dwai Posted January 14, 2021 The first couple of questions answered by Swamiji address the topic. 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wilhelm Posted January 14, 2021 (edited) Gonna try to paraphrase, but I'm not familiar with the language so apologies if I get something wrong: The Sun is the Atman shining on the moon, and the moonlight is the mind which illuminates the earth. Illumination of objects through the mind is vritti-(something). This faculty can be turned towards the Atman, like how in an eclipse the sunlight is reflected off the moon towards the sun. The problem is that there is nothing to objecticise with Atman, so another faculty is needed - vritti-(something else). So the mind is needed to make the attempt to objecticise Atman, but because it's incapable of doing so it's ultimately not this aspect of the mind that realizes Atman. I think I missed something, but either way - really enjoyed the analogy. Edited January 14, 2021 by Wilhelm 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dwai Posted January 14, 2021 (edited) 1 hour ago, Wilhelm said: Gonna try to paraphrase, but I'm not familiar with the language so apologies if I get something wrong: The Sun is the Atman shining on the moon, and the moonlight is the mind which illuminates the earth. And the "earth" symbolizes the world of our experience. Quote Illumination of objects through the mind is vritti-(something). This faculty can be turned towards the Atman, like how in an eclipse the sunlight is reflected off the moon towards the sun. The appearance of objects in the mind is called "vritti-vyāpti". The illumination of a vritti-vyāpti by the reflected consciousness (ie the mind) is called "phala-vyāpti". Quote The problem is that there is nothing to objecticise with Atman, so another faculty is needed - vritti-(something else). So the mind is needed to make the attempt to objecticise Atman, but because it's incapable of doing so it's ultimately not this aspect of the mind that realizes Atman. I think I missed something, but either way - really enjoyed the analogy. To summarize, what he's saying is as follows -- In our mundane experience, the Vrittis (Modifications within the mind) are illuminated by the reflected light of consciousness -- the phala (fruit, literally) is the "knowing" of the object (which is a modification/vritti in the mind). In a similar manner, with the Self/Atman/Brahman, there must be a vritti-vyapti (via the process of acquiring the knowledge about Self/Atman/Brahman) in the mind. But there is really no "phala-vyāpti", as that which illuminates objects is what is being contemplated about. The "trick" is, that by turning the mind towards inquiry of the Self (aka Brahman or Atman), the external world of mundane experiences is discarded temporarily. When that happens, the Self (awareness) shines forth on its own -- hence the word used, "svaprakāsha" (Self-Effulgent/Self-Luminous/Self-revealed). This is the proverbial dropping of the veil, and results in the recognition of the "True Nature* as being none other than Awareness/Self. Edited January 14, 2021 by dwai 1 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
