________________
Introduction : 11 7 be Contents of Gaudapada-Karika XY their individualities, names and forms and experience happiness or misery. Akāśa is not changed or divided by Ghaţākāśa etc.; similarly the Paramätman undergoes no change on account of the Jīvas. Ghațākāśa is not a part or transformation of Akasa, so Jiva likewise is not a part or transformation of the Paramātman who has these Upadhis superimposed upon him by the ignorant. The Taittiriyopanişad clearly points out how Paramātman is the in most, unchangeable in the five sheaths of the lival; similarly in the Madhukanda we are told how the Atman is one like Akasa in the Adhyätma and Adhidaiva pairs. The oneness of Atman and Jiva is always acclaimed and their manifoldness decried by the Sruti. Sometimes the Sruti describes creation as something arising from the Paramatman (like sparks from fire, or jar from earth or a pair of scissors from iron ), but such passages must not be taken at their face value. In this world, there are different grades of intelligent people ; some are too dull-witted to understand the highest truth of Advaita all at once; it is for their sake that the Śruti, out of pity for them, speaks in a manner which can be understood by them. Passages speaking of duality are to be understood metaphorically only. Advaita is the highest reality which can be only one; those who believe in Dvaita have ample scope for their imagination to run riot, with the result that they put forth all sorts of theories (for, who can curb their imagination ?) and are always quarreling among themselves. Advaita looks on amusedly, pitying these Dvaitins ; it can possibly have no quarrel with them. There cannot be any dispute about imagined things. If then, there exists only the unoriginated Paramātman, the creation that is experienced can be explained only on the theory that it is due to Māyā and not real, A real creation is an impossibility. When a thing is produced, that means it was unproduced before, that is, its nature was to be unproduced'. Now norbing can ever change its nature. An unproduced thing must ever remain unproduced There are some Śruti passages that speak of creation fromभूत , others from अभूत We shall have to decide the question as to which passages are authoritative by strict logical reasoning, and should not
