Class 106, vivekacūḍāmaṇi

In this philosophically intense class on verse 108 and the nature of māyā, Acharya Tadany continued the exploration of kāraṇa śarīram (causal body) – the third and final aspect of anātmā (non-self) in the śarīra-trayam — by detailing its four essential names: 

avyaktam (unmanifest, seed form), 

śaktiḥ (power, dependent potential to manifest the universe), 

avidyā (that which lacks independent existence, non-substantial), 

and triguṇātmikā (consisting of three guṇas in equilibrium: sattva, rajas, tamas). 

Acharya Tadany explained that avidyā technically means “that which does not exist by itself” (svayaṁ na vidyatē), like a glass having no existence apart from its material — extending this to the entire universe (prapañca) as dependently existent. 

Acharya Tadany introduced the two states of the guṇas: equilibrium (sāmyāvasthā) during pralaya (dissolution) and disequilibrium (vaiṣamyāvasthā) during sṛṣṭi (manifestation), and defined māyā as anirvacanīya (logically inexplicable), perceptible only through its products (the universe) yet never directly to the senses (pratyakṣa gocaram). 

Acharya Tadany used the magic show analogy — experiencing wonders without rational explanation — to illustrate māyā’s functioning, quoting Dakṣiṇāmūrti Stotram to portray Bhagavān as the supreme magician unfolding the universe at will. 

The class then examined why māyā defies categorization: 

It cannot be sat (existent/independent, or it would equal Brahman), 

It cannot be asat (non-existent, or it could not produce the universe), 

And it cannot be sat-asat (mixture, as opposites cannot coexist), 

rendering it sadaśat vilakṣaṇā (“seemingly existent” yet distinct from both sat and asat). 

Acharya Tadany highlighted the contradiction if māyā were identical to or separate from Brahman (duality or limitation of the infinite), leaving only one remaining possibility — to be explored in the next class — thus establishing māyā as the inexplicable, beginningless, dependent cause of manifestation.

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