THE ADVAITA WORLDVIEW SUNY series in Religious Studies Harold Coward, editor THE ADVAITA WORLDVIEW God, World, and Humanity Anantanand Rambachan STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK PRESS Published by State University of New York Press Albany © 2006 State University of New York All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission. No part of this book may be stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means including electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior permission in writing of the publisher. For informa tion, address State University of New York Press 194 Washington Avenue, Suite 305, Albany, NY 12210-2384 Production, Laurie Searl Marketing, Susan M. Petrie Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Rambachan, Anantanand, 1951– The Advaita worldview : God, world, and humanity / Anantanand Rambachan. p. cm. — (SUNY series in religious studies) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN-13: 978-0-7914-6851-7 (hardcover : alk. paper) ISBN-13: 978-0-7914-6852-4 (pbk. : alk. paper) ISBN-10: 0-7914-6851-8 (hardcover : alk. paper) ISBN-10: 0-7914-6852-6 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Advaita. 2. Philosophy, Hindu. I. Title. II. Series. B132.A3R36 2006 181'.482—dc22 2005029977 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 ³ matrdevo bhava ³ pitrdevo bhava ācāryadevo bhava atithidevo bhava for my wife, Geeta and our children Ashesh, Akshar and Ishanaa Contents Abbreviations xi Introduction 1 Chapter One The Human Problem 9 The Limits of Knowledge 10 The Limits of Wealth 11 The Limits of Pleasure 13 The Reflective Life 15 Chapter Two The Requirements of Discipleship 19 The Necessity of Virtue 19 Viveka 21 Vairāgya 22 ³ Śamādisatkasampatti 23 ³ Mumuksutva 25 ³ ³ Sādhana Catustaya and the Immediacy of Knowledge 26 Eligibility for Discipleship and the Caste System 27 Chapter Three The Nature of the Ātman 31 Overcoming the Human Problem 31 Who Am I? 33 TheĀtman and the Body 34 TheĀtman and the Mind 35 TheĀtman as Awareness 36 TheĀtman as Timeless 38 TheĀtman as Ānanda 40 TheĀtman as Non-dual 43 vii viii CONTENTS Chapter Four The Source of Valid Knowledge 47 The Significance of a Valid Means of Knowledge 47 The Limits of Perception and Inference 48 The Vedas as the Means of Knowledge for Brahman 49 Knowledge and the Attainment of Brahman 50 The Self-Revealing Nature of Brahman 51 Ignorance as Incomplete Knowledge of Brahman 53 Knowledge and Experience 54 The Dilemma of Knowing the Knower 55 Non-dual Experience and Non-dual Knowledge 61 The Teacher and the Text 62 Brahman as Ultimate Mystery 64 Chapter Five Brahman as the World 67 Denying the Reality and Value of the World 67 The Origin of the World from Brahman 69 Brahman as Intelligent and Material Cause 70 The Universe as Non-different from Brahman 71 The Doctrine of Māyā 72 Asymmetrical Relationship between Brahman and World 74 Is the World an Illusion? 76 World as Celebrative Expression of Brahman 78 Seeing the One and the Many 80 Chapter Six Brahman as God 83 ³ ³ Brahman as Nirguna and Saguna 84 Are Hierarchies in Brahman Necessary? 85 The Problem of Change and Activity in Brahman 86 The Problem of Substance and Attributes 88 The Problem of Purpose 91 The Value of the Creation for Brahman 96 Chapter Seven Liberation 99 The Nature of Ignorance 99 Liberation as Identical with the Nature of Brahman 100 Embodied or Living Liberation 101 Liberation as Freedom from Desire 102 Liberation as the Attainment of Fullness of Self 103 CONTENTS ix Liberation as Freedom from Mortality 104 Liberation as Freedom from the Cycles of Rebirth 104 Liberation as Freedom from Karma 106 Liberation as Freedom in Action 107 Liberation as Identification with All Beings 109 Liberation as Knowing Brahman to be Self and God 111 Notes 117 Bibliography 133 Index 139