jāti" means "birth", "creation", or "change"; it may refer to physical birth, but also to the origin or change of mental phenomena
  • "Vāda" means "doctrine"

Taken together "ajātivāda" means "The Doctrine of no-change" or "the Doctrine of no-origination".

The term "ajāta" is similar to the term "anutpāda" from Madhyamika Buddhism, which means "having no origin", "not coming into existence", "not taking effect", "non-production". This has led some scholars to believe that the concept of Ajātivāda itself could have been borrowed from Madhyamika Buddhism. However, it notably diverges from the main tenets of Buddhism, viz. Kśanikatva (momentariness) and Pratītyasamutpāda (dependent origination) which all schools of buddhist philosophy accept as foundational. This distinction is further confirmed by Gaudapada's rejection of Śūnyatā (non-self) in favor of Ātman (self).

Usage

Gaudapada

See also: Prajnaparamita and Rangtong-Shentong

"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 Maya (unreal as it is transitory), and not absolutely existent.

According to Comans, Gaudapada's perspective is quite different from Madhyamika Buddhist philosophy. Gaudapada's perspective is based on the Māṇḍūkya Upanishad. In the Māṇḍūkya Karika, Gaudapada's commentary on the Māṇḍūkya Upanishad, Gaudapada sets forth his perspective. According to Gaudapada, Brahman cannot undergo alteration, so the phenomenal world cannot arise independently from Brahman. If the world cannot arise, yet is an empirical fact, then the world has to be an unreal (transitory) appearance of Brahman. And if the phenomenal world is a transitory appearance, then there is no real origination or destruction, only apparent origination or destruction. From the level of ultimate truth (paramārthatā) the phenomenal world is māyā, "illusion", apparently existing but ultimately not real.

In Gaudapada-Karika, chapter III, verses 46-48, he states that the quietened mind becomes one with Brahman and does not perceive of any origination:

When the mind does not lie low, and is not again tossed about, then that being without movement, and not presenting any appearance, culminates into Brahman. Resting in itself, calm, with Nirvana, indescribable, highest happiness, unborn and one with the unborn knowable, omniscient they say. No creature whatever is born, no origination of it exists or takes place. This is that highest truth where nothing whatever is born.

— Gaudapada Karika, 3.46-48, Translated by RD Karmarkar

Acknowledgeing the strong Buddhist influences, but arguing for the need of an "unchangeable permanent reality," Karmakar opinions that the ajātivāda of Gaudhapada has nothing in common with the Sūnyavāda concept in Buddhism. While the language of Gaudapada is undeniably similar to those found in Mahayana Buddhism, Coman states that their perspective is different because unlike Buddhism, Gaudapada is relying on the premise of "Brahman, Atman or Turiya" exists and is the nature of absolute reality.

Ramana Maharshi

Main article: Ramana Maharshi

Ramana Maharshi gave a translation in Tamil of Gaudapada’s Māṇḍūkya Upanishad Karika, chapter two, verse thirty-two:

There is no creation, no destruction, no bondage, no longing to be freed from bondage, no striving to be free , nor anyone who has attained . Know that this is the ultimate truth.

According to David Godman, the ajata doctrine implies that since the world was never created, there are also no jivas within it who are striving for or attaining liberation. Ramana Maharshi regarded this as "the ultimate truth."

Levels of truth

See also: Two truths doctrine, Trikaya, and Essence-Function

Advaita took over from the Madhyamika the idea of levels of reality. Usually two levels are being mentioned, namely saṃvṛti-satya, "the empirical truth", and paramārtha-satya, "ultimate truth". According to Plott,

"Ajativada is nothing but extreme and exhaustive application of an extreme version of the distinction between the paramartha satya and the samvrtti satya."

The distinction between the two truths (satyadvayavibhāga) was fully expressed by the Madhyamaka-school. In Nāgārjuna's Mūlamadhyamakakārikā it is used to defend the identification of dependent origination (pratītyasamutpāda) with emptiness (śūnyatā):

The Buddha's teaching of the Dharma is based on two truths: a truth of worldly convention and an ultimate truth. Those who do not understand the distinction drawn between these two truths do not understand the Buddha's profound truth. Without a foundation in the conventional truth the significance of the ultimate cannot be taught. Without understanding the significance of the ultimate, liberation is not achieved.

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

  1. 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.
  2. Vyāvahārika (vyavahara), or samvriti-saya (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.
  3. 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.

It is at the level of the highest truth (paramārtha) that there is no origination. Gaudapada states that, from the absolute standpoint, not even "non-dual" exists.

Advaita Vedanta and Madhyamaka Buddhism

Many scholars, states Richard King, designate Madhyamaka Buddhism as Ajativada. The concept Ajati, he adds, exists in both Vedanta and Buddhism, but they are different in the following way:

1. "There is no birth." (Madhyamaka), and 2. "There is an Unborn." (Advaita Vedānta.)

Ajativada in Madhyamaka refers to its doctrine that things neither originate nor is there cessation. This is also called the theory of non-origination of Madhyamaka.

See also

Notes

  1. David Godman: "This rendering appears as ‘Stray verse nine’ in Collected Works and as ‘Bhagavan 28’ in Guru Vachaka Kovai. Variations of this verse can also be found in the Amritabindu Upanishad (verse 10), Atma Upanishad (verse 30) and Vivekachudamani (verse 574)."

References

  1. ^ Sarma 1996, p. 127.
  2. ^ Comans 2000, p. 36.
  3. ^ Renard 2010, p. 157.
  4. ^ Comans 2000, p. 35-36.
  5. ^ King 1995, p. 138.
  6. Karl H. Potter (1981). Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies: Volume 3. Motilal Banarsidass. p. 21. ISBN 978-81-208-0310-7.
  7. Analayo 2007, p. 93-94.
  8. ^ Bhattacharya 1943, p. 49.
  9. Dasgupta 1922, p. 420-429.
  10. D. 2013, p. 1-2.
  11. ^ Karmarkar 1953, p. 10-12.
  12. Hiriyanna 2000, p. 25, 160-161.
  13. RD Karmarkar, Gaudapada's Karika, Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute
  14. RD Karmarkar, Gaudapada's Karika, Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, pages xxxix-xl
  15. Renard 2010, p. 130.
  16. ^ Renard 2010, p. 131.
  17. Plott 1980, p. 283.
  18. Garfield 1995, p. 296, 298, verse 24:8-10.
  19. ^ Puligandla 1997, p. 232.
  20. ^ Murti 2008, p. 343.
  21. Karl H. Potter (1981). Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies: Volume 3. Motilal Banarsidass. p. 21. ISBN 978-81-208-0310-7.

Sources

Printed sources

  • Analayo (2007), "Rebirth and the Gandhabba" (PDF), Journal of Buddhist Studies 1: 91-105
  • Bhattacharya, Vidhushekhara (1943), Gauḍapādakārikā, Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass
  • Chatterji, Mohini M. (1973), Viveka-Cudamani, Adyar: Chennai
  • Comans, Michael (2000), The Method of Early Advaita Vedānta: A Study of Gauḍapāda, Śaṅkara, Sureśvara, and Padmapāda, Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass
  • Dikshit, Sudhaker S. (1999), I Am That. Talks with Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj, Durham, N.C.: Acorn Press
  • Dumoulin, Heinrich (2005b), Zen Buddhism: A History. Volume 2: Japan, World Wisdom Books, ISBN 9780941532907
  • Garfield, Jay L. (1995), The Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way: Nagarjuna's Mulamadhyamakakarika, Oxford University Press
  • Godman, David Godman (1986), Be As You Are: The Teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi, London: Arakana, pp. 181–3, 184
  • Hart, William (1987), Vipassana Meditation as taught by S.N. Goenka, San Francisco: Harper and Row
  • Hiriyanna, M. (2000), The Essentials of Indian Philosophy, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120813304
  • King, Richard (1995), Early Advaita Vedanta and Buddhism: The Mahayana Context of the Gaudapadiya-Karika, SUNY Press
  • Menon, Y. Keshava (2004), The Mind of Adi Shankaracharya, Jaico Publishing House
  • Murti, T.R.V. (2008), The Central Philosophy of Buddhism: A Study of the Madhyamika System, Taylor & Francis Group
  • Plott, John C. (1980), Global History of Philosophy: The Patristic-Sutra Period, Volume 3, Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass
  • Plott, John C. (2000), Global History of Philosophy: The Patristic-Sutra Period, Volume 3, Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass
  • Puligandla, Ramakrishna (1997), Fundamentals of Indian Philosophy, New Delhi: D.K. Printworld (P) Ltd.
  • Dasgupta, Surendranath (1922), A History of Indian Philosophy, Volume 1, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press
  • Karmarkar, Raghunath (1953), Gaudpāda-Kārikā, Poona: Bhaskar Oriental Research Institute
  • D., Pramitha (2013), Conceptual Interrelatedness in Ksanikavada and Svabhavoparamavada, Kerala: International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications, Volume 3, Issue 4
  • Renard, Philip (2010), Non-Dualisme. De directe bevrijdingsweg, Cothen: Uitgeverij Juwelenschip
  • Sarma, Chandradhar (1996), The Advaita Tradition in Indian Philosophy, Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass
  • Siddharameshwar Maharaj (2008), Master Key to Self-Realization, Lulu.com
  • Suzuki, Daisetz Teitarō (1999), Studies in the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra, Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass
  • Wilber, Ken (2000), Integral Psychology, Shambhala Publications

Web-sources

  1. Sanskrit Dictionary for Spoken Sanskrit, Anutpāda
  2. ^ David Godman, Ajata
  3. ^ Encyclopædia Britannica, saṃvṛti-satya
  4. ^ advaita-vision.org, Discrimination

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