The three texts in the prasthānatarya, the Holy Gita (bhagavadgītā), upaniṣad-s and the brahma-sūtra-s – and the commentaries on them have traditionally been considered as the core of vedānta. These texts have been interpreted and explained by various teachers before and after ādi śaṃkara in many ways – dvaita, advaita and viśiṣṭādvaita, mainly. Ādi śaṃkara, śrī madhvācārya, and śrī rāmānuja as the most prominent of these schools, even though they were not the first to purport the main theme in them.
Advaita vedānta that we know of and study today, was interpreted, commentated, discussed, debated and explained at various times by various thinkers. Several models and explanations have been proposed and used to help understand those Vedāntic concepts of Universal Reality or One-ness. Well established, accepted and understood schools are called siddhānta-s, some proposals or models that have not yet gotten wide acceptance are called vāda-s.
Vāda-s, loosely translated to axioms, doctrines, tenets, principles etc., try to argue a point-of-view by giving us explanations and examples to help understand concepts – perhaps the entire Advaitic thought or some aspect of it. We keep coming across them during various discussions and commentaries. We come across:
ajāti-vāda or ajāta-vāda in the māṇḍūkya kārikā of the great Gauḍapāda, where the fundamental doctrine is that of ‘No-Origination’, that there was no beginning and nothing was ever born; hence no plurality with distinction or differentiation among any and that all is one illusion.
ābhāsa-vāda proposes that bondage is a superimposition on the Īśvara, the Self (Chaitanya) conditioned by Ignorance (avidyā) because of jīva which is the Self conditioned by Cognition (buddhi).
pratibimba-vāda according to Prakāśātma, Īśvara is an image of Consciousness (bimba-caitanya) conditioned by Ignorance and Jīva is the reflection (prati-bimba) of the ignorance conditioned by the inner senses (antah-karana) through vāsana-s. ajñānopahitaṃ bimbacaitanyaṃ Īśvaraḥ antaḥkaranatatsaṃskārāvacchinna ajñānapratibimbam jīvaḥ iti.
In avaccheda-vāda, the objectification of Consciousness as the Īśvara, (ajñānaviṣayībhūtaṃ caitanyaṃ iśvaraḥ) by ignorance and jīva as Consciousness limited by ignorance, hence subordinated to Īśvara. Ignorance is plural and varied, there is plurality in the perception of jīva-s and creates the multitude of universes. Thus, in all separated plurality, there is still convergence in Oneness. īśvarasya ca saprapaṃca jivāvidyadhiṣṭhānatvena kāraṇatvopacārād iti | ayaṃ eva cāvacchedavādaḥ
śāmkara-vedānta, which we can call as brahmaikya-vāda (my suggestion!), is well summed up in viveka cūḍāmaṇi by the great master as brahmasatyaṃ jaganmithyaṃ jīvo brahmaika nā paraḥ
dṛṣṭi sṛṣṭi vāda is another such vāda. Just as many commentators accept it, just as many refute it. Even though it does not enjoy acceptance and popularity, it is discussed very often in literature and vidvatsabhā-s.
dṛṣṭi sṛṣṭi vāda in its simplest interpretation is that all creation has existence only as long as it is perceived. A simple example used to explain is that of the rajju-sarpa, mistaking the rope for a serpent, going through the experiences of the perceived snake, and later getting over them when truly perceived as a rope. At no time was there a snake in reality, it manifested in the seer, by the seer, with the perception of the snake and dissolved with the removal of that perception. dṛṣṭi, defined as vṛtti upahita caitanya – modifications of the mind and body – that reveal the viṣaya-s to the Jīva, when conditioned by avidya, creates sṛṣṭi, a manifestation of the material world. Sṛṣṭi is all that manifests, understood as the Jagat and the associated bandha and moksha.
The tenets of dṛṣṭi sṛṣṭi vāda are about the complete absence of Īśvara-tattva, the jīva, as the singular reality, there is no ajñātasattā, only jñātāyasattā creating a unique illusionary Jagat in its totality. There is no bandha-mokṣa vyavasthā, the world is created when the jīva experiences the world and involutes as soon as the experience ends. There are no jāgrata and svapna, they merge into one illusion. yathā svapne dvaya bhāsāṃ spaṃdate māyayā manaḥ tathā jāgrat dvayā bhāsā… It is all that separates from the Self, the śuddha caitanya. It is everything to be experienced is through a set of karana-s and in an abode āyatana. With the jīva as the kartṛ and bhoktṛ, bandha and mokṣa are moot.
It is commonly accepted that the first essay of dṛṣṭi sṛṣṭi vāda was made in Swami Prakashananda’s work vedānta-siddhānta-muktāvalī. The assertion is that there are two types or degrees of manifestation – illusory and absolute. And by subordinating illusory to the absolute, a perception while maintaining the singular absolute reality of Brahman alone, a concept of a creation at the time of perception is presented.
Swami Madhusudana Saraswathi’s text siddhānta-bindu-ṭīkā, while explaining eka-jīva-vāda, emphasizes that this is an important doctrine, (mukhya), that only those who have an advanced understanding of reality can appreciate. mukhyo vedānta-siddhāntaḥ eka-jīva-vādākhyaḥ ivāmeva ca dṛṣṭi-sṛṣṭi-vādaṃ ācakṣate.
Concepts similar to dṛṣṭi sṛṣṭi vāda are found in several Upanishads and purāṇa-s. māṇḍūkya kārikā is widely accepted to be an interpretation of dṛṣṭi sṛṣṭi vāda. kauṣītaki declares in its exegeses of the individual self as the substratum for Prana, that as the jīva in suṣupti does not even see dreams and the only entity remaining is prāṇa, everything else that was manifest is now dissolved. yathā suptaḥ svapnaṃ kathañcana paśyati athāsmin jīve prāṇa evaikadhā bhavati… kau. 4.39. In bṛhadāraṇyaka 4.3.23, “It does not see in suṣupti because, even though the seeing capability of the seer (or Self) has not gone away, It does not see anything at all. Because there is nothing second to It that can be seen” yadvai tanna paśyati paśyanvai tanna paśyati, na hi draṣṭurdṛṣṭerviparilopo vidyate’vināśitvān | na tu taddvitīyamasti tato’nyadvibhaktaṃ yatpaśyet ||23||. The implied meaning is that whatever is seen and manifest is because the Self wills the manifestation and dissolution of the jagat.
There are similar references in yogavāsiṣṭa and a couple of purana-s, ātmapurāṇa and viṣṇupurāṇa, for example.
Most commentators who refute the dṛṣṭi sṛṣṭi vāda primarily base their arguments around the prolific examples of the Īśvara sṛṣṭi in the upaniṣad-s and the saṃhita-s. The Chāndogya, aitareya, and bṛhadāraṇyaka are some prominent examples.
dṛṣṭi sṛṣṭi vāda, even as it is simple to understand conceptually, a deeper contemplation usually leads to more questions on perception, impermanence of perception and differentiating Īśvara and Jīva. It serves as a powerful model to affirm Advaita Vedanta’s central teaching: only śuddha caitanya is real. For seekers who resonate with dṛṣṭi-sṛṣṭi-vāda, seeing the world as mind-made enables them to quieten the mind, transcend the ego, and realize the Self, which is beyond all experiences, names and forms.