ŚA?KARĀCĀRYA ON APPEARANCE AND REALITY

Appearance and reality are one of the most fundamental concepts in philosophy. Śa? kara has made significant contributions in developing the notions of appearance and reality.Appearance and reality are two but interrelated concepts in philosophy. These are not only the ontological issues but also their nature and status shape of epistemological quest. The basic questions are: What is genuinely real? What is mere appearance and not reality? Is there any connection between appearance and reality? Is there any realm which is Ultimate Reality? Is the phenomenal world merely appearance? If the objects are merely appearances, how do we bring them into reality? What are the means through which we move from appearances to the reality? Śa? kara has answered these questions in his concept of Nirgu? a Brahman, vivartavāda, anirvacanīya khyātivāda and Jīvan-mukti. He, while resolving the dualism of appearance and reality, establishes his Advaita Vedānta philosophical system in which there is no place for distinction, duality, dichotomy and plurality at all. Keywords: Appearance, Reality, Paramārtha,Vyāvahāra,Pratibhāsa