D.: What are the three voids (Muppazh) (முப்பாழ்) in Tamil?
is the substratum of the waking, dream and sleep states.
D.: The first two are all right; what is the third?
D.: It is so strange!
M.: Is that all? There is no limit to polemics. Listen. They say the mahavākya Tattvamasi is common; another containing five words Tat tvam asi ati nijam is the most secret one taught by Dakshinamurti in Silence; corresponding to the five words they formulate five states. Again look at “Vichāra Sāgara”; the author distinguishes ādhāra from adhiśthana. According to him the rope is always ādhāra both when it looks like a snake and otherwise. The rope is adhiśthana because it looks different from what it really is; this is common (sāmānya adhiśthana). Again its appearance as the snake itself is visesha adhiśthana. Then the question is raised: the adhiśthana of Jiva is one; that of Iswara is another; how can these two adhiśthanas become one? He replies, there are the same adhārā for both the adhiśthanas.
Furthermore he mentions several khyātis;
(1) asat-khyāti: rope being present, there appears the snake which is not present there.
(2) sat-khyāti: rope itself looking like snake:
(3) ātma-khyāti: rope remaining unidentified, the remembrance of snake, formerly seen elsewhere, creates the illusion.
(4) akhyāti: totally unreal.
(5) anyathā-khyāti: mental image of snake projected and seen as if it were in front of oneself.
(6) anirvachaniya-khyāti: inexplicable.
Here he raises the question: Should the world be any one of these, whether illusory or unreal, it must be the result of previous experience. It must have been real at that time; real once, must be real always.
He answers it: the experience need not necessarily be real; not having seen a real snake, but only seeing a picture of it and gaining an impression, one can mistake a rope to be a snake. Thus the world need not be real. Why waste time in such polemics? Only turn your mind inward and spend the time usefully.
In the union of the individual with the Supreme, the Supreme is hearsay and the individual directly experienced. You can make use only of direct experience; therefore look who you are.
Why is Isvara mentioned then?
Because you see the world and want to know how it came into being. They say that it was created by God. If you know that He created you and all else, your mind is a little satisfied and becomes less restless than otherwise. But it is not realisation. It can be only if you realise yourself; this is Perfection or Realisation, etc.
To resume polemics—the author of “Vritti Prabhakara” claims to have studied 350,000 books before writing this book. What is the use? Can they bring in Realisation of the Self? “Vichāra Sāgara” is full of logic and technical terms. Can these ponderous volumes serve any real purpose? However, some people read them and then seek sages only to see if they can meet their questions. To read them, to discover new doubts and to solve them, is a source of pleasure to them. Knowing it to be sheer waste, the sages do not encourage such people. Encourage them once and there will be no end.
Only the Enquiry into the Self can be of use.
Those familiar with logic, “Vritti Prabhākara”, “Vichāra Sāgara” or “Sutra Bhāshya,” or similar large works, cannot relish small works like “Truth Revealed” dealing only with the Self and that pointedly too, because they have accumulated . Only those whose minds are less muddy, or are pure, can relish small and purposeful works.