Mithya: Neither Real Nor Unreal - Dependent Reality
- Daniel McKenzie
- Sep 10
- 3 min read
Updated: 3 days ago
The term mithyā (mithya) is one of Vedanta’s most subtle and central teachings. It does not mean illusion in the sense of nonexistence, nor does it mean real in the sense of absolute truth. Rather, mithya refers to that which is dependent reality — something that appears, is experienced, yet has no independent existence of its own.
The classic example is a clay pot. The pot exists, but only as clay shaped into a form. The clay is satya (independent reality); the pot is mithya (dependent reality). When the pot breaks, clay remains. The pot never had existence apart from clay. In the same way, the entire world of names and forms is mithya with respect to Brahman, the substratum of all existence.
This definition helps us resolve the paradox of experience. The world appears and is undeniable. But to mistake it for ultimate reality leads to suffering, because everything in mithya is impermanent, unstable, and dependent. As Swami Paramarthananda says: dvaita (duality) is not a problem; mistaking dvaita as satya is the problem. Reliance on what is unstable leads to samsara. Liberation comes by recognizing that while the world appears, its essence is only Brahman.
Mithya is sometimes described as anirvachaniya — indefinable, neither real nor unreal. Like a dream, it is real while experienced, but gone upon waking. Like the snake imagined on a rope, it borrows reality from its substratum. Like the patterns traced by a firebrand in the dark, it appears vividly yet leaves no trace.
Far from being abstract metaphysics, the understanding of mithya transforms daily life. If everything perceived is only apparently real, then our attachments, fears, and anxieties about the world lose their sting. As teachers often say: The dog is mithya, but so is the running from the dog! — both are appearances within consciousness. To grasp mithya is to see that nothing in experience can add to or subtract from the fullness of the Self.
Root & Meaning
From Sanskrit mithyā = false, dependent, apparently real.
That which is neither absolutely real (satya) nor absolutely unreal (asat), but which appears and depends on something else for its existence.
Scriptural References
Chandogya Upanishad (6.1): clay and pot analogy — the pot is mithya, clay alone is satya.
Bhagavad Gita (2.16): nabhavo vidyate sattah — the unreal has no being; the real never ceases to be.
Mandukya Karika (2.31–32): Gaudapada explains that the world has no origination; it is mere appearance, like dream.
Traditional View
Mithya includes both objective reality (pots, tables, bodies) and subjective reality (dreams, projections).
Objects are empirically real for practical use, but ultimately depend on Brahman.
The world is mithya in relation to Brahman; Brahman alone is satya.
Vedantic Analysis
Mithya can be understood through three key definitions:
That which changes (vikaritva): Whatever undergoes modification cannot be ultimate reality.
That which is not always present (anityatva): What appears and disappears in time is mithya.
That which is made up of parts (savayavatva): Whatever is composite is dependent, and hence mithya.
All three reveal mithya as dependent and impermanent. By contrast, Brahman is satya because it is changeless, ever-present, and partless.
Mithya is sat-asat-vilakshanam: different from both sat (real) and asat (unreal).
It is experienced but has no independent being.
The mind and the world are interdependent and borrow existence from awareness.
Maya, the power of projection, is itself mithya — inexplicable, beginningless, neither real nor unreal.
Understanding mithya is key to moksha: it frees us from mistaking the changing for the changeless.
Common Misunderstandings
Mithya = illusion/nonexistence: No, it is not like a square circle, which is sheer nonexistence. It appears and functions.
Mithya = deception: It is not “falsehood” but dependent reality. A pot truly holds water, though it is mithyā with respect to clay.
Mithya = pessimism: The recognition of mithya actually puts “the fun back in life,” because nothing real is ever at stake.
Vedantic Resolution
Mithya is the middle category that reconciles experience and truth. The world is not denied; it is reclassified. One learns to live in the world, transact with it, even delight in its variety, while knowing its essence is Brahman alone. Liberation is not escaping Mithya but recognizing: Brahma satyam, jagan mithya, jivah brahmaiva na aparah — Brahman is the real, the world is mithya, the jiva is none other than Brahman.
