/lit/ - Literature

>>16879335
>why does he accept this?
Asking why something happens or asking why an entity accepts something is asking for the reason for something. But asking for the reason for something is just another way of asking for the cause of something. But for something which is absolutely uncaused, it can have no cause for It, It simply is. Why maya takes place, why Brahman permits it to do so, these are the very uncaused nature of Brahman Itself. Every other answer is automatically wrong, because if there was a reason for why Brahman did or accepted something, then as something which is subject to causes in the forms of reasons for why It is or does something, then Brahman would then no longer be uncaused and would not be the eternal and beginningless uncaused basis of everything else.
>How isn't there evil in him if he tolerates evil?
Because it's not actually evil, evil is not a real category and this is something which the soul can directly experience as true in enlightenment.
>I think you get my goal with all this. I suspect that advaita doesn't free you from the traditional problems of natural theology, including the problem of evil.
It does though, see above, in fact the author Arthur Herman in his book "Indian Thought and the Problem of Evil" examines various answers including those given in Platonism, Christianity, etc and he introduces logical equations to map his arguments, and in the end he concludes that actually only Hinduism properly solves the problem of evil (one could perhaps argue the esoteric mystic equivalents in some other religions do so as well)

>"Thus we must conclude that if there is a theological problem of evil, one perfectly respectable response to it, despite a few minor philosophical puzzles for the plain man, would be that provided by Vedāntists like Śaṅkarā and Rāmānujā'
- Arthur Herman

>>15791879
The Upanishads and Brahma Sutras with Shankara's commentaries

>"Thus we must conclude that if there is a theological problem of evil, one perfectly respectable response to it, despite a few minor philosophical puzzles for the plain man, would be that provided by Vedāntists like Śaṅkarā and Rāmānujā'
- Arthur Herman

>"Thus we must conclude that if there is a theological problem of evil, one perfectly respectable response to it, despite a few minor philosophical puzzles for the plain man, would be that provided by Vedāntists like Śaṅkarā and Rāmānujā'

>The author identifies some 25 historical solutions to the problem [of evil] which are then reduced. Beginning with the problem of evil in the west professor A.L. Herman traces the history of one of the most fascinating of all perennial philosophical puzzles. The author identifies some twenty one historical solutions to the problem which are then reduced to eight quite distinct solutions. Prof. Herman then turns in the second part of the book to the history of the problem of evil in Indian thought. The author then joins the analysis of the problem of evil (taken from the first part of the book) to the Indian doctrine of rebirth in order to attempt a solution to the problem. By careful analysis the author shows that the doctrine of rebirth can satisfy the conditions already set forth as adequate for a solution to the problem of evil.

>>13429488
>The author identifies some 25 historical solutions to the problem which are then reduced. Beginning with the problem of evil in the west professor A.L. Herman traces the history of one of the most fascinating of all perennial philosophical puzzles. The author identifies some twenty one historical solutions to the problem which are then reduced to eight quite distinct solutions. Prof. Herman then turns in the second part of the book to the history of the problem of evil in Indian thought. The author then joins the analysis of the problem of evil (taken from the first part of the book) to the Indian doctrine of rebirth in order to attempt a solution to the problem. By careful analysis the author shows that the doctrine of rebirth can satisfy the conditions already set forth as adequate for a solution to the problem of evil.

>>12882961
>The author identifies some 25 historical solutions to the problem which are then reduced. Beginning with the problem of evil in the west professor A.L. Herman traces the history of one of the most fascinating of all perennial philosophical puzzles. The author identifies some twenty one historical solutions to the problem which are then reduced to eight quite distinct solutions. Prof. Herman then turns in the second part of the book to the history of the problem of evil in Indian thought. The author then joins the analysis of the problem of evil (taken from the first part of the book) to the Indian doctrine of rebirth in order to attempt a solution to the problem. By careful analysis the author shows that the doctrine of rebirth can satisfy the conditions already set forth as adequate for a solution to the problem of evil.

>>12883441
Some areas of Hindu thought give the answer as 'Lila', which sorta means the spontaneous divine play, and this Lila is why the unreal world was created and experienced, because in a sense it is the disport of Brahman. The question has to do with the 'descent of the soul' which nobody really has a rock-solid irrefutable answer for. I also see the answers from Neoplatonism and Sufism as somewhat applying, namely that unreal creation is a consequences of Brahman's 'fullness' or 'not-nothingness', in the sense of being water overflowing a basin or light coming off of the sun.

>Brahman is full of all perfections. And to say that Brahman has some purpose in creating the world will mean that it wants to attain through the process of creation something which it has not. And that is impossible. Hence, there can be no purpose of Brahman in creating the world. The world is a mere spontaneous creation of Brahman. It is a Lila, or sport, of Brahman. It is created out of Bliss, by Bliss and for Bliss. Lila indicates a spontaneous sportive activity of Brahman as distinguished from a self-conscious volitional effort. The concept of Lila signifies freedom as distinguished from necessity.

>the all-comprehensive Divine Being in its cosmic aspect of playful, aimless display (lila)—which precipitates pain as well as joy, but in its bliss transcends them both.

>>12864518
>The author identifies some 25 historical solutions to the problem which are then reduced. Beginning with the problem of evil in the west professor A.L. Herman traces the history of one of the most fascinating of all perennial philosophical puzzles. The author identifies some twenty one historical solutions to the problem which are then reduced to eight quite distinct solutions. Prof. Herman then turns in the second part of the book to the history of the problem of evil in Indian thought. The author then joins the analysis of the problem of evil (taken from the first part of the book) to the Indian doctrine of rebirth in order to attempt a solution to the problem. By careful analysis the author shows that the doctrine of rebirth can satisfy the conditions already set forth as adequate for a solution to the problem of evil.

>>12614208
you might find this book to be very enjoyable and helpful to your dissertation, it's well-written and comparisions to western thinkers abound throughout it