18) Upamaarupakabhrantih, bhedaamshaih saa nivartate,

Tasyopamaanashunyam cha, shishyaakarnaya me priya!

My dear disciple! Listen Me. By knowing the fundamental differences between God and soul, the illusion created by simile and metaphor is removed. Moreover, comparison to God is not available.

[Spiritual knowledge is easily understood if similes related to daily worldly life are given. The simile (Upamaalankaara) is identified mainly by the word ‘like’ (like is called as upamaavaachaka as found in ‘moon like face’). The same simile can be presented in a different form of figure of speech called as metaphor (Rupakaalankaara), in which we say ‘face is moon’. Simile or metaphor is selected to make the concept more clear selecting a very familiar comparison. In this line, God creating this real world is compared with soul creating imaginary world. In the figure of speech all points need not be similar. Even if one point is similar, figure of speech can be used. Between face and moon only one similarity exists, which is pleasantness. In the case of God and soul also only one similarity exists that God creates, controls and dissolves the real world like the soul creating, controlling and dissolving imaginary world. Except this one similarity, all other aspects are different. Fundamentally, God is unimaginable whereas soul is imaginable. Moreover, there is no any unimaginable item in the world to be selected as comparison to God and hence, only imaginable item can be selected. Soul is very subtle and thus near to unimaginable than a visible item. The danger of misunderstanding comes when metaphor is used. In metaphor, when we say that face is moon, there is every possibility of misunderstanding that moon itself is the face and there is no separate face. When similarity is stressed, metaphor results. A familiar example is to call every member of ‘lions club’ as lion itself! This happened in the case of God and soul. When God is said to be soul (in metaphor), people have completely misunderstood that soul is God and there is no God other than soul. Another complication added to this is to think that the word ‘Brahman’ means only God. In fact, every item greatest in its category is called as Brahman (The Veda in scriptures is greatest and is called a Brahman.). Soul happens to be the greatest in the category of various forms of energy and hence, is called Brahman in the entire category of worldly items (since all worldly items are made of energy only). Soul is called as Paraprakruti (best of the worldly items). When Shankara said that soul is Brahman, we can take the meaning in two ways: i) soul is greatest among the worldly items and ii) Taking the word Brahman to mean God, soul is God as per the figure of speech called as metaphor since the similarity between two exists as said above. To avoid the misunderstanding, you must note the differences between God and soul (like the differences between face and moon). God created this world whereas soul can’t create even an atom of matter and even a ray of energy! Unless the differential points are understood, false monism results to mislead the ambitious soul to become God in thinking just by knowing or memorising the point that it is already God!]

QA TELU test

Table of Contents

Upadeshaamrutam: Part-1

Upadeshaamrutam: Part-1

Upadeshaamrutam: Part-2

Upadeshaamrutam: Part-2