A talk by Ramakrishna Mission's Swami Sarvapriyananda touched a core philosophical and spiritual aspect, one of Mithya:
- Mithya gets loosely interpreted as Not Existing
- But what it actually should be interpreted as, is Appears as Something Else
Let's delve deeper into that aspect here.
Swamiji uses the analogy of Truth, Lie and Silence:
- When we say something which is factual, it is the Truth. At the reference point in time, the Truth has to be consistent with the fact; else it cannot be called the truth. With the passing of time, the facts of the matter may change, and so too the truth behind it.
- When we stay Silent, it means nothing. But it's still not a Lie. Silence, or Nothingness have their integrity at the reference point in time.
- A Lie is when you say something which is not factual. Where the fact (truth) is something else at the reference point in time, and you coat it with something else, which is not factual.
Such too, is existence, and the nature of the Universe and the World:
- What does not exist, is easy to understand. It cannot be called Mithya. It's like Silence. It is Nothing, but still not a Lie. The (relative) World is not like that. It exists, in front our eyes.
- Atman (the internal consciousness reference term used for Brahman), the constant unchanging sense of Consciousness, the sense of Existence we feel. That is easily analogical to Truth for us. We physically, intellectually, emotionally change. But there is a something in us, that feels has never changed. Just look at ourselves in the mirror, and pull out the memory of looking at the mirror 10 years ago. We look different, but within, we feel the same. This feeling is actually even greater than Truth, and it does not change with time. Which shows it is even beyond time. Even the sense of time if we think about it, exists within our awareness. It lies within Atman
- The World, constantly changing, cyclical, is called Mithya in the sense that Vedanta asserts that it is Brahman coated by something else. It is in this sense that the world should be seen. That it verily is Brahman, and not what it appears to be. Vedanta does not claim that the World is false in the sense that it does not exist. It claims it is false or a lie in the sense that it appears something different from what it actually it!
- Mithya gets loosely interpreted as Not Existing
- But what it actually should be interpreted as, is Appears as Something Else
Let's delve deeper into that aspect here.
Swamiji uses the analogy of Truth, Lie and Silence:
- When we say something which is factual, it is the Truth. At the reference point in time, the Truth has to be consistent with the fact; else it cannot be called the truth. With the passing of time, the facts of the matter may change, and so too the truth behind it.
- When we stay Silent, it means nothing. But it's still not a Lie. Silence, or Nothingness have their integrity at the reference point in time.
- A Lie is when you say something which is not factual. Where the fact (truth) is something else at the reference point in time, and you coat it with something else, which is not factual.
Such too, is existence, and the nature of the Universe and the World:
- What does not exist, is easy to understand. It cannot be called Mithya. It's like Silence. It is Nothing, but still not a Lie. The (relative) World is not like that. It exists, in front our eyes.
- Atman (the internal consciousness reference term used for Brahman), the constant unchanging sense of Consciousness, the sense of Existence we feel. That is easily analogical to Truth for us. We physically, intellectually, emotionally change. But there is a something in us, that feels has never changed. Just look at ourselves in the mirror, and pull out the memory of looking at the mirror 10 years ago. We look different, but within, we feel the same. This feeling is actually even greater than Truth, and it does not change with time. Which shows it is even beyond time. Even the sense of time if we think about it, exists within our awareness. It lies within Atman
- The World, constantly changing, cyclical, is called Mithya in the sense that Vedanta asserts that it is Brahman coated by something else. It is in this sense that the world should be seen. That it verily is Brahman, and not what it appears to be. Vedanta does not claim that the World is false in the sense that it does not exist. It claims it is false or a lie in the sense that it appears something different from what it actually it!
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