In the Vedic texts, the material world is created as the dream of Viṣṇu, so it is called a combination of
sat (eternal truth) and
asat (temporary existence). The ātma (eternal individual self) enters this dream as an actor and acquires a mind-body (temporary covering of the self) as its character, so it is also called a
sat-asat combination. These two kinds of
sat-asat combinations are different because Viṣṇu as the dreamer doesn't suffer while dreaming, but the ātma as the actor does. And yet, Advaita equates the dreamer with the actor and claims that ending the character would transform the actor into the dreamer.
Advaita is a half-truth-each ātma can enter an empty self-aware state, but that is neither the end of its eternal individuality, nor a merger with the other ātma, nor equality with the creator. It is like a person closing their eyes and thinking that since nothing else is seen with closed eyes, the world previously seen with open eyes was the seer's creation. Ignorance is bliss, it is said. Ascetics live a reclusive life detached from the world. Advaita converts the bliss of ignorance to the highest state of realization. After adopting Advaita, India underwent cultural, intellectual, moral, and spiritual decline because blindness of world problems became the solution to world problems. The refusal to accept and the inability to resolve world problems made Advaita irrelevant to everyone who could not become a recluse ascetic.
In this article compilation, we discuss the problems of Advaita, why it works as a critique of Buddhism, but not as a philosophy of life, let alone the supreme truth. As a critic of Buddhism that saved the Vedic tradition from annihilation, Advaita has immense historical value. As a philosophy of life, it is a failure.
