THE Doctrine of Maya - HolyBooks.com

""""""98 THE DOCTRINE OF MAYAhas so eloquently pointed out,thisthought iseven the root of all metaphysics, so far as without itno metaphysics can come into being or exist." Thisthought is the great dynamic force in Sankara,and it is this that led him to base the whole of hissystem as reflected in the Sarirakabhasyaxon thefundamental concept of the illusory nature of allour empirical and physical knowledge and the truenature of the higher metaphysics. That is thereason why he starts with an examination into theerroneous transference of the things and relationsof the objective world to the inner soul, the Self,which leads to the idea of avidyd. This thought,which forms the introduction to his epoch-makingbook, in a way gives an idea of his whole system,and we could not do better than state the wholeposition in his own words, which, if well understood,are sure to furnish a key to Sarikara s whole Advaitism.Object (visaya) and Subject (visayin), hesays at the beginning of his work, indicated by theThou (the not-I) and the are of a natureI,"as opposed as are darkness and light. If it is certainthat the being of the one isincompatible with thebeing of the other, it follows so much the more thatthe qualities of the one also do not exist in the other.Hence it follows that the transfer (superimposition,1In his Introduction he defines it as atasmin tad-i.e., supposing a thing to be what it is notbuddhih,"actually.