<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Your reply says that the atma is the same as the paramatma in every aspect even in an unrealized state. If this is so, then how can I reconcile this with the ealier example where the air in the pot has got different size than the air every where.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Murali garu, Ghata-akasha is an excellent example. The space in the pot is the same as space outside. (Akasha is space, and not air.) The quality of space will not differ inside or outside the boundary of a pot. Even betweeen the atoms making up the pot, space exists. When the pot is broken, the ILLUSION of space within the pot goes away. How can one confine space within a pot? Space is Omnipresent. It's not an entity, Space is a concept. i.e. distance between two points is space.
Even if I take it to be Air within a pot, O Arjuna, how can you distinguish between the quality of PURE AIR within the pot, from that of PURE AIR outside it? Space cannot be touched by Impurities. If that is clear.
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Even if I completely understand your explanation in the last paragraph (of your reply), I would still have the question I had b4.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
No you will not. <!--emo&
--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif' /><!--endemo--> You will have the doubt only till you understand it. Only till you Realize it. You THINK that the question will continue to exist. As long as you have not seen me (Me?), you will wonder what I look like, but once you have seen me (Me) face to face, will you still wonder what I look like? Absolutely not.
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->From what I know Vedanta gives the highest importance to experience. This is because normal human mind is constrained by its ability to think only in temporal and spatial terms and nothing beyond it. I guess that why this some areas of this subject are hard understand and hard to explain.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Let me ask you a question. Let's say I do not know what heat or cold is. Could you explain to me what Heat feels like ? Or easier, can you explain to me what sweetness tastes like ? It HAS to be experienced and cannot be explained by poetic verses. <!--emo&--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif' /><!--endemo--> Experience alone can remove doubts. Mere speculation cannot.
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->If the answer to my question is something that can be explained, please do. Otherwise if you have any suggestions as to in which direction I should go please provide them.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
The Avyaktha cannot be explained. Any amount of reading, and hearing about it is NOT the same as Seeing it. Initially it will freak you out of your wits (then you will understand why Arjuna freaked out on seeing the Vishvaroopam. Then on subsequent experiences, you will learn to handle it. -- I have seen it, but I am not an 'expert' if you can call it that.. I cannot explain the experience. I can however point you to the Upanishads, BrahmaSutra, Bhagavad Geetha, and if you have time read the following:
1) Vidyaranya's Panchadasi.
2) Mandukya Upanishad.
3) Gaudapada Karika on Mandukya Upanishad.
4) Aparoksha-anubhuthi (Shankaracharya)
5) VivekaChudamanai (Shankaracharya)
6) Dashashloki (Shankaracharya)
7) RAMANA Maharshi's - Naan Yaar (Who am I?).
If you can read the above in their Samskrit original, it's well and good, but if you rely on translations, please pick something from a reliable Source. (Personally, I did not think much of Hare Krishna's <i>BG as it is</i> in comparison to "ANNA" of Mylapore Ramakrishna Math. But that's my personal preference.)
Murali garu, Ghata-akasha is an excellent example. The space in the pot is the same as space outside. (Akasha is space, and not air.) The quality of space will not differ inside or outside the boundary of a pot. Even betweeen the atoms making up the pot, space exists. When the pot is broken, the ILLUSION of space within the pot goes away. How can one confine space within a pot? Space is Omnipresent. It's not an entity, Space is a concept. i.e. distance between two points is space.
Even if I take it to be Air within a pot, O Arjuna, how can you distinguish between the quality of PURE AIR within the pot, from that of PURE AIR outside it? Space cannot be touched by Impurities. If that is clear.
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Even if I completely understand your explanation in the last paragraph (of your reply), I would still have the question I had b4.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
No you will not. <!--emo&
--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif' /><!--endemo--> You will have the doubt only till you understand it. Only till you Realize it. You THINK that the question will continue to exist. As long as you have not seen me (Me?), you will wonder what I look like, but once you have seen me (Me) face to face, will you still wonder what I look like? Absolutely not.<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->From what I know Vedanta gives the highest importance to experience. This is because normal human mind is constrained by its ability to think only in temporal and spatial terms and nothing beyond it. I guess that why this some areas of this subject are hard understand and hard to explain.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Let me ask you a question. Let's say I do not know what heat or cold is. Could you explain to me what Heat feels like ? Or easier, can you explain to me what sweetness tastes like ? It HAS to be experienced and cannot be explained by poetic verses. <!--emo&
--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif' /><!--endemo--> Experience alone can remove doubts. Mere speculation cannot.<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->If the answer to my question is something that can be explained, please do. Otherwise if you have any suggestions as to in which direction I should go please provide them.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
The Avyaktha cannot be explained. Any amount of reading, and hearing about it is NOT the same as Seeing it. Initially it will freak you out of your wits (then you will understand why Arjuna freaked out on seeing the Vishvaroopam. Then on subsequent experiences, you will learn to handle it. -- I have seen it, but I am not an 'expert' if you can call it that.. I cannot explain the experience. I can however point you to the Upanishads, BrahmaSutra, Bhagavad Geetha, and if you have time read the following:
1) Vidyaranya's Panchadasi.
2) Mandukya Upanishad.
3) Gaudapada Karika on Mandukya Upanishad.
4) Aparoksha-anubhuthi (Shankaracharya)
5) VivekaChudamanai (Shankaracharya)
6) Dashashloki (Shankaracharya)
7) RAMANA Maharshi's - Naan Yaar (Who am I?).
If you can read the above in their Samskrit original, it's well and good, but if you rely on translations, please pick something from a reliable Source. (Personally, I did not think much of Hare Krishna's <i>BG as it is</i> in comparison to "ANNA" of Mylapore Ramakrishna Math. But that's my personal preference.)