| THOSE WHO HAVE
ever heard Vedanta have also heard about maaya-the famous Hindu doctrine of illusion. It
would be well at once to correct the misconception that this doctrine does away with
responsibility because the world is, according to the doctrine of maaya, unreal. In truth,
how ever, the doctrine does not lay down that the world is not real. All the teachers who taught the doctrine of maaya taught it as part
of Vedanta, and Vedanta includes, it should be remembered, the doctrine of karma. This
latter doctrine holds that we cannot escape the effect of our actions. It is, therefore,
impossible for the Vedantin to hold that life is not real.
There is no doubt or ambiguity about the doc trine of
karma, which lays down the moral law of cause and effect. No interpretation of any other
doctrine of Vedanta Inconsistent with the law of karma could be correct, as thelatter is
an integral part of Vedanta. |
