Bhrama (Hinduism)

Last updated

Bhrama (Sanskrit: भ्रम), in the context of Hindu thought, means – error, mistake, illusion, confusion, perplexity. [1] But, it literally means – that which is not steady; and refers to error etc., caused by defects in the perceptive system. The seeing of snake in a rope in darkness, silver nacre in moonlight, water in a mirage on a hot day and a person in a stump of tree are four classic instances quoted in Vedantic texts. [2] Bhrama is a mistake, it is a confusion about one object which exists for another object which does not exist, it merely refers to the fallibility of human perception. [3]

Human nature is ordinarily afflicted by - भ्रमप्रमादविप्रलिप्साकरणापाटवदोषाः – i.e. bhrama (false knowledge or mistakes), pramāda (inattention or misunderstanding reality), vipralipsā (cheating propensity) and karaṇa-a-pāṭava (imperfection of the senses) are four major mind-faults which mislead human beings and do not permit right perception and cognition. [4] Amongst these, the knowledge which is of the nature of bhrama is the direct thought-wave of avidya . And, the texts speak about there being five theories of illusion or erroneous perception – Ātmakhyāti (Yogacara theory of subjective apprehension), Asatkhyāti (Madhyamaka theory of the nonexistent), Akhyāti (Prabhākara’s theory of non-apprehension), Anyathākhyati (Nyaya theory of misapprehension) and Anirvacanīyakhyāti (Advaita Vedanta theory of apprehension of the indeterminate), developed by five schools of thought. [5] [6]

The Vedantic texts reveal the Self as Pure Consciousness; they reveal the Self as the ever blissful witness who is neither the enjoyer nor the enjoyment or the object of enjoyment. The enjoyer is Chidabhasa or Jiva, the sheath of the intellect, a product or manifestation of Maya, not transcendentally real and subject to change. Vidyaranya in his Panchadasi (VII.9-10) explains:-

अधिष्ठानांशसंयुक्तं भ्रमाशमवलम्बते |
यदा तदाऽहं संसारीत्येवं जीवोऽभिमन्यते ||
"When Jiva, having the immutable Kutastha as his basis, wrongly identifies himself with the gross and subtle bodies, he comes to think of himself as bound by the pleasures and pains of this world."
भ्रमांश्स्य तिरस्कारदधिष्ठानप्रधानता |
यदा तदा चिदात्माहामसङ्गोऽस्मीति बुद्धयते ||
"When Jiva gives up his attachment to his illusory portion, the nature of the substratum becomes predominant and he realizes that he is associationless and of the nature of pure consciousness."

Swami Swahananda in his commentary tells us that Kutastha, conventionally identified with ego, is not the object of identification for it is incapable of being associated with ego. [7]

According to Shankara, atma-anatma adhyasa, the so-called locus of superimposition, is a mispresentation or proksha-aproksha bhrama. Panchapadika pf Padmapada interprets purovasthitava (the object in front) as contact with the visual sense, whereas Ratnaprabha of Niścalakara relates it with sense-contact; the former explains that a non-object can become an apparent object and the latter explains that Shankara in no way considers the said locus to be complete and conclusive. [8]

Saguna (with attributes) worship leads to a typical illusion in as much as the devotee mistakes physical or mental images for the formless God; it is of the nature of the Samvadi-bhrama that finally leads to the realization of Nirguna Brahman, the endless pursuit after sense-objects is the Visamvadi-bhrama. [9] But, the cumulative subtle awareness of bhrama need not necessarily result in the awareness of Maya because owing to the latter either one wakes up from a dream or goes on dreaming forever. [10]

Svarūpa-bhrama (illusion about spirituality) is one of the four major anarthas (useless, meaningless, disastrous, wrongdoings) and is said to be of four kinds – sva-tattva which is illusion about one’s own spiritual identity, para-tattva which is illusion about the spiritual identity of the supreme absolute truth, sādhya-sādhana-tattva which is illusion about the spiritual means and the object gained, and māyā-tattva which is illusion about the Lord’s external energy. These anarthas are required to be uprooted in order to develop niśṭa (devotion). [11] But, bhrama is not an āropa (imposing of, imputation, figurative substitution) which is an āhārya (wilfully caused in spite of falsity) cognition. [12]

The Yoga School of thought adopts the Anyathākhyati theory of misapprehension of the Nyayas for dealing with bhrama, which theory is based on the premise that bhrama is thinking of something as that which it is not, like attributing the characteristics of Prakrti to Purusha and vice versa. [13]

In Ayurveda, bhrama refers to Vertigo, a discreet disease due to Vata prakopa and Pitta prakopa which shows six distinct stages, and is curable. [14]

Related Research Articles

Maya, literally "illusion" or "magic", has multiple meanings in Indian philosophies depending on the context. In later Vedic texts, māyā connotes a "magic show, an illusion where things appear to be present but are not what they seem"; the principle which shows "attributeless Absolute" as having "attributes". Māyā also connotes that which "is constantly changing and thus is spiritually unreal", and therefore "conceals the true character of spiritual reality".

Vedanta, also known as Uttara Mīmāṃsā, is a Hindu philosophical tradition that is considered one of the six orthodox (āstika) schools of Hindu philosophy. The word "Vedanta" means "end of the Vedas", and encompasses the ideas and philosophies present in the Upanishads, with a focus on knowledge and liberation. Vedanta developed into many sub-traditions, all of which base their ideas on the authority of a common group of texts called the Prasthānatrayī, translated as "the three sources": the Upanishads, the Brahma Sutras and the Bhagavad Gita.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Advaita Vedanta</span> School of Hindu philosophy; a classic path to spiritual realization

Advaita Vedanta is a Hindu sādhanā, a path of spiritual discipline and experience, and the oldest extant tradition of the orthodox Hindu school Vedānta. The term Advaita refers to the idea that Brahman alone is ultimately real, while the transient phenomenal world is an illusory appearance (maya) of Brahman. In this view, the experiencing self and the Absolute Reality (Brahman) are non-different; the individual self is a mere reflection or limitation of the Absolute.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hindu philosophy</span> Various systems of thought in Hinduism

Hindu philosophy encompasses the philosophies, world views and teachings of Hinduism that emerged in Ancient India which include six systems (shad-darśana) – Samkhya, Yoga, Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Mimamsa and Vedanta. In Indian tradition, the word used for philosophy is Darshana, from the Sanskrit root drish.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dvaita Vedanta</span> School of thought in Hinduism

Dvaita Vedanta ;, is a sub-school in the Vedanta tradition of Hindu philosophy. The term Tattvavada literally means "arguments from a realist viewpoint". The Tattvavada (Dvaita) Vedanta sub-school was founded by the 13th-century Indian philosopher-saint Madhvacharya. Madhvacharya believed in three entities: God, jiva (soul), and jada. The Dvaita Vedanta school believes that God and the individual souls (jīvātman) exist as independent realities, and these are distinct, being said that Vishnu (Narayana) is independent (svatantra), and souls are dependent (paratantra) on him.

The Brahma Sūtras are a Sanskrit text, attributed to the sages Bādarāyaṇa and Vyāsa, estimated to have been completed in its surviving form in approx. 400–450 CE, while the original version might be ancient and composed between 600 BCE and 200 BCE. The text systematizes and summarizes the philosophical and spiritual ideas in the Upanishads. The scholar Adi Shankara's interpretation of the Brahmasutra attempted to synthesize diverse and sometimes apparently conflicting teachings of the Upanishads by arguing, as John Koller states: "that Brahman and Atman are, in some respects, different, but, at the deepest level, non-different (advaita), being identical." This view of Vedanta, however, was not universal in Indic thought, and other commentators later held differing views. It is one of the foundational texts of the Vedānta school of Hindu philosophy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gaudapada</span> Medieval era Hindu philosopher and scholar

Gauḍapāda, also referred as Gauḍapādācārya, was an early medieval era Hindu philosopher and scholar of the Advaita Vedanta school of Hindu philosophy. While details of his biography are uncertain, his ideas inspired others such as Adi Shankara who called him a Paramaguru.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vāchaspati Misra</span> Indian philosopher

Vachaspati Mishra was a ninth or tenth century Indian Hindu philosopher of the Advaita Vedanta tradition, who wrote bhashya (commentaries) on key texts of almost every 9th-century school of Hindu philosophy. He also wrote an independent treatise on grammar, Tattvabindu, or Drop of Truth, which focuses on Mīmāṃsā theories of sentence meaning.

Panchadasi or Panchadashi is a simple yet comprehensive manual of Advaita Vedanta written in the fourteenth century CE (1386-1391) by Vidyaranya, previously known as Madhavacharya.

Avyakta, meaning "not manifest", "unmanifest" etc., is the word ordinarily used to denote Prakrti on account of subtleness of its nature and is also used to denote Brahman, which is the subtlest of all and who by virtue of that subtlety is the ultimate support (asraya) of Prakrti. Avyakta as a category along with Mahat and Purusa plays an important role in the later Samkhya philosophy even though the Bhagavad Gita III.42 retaining the psychological categories altogether drops out the Mahat and the Avyakta (Unmanifest), the two objective categories.

Vivartavada is an Advaita Vedanta theory of causation, postulated by post-Shankara Advaita advaitins, regarding the universe as an "illusory transformation" of Brahman.

Mithyātva means "false belief", and an important concept in Jainism and Hinduism. Mithyātva, states Jayatirtha, cannot be easily defined as 'indefinable', 'non-existent', 'something other than real', 'which cannot be proved, produced by avidya or as its effect', or as 'the nature of being perceived in the same locus along with its own absolute non-existence'.

Pariṇāmavāda, known in English as Transformation theory, is a Hindu philosophical theory which pre-supposes the cause to be continually transforming itself into its effects, and it has three variations – the Satkarya-vada of the Samkhyas, the Prakrti Parinama-vada of the Saiva Siddhanta and the Brahma-Parinama-vada of the Vishishtadvaita Vedanta School of Thought.

In Advaita Vedanta and Jnana Yoga Nididhyasana is profound and repeated meditation on the mahavakyas, great Upanishadic statements such as "That art Thou", to realize the identity of Atman and Brahman. It is the fourth step in the training of a sisya (disciple), consisting of preparatory practices, listening to the teachings as contained in the sruti, reflection on the teachings, and nididhyasana.

Jivatva means – the state of life or the state of the individual soul. Jivatva is the state of life of the Jiva, the living entity, which is a particular manifestation of Atman, the embodied being limited to psycho-physical states, and the source of avidya that suffers (repeated) transmigration as result of its actions. Until ignorance ceases the Jiva remains caught in experience of the results of actions bringing merit and demerit, and in the state of individuality (jivatva), and so long as the connection with the intellect as conditioning adjunct lasts, so long the individuality and transmigration of soul lasts.

Pratibimbavada or the theory of reflection, whose origin can be traced to the Brahma Sutra II.iii.50, is credited to Padmapada, the founder of the Vivarna School of Advaita Vedanta and the author of Pancapadika which is a commentary on Sankara’s Brahma Sutra Bhasya. According to the Vivarna School, Brahman is the locus of Avidya, and which, with regard to the relation existing between the Jiva and Brahman, concludes that the Jiva is a mere reflection (pratibimba) of its prototype (bimba) i.e., of Brahman, and therefore, identical with its essence, Brahman. This school holds the view that the mahavakya, tat tvam asi, is sufficient for the attainment of enlightenment, of the realization of the identity between the self and Reality.

Viśayah primarily means – 'the sphere of influence or activity', and also refers to – 'dominion', 'kingdom', 'territory', 'country', 'abode', 'lands' etc., but in Hindu philosophy, it has been used to indicate 'the subject matter', 'the sense-objects', 'the subject of interpretation', 'the area or range of words' or 'the field of experience'. According to the Mimamsakas a complete adhikarana (अधिकरणम्) i.e. main, relation or connection, consists of viśayah (विषयः) - the subject or the matter to be explained, viśeya (विशय) or sanśeya (संशय) - the doubt or the question arising upon that matter, pūrvapakśa (पूर्वपक्ष) – the prima facie argument concerning it, uttarpakśa (उत्तर्पक्ष) or siddhanta (सिद्धान्त) – the answer or the demonstrated conclusion, and sangati (संगति) – pertinency or relevancy or the final conclusion. According to Srimad Bhagavatam (XI.ix.29), viśayah or the objects of sense enjoyment are to be found everywhere, as āhāra ('food'), nidrā ('sleep'), bhaya and maithuna.

Vichāra, in Buddhism, means deliberation; It is the faculty of discrimination that discerns the Real, Brahman, from the unreal.

Khyātivāda is the term used to refer to the Indian Theories of Perceptual Error – khyāti (ख्यातिः) besides referring to 'fame', 'renown' etc., in Samkhya philosophy refers to the 'erroneous conception' or 'false apprehension', and vāda means - 'proposition', 'discourse', 'argument'. These are all theories that deal with the nature of the object of illusory perception and not with the nature of the subject, whether the error consists in the object or in the subject’s cognition. There are five principal theories dealing with perceptual errors, which are:-

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swaminarayan Bhashyam</span> A Sanskrit commentary on the Prasthanatrayi which established Swaminarayans teachings

The Swaminarayan Bhashyam (Svāminārāyaṇabhāṣyam) is a five-volume Sanskrit bhashya, or commentary, on the Prasthanatrayi (Prasthānatrayī) - the ten principal Upanishads (Upaniṣads), the Bhagavad Gita (Bhagavadgītā), and the Brahmasutras (Brahmasūtras) - which establishes the principles taught by Swaminarayan as perceived by the BAPS.

References

  1. ↑ Sanskrit-English Dictionary. Digital Dictionaries of South Asia.
  2. ↑ "Bhrama". Hindupedia.
  3. ↑ Francisca Cho Bantly (January 1996). Embracing Illusion. SUNY Press. p. 103. ISBN   9780791429693.
  4. ↑ "Sri Caitaya-caritamrta". Vaniquotes.
  5. ↑ Narayanatirtha (2004). Yogasiddhantacandrika. Parimal Publications. pp. 187, 189. ISBN   9788171102495.
  6. ↑ Bina Gupta (1991). Perceiving in Advaita Vedanta. Bucknell University Press. p. 273. ISBN   9780838752135.
  7. ↑ Pancadasi commented by Swami Swahananda. Sri Ramakrisna Math. pp. 237, 238. Archived from the original on 15 November 2012. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
  8. ↑ Shyama Kumar Chattopadhyaya (2000). The Philosophy of Sankar's Advaita Vedanta. Sarup & Sons. pp. 69–70. ISBN   9788176252225.
  9. ↑ B.R.Rajam Iyer (30 September 1996). rambles in Vedanta. Motilal Banarsidass. p. 126. ISBN   9788120809123.
  10. ↑ Wendy Doniger O’Flaherty (15 February 1986). Dreams, Illusion, and other realities. University of Chicago Press. p. 178. ISBN   9780226618555.
  11. ↑ Bhaktivedanta Narayana (2003). Drop of the Nectar Ocean of Devotional mellows. Bhakti Books. ISBN   9788186737163.
  12. ↑ Kisor Kumar Chakraborti (6 May 2010). Classical Indian Philosophy of Induction. Lexington Books. p. 33. ISBN   9780739147054.
  13. ↑ Surendranath Dasgupta (6 December 2002). Yoga as Philosophy and Religion. Courier Corporation. p. 173. ISBN   9780486425054.
  14. ↑ "The Ayurvedic Approach to Bhrama". Ayurveda M.D.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.