Does mithya mean illusion or hallucination – is the material world illusion or hallucination?
Is mithya illusion or hallucination? Illusion means that there is an external object but it is wrongly perceived. Whereas hallucination means there is no external object, there is just imaginary perception. So when Shankara says, Shankaracharya says, jagan mithya, which category does it fall in? Is it illusion or hallucination? And further, what is the actual nature of reality? What is the Vaishnava understanding also? Answer, there are two.
In general, terms in languages often come from certain conceptual contexts. So we have to be very careful how we apply some terms. So psychology as it is understood in the modern circles and philosophy as it is understood in the Vedic traditional circles, they are quite different.
And sometimes words may be used in a general sense and a technical sense. So the difference between illusion and hallucination that you are talking about, that is more of a technical difference. It's more of a difference within psychology.
So as far as the Vedic, as far as the philosophical understanding is concerned, now we know the world exists. The Vaishnava understanding is that the world is also real because it is energy of the Lord. Now what is unreal is the idea that this world is meant for my enjoyment or that this world will provide me enjoyment.
That is the illusion. So from that perspective, the world is illusion. It's not hallucination.
Now when Shankaracharya uses the word jagan mithya, that is often translated as the world is illusion. And that is true. But then when in the Advaitic thought the word illusion is used, that is used in that context.
You cannot say that that word illusion necessarily means what illusion means in modern psychology or modern terminology. So there the idea is brahma satya jagan mithya. So it's a compound phrase or there are two phrases over there.
So and jagan mithya is used as a contrast to brahma satya. That means brahma is the only reality and the whole world is an illusion. So there it means as if the world doesn't have existence only in the ultimate sense.
The world may have provisional existence as long as we are in illusion. But once we transcend the illusion, once we realize we are Brahman, the world no longer has any provisional existence. Such a conception we understand is actually not true.
So within the Advaitic conception, the world is considered actually provisionally existent. That means it's only existed now and it will not be existed in the future. And it's actually not even existing now.
But because we are illusion, it exists. So their understanding is that it is more like something which they also don't consider to be exactly a hallucination. Basically their idea is more of it's a provisional reality.
It is provisional realities. So once you realize the world doesn't exist at all. Now that is not the Vishnu understanding.
The world is real. Matter is also the energy of the Lord. Matter will always exist.
What will not exist is its present. The present conception that matter is my source of enjoyment or matter will be my source of enjoyment. Once we are freed from that, then we are actually free from bondage.