If we keenly investigate our ego, we will find that there is actually no such thing at all, and hence no world or anything else other than ourself. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi - Upadēśa Undiyār verse 17
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The difference between vivarta vāda and ajāta vāda is not just semantic but substantive
According to vivarta vāda our ego and all the phenomena of which it is aware are just a false appearance, like everything that we experience in a dream, whereas according to ajāta vāda no ego or any phenomena have ever existed even as a false appearance. The former is true from the perspective of ourself as this ego, so it is true only in a relative sense, whereas the latter is true from the perspective of ourself as we actually are, so it alone is what is ultimately and absolutely true. These are therefore two diametrically opposed perspectives, because ajāta vāda is a direct contradiction of vivarta vāda, since vivarta vāda acknowledges that this ego and all these phenomena seem to exist, whereas ajāta vāda denies that any such things ever seem to exist at all. However there is a logical connection between these two opposing viewpoints, because in order for anything to appear or seem to exist, there must be something in whose view it seems to exist, and that something is only ourself as this ego, which according to vivarta vāda is itself a false appearance, and hence as Bhagavan taught us if we (this ego) investigate ourself, we will find that there is actually no such thing as this ego, and therefore there is nothing in whose view anything else could seem to exist. Therefore paradoxically the logical conclusion of vivarta vāda is only ajāta vāda, even though ajāta vāda directly contradicts vivarta vāda. However, though vivarta vāda is completely untrue from the perspective of ourself as we actually are, it seems to be true so long as we seem to be this ego. Therefore though Bhagavan explained that our ultimate experience will be only ajāta, he taught us that until we experience ourself as we really are, we should accept vivarta vāda as the most appropriate and beneficial working hypothesis. Therefore Bhagavan’s core teachings as expressed in Nāṉ Yār?, Uḷḷadu Nāṟpadu, Upadēśa Undiyār and elsewhere are in accordance with vivarta vāda, and (as indicated in verse 83 of Guru Vācaka Kōvai) the reason why he taught from this standpoint is explained by him in the opening clause of the first verse of Uḷḷadu Nāṟpadu: ‘நாம் உலகம் காண்டலால்’ (nām ulaham kāṇḍalāl), ‘because we see the world’. That is, because we perceive phenomena, in our view both phenomena and ourself as the perceiver of them seem to exist, but according to vivarta vāda, though they seem to exist, they do not actually exist, so they are just an illusory appearance (vivarta). How then can we free ourself from this illusion? An illusion seems to exist only in the view of whoever perceives it, and the one who perceives all these phenomena is only ourself as this ego, which according to Bhagavan is itself an illusory appearance — something that does not actually exist even though it seems to exist so long as it is aware of any phenomena. Therefore the root cause of all this illusion is our ego, so we can free ourself from all illusion only by freeing ourself from this illusory and self-deluded ego. If this ego, the perceiver of all phenomena, were what we actually are, we would not be able to free ourself from it, and hence we would be forever bound by illusion, but since it is not what we actually are but only an illusory appearance superimposed upon ourself, we can free ourself from it by investigating what we actually are. However, though it is not what we actually are, it is (in the view of ourself as this ego) what we now seem to be, so in order to investigate what we actually are we simply need to observe ourself (who now seem to be this ego) very carefully. If we look at an illusory snake carefully enough, we will see that it is not actually a snake but just a rope. Likewise, if we look at this illusory ego carefully enough, we will see that we are not actually an ego but just pure self-awareness, which alone actually exists and which is therefore aware of nothing other than itself.
In: http://happinessofbeing.blogspot.com/2016/10/the-difference-between-vivarta-vada-and.html
