THE Doctrine of Maya - HolyBooks.com

""""DEVELOPMENT OF ITS CONCEPTION 107is real. To refute all these speculators who obstruct theway to the complete intuition of the unity of the Self thisSariraka-Sastra has been set forth, whose aim it is to showthat there isonly one highest Lord ever unchanging, whois cognition, and who by means of nescience (avidya) manifests himself in various ways, just as a juggler appears indifferent shapes by means of his magical powers."The difference of Jiva and Brahman isagain setforth in the same place as being only due to avidyaavidyakalpitam lokaprasiddham jivabhedam."Bibl. Ind., p. 269. 1Sankara s greatness as a synthesiser of Advaitismlay, as we have already remarked, in two things:first, in the important and useful distinction he drewbetween para andapard" vidyd, which gavea rational explanation of all the so-called conflictingstatements in the Vedas, etc. ; secondly, in hisemphasis on the distinction between the empirical(vyavahariki) and metaphysical (paramarthiki) existence, which was in some way an improvementupon Gaudapada. The distinction is implicitlyobserved in the Upanisads and in Gaudapada sKarikas too, but nowhere is it more clearly and em-1On the same subject compare pp. 267, 342, 353, 454,455, 488, 491, 507, 518. In general for the doctrine of Avidyacompare p. 98,!. 8, 112. 3, 182. 12, 185. 12, 199. 5, 205. 10,343. 4, 360. 2, 433. 13, 452. 2, 455. 4, 473. 17, 483. 6, 507. i,660. 10, 680. 12, 682. 3, 689. i, 690. 5, 692. 14, 787. 13,804. I, 807. II, 837. 2, 860. 15, 1,056. I, 1,132. 10, 1,133.12, 1,133. 15-