TAITTIRIYA UPANISHAD – 93. Rishi Yajnavalkya.

 

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Saturday 05, July 2025, 20:50. 
TAITTIRIYA UPANISHAD   Pertaining to the SELF-CREATION of Brahman there is a Shruti Mantram… Upanishad Part-3. 
ABHAYA PRATISHTHAA  
BRAHMAANANDA MEEMAAMSAA 
Anuvaka 2.8 A Measure of “Relative Joy” 
Bhashya F: 
THE MAHAVAKYA OF THIS UPANISHAD 
Coverage: Mantras From 2.8.13 to 2.9.1.
Post-93.

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Duality – the Symptom of Ignorance:

 At this point in the debate, the focus shifts to the perception or non-perception of 

Duality. The Poorvapakshi is very interested in knowing more about non-Duality and Duality. 

There is a vigorous discussion on this point, beginning with a doubt about the actual 

experience of non-Duality.

[At this point Obj 11 arises.] 

The Experience of Fear Can Only Be in Duality:

 K/ (Mainly from Acharyaji’s explanation of the Bhashya)  As long as we see differences we will 

always be faced with the experience of fear. The Dualists view Ishwara (God) as being 

different from them, hence they fear Him. The Vedantins do not have that problem. They 

see their own Atman as being One with Brahman, the Non-Dual Reality beyond Ishwara. 

Hence, Vedantins can understand the state of absolute fearlessness. This is what this text 

has been emphasizing – the fearless state attained by the realized sage.

 

From the Vedantic point of view, which accepts the non-Dual Brahman as the 

absolute Reality, even Ishwara is part of the Unreality, as is the world! This is something that 

the Dualists find very hard to digest. If they go one notch further and accept non-Duality, 

they will be able to understand fearlessness from the Vedantic perspective. 

If we see God as different from us, we will fear God. If we see the world as different, 

we will fear the world. That is the principle of Fear in application. 

Logically speaking, if that ‘something different’ is Reality, then it can never be 

eliminated (The Real can never be destroyed). The only way to eliminate fear of Reality is to 

merge with It. That merging is the so-called ‘attainment’ of Brahman. Fearlessness is its 

natural outcome. 

The Poorvapakshi, a Dualist, now suggests that the fear is due to other factors, not Ishwara. 

[At this point Obj 12 arises.] 

When Obj 12 is shown to merely circumvent the issue and merely “pass the buck” to 

this other factor, the Dualist now tries to undermine the knowledge which is supposed to 

destroy ignorance and thereby establish the non-Dual state. He proposes that knowledge 

and ignorance are properties of the Self, thereby aiming to show that the Self would be 

mutable in such a case. 

[At this point Obj 13 arises.] 

This ‘trick’ does not work, as the true nature of Self-knowledge as well as Avidya or 

Ignorance is shown to be beyond the mind and therefore beyond change; what goes as 

knowledge and ignorance are in the mind, and they are subject to change. 

The Dualist now resorts to one of the defects (see Obj 4) that arises in the case when 

the Self is the same as Brahman. It is the first defect, a) that of the subject and object being 

the same thing. 

[At this point Obj 14 arises.] 

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 Next: Objection 11:  Why do we not experience non-duality? 

Continued

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