|
By Todd F. Reinhard
"Ontology", a familiar word in philosophy circles, refers
to the study of existence.
Indeed, Ontology, along with its kindred
disciplines, Epistemology and Axiology-the study of knowledge and the
study of ethics, respectively-comprise the very fabric of Philosophy.
Ontology, the topic of the current discussion, is that discipline that
demands an answer to the questions "What does it mean for something
to Exist…for something to Be?" The philosophically indifferent
responds with a question of his own: "Why should I bother with such
a ridiculous question? Existence is self-evident." In turn, the
Advaitin Vedantin replies resoundingly, "Well, yes…and no…."
The Indian philosophy of Advaita Vedanta is that branch of Vedanta
that posits "non-duality" as the basis of reality and was
popularized and expounded by Shamkara (ca. 788-820). (To be sure, there
have been many Advaitists since Shamkara who have made significant
contributions and amendments to Advaita Vedanta, and Shamkara himself
was not the first to suggest the notion of "non-duality";
however, his teachings are usually regarded as the most clear and
thorough.) Hence, the present essay is centered on Shamkara's teachings.
So, introduction aside, let us return to the question of interest
"What does it mean for something to exist?" Another way of
phrasing the question-perhaps a more riveting way-is "What is Real?
What is True?" In order to do full justice to these questions, the
Advaitist considers three "Levels of Being" **, namely, 1)
Reality (Paramarthika), 2) Appearance, and 3) Unreality. To distinguish
the three levels, it is necessary to understand the notion of "badha",
which is usually translated as "contradiction",
"cancellation", or "sublation". In short, "badha",
or "sublation", refers to a radical change in the value one
mentally assigns to a content of consciousness because a new experience
has contradicted her previously held beliefs about that content. It is a
psychological process whereby one rectifies erroneous judgments in light
of new experience and attaches belief to that new experience. Although
the change in belief is radical, it must be emphasized that intellectual
and ethical reasons accompany the rejection-replacement action.
According to Shamkara, this process of sublation serves as a criterion
for distinguishing between the various levels and sublevels of being. In
effect, the more something can be sublated or contradicted, the less
"reality" or "being" it possesses. Likewise, the
more "reality" something possesses, the less it is susceptible
to contradiction or sublation.
So, what is Ultimately Real for the Advaitist? The answer is that
only that experience is Ultimately Real, which can never be contradicted
by other experience, and that experience is none other than Brahman-the
experience of complete transcendental identity. Brahman is an experience
that is utterly indescribable and boundless, for it exists beyond the
limitations of mind, word, and concept. Nevertheless, many make efforts
(no matter how futile they may be) to describe Brahman and refer to It
with such expressions as "Sat-Chit-Ananda", meaning roughly
"Infinite Existence, Infinite Knowledge, Infinite Bliss", or
they say things to the effect that "All is One". Still others
describe Brahman via negativa as "neti neti", "not this,
not this". THIS is Brahman, and THIS ALONE is REAL for the
Advaitist. Shamkara refers to this Ultimate Reality as "Paramarthika".
The second Level of Being is called "Appearance", which can
be usefully broken
down into three sublevels, namely, 1) the "Real
Existent", 2) the "Existent", and 3) the "Illusory
Existent". The "Real Existent" and the
"Existent" are broken down still further among
"existential relations", among "particular objects",
and among "concepts". "Existential relations" within
the domain of the Real Existent refer to those relationships that
involve love and theistic religious experiences. These experiences are
infused with feelings of high devotion and selflessness. Nevertheless,
since they involve consciousness of separation, they can be sublated by
the overarching Reality of Brahman. "Particular objects" as a
sublevel of the "Real Existent" refers to those objects which
participate in Reality yet retain an individuality of their own. Works
of art, music, poetry and other creative expressions find themselves in
this category. These contents of consciousness can only be subordinated
by Ultimate Reality. "Concepts" that occupy the "Real
Existent" refer to logical relationships, such as the law of
contradiction, that are necessary in organizing propositional truths and
statements of fact. Such concepts can only be sublated by the Ultimate
Reality, which transcends the very mind that relies upon these concepts.
We now come to the sublevel of Being that constitutes our
"normal, day-to-day experience". This level was termed by
Shankara as "Vyavaharika" and refers to all experiences that
can be sublated by "Reality" (Paramarthika) as well as by
their own counterparts that exist within the "Real Existent".
(For example, among "existential relations", love and
religious theistic devotion are "more real" than conventional
relations that exist at the level of the "Existent".) Among
"existential relations" relegated to the domain of the
"Existent" (Vyavaharika) we have those relationships that are
strictly formal or conventional-lacking in significant feeling of unity
or devotion. Within these relationships, we identify ourselves with our
body and mind, completely distinct from others. Among "particular
objects", likewise, we perceive them as multiple, differentiated,
and separate. We do not experience their participation in reality; they
are mere objects of perception. "Concepts", within the
"Existent" realm refers to those logical relations that
function only in restricted systems, such as mathematics, logic,
geometry, etc. Unlike the concepts that belong to the realm of the
"Real Existent", such as the law of contradiction, there is no
universal necessity attached; the "Existent" concepts function
solely as analytic statements.
The final category that falls under the main heading of
"Appearance" we will label the "Illusory Existent",
which Shamkara called "Pratibhasika". This is the set of
experience that contains dreams, hallucinations, fancies, and the like.
These experiences in themselves lack empirical truth, but nevertheless
point to an empirical reality. For example, one may dream of a snake.
Later, she awakens and discovers that there is no empirically real
snake. Yet that snake did exist within the context of the dream, and it
pointed to something that does have an objective reality in the
empirical world-somewhere. The content of the dream or hallucination, by
and large, is dependent upon the content of empirical reality. In short,
"Reality", the "Real Existent", and the
"Existent" can sublate all experience that falls under the
heading of the "Illusory Existent".
The third and final Level of Being is labeled "Unreality".
"Unreality" is that which cannot manifest as a datum of
experience simply because it is a blatant contradiction-a logical
impossibility. For example, a "square circle" or a "dark
light" cannot possibly exist. The "Unreal" points to
nothing and is incapable of emerging into concrete existence. In brief,
"Unreality" is "non-being" and therefore,
"non-existent"--It neither can nor cannot be sublated.
One thing we notice about these three Levels of Being is that it is
impossible to establish causal relations among them; in fact, it is this
complete lack of causal relationship that defines them as distinct
"levels" in the first place. However, the curious fact remains
that, from the level of Ultimate Reality, (Paramarthika), there can be
no distinct levels at all, for "levels", as finite concepts,
exist only in the mind! Hence, we necessarily arrive at the conclusion
that Advaitist philosophy itself exists only in the realm of
"Appearance", which is always tainted by Maya, a product of
ignorance (avidya) and superimposition (adhyasa). (Maya is a rich topic,
which is outside the scope of the current discussion. For now, it
suffices to understand Maya as a metaphysical power of Brahman that
brings about the world of multiplicity (that is, the Level of
Appearance"). Like Brahman, it is beginningless (anadi),
unthinkable (acintya), and indescribable (anirvacaniya).
Epistemologically, it is the power that veils and perverts Reality.)
A final ontological note worth mentioning is that Shamkara, unlike
several of his successors in later Vedanta, did not believe in
"subjective idealism"-the doctrine that the contents of
empirical consciousness can be fully accounted for in terms of
consciousness activity. In other words, "subjective idealism"
is the belief that the objects of experience can be reduced in toto to
the perceptive subject. Hence, Shamkara is a kind of "soft
realist". He stated emphatically, "An object is perceived by
an act of the subject. The object is one thing, and the subject
another." (Those who are familiar with the Buddhist school of
Vijnanavada and Prakasanda's doctrine of "Emergence is
Perception", which is espoused throughout Valmiki's Yoga Vasistha,
should note that these "subjective idealist" systems of
thought are incompatible with Shamkara's "realism".)
In closing, it should be underlined that, contrary to what many
believe, Advaita Vedanta does not deny the existence of the world. For
the Advaitist, the world does exist, for it is a content of experience,
and as such, it must exist. The world is neither Real nor Unreal-it is
Apparent. Only from the standpoint of the transcendental Absolute can
one justifiably refer to the world as "illusion". Before that
level has been experienced, however, it is foolhardy to deny the
existence of the world…and once that level is reached, all
philosophical, empirical, relative, conceptual systems will be
transcended.
Suggested Further Reading
Footnotes
* For a more thorough discussion on the Levels of Being, please consult
Advaita Vedanta, A Philosophical Reconstruction, written by Eliot
Deutsch, from which most of the above information was obtained.
** A "Conceptual Spool" for the above discussion:
I Levels of Being
- Reality (Paramarthika)- transcendental experience of pure spiritual
unity; it cannot be contradicted
II Appearance
- "Real Existent"
- among "existential relations"-love, theistic religious
experience
- among "particular objects"-works of art, music, poetry;
they participate in reality
- among "concepts"-necessary, indispensable; e.g. law of
contradiction
- "Existent" (Vyavaharika)
- among "existential relations"-conventional, formal
relationships
- among "particular objects"-any object that is perceived as
an independent entity; no participation in reality
- among "concepts"-logical relations employed in a formal
logistic system
- "Illusory Existent" (Pratibhasika)-dreams,
hallucinations, fancies
III Unreality-self-contradictory in nature; e.g. a "square
circle"; it cannot appear as a datum of experience
|
