Classic Advaitic Examples – Illusions

The general purpose of philosophy is to understand what we see and experience. We see the world and wonder how it was created. We wonder why there are so many differences in the world. Finally, we see and experience our body and mind, but want to understand the spirit behind them. Classic Advaitic examples help us answer such questions. In this blog, we look at classic advaitic examples – illusions.

Classic Advaitic examples broadly fall under three groups. The first group highlights pure illusions. The second group focuses on the cause of what we see. Lastly, the third group combines illusion and cause.

In this blog, we look at classic advaitic examples that highlight illusions. The purpose of these examples is to start us on the path of seeking true knowledge.

Mirage

Mirage is the most common of the illusion examples. Everyone has experienced seeing a mirage. I picked the highway image instead of the traditional desert image because this is a more common experience for most people.

The point is that you see water on a road when there is no actual water on the road. This is pure illusion.

Blue Sky

This is an everyday experience. We look up at the sky and admire the blue color. In fact, the blue color is an optical illusion.

Castles in the air

We can image shapes in the clouds above us. This is another form of illusion that is easily experienced everyday.

Size and Distance

The Moon appears big in the sky against the stars that appear much smaller. We all know that the stars are actually much bigger than the Moon.

Other examples that are cited are

• Seeing a human figure in a post (foggy night)
• Circle formed by a person spinning a fire torch – we see a circle of fire, but there is only a single flame
• Relative motion – we experience buildings moving in the opposite direction when we are in a moving vehicle. The buildings don’t actually move.
• Seeing the reflection of trees in water
• The moon appears to move when clouds move

The purpose of classic advaitic examples – illusions is to make us stop and ponder. If what we see is not actually real, could there be a deeper truth behind this entire world and our own existence?

Next – Classic Advaitic Examples – Cause

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