Page 40 - Hinduism

or cosmic illusion and Jīva is Brahman reflected in avidyā or subjective illusion. Brahman is eternal and by its concealing and perplexing powers, it makes the Jīvas unable to realise their real nature and produces different kinds of illusions in them. Still as it is false, there is no question of difference between it and Brahman. As Brahman itself is consciousness, bliss and truth, there can be no qualities like consciousness, bliss and truth, apart from Brahman, and so there can be no difference between Brahman and its qualities. Saṁsāra is delusion of Jīvas by avidyā and the disappearance of avidyā at the rise of jñāna derived from the mahāvākyas of the Upaniṣads is mokṣa. The stock example for the delusion of Jīvas by ajñāna is the rope or the crack in the ground mistaken for a snake. The false snake-idea is attributed to the real rope (or crack) and the illusion is dispelled on realising the truth of the rope (or crack). A man who desires to attain mokṣa or release, must have four qualifications, namely viveka, vairāgya, possession of śama, dama etc., and sincere desire for release; that is to say, he should know that Brahman alone is real and the world is false, renounce everything, have self-control and have thirst for release. Jñāna is the only means to mokṣa and karma and bhaktl are only aids to jñāna. When once the jñāna emerges, he becomes a mukta even in this body and he is then called a jīvanmukta. This is the peculiarity of Advaita. The other schools do not
admit jīvanmukti and say that jīva attains mokṣa by 40