Re: Advaita Siddhi
This prompts an objection: If the negation of the world is vyAvahArika, then this negation should itself be sublated. Upon sublation of the negation of the world, the world's reality, not unreality, would be affirmed. That means the advaitin is proving something other than what he intended, a defect called arthAntara.
To this objection, MadhusUdana replies that it is not the case that world's reality would be affirmed upon sublation of the negation of the world. In the example of a dream, an object in the dream may be negated later in the same dream. And the negation itself is negated upon waking up. This does not result in the dream-object becoming real in the waking state!
So what implies the reality of a thing is NOT the mere fact that its negation is sublatable, but the fact that such negation is of a lesser order of reality than that of the thing itself.
For example, if we see a rope in semi-darkness and imagine it to be a snake,we may say "There is no rope." Here we are negating the rope. But this negation is illusory (prAtibhAsika). Upon removal of the illusion, we realize that the thing seen before is indeed a rope. So the rope, which was negated before, is being affirmed (as vyAvahArika). What has happened here is that the reality order of the negation is prAtibhAsika which is less than the reality order of the rope, vyAvahArika.
It is only in such cases that the reality of the thing negated may be affirmed, not otherwise. In the case under discussion, the negation of the world being described and the world are of the same order of reality. So the mere sublatability of the negation cannot make the world real.
BRIEF RECAP: MadhusUdana started by accepting the definition of unreality (of the world) as "pratipanna-upAdhau traikAlikanishhedha-pratiyogitvam.h" (please see advaita-siddhi 10).Unreality is that which is subject to absolute negation (negation for all times) in the substratum where it is cognized. So the opponent asks: Now, how do you classify this absolute negation that you speak of? Is this absolute negation pAramArthika, vyAvahArika or prAtibhAsika?
We have seen how MadhusUdana has answered this question by pointing out that the absolute negation can be treated as pAramArthika, identical with Brahman. In doing so, there is no harm done to the non-duality principle. Also, the opponent cannot insist on the rule that a negation and its counter-positive (pratiyogin) have to have the same order of reality (sama-sattAka), because an exception that breaks the rule is readily found in the case of an illusion such as the silver-in-nacre illusion. The illusory silver is prAtibhAsika but its negation is pAramArthika if the substratum of illusion is treated as Brahman Itself or at least vyAvahArika, if the substratum is taken to be nacre.
That which is without letters (parts) is the Fourth, beyond apprehension through ordinary means, the cessation of the phenomenal world, the auspicious and the non-dual. Thus Om is certainly the Self. He who knows thus enters the Self by the Self.
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