Mystic and non-mystic Advaitin

 (Adapted from Swami Paramarthananda’s talk)

Among the Advaitins i.e. those who follow “Advaita darsanam”, there are two major groups.  We can call the one group as ‘mystic Advaitins’ and the other group as ‘non-mystic Advaitins’.  Both the groups are essentially Advaitins only and between them there is no difference of opinion regarding the basic teaching and the central message of ““Brahma Sathyam; Jagan mithya; Jivo Brahmaiva na para (Brahman is Absolute truth. The Universe is apparent/transactional truth; Jiva is none other than Brahman”.  Both, mystic Advaitins and non-mystic Advaitins also agree that karma yoga is for ‘Chitta Suddhi’, upasana yoga is for ‘Chitta Ekagratha’ and “jnanat eva Kaivalyam (through knowledge only Liberation) and that too Advaita jnanam which is free from subject-object duality, only gives liberation. Now this Advaita jnanam must be Aparoksha jnanam, direct knowledge and not Paroksha jnanam. Both agree on this as well i.e. Aparoksha Advaita jnanat eva muktihi. But in defining what constitutes Aparoksha Advaita jnanam difference arises as detailed below.

Paroksha jnanam means knowledge of something which is away from you or which is not directly accessible to you; which is remote.  When we say knowledge of something which is away or remote the distance can be caused by either space or time also.  Aparoksha jnanam means the knowledge of something which is not away from you or which is not remote.  Reading about Mount Kailas one gains Paroksha jnanam of Mount Kailas.  Going on a pilgrimage to Mount Kailas, his knowledge becomes Aparoksha jnanam, as he has now gained firsthand knowledge of Mount Kailas, being there itself. But if he had learnt from a sadhu staying in Mount Kailas itself, how it will look in winter enveloped in a blanket of snow everywhere, then his knowledge of Mount Kailas in winter is only Paroksha jnanam because his visit to Mount Kailas was in summer only.

Mystic Advaitin points out that when one receives Advaita jnanam from the guru, he is in a state of duality as both the guru and sishya are present as also the awareness of the external world.  So he argues that the Advaita jnanam gained in a state of duality should be considered as Paroksha jnanam only like the knowledge of Mount Kailas in winter gained in Mount Kailas in summer.  Therefore the student after gaining Advaita jnanam in the state of duality should enter into Advaita avastha and in that state Advaita jnanam coexisting with Advaita avastha will convert Paroksha jnanam into Aparoksha jnanam.  One can enter into Advaitha avastha when the objective universe is negated and one abides in oneself as objectless subject.   This is attained in Nirvikalpa Samadhi like state when the mind settles in self-absorption in Brahman and becomes lost in the Reality of Brahman. This self-absorption in Brahman oblivious to the objective universe completes the conversion of Paroksham into Aparoksham.

Non-mystic Advaitin also agrees with the mystic Advaitin that with the awareness of the external world, drusya prapancha, Advaitam cannot be reached.  But he argues that the negation of the objective world can never be attained by going to any other state of experience.  Because any state of experience one goes into, whether it is mystic or non-mystic, in that state also the drusya prapancha, the external world will continue either in a non-perceived form or in a non-perceivable form. Therefore, non-mystic Advaitin claims drushya nisheda, the negation of the objective universe, is not by entering into any other state.  He asserts that drushya nisheda, has to take place only with the help of sruti pramanams, the Vedic statements i.e. the scriptural teaching, and that alone can negate this world.  Scriptures through nisheda vakhyams, statements negating the drusya prapancha, accomplish this.  We should remember that sruthi statements only negate the material world, they do not and cannot eliminate the material world.  What is negated is the satyathvam of the material world.  That means what sruthi negates is not the experience of the world but its satyatvam, the reality which one’s intellect has imposed because of ignorance and error.  The attribution of the reality to drusya prapancha is an intellectual confusion problem, and this attributed satyatvam the scriptures negate.   The non-mystic Advaitin says that by appropriate study of the Upanishads and especially the nisheda vakyams under the guidance of a proper guru, the very teaching will eliminate the satyatvam that one has attributed to the world. That means he will learn to look at the universe as ‘mithya prapancha’.

Anything that is mithya cannot be counted.  Just as one does not count his mirror image as the second person, even though he continues to see it.  And therefore non-mystic Advaitin says the moment the world is understood clearly as mithya, counting the world as a second thing is gone.  So according to non-mystic Advaitin even when he is receiving Advaita jnanam he is not in Dvaita avasta but in Advaita avasta only, in spite of the perception of the universe.  And therefore the Advaita jnanam when it is properly taught and properly absorbed is at the time of listening itself,  Advaita jnanam received in Advaita avasta and so it is Aparoksha Advaita jnanam itself. Therefore according to non-mystic Advaitin a separate mystic Advaita avasta, one need not enter into to convert the absorbed jnanam into Aparoksham.  No doubt he engages in Vedantic meditation, Nitidyasanam, after receiving doubt-free knowledge through Sravanam and Mananam but that is only for internalizing the knowledge ridding it of viparitha bhavanas arising out of past habits.

So, Karma yoga for chitta Suddhi -->  Upasana yoga for chitta Ekagratha --> Guru Sastra Upadesa --> special meditation for going into advaita avastha;  is the path prescribed by mystic Advaitin for Aparoksha Advaita jnanam and Karma yoga for chitta Suddhi  --> Upasana yoga for chitta Ekagratha --> Guru Sastra Upadesa itself will give Aparoksha Advaita jnanam for non-mystic Advaitin who internalises this jnanam through Vedantic Meditation called Nitidyasanam. 

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