Wednesday 2 October 2013

RESOLVING SUPER-IMPOSITION (ADHYASA)


TO BE A SUCCESSFUL SADHAKA OR YOGI, DEFECT
OF SUPER-IMPOSITION(ADHYASA) SHOULD BE 
RESOLVED.


SHRI BHAGAVATPADA SHANKARACHARYA.


Sri Ramana Maharshi

Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi: Superimposition

M.: Of what degree of unreality is [the world]? ...The answer is 
that it is a superimposition on the one  Reality, like the 
appearance of a snake on a coiled rope seen in dim light. But 
the wrong identity ceases as soon as a friend points out that it 
is a rope, whereas in the matter of the world, it persists even 
after it is known to be unreal. How is that? The appearance of 
water in a mirage persists even after the knowledge of 
the mirage is recognised. So it is with the world. Though
knowing it to be unreal, it continues to manifest....It is like a 
man satisfying his dream wants by dream creations. The 
realised sage finally declares that in the regenerate state the 
[waking] world is found to be as unreal as the dream world is 
found to be in the waking state. In fact, wakefulness and 
dream are equally unreal from the standpoint of the Absolute. 
—Talks §399

RAMANA MAHARSHI'S EXPLONATION OF ADHYAROPA 

Adhyaaropa (adhi: ‘above’, ‘over’ + aropa: ‘attribute’):
 superimposition, wrong attribution, erroneously transferring
 a statement of one thing to another ; 
adhyaasa: to sit over or above, to impute wrongly,
such as with a snake on a rope, water on a mirage; taking 
appearances for reality; seeing as exisiting what is not
there; (negative superimposition:) taking as not there what is 
there, such as in the missing necklace (see below).
Superimposition, Bhagavan tells us, is projection, the 
transformation of Brahman into the objects of the world or 
the remoulding of the light of the Self into the ego and 
I-am-the-body consciousness. Correct seeing (through 
atmavichara and finally, jnana) removes false attribution and 
allows the real to be seen as it really is. Once appearances 
are exposed, no special effort is required. Bhagavan blames 
superimposition for the prevalent mistaken notion that the 
Self is bound, and thus in need of being liberated, like the 
woman he describes in Talks, who needs to find her ‘lost’ 
necklace.When a friend points to the necklace round her 
neck, the woman shouts with joy at having ‘found it at last’.
But, Bhagavan says emphatically, “In fact she never lost the 
necklace nor recovered it, [for it was there all along]. And yet 
she was once miserable and is now happy. So also with the 
realisation of the Self. The Self is always realised. Realisation 
is now obscured but when the veil is removed, the person 
feels happy at rediscovering the ever-realised Self.” 
(Talks §490)

FAMOUS EXAMPLES OF SUPERIMPOSITION --
Error arises, according to the theory of Non-duality, on 
account of the superimposition of one reality on another. 
Seeing

• a snake where there is a rope,
• a piece of silver where there is nacre,
• a thief where there is the trunk of the tree,
• water where there are only heat-waves,
• a dream object.


Adhyasa Bhashya Of Sri Shankara
Reference: Sreenivasarao S / Sulecha.com

1. The magnificent prelude that Sankara wrote to his 
commentary on the Vedanta Sutras is celebrated as The 
Adhyasa Bashya. It is in fact not a Bhashya; it is not a 
commentary. It is an independent piece of writing, which 
served as a prologue to his main work.

2. The Adhyasa Bashya is remarkable in many ways.
It is not 
a lengthy work; it is less than fifty lines divided into five 
sections. It is a free flowing writing. Sankara lucidly puts forth 
his views. While doing so, he does not cite any traditional text 
or authority in support of his views. He does not denounce or 
attack any school of thought (vada). He is not propagating a 
new school of thought or a new argument. He assures that the
significance of the initial discussion will be realized in the main 
commentary, which seeks to restore the true interpretation
 of the. Vedanta tradition as contained in the Vedanta Sutra. 
Adhyasa Bashya is a rare gem in the field of philosophical 
texts.

3. Attaining ones aspirations and expectations by resort
to 
rituals had caught the imagination of the common people, 
though the Vedanta tradition advocated wisdom as the sole 
means for attaining ones goals in life. However, some 
thinkers diluted the rigorous position by combing Upanishad 
teachings with rituals to make it appealing to the common 
people. This they called ‘jnana_karma_samucchaya”-- 
a two- in- one of wisdom and ritual.

3.1. Sankar viewed this as a distortion of the Upanishad 

ideals. In order to play down the prominence given to rituals 
by the Mimamsakas, Sankara relied on the idea of avidya 
He bracketed the ritualistic approach with avidya and 
called it an “error”.

4. Avidya is a word that occurs in Upanishads, though not 

often. The word Vidya is used to denote effective 
discrimination and avidya is the absence of it. Sankara 
states wisdom (vidya) can eliminate ignorance (avidya); 
but the ignorance it eliminates is not real, because it has no 
existence of its own. Once the error is removed the 
Universe (Brahman) will reveal of its own accord.

4.1. Sankara explains, darkness and light are distinct from 

each other in their nature and in their functions. Darkness 
has no existence of its own; it is merely the absence of light.
Wheareas, the light is positive and helps vision. Darkness 
and light can neither coexist nor share their functions or 
nature. Darkness is an error that can be removed.

5.Sankara states in his prologue , the main purpose of the 

Upanishads is to provide the Knowledge(vidya) that will 
eliminate darkness , ignorance(avidya) , which is in the
nature of “reality transfer” (adhyasa). He thereafter goes 
on to explain the concept adhyasa.

5.1.Adhyasa, according to Sankara, is not an intellectual 

construct (kalpana_viseha) but a matter of experience 
(anubhava).Sankara says we do it all the time.Adhyasa 
consists in mistaking one thing and its attributes for another;
superimposing one level of reality over other. This we do 
every day. An individual experiences the world through his 
senses, mind and other ways of perception. His experience 
of the world may be tainted by the defect in his senses or 
other constraints, internal or external. Nevertheless, that 
person creates his own set of impressions and experiences 
and he accepts those subjective experiences as real.

5.2. A special feature of sankara’s thought is that he regards

 personal and intuitive experience (anubhava) as 
independent and convincing evidence. Sankara says that 
individual’s experience cannot be disputed, because the 
experience he went through was real to him; though that may 
not be real from the absolute point of view. Sankara 
makes a distinction between the absolute view and the 
relative view of things.


6. In short, what the person does is, he imposes his 
transactional experience (relative or dual) over the 
transcendental (absolute) and accepts the former as real. 
That subjective experience need not be proved or disproved .
However, the confusion it created can be removed by 
wisdom (vidya).According to Sankara the world we 
experience is not absolutely real but it is not false either. 
The real is that which cannot be negated and that which is 
beyond contradiction.

6.1. Sankara explains that vyavaharika (relative) and 

para_marthika (absolute) bothare real. However, the relative 
reality is “limited” in the sense it is biologically or mechanically 
determined and it is not beyond contradictions. The absolute 
on the other hand is infinite (everlasting and unitary (meaning 
utter lack of plurality)). Sankara is careful to point out that the 
two dimensions – Vyavaharika and Paramarthika- are two 
levels of experiential variations. It does not mean they are two 
orders of reality. They are only two perspectives. Whatever 
that is there is REAL and is not affected by our views

6.2. The Self in the vyavaharika context is saririka (embodied 

self); it encounters the world. However, the Self in reality is not 
saririka; it is absolute, asaririka and is infinite.The infinite 
Self, perceived as the limited self (jiva) is what Sankara calls 
as adhyasa.

7. The dichotomy between being an individual-in-the-world 

(jiva) and being originally a pure, transcendental 
consciousness (atman) is taken by Sankara as merely 
superficial.According to Sankara, it is due to avidya that 
the individual fails to see the nexus between Being and the 
world. That nexus indicates the oneness underlying the
subject-object, inner-outer, Man-Nature distinctions. All that 
is required is to remove the error and the universe will shine 
on its own accord.

8. The analogy given in the text is that of a pond that is clear 

and undisturbed .One can see the bottom of the pond through 
its still water. When, however, pebbles are thrown into the 
pond, the water in it is disturbed and the bottom of the pond 
becomes no longer visible. That bottom however is there all 
the time and it remains unchanged, no matter whether the 
surface water is disturbed or not. The water in the pond is the 
transactional world. The bottom of the pond is the 
transcendental reality. The disturbance created is avidya

[It is difficult to find an exact English word for adhyasa. It may, 

among other things, mean “superimposition”,” projection” etc.
 adhyasa is more comprehensive than that. Sankara, in my 
view, recognizes three levels of existence, the Absolute, the 
relative and the illusory. Adhyasa consists in superimposing 
one level of existence (relative/illusory) over the other (The 
Absolute) and accepting the former as true while it may 
actually be untrue.The absolute (atman) appearing as the 
limited (jiva) is what Sankara calls adhyasa.] 

9.Extending the concept of adhyasa, Sankara says, we 

superimpose the body, the sense organs and the mind on 
the Self(infinite) and we use expressions like: 'I am fat', 
'I am thin', 'I am white', 'I am black', 'I stand', 'I go', 'I am dumb', 
'I am deaf', 'I think', 'I am not going to fight', 'I shall renounce' 
and so on. In this way, we superimpose our mind on the 
Atman, which is the eternal witness. We do it the other way 
also by superimposing self on the mind, the non-Self. 
According to Sankara, the relation between mind and self 
involves mutual superimposition (itaretara-adhyasa). This
relation is false since there cannot be any real relation 
between the self and the non-self. This confusion or adhyasa 
is innate to us, and is a matter of common experience.

10. Sankara says, the purpose of Upanishads is to remove 

adhyasa or avidya; and once it is removed, Brahman will 
shine of its accord, for it is the only reality. This doctrine of 
Sankara became the nucleus for the development of the 
Advaita school of thought.

11. As regards the rituals, Sankara says, the person who 

performs rituals and aspires for rewards will view himself in 
terms of the caste into which he is born, his age, the stage 
of his life, his standing in society etc. In addition, he is 
required to perform rituals all through his life. However, the 
Self has none of those attributes or tags. Hence, the person 
who superimposes all those attributes on the changeless, 
eternal Self and identifies Self with the body is confusing one 
for the other; and is therefore an ignorant person. The 
scriptures dealing with rituals, rewards etc. are therefore 
addressed to an ignorant person.

11.1This ignorance (mistaking the body for Self) brings in its 

wake a desire for the well being of the body ,aversion for its 
disease or discomfort, fear of its destruction and thus a host 
of miseries(anartha).This anartha is caused by projecting 
karthvya("doer" sense) and bhokthavya(object) on the Atman. 
Sankara calls this adhyasa. The scriptures dealing with rituals,
rewards etc. are therefore, he says, addressed to an ignorant 
person.

11.2.In short, person who engages in rituals with the notion 

"I am an agent, doer, thinker”, according to Sankara, is 
ignorant, as his behavior implies a distinct, separate
doer/agent/knower ; and an object that is to be 
done/achieved/known. That duality is avidya, an error that 
can be removed by vidya.

11.3. Sankara elsewhere explains that, when such acts are 

performed by a person without desire for the fruits of his 
actions, by recognizing the reality that there is neither a 
"doer" nor an “object”, then that instills in him the desire for 
Brahma-vidya, which takes him closer to vidya.

12.Sri Sankara affirming his belief in one eternal unchanging 

reality (Brahman) and the illusion of plurality, drives home the 
point that Upanishads deal not with rituals but with the 
knowledge of the Absolute (Brahma vidya) and the Upanishads 
give us an insight into the essential nature of the Self which is 
identical with the Absolute, the Brahman.

DIRECT YOUR MIND TO CONCENTRATE ON ATHMAN

By continuous effort, repetition,meditation & Bhakti force your 
mind to remain on Athman. This leads to gradual improvement
of thoughtless stage & sadhak becomes desireless, vyragya
takes over.

ELIMINATING GUNA TRIAS(Three Cunas)

This has to be done in three stages --
1) Improve Sathvic & Rajasic gunas leading to elimination of 
      Thamas.
2) Improve Sathvic Guna & eliminate Rajasic Guna. This means
     vyvahara dristi( worldly activity) & involvement to be reduced
     drastically. 
3) When only good  thoughts, seeing GOD in everything & 
     everybody settles & mind sticks to Athman, Sathvic Guna 
    also gets eliminated.

FEAR OF SUSTAINING BODY NEED NOT BE THERE

Above transformations take place only when all Papa portion of
Prarabdha Karmas are exhausted & only punya portion remains.
This ensures that your body will be sustained, whether you 
carryout unattached actions or not, till the end of your life span. 
(Refer BIRTH-DEATH CYCLE POSTING), 
Eliminate ignorance of identifying Athma(Self) with Anathma
(non-Self).

KNOW THY OWN SELF AS THE SELF OF ALL 
Through Guru or scriptures, your own jnana associated with
analysis & ATHMA Jnana, know that your own Self is the Self 
of all & get rid of the ignorance of identifying the Self with the 
Non-Self..

GET RID OF IGNORANCE OF IDENTIFYING THE 
SELF WITH THE NON-SELF--

Always we should think,"I am not Jiva, I am the Supreme 
Athman , birthless,deathless & only through desire, I have 
received this body' by carefully analysing this, get rid of the 
ignorance of identifying the Self with the Non-Self.

Always meditate & one pointed concentration on Brahman
eliminate this illusion of identifying the Self with the Non-Self.

Veda Vakya 'TAT-TWAM ASI' which means 'THOU ART 
THAT' signifys oneness with the supreme Self. Remain as 
Athma by constant perseverance & Jnana, get rid of the 
ignorance of identifying the Self with the Non-Self. 

ONENESS OF ATHMAN & SUPREME BRAHMAN WHICH 
WE ARE, BODY.& WORLD ARE NON-SELF TO BE DISCARDED

So long as even a dream-like perception of the universe 
and souls(ie, plurality) persists do away with, your 
superimposition, wise one, without the any break.

Without giving the slightest chance to oblivion on account 
of sleep, concern in worldly matters or the sense-objects, 
one is likely to forget oneness of Athman, reflect on the Self 
in your mind, 

 This body which has sprung from the dirt of Father & Mother
& itself consists of filth, flesh etc, give up as one who keeps 
distance from an out cast, get established in Athman &
become Brahman.

 As the space in the pitcher is the same as that of outside,
so also ATHMAN in the body, think that is one with the
undivided Supreme Brahman & observe Mauna(silence)

Becoming thyself the self -effulgent Brahman, the 
substratum of all phenomena, — as that Reality, give tip 
both the macrocosm and the microcosm, like two filthy 
receptacles.

Transferring the identification now rooted in the body, to 
the Atman, the Existence-Knowledge-Bliss Absolute, and 
discarding the subtle body, be one, universal whole.. 


The Athman in which there is this reflection of the universe, 
as a city is reflected in a mirror, -- that Brahman am I ;
knowing this you wilt attain perfectness & liberation.
 
That which is real and thy own primeval Essence, that 
Knowledge, and Bliss Absolute, the One without a second, 
which is beyond form and activity --attaining That one 
should cease to identify oneself with one's false bodies, 
like an actor giving up his assumed role & dress. 

BY FOLLOWING THE ABOVE, LET US RESOLVE DEFECT
OF SUPER-IMPOSITION (ADHYASA) & ATTAIN FULFILLMENT
OF HUMAN LIFE !! 


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