ajAti vAda

References:
There is a large body of literature on advaita vedAnta. Check the bibliography page for a
list of references.
CREATION THEORIES IN ADVAITA VEDANTA
Transliteration Key
There are three main ways of understanding creation in the advaita tradition - namely,
ajAti vAda (creation is not an absolute, real event), sRshTi-dRshTi vAda (what has been
created is perceived) and dRshTi-sRshTi vAda (perception is simultaneous with
creation). The ajAti view is held in the pAramArthika sense, while the other two views
are held in the vyAvahArika sense. As in most issues in advaita philosophy, the writings
of Sankara themselves draw upon all these views, while later writers develop upon one
or the other view. The ajAti vAda is mainly elaborated by gauDapAda, Sankara's
paramaguru. However, please remember that the advaita tradition is one of oral teaching,
and therefore the description that follows is not exhaustive. A given teacher may use one
or more of these vAdas, depending upon his own views, the student's ability, and other
factors.
sRshTi-dRshTi vAda :-
Whether of the bhAmatI or of the vivaraNa school of post-Sankaran advaita, most
authors start off assuming the universe. For the beginning student, this makes sense,
because everybody starts off by observing a universe distinct from "oneself", and
believing that this observed universe has a distinct reality apart from "oneself". So long
as this "oneself" is identified by the observer, not with the Atman, but with anAtman,
advaitins would say that there is a difference between the observed ("the universe"
which, by the way, is wrongly perceived) and the observer (the "oneself" which is
wrongly identified). At this stage, there is still ignorance about the true nature of external
things and oneself. Taking this ignorance into account, and referring to the IkshaNa-
Sruti (tadaikshta bahusyAm prajAyeya - this sentence occurs almost every time there is
talk of creation in the upanishads, as in the sad-vidyA section of the chAndogya), the
universe is held to be created by brahman in His capacity as ISvara. This is the sRshTidRshTi
vAda, i.e. the universe that is seen has been created by ISvara. sRshTi (creation)
is therefore prior to dRshTi (perception). In other words, advaita vedAnta can accept the
view that a thing has to exist, in order for it to be perceived. Note that this view also
entails what is known as aneka-jIva vAda - the view that there are multiple jIvas,
corresponding to numerous sentient individuals in the universe.
However, it is pointed out that to even talk of creation, one has to assume avidyA, and
one has to admit of mAyA, as the power of ISvara. Under this view, mAyA is accorded