Chapter 3.3 - Non-origination (Ajati)

Non-origination or Ajati is another major concept in Gaudapada’s philosophy. T.M.P. Mahadevan says

“the non-originated nature of the self which is not the cause of origination, for there is nothing else besides it”.

Thus the Atma-tattva is aja (unborn) and advaya (non-dual).^[1] What is born is born as something else which is an endless process of seeking causes.

Quoting Shankara he says,

“what is real, birth through maya alone is intelligible, and not in reality”.^[2]

We have to assume that real must be the only substance. All others are transformation or parinama. The original being into the world as an effect.

The world appears as nonexistent. It will not be true. It is an

“illusory nature of the unborn. It is explained in the karika as an analogy of the dream and reality. It is mind that moves through maya”.^[3]

It also explains,

“creates the illusion of a world involving the distinctions of seer and seen, cause and effect etc. the pluralistic universe which is thus made to appear through maya is nondual. The absolute reality is the Atma-tattva which is unborn and nondual”.^[4]

Shankara as representative of the quintessence of Advaita philosophy, Gaudapadiya-karika remains the only major example of a Pre-Shankarite formulation of Advaita.^[5] For Advaita Vedanta, the primary cause of bondage is samsara, the worldly living. Due to ignorance or avidya one is inclined to the world of materiality. In order to free from the samsara one should come out of the earthy elements due to desire and sense pleasures where gets attachment to cause and effect, so long it arises. When the attachment to cause and effect ceases there is no arising of cause and effect. As long as attachment remains so long as samsara too continues. And when attachment ceases the man is freed. Because of avidya to the samsara one gets into samsara. Attachment to the self-generated motivations the individualized self is tended to worldly things. He is not aware of the universality of the other self. That is Brahman. Vedanta affirms the self and the higher self. The identity with the other self must be realized by the knowledge of the self. The tendency of objectify concepting ‘vikalpa’ creates illusion of this world of experience. He is caught in the prapanca, the manifold world. This manifold world made up of boundaries and distinctions are caused by personal attachment. Freedom from this illusory world is the aim of human life and sacrifice or Karma in the world of plurality as a means thereof. Attachment to an individualized self (jivatman) is an error. The aspirant must realize the self or jivatman is bounded in the material world.

Gaudapadiya-karika explicates that there is no explanation of creation. This leads one to the diction that the doctrine of non-origination or Ajativada is true.^[6] Self imagines itself by its maya.

Shankara’s commentary goes,

“the self luminous self by its own maya imagined in itself different forms. Just as a rope is cognized as a snake in the dim light. In the same manner self has illusion because of wrong perception. There is nothing else as the support of knowledge and memory (than the self). He imagines the jiva (individual self) and then he imagines various objects external and internal. As is a man’s knowledge, so is his memory. In explaining this karika, he imagines the jiva of the nature of cause and effect possessed of such ideas as ‘I do this’, ‘I have happiness and misery’, this is like a snake imagined on a rope. Then for its ‘jivas’ sake he ‘imagines’ various objects, external and internal, such as prana and the rest, in different forms as action, its factors and result. From the knowledge of the imagination that serves as the cause, results the knowledge of the effect results again the memory and again follows the knowledge and result. In this continuity he imagines various objects, internal and external, which actually become the cause and effect.

It is said,

“the self is imagined and infinite objects like prana etc. This is the maya of the luminous one by which itself is deluded. This luminous self illumines as maya. This is like a magician’s play. He takes trees, flowers, leaves and other materials from the sky. So it is to be understood that this delusion of the world is a game or play of the illusory nature of the self or Atman or Brahman.”^[7]

Gita says:

“this maya of mine is hard to overcome”.^[8]

Verily, this divine illusion of mine, constituted of the gunas, is difficult to cross over. Those who devote themselves to me alone, cross over this illusion.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

T.M.P. Mahadevan, Op.cit. p. 131

[2]:

Ibid. p. 131

[3]:

Ibid. p. 132

[4]:

Ibid. p. 132

[5]:

Richard King, ‘Early Advaita Vedanta and Buddhism’, Satguru Publications, Delhi, 1997, p. 3.

[6]:

‘Kalpayatyatmanatmanatma devah svamayaya sa eva bhutyate bhedaniti vedantanishayah’ Gaudapadiya-karika II: 12

[7]:

‘Pranadhibhirananthaishah bhavairethairvikalpithah mayaisha thasya devasya yaya samohithah svayam’ Gaudapadiya-karika II. 19

[8]:

‘Daivi hy esha guna-mayi mama maya duratyaya mam eva ye prapadyante mayam etam taranti te’, Bhagavad Gita 7: 14.