Only thing which remains eternally is formless witness, the formless consciousness,which is the innermost self

·    Q;-   Sri, Sankara says that whatever thing remains eternal is true and whatever is non-eternal is untrue. Since the world is created and destroyed, it is not real (true).

·  SK:-  Only thing which remains eternally is formless witness, the formless consciousness,which is the innermost self .  The non eternal is the  mind ,which is in the form universe and universe appears  as waking  or dream. The waking  experience  appears and disappears same way as the dream appears and disappears.  Thus one has to learn to view and judge the truth on the base of eternal identity (Atman or consciousness) to realize the waking experience is non-eternal like dream. The world cannot be destroyed because it mere mirage [not real] only the ignorance is destroyed when the wisdom dawns.

·         Q:- Truth is the thing which is unchanging. Since the world is changing, it is not real (true).

·     SK. Consciousness is the ultimate truth or brahman. consciousness  is the formless substance and witness of the three states.  When the consciousness  is in its formless non-dual true nature than it is unchanging. Within the mirage [waking experience] everything changes moment to moment. But when the wisdom dawns the waking experience does not exit at all, same way as the dream world does not exist in reality. Thus change is felt only on the base of false identity within the false experience

·         Q:-Whatever is independent of  form , space and time is real (true), and whatever has form  space and time in itself is real (true).

·    SK.  Mind means form time space together.  The form, time and space are within the universe. universe appears as   waking experience. The waking experience is unreal and  the formless witness of the waking experience which  is consciousness is real and eternal.

·      Q:-Just as one sees dreams in sleep, he sees a kind of super-dream when he is waking. The world is compared to this conscious dream.

·        SK:  The witness is formless whether it witnesses the waking or dream . The world and man are within the waking or dream. Thus man cannot be separated from the world. The author of the dream or waking is not man but the formless witness  ,which is consciousness. the consciousness is the innermost self. Thus to hold only the world alone as dream and man as the witness of the dream or waking is erroneous.

·   Q:The world is believed to be a superimposition of the Brahman. Superimposition cannot be real (true).

·     SK. The world is not superimposition on the consciousness  but the whole waking experience is superimposition on consciousness .Superimposition cannot be real . thus the waking experience is not real.

Q: On the other hand, Sri, Sankara claims that the world is not absolutely unreal (false). It appears unreal (false) only when compared to Brahman. In the pragmatic state, the world is completely real€”which occurs as long as we are under the influence of Maya. The world cannot be both true and false at the same time; hence Sri, Sankara has classified the world as indescribable. The following points suggest that according to Sri, Sankara, the world is not false

·         SK.The world is not unreal on the base of the false self within the false experience. The world and its perceiver are reality within the waking experience.  But the waking experience, in which the world and man are present, is unreal. until one becomes aware of the existence of the  formless witness of the three states it becomes difficult for one to realize the Advaitic truth expounded by great Sage, Sri Sankara.  

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I   Q: If the world were unreal (false), then with the liberation of the first human being, the world would have been annihilated. However, the world continues to exist even if a human attains liberation.

·         SK. Until man thinks he is born in this world and world  existed prior to him he will remain in this confusion.  One has to apply the same argument to the dream world.  The dream world also had the millions of year history and  dream entity was born in the dream world and as soon as the dream disappear the dream man and the dream world disappears. Where was the waking world and  the waking entity  when the dream was present? Thus one has to trace the witness of the whole dream to realize the witness is formless. And the same formless witness witnesses the waking also. It is not the man who has to be liberated because the man is part of the illusion.  It is to realize the true self is not man but the consciousness or Atman.  Only with the knowledge of Atman (F.W)the liberation from experiencing duality as reality will happen. 

·       Q;- Sri, Sankara believes in Karma, or good actions. This is a feature of this world. So the world cannot be unreal (false). 

SK:- Only for the mass he prescribes karma. He clearly mentions  that religion, scriptures and yoga god glorification and karma and good deeds are not the means to self realization. When the body is not the self but  self is formless and  is apart  form the  three states how can the karma done by the false entity, within the false experience can yield fruit.  

·     Q:--   The Supreme Reality Brahman is the basis of this world. The world is like its reflection. Hence the world cannot be totally unreal (false).

·     SK.  The basis means the substance of the world. All this confusion is created because they think world is unreal and man is real or world is permanent and man is impermanent.  Until they include man and the world together they will not be able to say anything is real or unreal. [This has been explained in the F.P blogs  to the core].

·        Q:- False is something which is ascribed to nonexistent things, like Sky-lotus. The world is a logical thing which is perceived by our senses. Consider the following logical argument. A pen is placed in front of a mirror. One can see its reflection. To one's eyes, the image of the pen is perceived. Now, what should the image be called? It cannot be true, because it is an image. The truth is the pen. It cannot be false, because it is seen by our eyes.

·        SK: The formless witness is the one which sees the world and man together ( waking or dream). Thus the logical argument on the physical base will not yield truth. The one which witnesses the waking or dream as a whole without the physical apparatus is the soul. Only people who are not aware of the Formless Witness bases their theories on the physical self or waking entity (false self).