Vedanta Concepts

The non dualist (Advaita) Vedanta of sankara

Basic concepts of Vedanta

·      Vedanta is perhaps the most popular and dominant of all the schools of Indian thought.

·      The word Vedanta literally means the end of the Vedas which are the most ancient scriptural text of the Hindus. Such nomenclature follows from the idea that this school of philosophy represents the highest culmination of the philosophic thought of the Vedic sages.

·      The sources of Vedas are the Upanishad (the philosophical discourses), the aphorism (wise sayings) of Badarayana and Bhagvad Gita.

·      During the early 9^th century, sankara (788-820 AD) wrote definitive commentaries on all these sources of vedantic thought.

·      The most fundamental doctrine of vedante is the thesis that there is a single principle which underlines the infinite variety of forms that manifest themselves in the universe. This principle called( Brahmin is said to ubiquitous (present everywhere simultaneously) formless, without any qualities and essentially indescribable yet, for the sake of simplicity the nature of the Brahmin has been described in rather appropriate terms with trilogy of terms being (Sat), Consciousness (chit) and bless  (ananda) ie., sat, chit, anand, Satchidanand.

·      From the point of view of the non dualist Vedanta Atman or the self is identical with Brahman, the cosmic principle. It is claimed that one realizes the identity of the individual self with that of the Brahmin or universal self (parmatman) in a superior date of consciousness called (Nirvikalpa Samadhi).

·      Nirvikalpa Samadhi is said to be vedantic term describing the same type of experience as designated by the term Asamprajnate Samadhi by the yogis.

·      Both schools consider such experience as the most desirable one. It is also considered the source of the highest form of knowledge. The main difference between the Vedanta and yoga philosophies is in their ontological and cosmological doctrines.

·      While yoga assumes two distinct fundamental principles of reality, namely purusa and prakriti, Vedanta postulates a single one.

·      They also differ radically in their accounts of how the cosmos evolved from the basic principles.

·      Despite these difference, there are important similarities between them, especially in their psychological perspectives.

·      Having assumed a single, indescribable principle of reality, the Vedanta philosophers were faced with the difficult task of accounting for the infinitely varied forms of objects in the world. To reconcile the unity of Brahmin with the multiplicity if objects of the world, sankara suggested that numerous relatively impermanent object, in the universe are but illusory transformation (vivarta, of the same eternal, basically undifferentiated and formless Brahmin. The world as we see it is their considered to be a grand illusion or maya.

·      Maya is a controversial issue in Indian philosophy. The notion that the whole universe is like a mirage or a dream is not easily understandable, and to some people, simply unacceptable.

·      However, world is believed to be a mere illusion only when seen from the vantage point of the superior state of consciousness called the nirvikalpa Samadhi. The world of plurality or the phenomenal world is considered perfectly real from the standpoint of the ordinary cognitive states. It is a “lesser”  reality, only when compared with the “higher order” ie. Vyavaharike sat is lesser reality than the paramarthike sat

·      Sankara’s epistemology follows a two leveled approach. Knowledge is believed to be of two distinct kinds.

·      The first type called para vidya is obtained in the experience (anubhava) of the identity of the Atman with the Brahmin in the state of nirvikalpa Samadhi. This is the highest form of knowledge obtained through any other means. Here, one transcend the knower-known distinction which Is necessarily implied in the ordinary concept of knowledge. While it is considered the ultimate form of “ knowledge”, its scope is restricted to the domain of the absolute.

·      The second type of knowledge called apara vidya refers to the knowledge of the phenomenal world. In this domain, we deal with world extended in space and time( desh, kaal) and governed by the principle of causality(nimitta). Here it is perfectly legitimate to try to uncover causal relationships with the help of direct, sensory observation, and by drawing legitimate inferences based on the rules of logic. Scientific knowledge, thus would be considered the penultimate type of knowledge (apara vidya).

·      Although the phenomenal world of maya terms out to be unreal in an ultimate sense, it has an objective force. Once the vedantan leaves the plane of Brahmin, or the absolute, he accepts the world as being real and regular in much the same way as the materialist does. In fact, the vedantic view of maya is almost identical to that of prakriti, the sankhya- yoga conception of the material world. Sankara supports this view.

·      The view of maya as prakriti brings Vedanta very close to the yoga view of the world in many ways.

·      First the world of maya is governed by the law of karma which accounts for it regularities.

·      Second, the continual changes in the world are ascribed to the interplay of the three “strands” or gunas, namely sattva, rajas and tamas.

·      Third the yogic conception of the five basic elements earth, air water, fire, and space (akasa) is used in Vedanta as well.

·      Finally the acceptance of the law of karma brings into the Vedanta system a series of concepts relating to the nature of the individual such as the unending cycle of  birth and death, the theory of the accumulation of the  residual effects of experience and behavior (samsakara and karmasaya) the concepts of vasana (drives) and stimuli (memory).

·      Such overlap between the Vedanta and yoga. Viewpoint accounts for the similarity in their perspectives regarding the psychological makeup of the individuals.

·      The vedantic term jiva which literally means life or a living being is the closest equivalent to the modern concept of an individual organism. In some respects, it is similar to the psychological concept of personality. The core of the jiva the Atman or the self which is identical to Brahmin.

·      The place of Atman in the vedantic view of the individual is roughly equivalent to that of the purusa in yoga.

·      However, the purusa of yoga is a principle fundamentally different from that of the material prakrti. There are innumerable individual purusa each being an independent unit. The Atman of Vedanta by contrast is simply a reflection of the single, ubiquitous Brahman and as such it is no different from the quality less (nirguna) Brahman. 

·      Although the Atman like the Brahman itself is not finite, it becomes associated with a finite jiva as a result of avidya, meaning ignorance.

·      Under the influence of avidya, a portion of  the finite Brahman distinguishes itself from the rest of the world and sets itself apart as an experiencing subject, the “I”.

·      “I” identifies himself with his means of relating to the world. These means including the senses the entire cognitive apparatus and the body. Such identification of the “I” with the body is the very bases of human individuality.

·      Since the human is the same as Brahman he is all pervading and beyond description. The individual jiva derives its ability to experience from the quality of cit inherent in the Atman.

·      Due to ignorance, Atman conceives of himself as the self or the agent of various activities and seeks to enjoy the first of his actions.

·      The activity and enjoyment of the self is made possible by the adjunts of the jiva, namely the psychic apparatus the sense organs the motor organs and the body.

·      Vedantic ideas regarding the individual and the human psychic apparatus important in understanding the vedantic concept of consciousness. In this regard.

·      Sankara distinguishes between the gross body (sthula sharir) . the subtle body includes the five senses organs, the five motor organs and an inner instrument (antahkarana).

·      The inner instrument (antahkarna) is composed of the following four components.

1.     The mind (manas) which manifests itself in the form of the processes of doubting and decision making and in the process of analysis and synthesis of ideas or in the processes of analysis and synthesis of ideas or in other words, the processes of cognitive differentiation and integration.

2. The intellect (buddhi) which is involved in determining a course of action, willing and the like.

3. The ego (ahankara) as manifest in self awareness and also in self- seeking conceit, and so on.

4. The psyche (citta) which is involved in remembering or in the storage of the traces left behind by past actions and experience.

·      The concept of citta as a seat of memories or a storehouse of the effects of past karma is an important common aspect of the yoga and Vedanta views of the individual.

·      The yoga theory also considers citta a seat of experience. The mental processes such as thinking, imagining, sleeping, remembering and other are considered various forms of activity (vritti) of the citta.

·      Vedanta uses the concept of vritti in much the same way as yoga and ascribes it to the manas rather than the citta.

·      While the yogic view of consciousness emphasizes its processual aspect (vriti), Vedanta follows the upanisads in the conceptualization of consciousness primarily in terms of its states.

The following are the four state of consciousness according to Vedanta:-

1)    Wakefulness (jagriti)

2)    Dream (sapna)

3)    Deep sleep (susupti )

4)    And the fourth state (turiya)-  the word turiya literally means the fourth and is Vedanta use it to ‘ refers to nirvikalpa Samadhi .

·             In the wakeful state the gross as well as the subtle aspects of the body remain active. The jiva is continually involved in the enjoyment of the objects of pleasure.

·             The orientation of consciousness during the wakeful state is primarily extraspective or “outward bound” ( bahihprajne). The dream state is believed to be an intermediary state between wakefulness and deep sleep ,“ a twilight zone. Here the gross body as well as the senses are at rest. The connection of the jiva with the external to world is cut off but the subtle body is still active . The intellect(buddhi) assumes the role of the experiences and the does and ‘create various objects such as houses, chariots etc for its own experience of enjoyment or suffering. The Atman remains inactive during dream state, as he does in all other states. The individual ‘ sees’ in darkness which is made possible by the self. Luminous character of the Atman.

·             Sankara recognizes  that things seen in dreams are like those seen in the waking state and attributes this similarity to the impression and desires (vasana) formed as a result of experiences during the wakeful state.

·             In recognizing the roles of desires sankara adopts a view similar to that of freduian theory which stresses the wish fulfilling character of dreams. He rejects the view that the soul leads the body and roams around while dreaming. He argues that as far the Atman id concerned there is no difference between the inside and the outside of the body because in its essence the Atman is all pervading.

·             Sankara emphasizes the illusory nature of dreams. With the help of this argument, sankara is trying to drive home the point that the principle of non contradiction is an important device to distinguish the real from the apparent and illusory, what is seen in dreams is often contradicted not only by the evidence presented by our experience during wakefulness but also by the fact that events in dreams are often quite absurd. Thus, the experiences in one state of consciousness are closer to reality than those in another state of consciousness.

·             Vedanta theorists extend this line of argument to stress that the experience in the superior state of consciousness (nirvikalpa Samadhi) takes us one step closer to reality.

·             Just like the way one realizes after awakening that what he/she saw in dream was unreal, similarily one who attains the fourth state of consciousness realizes that the world as he saw it during the wakeful state is also relatively unreal or illusory. The nature of reality experienced in the superior states of consciousness is not so clear, since the superior states of consciousness  are not commonly experienced. Moreover, since the Samadhi states cannot be induced by one person in another( as hypnosis) then nature must be explained with the help of analogy, metaphor or through spontaneous poetic  expressor

·             Once a person reaches this fourth state of consciousness (through it does not last long). One does not remain the same person after its terminator. A moment of realization of the ultimate truth namely that the individual at the core is the same as the ubiquitous Brahman is enough to completely transform the life of the individual. In Vedanta it is claimed that the known of Brahman becomes Brahman. It means that the individual no longer identifies himself with various ‘narrow’ definition of the self acquired since childhood. He no longer pursues narrowly selfish goals and hence does not experience either elation due to success in attaining them or despair due to failure. He/she does not identify himself/herself with any particular group, and hence stands above pride and prejudice. Such a person becomes saintly in his attitude and behavior, manifesting the ideal human condition (equanimity, tranquility, etc).

·             The means of attaining superior state of being fourth state of consciousness is not exclusive it is accessible to anyone irrespective of caste creed, states Vedanta suggests the following four basic means of attainment.

1)    The correct discrimination between the everlasting and the impermanent. Brahma is the only permanent from of existence, the phenomenal world is impermanent. This implies that one must learn to identify oneself with the body which is impermanent. One begin to realize that there is some lasting form of happiness different from the wordly gains of wealth and power. Which are as transient as the pleasure that they can bring. Striving for the more permanent is a necessary precondition for the journey to liberation.

2)    Maintaining an attitude of detachment. It mean one reform hankering for enjoyment expected either in their world or in the existence after death.

3)    Acquisition of the six virtues

a)    Controlling the mind(sama)

b)    Withdrawal of senses from objects of pleasure(dama)

c)    Preventing the mind from modifying itself throught contact with external objects(uparati)

d)    Enduring hardships and pain without becoming anxious (titiksa)

e)    Adopting the attitude of conviction that the theories explained by scriptures and direction provided by the guru(teacher) are the correct means for the knowledge of reality( shraddha)

f)     the firm resting of the mind on the formless Brahman without indulging the mind( samadhana)

4)    Cultivation of an intense desire for liberation from the bonds created by egoism and ignorance.

Besides the four categories the Vedantists suggest a general strategy for the attainment of the fourth state of consciousness.

1)    Atmavivhara – pursuit of inquiry regarding the nature of self through systematic study of the doctrines of Vedanta listening to the non- dualist conclusions of Vedanta, guru( teacher)

2)    Manana (repeatedly and deeply contemplating what is learned.

3)    Nididhyasana- contemplating the non- dual principle of Brahman in such a way that no other thought enters his mind. Having attained this stage. The aspirant is ready to enter the state of Samadhi.

Not with understanding the similarities between their views of the ideal human condition, the yogic ideal of the isolation of the purusa from prakriti is said to be different from the vedantic ideal of self realization in that the former is said to emphasize the release from misery while the latter emphasizes the attainment of an infinite blis as well as the adoption of attitude and behavior characteristic of an ideal human being.

 Consciousness two Indian views

The two Indian perspectives on consciousness are yoga and Vedanta systems

·             Psychogical thought in india has also developed in the content of monistic and dualistic metaphysical theories.

·             The sankhya philoshphy is dualistic in the background of which developed the yoga system. The advaita branch of the Vedanta school is non- dualistic

·             There are certain similarities between Cartesian and sankhya dualism. Decartes contrast the free souls with prakriti or the material would to which the body belongs.

·             Prakrti is the uncaused , eternal ad pervading principle of the universe. It is the substance of which all things are just different configuration. It accounts for the continual flux of the world wherin things grow and decay.
Space and time are specific modifications of prakriti.  This principle has three invariable components of intertwing ‘strands’ calle gunas. Sattva represents whatever is fine light luminous, tamas, whatever is course heavy dark and rajas represents activity. Although each guna must be present at all times in anything that exists in the world of prakriti one may dominate the other when their equilibrium is disturbed. When things are at rest, tamas predominate, rajas is predominant in moving things while the other two gunas remain latent.  A person experience happiness when sattva is dominant and he may be involved in feverish, restless effort when rajas takes over.

·             Purusa is the principle that represents immutable ever present light, the inactive and nonparticipating witness of the incessant flux of prakriti. There are many purus one associated with everything that has life in it. All purusas are identical in nature, none being limited by size or other qualities of the being in which it resides.

·             Certain similarities as well as difference between cartesia and sankhya dualism

·             Both Cartesian matter and sankhya prakriti represent the corporeal, tangible substance of which human bodies and other objects are made, but the three cartesia orthogonal dimension of length, breadth and depth are far different from the sankhaya gunas.

·             While Descartes ascribes such psychic activities a willing and feeling to the non material domain the sankhya theory ascribes them to the material. Prakriti and not to purusa which is only a passive witness.

·             For Descartes animals do not posses souls, but the sankhya new ascribes a purusa to each on of the living beings, non- human as well as human. This view illustrates the pan Indian assumption of certinuity within the entire animal kingdom.

Basic concepts of yoga

The first product of the contact of purusa with prakriti is called citta. This union is the original cause from which originate the individual phenomenal selves as distinguished from the unattached real seles or purusas.

·      The citta as a cause is all pervading. It always exists in the form of its states which are called vritti.

·      Citta and its vritti or activities are key concepts of the yoga psychology. Citta stands for all that is psychological in man. It is primarily the seat of all experiences and the repository of their residual effects.

·      Citta includes the living principle within human beings. It also refers to the totality of the senses, the ego, and the intellect. The term citta therefore be translated generally as the mind.

·      Since the purusa is a totally passive entity. Its association with a citta provides the latter with nothing except the capacity to become aware or illuminated that to be able to experience pleasure or pain and to acquire knowledge as one does from being a mere witness or passive spectator.

·      There is only a reflection of the purusa in the citta. In the absence of this reflection is only material prakriti. Vyasa therefore consider citta to be a part of the world of prakriti.

·      Hence the citta involves the three basic qualities  (gunas)

·      Due to the constant interplay of these qualities the citta is involved in incessant modifications. These modifications called vrittis are classified by patanjali into five major categories which are –

      I.         Pramana- pramana means valid cognition and pranama is a mean of acquiring valid cognition. Patanjali lists direct perception (pratyaksa), inference (anumana) and verbal testimony from a trustworthy person (Agama) as categories of the means of obtaining valid knowledge yoga system accepts these as epistemic criteria.

    II.         Viparyaya- types of cognitive processes that lead to erroneous cognition, e.g- illusion

  III.         Vikalpa- refer to imagination or fantasy. The term is defined in terms of entities that have no counterparts in the objective world. e.g- unicorn. The term also includes ideation, conjecturing, supporting, or hypothesizing.

 IV.         Nidra- or sleep – during sleeping there seems to be an absence of direct cognitive experience. Yet one must be having some kind of experience during sleep since one often says “I had a good night” or “ I didn’t sleep well.”

   V.         Smriti or recollection, defined as the “not dropping off” of what is once experienced.

The vritties thus include a broad variety of mental or consciousness.

·      Processes including perceiving, thinking, imagining, sleeping, and recollecting. An ideal human condition free from all miseries is said to be attained through the control of mental processes.

·      Vyasa describes several stages or conditions of citta characterizing the way in which the mind predominantly functions during a given period of time, these stages are-

1) wondering(ksipta)

2) stupefied(mudha)

3) occasionally steady (viksipta)

4) one pointed (ekagra)

5) restrained(niruddha)

·      Restraint is the most crucial aspect of yoga. Patanjali defines yoga as the restraint of the processes of consciousness. There is a clear emphasis on the processual dynamic aspect of consciousness in the yogic approach.

·      Vrittes are thought of as being manasa karma that is ‘mental work or mental activity’. Karma is thought to have three aspects.

1)    Motor on bodily aspect (kayika)

2)    The verbal aspect (vacika)

3)    Mental aspect (manasa). This view implies that the mental and the physical aspects of  man are not dichotomized they are placed on the same continuum. This is different from some western theories that draw a sharp line between the mind and the body thought and action.

The practical aspects of yoga – the eight limbs following techniques are used to systematically control the processes of consciousness.

1)    Restraints (yama) – abstaining from inflicting injuries (ahinsa), falsehood, theft, lust and avarice.

2)    Observation (nirjama)- cultivation of virtues like- cleanliness, contentment, ascetic self control study and devotion to god.(god is a special type of pursue or self that is untouched by any accumulated residues of part karma that perpetuate misery.

3)    Posture (asana)- stability and comfort (stehna and sukha) as the criteria for the right posture.

4)    Breathing exercises (pranayama)- regulation of breath or breath control which deepens one’s enthusiasm to continue thinking, related it and ultimately stops the stream of thought.

5)    Withdrawing of the senses from their objects (pratyahara) – the activity of the senses in locating, recognizing and interpreting stimuli is restrained. The extroverted direction of the senses is changed and turned “inward”.

6)    Concentration (dharana)- binding of the processes of consciousness to a particular place. Eg- tip of one’s nose, desired object.

7)    Contemplation (dhyana)- an attempt to hold onto thoughts, ideas, or an image of whatever object one has chosen to concentrate his attention upon. Thus, the stream of consciousness flows with homogenous rather than heterogeneous content.

8)    Samadhi (jrance)- an altered state of consciousness which has several levels:-

i)               Savitarka- words and their denotative and connotative meaning mixed together.

ii)             Nirvitarka- devoid of meanings and associations originating from social conventions.

iii)            Savicana- characterized by space, time, and causal content of the object of cognition.

iv)           Nirvicara- (uncharacterized by past, present, or future characteristic of the object)

v)             Sananda -(focused on means of cognition)

vi)           Sasmite-(focused on the sense of self)

vii)          Asamprajnate- (mind ceases to engage in the various processes or acts of consciousness). This state arises when consciousness ceases to be processual, when one is no longer engaged in thinking, wishing, deserving, or otherwise “intending” actual or imaginary objects.