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Overturning Brahman A Monist Reconstruction
through Finn’s “Realness of the Unreal” By Bodhangkur 1. The Problem: Brahman as a Hidden Dualism From its
earliest formulations, Brahman carried a dualistic residue. The problem
is structural: Finn’s Procedure
Monism removes this semantic trap by redefining the very basis of “real.” 2. Finn’s First Axiom: The Universal Procedure is
Unreal The Universal
Procedure (UP), in Finn’s framework, is neither substance, spirit, nor
creator. The UP is
therefore unreal in the strictest sense: it has no location, identity,
or experiential presence. Thus: “The unreal becomes real by performing itself.” This
single axiom inverts every Indian dualist structure. 3. Overturning the Early (Vedic) Dualism: Power vs.
Performer In the
early Vedic period, Brahman was the power behind speech and ritual,
the invisible efficacy animating visible acts. Finn
overturns this by showing that: ·
There is no hidden power behind speech; ·
The power is the act itself, the procedure
of arrangement manifesting as speech, ritual, or sound. Thus, the
sacred efficacy of the Vedic brahman is not a metaphysical
energy but the rule of patterning executed locally by the assistant
(the priest, word, or act). Hence,
the supposed unseen Brahman-power vanishes as independent entity. 4. Overturning the Middle (Upaniṣadic)
Dualism: Brahman vs. Ātman The Upaniṣadic revolution internalised Brahman,
identifying it with Ātman (Self). Finn’s
monism dissolves this structure. Hence: ·
Ātman is not identical
with Brahman; ·
Ātman is
Brahman’s local operation. The
identity is not ontological but functional: Thus, the
Upaniṣadic tat tvam
asi collapses into Finn’s: “I am the rule performing itself.” 5. Overturning the Late (Vedāntic)
Dualism: Substance vs. Appearance Advaita Vedānta, seeking final coherence, defined Brahman
as sat-cit-ānanda
— Being, Consciousness, Bliss — and demoted the manifest world to māyā, a misperception of the Real. Why? Finn
overturns this by reversing ontological priority: ·
The rule (UP) is unreal; ·
The execution (emergent) is real. The māyā that Advaita dismissed is precisely
the only reality there is — the procedural impact of the unreal rule-set. Hence, in
Finn’s frame: “What you
call illusion is the only way the unreal can feel real.” This
insight annihilates the māyā–Brahman
dichotomy altogether. 6. Reframing Sat–Cit–Ānanda
Procedurally Finn can
reinterpret the classic triad as procedural functions rather than ontological
substances:
Thus, sat–cit–ānanda are not
attributes of a transcendental Brahman but functional states
within every emergent system. This
functionalisation collapses transcendence into immanence: Brahman as
eternal object disappears; Brahman as local functioning remains. 7. The Consequence: No Transcendent, No Illusion By
removing the UP from the category of “real” and restoring reality to its emergents, Finn dissolves every Indian version of
transcendence. In this
view: ·
There is no need for liberation (mokṣa), because there is no bondage. ·
There is no ignorance (avidyā),
because there is nothing hidden. ·
There is no nirguṇa
vs. saguṇa Brahman, because the
unqualified rule and its qualified execution are one procedural continuum. The
cosmos is no longer manifestation of Brahman but Brahman-as-performance
— the unreal made real by acting. 8. The Druidic Corollary: The Disenchantment of
Transcendence Finn’s
monism performs the final disenchantment of the Vedāntic
dream: The
mature assistant knows: “There is
no higher. There is only better execution.” Hence
salvation gives way to upgrade — the continuous self-optimisation of
procedural function. 9. The Structural Inversion
10. Final Realisation The Upaniṣadic sage said, “Sarvaṃ
khalvidaṃ brahma — All this indeed is
Brahman.” “All this indeed makes Brahman.” The
former assumes an already existing ultimate reality revealed through insight; The
Indian cosmos began as That which is; 11. Concluding Aphorism Thus ends
the overturning: “The
unreal rules; the real performs.” Every
emergent, from atom to god, is an assistant in
this work — not illusion, but the very realness of the unreal. |