Aparokshanubhuti-20

Verse No 46

1. Illusoriness of Distinctions:
2. The apparent differences between subject and object, pervader and pervaded, are not ultimately real — they are superimpositions upon Brahman, like the apparent separation between the space inside and outside a pot.
3. World as Brahman:
4. Since these distinctions are imagined, the entire world (prapañca) is nothing but Brahman — non-dual and indivisible.
5. Role of Scripture (Śruti):
6. The ultimate authority of Vedānta lies in śruti — which commands (like Īśvara) and reveals the non-dual identity of all things with Ātman/Brahman.
7. Cognitive Liberation:
8. Once this truth is known, there is nothing else left to be known — as everything is known through knowing the Self (Atman = Brahman).
9. Advaita's Epistemic Revolution:
10. Instead of relying on empirical distinctions, Advaita teaches a radical shift: The many are not real. The One alone is real.

Verse No 47

1. Perception is not Final Authority:
2. While direct perception appears compelling, it is not absolute. It is corrected by śruti, the revealed truth.
3. Śruti Declares Non-Duality:
4. The foundational Upaniṣadic teaching is ekam eva advitīyam — Brahman is one without a second. Hence, plurality is falsified.
5. No Real Second Entity:
6. Brahman is both cause and effect, yet the effect (world) is not truly distinct from its cause — just as a pot is not truly distinct from clay.
7. Superimposition (Adhyāsa) Explains Illusion:
8. All distinctions (inside-outside, subject-object) are pratibhāsika — they appear due to ignorance, not because they are real.
9. Only Brahman is Real (Satya), World is Mithyā:
10. Since the world cannot exist apart from Brahman, it is not absolutely real. It is mithyā — dependent, ephemeral, and ultimately unreal in itself.

Verse No 48

1. Bhēda-dṛṣṭi (Seeing Difference) Is a Fundamental Error:
2. The perception of multiplicity is not harmless; it is the root of bondage — perpetuating saṁsāra.
3. Śruti Declares Duality as Dangerous:
4. The Upaniṣads repeatedly warn that one who sees plurality "goes from death to death" — i.e., continues in ignorance and rebirth.
5. The World (Kārya) Is Non-Different from Brahman (Kāraṇa):
6. The so-called "world" is just a vivarta (apparent transformation) of Brahman. It is not a separate reality.
7. Mithyā and Adhyāsa Are the Key Concepts:
8. All perceived duality is mithyā — neither absolutely real nor absolutely unreal — but dependent on Brahman, and falsely superimposed upon it.
9. Liberation Comes from Knowing Non-Duality:
10. Only when one sees no second thing — no bhēda — does one attain mokṣa. Non-duality alone is freedom.

Verse No 49

1. Brahman as the Sole Cause (Abhinna Upādāna Kāraṇa)
2. Brahman is not merely the efficient cause, but also the material cause — the universe is non-different from Brahman, just as a pot is non-different from clay.
3. Creation, Sustenance, and Dissolution are Apparent (Vivarta)
4. These are appearances in Brahman, not real transformations. Brahman remains unchanged, while the names and forms (nāma-rūpa) appear and disappear.
5. Satyam: Brahman; Mithyā: Universe
6. Though the world appears, it is not ultimately real. What truly is, is pure Being — sat-mātra, which is Brahman.
7. Right Knowledge (Jnana) is Liberation (Mokṣa)
8. The prescribed action here is not karma, but viveka and niścaya — discriminative understanding and firm realization that “All this is Brahman”.