Summary:

Atma Bodha, Verse 5: For mokṣa, only vrtti-vyapti occurs (not phala-vyapti) because Awareness is already present. The mind creates akhanada-akara-vrtti (thought that removes all wrong notions about Self) without producing a mental image of Ātmā. Once this vrtti removes ignorance completely, it too dissolves – like soapnut powder settling with dirt after cleaning water.

Atma Bodha, Verse 6: The world (saṃsāra) is like a dream – filled with rāga-dveṣa (likes-dislikes) and appearing real while being experienced, but its unreality is recognized upon awakening. This introduces the satya-mithyā prakriya (teaching of real-dependent existence), where reality has three levels: satya (independently existing), mithyā (dependent existence), and tuccham (completely unreal). The world exists at two levels: vyavaharika (empirical reality, like pot-clay) and pratibhasika (subjective reality, like dreams). Both are mithyā – depending on a higher reality for their existence.

Verse 5 continuing from previous session…

Vrtti-Vyapti and Phala-Vyapti Relationship:

• See notes in previous video.

Vrtti That Gives Moksha:

Vrtti which removes all clouds (notions about Self), called akhanada-akara-vrtti.

Devotee first listens to Vedanta. Your thought processes become refined. At one point, a thought comes, which understands nature of Awareness exactly as it’s meant to be understood, without any additions, subtractions, vagueness, imagination. Meaning last piece of puzzle is now in it’s place. Until then, it’s a growing clarity.

What is characteristics of akhanada-akara-vrtti?

In worldly thought, when pen comes, mind creates corresponding image. Whereas for nature of Awareness, there is a vrtti, but doesn’t produce mental image of Atma. The vrtti simply removes the last cloud (wrong notion that Atma is away from me) covering the sun (Atma).

So thought comes, removing ignorance totally, without leaving corresponding image in mind.

So akhanada-akara-vrtti has no phala-vyapti, as Atma is already known.

After having removed ignorance, what happens to vrtti? Does it stick to you as constant voice, “I’m Brahman, I’m Brahman”. It too goes away. It’s done it’s job. EG: Once understood 2 + 2 = 4, doesn’t need repetition as you’re not memorizing. So understanding Awareness is not about retaining.

Soapnut Explanation:

When you use soapnut powder to clean dirty water: First, the soapnut powder mixes with the dirty water. It helps separate the dirt from the water. Finally, both the dirt AND the soapnut powder settle at the bottom, leaving clear water above.

Similarly in spiritual practice: The knowledge (vritti jnanam) is used to remove ignorance. Once it serves its purpose of revealing the true Self, both ignorance AND the knowledge itself become irrelevant and “settle away”. For example, once I understand that 2 + 2 = 4, I don’t need to keep repeating it. It can discard the vrtti-jnanam. Similarly don’t need to keep repeating “I am the Whole, I am the Whole, etc”.

Doesn’t negate the forms. If focus is on 1000 pots, there’s 1000 differences. When on clay, there’s only One. No need to destroy anything.

Nature of the World: Verse 6-9

Superimposition and The Meaning of ‘That'  (Adhyāsa and Tat Pada Artha)

Verse 6: World is like a dream

संसारः स्वप्नतुल्यः हि रागद्वेषादिसङ्कुलः ।
स्वकाले सत्यवत् भाति प्रबोधे सत्य सत् भवेत् ॥
saṃsāraḥ svapnatulyaḥ hi rāgadveṣādisaṅkulaḥ |
svakāle satyavat bhāti prabodhe satya sat bhavet ||

The world is truly like a dream only – riddled with and afflicted by binding likes and dislikes etc. As long as it is experienced, it appears to be real. When we are awake, its unreality is seen.

Giving Forms Absolute Reality is Samsara:

When attention is on forms, duality exists for you, and you’re in samsara (meaning forms become the source of suffering and joy). But forms don’t create duality, because they are not satya (enjoy a independent, irreducible existence), but mithya (enjoy a dependent time-bound existence). To explain the relationship between forms and the final reality, let us introduce…

Intro Satya-Mithya Prakriya Viveka:

• Intro: 

  • Satya and mithyā are not objects, but ontological categories. These terms describe the nature of reality and existence.

• Step 1: Define the terms

  1. Satyam and Tuccham:
     • Satya (independent, self-existing): Enjoys independent existence. Self-existing. Does not rely on anything else for its being.
     • Tuccham (illusion): Completely unreal / imagined like: Sky-flowers, cold fire. 
     • Satya & Tuccham words are insufficient to explain ontological status of an object. EG: Shirt is satya. Pull out yarn. Now yarn is satya. Can we call shirt tuccham? No, because shirt isn’t imagined and empirically exists. Thus need to introduce the third word…
  2. Mithya (dependent, contingent on something else for its existence): Meaning, while shirt exists, it enjoys a dependent existence. Its being-ness is contingent on the substance (satyam). It is neither completely real (sat) nor completely unreal (asat / tuccham). Mithyā does not mean “unreal” or “non-existent” or “illusion” (tuccham) — but seemingly real. Meaning mithya is a word to describe your cognitive understanding of an object.

• Step 2: Explain satya-mithya with an example (pot-clay).

  • At first glance, “pot” and “clay” seem like two separate things. Upon analysis, we see the reality of the pot is clay.
  • If you ask “What is MORE right — the pot or the clay?”. Clay is MORE right, because if you take out the clay, there’s no pot. But if you take out the pot — the substance (clay) remains. Additionally clay is more right because it’s closer to the truth of the object, and pot is further from the truth. Additionally we don’t discard the pot, only understand it to be mithya. It’s mithya because the entirety of pot is pervaded by it's substance (clay). There’s no place where clay is not throughout the pot. The pot isn’t on or besides the clay. Pot IS the clay taking the shape of a “pot”.
  • In the final conclusion: There's only clay. Take away clay, there's no “pot”. Pot name-form (mithya) borrows it’s existence from clay (satyam). They enjoy a satya-mithya relationship. If don’t know about mithya, then forced to turn everything into satya (EG: heaven-satya, kundalini-satya, sex-satyam, etc), or dismiss everything as “fake” as is prevalent on social media.

“Puranam adah purnam idam” PRAYER acknowledges satya-mithya: Final reality is Satyam. Coming-going of [mithya] forms doesn’t displace anything.

Applying Satya-Mithya to this verse:

“World is like a dream. When we awake, the unreality (mithya) is seen.”

While dreaming, there were dream characters with different personalities, transactions, emotional upsets, genuine fear, love, pride, accomplishment, breakthrough. etc. Upon waking, the whole play resolves into you (which it was depending upon the mind).

Meaning, while you were dreaming, the mind (satyam) was the bases of the dream-world (mithya), and nothing got stuck onto the mind.

Difference Between Pot-clay and Dream Example:

1. Pot-clay:
   • Empirical reality. It is there, therefore I see it. Vyavaharika.
   • What is satya-mithya in this example? Pot is vyavaharika-mithya (empirically dependent) because depends on clay (satya).
2. Dream example:
   • Created by my thoughts. Subjective reality. Only you see it, nobody else. Pratibhasika.
   • What is satya-mithya in this example? Entire dream world is pratibhasika-mithya (subjective), depending on the dreamer (mind).
   • Pratibhasika Can Also Apply in Empirical Reality: For example, person is an empirical (vyavaharika) manifestation. And 3 People will have 3 opinions (pratibhasika) about you.

Main message of this verse:

Normally we say, Vyavaharika is true, and Pratibhasika is not-true. However Vedanta shows even Vyavaharika is dependent on Paramarthika (Absolute), which is shown in next verse…

NEXT VERSE: Have to show how world of forms has a dependent reality, and Brahman is independent reality.

—

Recorded 9 Jan, 2025