Page:A History of Indian Philosophy Vol 1.djvu/502

 4 86 The Saizkara School of Vedanta [CH. conviction or perception that can lead a man to actual practical movement. If again it is said that it is the general and imperfect perception of a thing (which has not been properly differentiated and comprehended) before me, which by the memory of silver appears to be like true silver before me and this generates the movement for picking it up, then this also is objectionable. For the appearance of the similarity with real silver cannot lead us to behave with the thing before me as if it were real silver. Thus I may perceive that gavaya (wild ox) is similar to cow, but despite this similarity I am not tempted to behave with the gavaya as if it were a cow. Thus in whatever way the Mlmarpsa position may be defined it failsl. Vedanta thinks that the illusion is not merely subjective, but that there is actually a phenomenon of illusion as there are phenomena of actual external objects; the difference in the two cases consists in this, that the illusion is generated by the doa or defect of the senses etc., whereas the phenomena of external objects are not due to such specific doas. The process of illusory perception in Vedanta may be described thus. First by the contact of the senses vitiated by doas a mental state as "thisness" with reference to the thing before me is generated; then in the thing as "this" and in the mental state of the form of that U this" the cit is reflected. Then the avidya (nescience) associated with the cit is disturbed by the presence of the doa, and this disturbance along with the impression of silver remembered through similarity is transformed into the appearance of silver. There is thus an objective illusory silver appearance, as well as a similar transformation of the mental state generated by its contact with the illusory silver. These two trans- formations, the silver state of the mind and external phenomenal illusory silver state,are manifested by the perceiving consciousness (siik#caitanya). There are thus here two phenomenal transforma- tions, one in the avidya states forming the illusory objective silver phenomenon, and another in the antal)karala-v!"tti or mind state. But in spite of there being two distinct and separate phenomena, their object being the same as the "this" in perception, we have one knowledge of illusion. The special feature of this theory of illusion is that an indefinable (allir1 1 acaniya-khyiiti) illusory silver is created in every case where an illusory perception of silver occurs. There are three orders of reality in Vedanta, namely the 1 See Vivaraa-pra"'eya-sa1!lgraha anu Nyiiyamakarallda on akhyati refutation.