Raphael ??ram Vidy? Order

The Pathway of Non-Duality Raphael ??ram Vidy? Order

Non-dualism, dualism, monism, the Real and the non-real, Parmenides and his vision, Advaita Ved?nta, metaphysical Realization: these are just some of the topics covered by Raphael in a series of writings couched in the form of questions and answers and gathered together in this volume. This Pathway of Non-duality (Advaitav?da) provides an answer to the apparently rational doubts and contradictions that are expressed both in the realm of philosophy and in the realm of science, which focuses nowdays on discovering a constant or law which will serve as the foundation for every branch of scientific knowledge. The 'Path of non-generation' (Aj?tiv?da), as expounded by Gau?ap?da, makes it clear that the supreme Being is pure actuality, which excludes all multiplicity, all duality, and all ontological unity, as well as all transition from potentiality to actuality. In the text, this view is compared to that of Parmenides, for whom Being is and does not become: it is unity and actuality, everlasting and not subject to birth (aj?ti) or death. Advaita Ved?nta (Non-duality), as presented by ?a?kara, envisages a Unity beyond the realm of mathematics, a 'Not-two' which does not grow and which is without any relationship (aspar?a). This metaphysical, non-dual Unity may be compared to the One Good or the Supreme Good of Plato and to the One of Plotinus. The text makes references both to the Upani?ads and to the most illuminating passages from those Philosophers who have the closest links with the initiatory Tradition of the Sacred Mysteries in ancient Greece.