Thus Spake the Divine - Advaita

Thus Spake the Divine

Advaita

From Chapter 1 to Chapter 3 of this Part, Pujyashri MahaPeriyava dwells on the Advaita Philosophy and brings different dimensions of the doctrine. Periyava takes enormous efforts to explain the meaning of Advita which states “Jeevatma is no distinct from Paramatma”. To bring out the essence of the definition of Advaita, Periyava elaborately dwells on the classifi cations of Satyam by our Acharya.

Theory of Reflection and Theory of Limitations quoted by him with the exotic metaphors to substantiate that “One Paramatma manifests Himself differently in different minds of various life forces” are mind boggling. What is Advaita? How is Advaita useful? Can we really benefit from this Siddhanta? Is this Siddhanta mere words or will it be of any practical use to us? Let us analyse these and more questions.

First, let us know the meaning of Advaita. It means ‘there is no second substance’. This short definition is a little confusing though. When there are thousands of substances right in front of our own eyes, how sanctimonious is the statement: “There does not exist any second substance.” Even if it were true, how do we benefit from this no second substance? Whatever we aspire for or desire, we can get them all by following Advaita.

What is it that we really aspire for? We persevere hard to be free of our sorrows, poverty, hunger, ailments, and mental agony. Whatever we strive for is only to attain happiness and comfort, isn’t it? How do we attain such a state that will also last forever? We can indeed permanently live a problem-free life if we practice the Siddhanta of Advaita. Is there any place on this earth, which is free of problems and sorrows? If so, it is only be a Utopian world! If one problem is solved, another erupts from nowhere! Despite all our efforts, it is impossible to always remain comfortable and happy.

However, we still strive hard to free ourselves from all our sorrows. But this physical effort brings in only temporary solace. Is there a way to be permanently happy? Yes! Advaita is the path that can eradicate all our sorrows, whether hunger, illness, death, hurt, anger, and poverty and make us happy. Why do we undergo sorrows? When we come across poverty, hunger, insult etc. Will it not be better if we don’t have to go through these? Still they are part and parcel of our life. So, why do they occur? Let us examine their root cause.

Hunger and illness that cause us severe hardships will exist as long as our physical body exists. Will there be a remedy if this body no longer exists? No. When this body perishes, you will be in another body, which will have to undergo these sorrows; whether you like it or not! Thus, the fundamental cause for all sorrows is the ‘existence of a physical body’. When this physical body is no more, all our sorrows will vanish.

This article is a snippet from the Book Thus Spake the Divine, is available online at www.giri.in and across Giri Trading Agency Private Limited, A chain of Speciality Stores dealing in all kinds of products needed in Indian Culture and Tradition.