praatibhaasika level

[anand hudli]

On Mon, 8 Jul 1996, M Suresh wrote:

>
>   A basic question. What is praatibhaasika state you have mentioned above?
>   I have heard of paaramaarthika and vyaavahaarika for Absolute and
>   worldly standpoint respectively.
>
> [deleted]

    There are three orders of existence from the standpoint of the
   bound jiva. From the standpoint of Brahman, of course, there is only
   one state -- the paaramaarthika.

   The Vedaanta paribhaashhaa of dharmaraaja adhvarin defines these
   three orders of reality

   yadvaa trividhaM sattvaM -- paaramaarthikasattvaM brahmaNaH,
   vyaavahaarikaM sattvamaakaashaadeH, praatibhaasikaM sattvaM
   shuktirajataadeH |

   The reality of Brahman is paaramaarthika satya, the reality
   of the objective world, which includes space etc., is vyaavahaarika
   satya, and the illusory appearance of silver in nacre (oyster-shell)
   is  praatibhaasika satya.

   According to advaita, the silver perceived here and now in the
   nacre is explained as something caused by ajnaana associated with
    the substratum nacre. This ajnaana hides the real nature of the
   substratum (nacre) and projects the appearance of silver. Once the
   nacre is recognized as nacre, the illusion disappears.
   The silver that is perceived in the illusion is not real, because
   it is sublated by the knowledge of the nacre. Yet it cannot be
   unreal because it is perceived during the illusion phase; what is
   unreal is something fictitious or purely imaginary, such as the horns
   of a hare. So the illusory silver cannot be defined as either real
   or unreal, and it cannot be both real and unreal, which is a
   contradiction. The illusory silver is, therefore, called anirvachaniiya
   or indefinable.

    The above argument was made from the standpoint of the
    vyaavahaarika reality. A similar argument may be made from the
    standpoint of the paaramaarthika reality to show the objective world
    (jagat) is also indefinable (anirvachaniiyaa).

    advaita also points out that any illusion has to be based on a
    real substratum. The silver seen in the nacre is a superimposition
    (adhyaaropa or adhyaasa) on the nacre, the substratum (adhishhThaana).
    It is impossible to have an illusion which is not based on an
    underlying substratum.

   Since the dualistic world is shown to be an illusion, it must
   necessarily be a superimposition on a real "something" as the
   substratum. This "something" is indeed Brahman.

    The VishhNusahasra naama contains the words adhishhThaanaM,
    which Shankara describes as Brahman, and aadhaaranilayaH, the
    support or substratum of all supports.

> Suresh.
>

 Anand