Relationships between entities

Shivajnana Munivar in Mapadiyam vide sixth sutra (page 368) explains elaborately various types of relationships between entities. He has grouped them into five categories:—

1 Aikya

One entity in two units or segments—with single or more attributes—merging or becoming a single unit is said to have attained Aikya like river water flowing and merging with sea water. Another example is the space in a pot merging with outer space when the pot is broken. Hence Munivar says thatsince God and individual self are basically different entities. the word advaita does not denote Aikya .

2 Tadatmiya

A single entity exhibiting as though there are two different entities just like Guni and Gunais said to exhibit tadatmiya relation between the two.The rose and its fragrance as well as milk and its taste are examples. Here it may be noted that God and individual self are Gunis and they are not in tadatmiya relation since either of the two is not an attribute of the other whereas Shiva and Shakti have tadatmiya relation .

3 Samavaya

This is similar to Tadatmiya but it comprises an entity and its performance just like the doer and his deeds. Poojais an example consisting of performances of meditation and homa . Hence samavaya does not convey the advaitic relation between God and individual self.

4 Saiyoga

This is a relation similar to the conjunction between two fingers in a hand. So the advaitic relation between God and individual self being vyapaka and vyapya (the depended and the dependant)—just like ocean and water—is different from saiyoga .

5 Svarupa

This is a relation of resemblance between two entities. Hence this is also not conveyed by the word advaita .

6 Anirvacaniya

The negation of being and of non-being–the notion of ‘neither real nor unreal’—and conveying that the relation is indeterminable is not accepted in Shaiva Siddhanta. Shivajnana Munivar concludes that none of the above relationships conveys the meaning of the word advaita .

Chandogya Upanishad says ‘Ekamevadvitiya [ekamevadvitiyam ]’. The original form of this word is nadvitiya [nadvitiyam] wherein the prefix ‘na’ implies a negative meaning of the original word dvitiyam which is found in Yajur Veda . ‘A’ also implies a negative meaning of the word like that of shuddha and Ashuddha . Hence Chandogya Upanishad simply quotes ‘advitiya [advitiyam]’ which has come to stay as ‘advaitiya [advaitiyam]’ as well as ‘advaita [advaitam]’. In the mahavakyas , especially in the text ‘Ekamevadvitiya [ekamevadvitiyam]’,if both eka [ekam] and advitiya [advitiyam]mean one, then there is redundancy. ‘Dvi ’ means two and ‘dvita ’ means two-fold state. Dvaita [dvaitam] means affirming the two-fold state. Interpretations of the mahavakyas by three principal acharyas in the light of the above usages are detailed below:—