In Śaṅkarācārya’s radical nondualism, existence (sattā) is understood to be of three different grades — prātibhāsika (illusory existence), vyāvahārika (empirical existence), and pāramārthika (ontological existence).
Prātibhāsika existence is perceived in such states as dreams and illusions but ceases when normal consciousness returns.
Empirical reality (vyāvahārika-sattā) refers to our perception of the material world in ordinary waking consciousness, which is executable, meaning that the objects perceived are the support for practical action.
Ontological reality, pāramārthika-sattā, is immanent in all objects of the material world, pervading them as the conscious, blissful source of all manifest varieties.
In Śaṅkarācārya’s radical nondualism, existence (sattā) is understood to be of three different grades — prātibhāsika (illusory existence), vyāvahārika (empirical existence), and pāramārthika (ontological existence).
Prātibhāsika existence is perceived in such states as dreams and illusions but ceases when normal consciousness returns.
Empirical reality (vyāvahārika-sattā) refers to our perception of the material world in ordinary waking consciousness, which is executable, meaning that the objects perceived are the support for practical action.
Ontological reality, pāramārthika-sattā, is immanent in all objects of the material world, pervading them as the conscious, blissful source of all manifest varieties.