Examine Rāmānuja's seven objections against Māyāvāda of Advaita.
Rāmānuja, a proponent of Vishishtadvaita, fiercely critiqued Advaita Vedanta's Māyāvāda through his Saptavidhānupapatti (sevenfold inexplicability), arguing the concept of māyā is logically untenable. Advaita posits the world as māyā (illusory) and Brahman as the sole reality.
Rāmānuja's objections include:
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Ashrayānupapatti (Locus): Where does māyā (ignorance) reside? Not in Brahman (pure consciousness), nor in the jīva (individual soul), as jīva itself is a product of māyā.
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Tirodhānānupapatti (Obscuration): How can māyā obscure Brahman, which is self-luminous and pure consciousness, by definition unobstructed?
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Svarūpānupapatti (Nature): What is māyā's nature? If real, it contradicts Advaita's monism. If unreal, how can it produce the apparently real world?
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Nivṛttyanupapatti (Cessation): How can māyā be removed by knowledge? If māyā is real, knowledge can't destroy it. If unreal, it doesn't exist to be removed.
These objections fundamentally questioned māyā's origin, nature, capacity to obscure, and ultimate dissolution, highlighting inconsistencies within Advaita's explanation of the world's illusory appearance.
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