Pañca-Bhūta-Viveka | Inquiry into the Five Elements

Pancha-Bhuta-Viveka

Pañca-Bhūta-Viveka (IAST)
Translation: "inquiry into the five elements"

A Concise Dictionary of Indian Philosophy
Sanskrit: पञ्चभूतविवेक
Transliteration: Pañca-Bhūta-Viveka
Translation: "inquiry into the five elements"
Definition:

1. The title of the second chapter of the Pañcadaśī and a method which inquires into the nature of the five elements in order to demonstrate that the real is not the objective world made of the five elements.
2. According to Advaita Vedānta, when all of the elements are denied, only existence (Sat) remains.
3. The principle employed is: What is grosser and more external is less real than the subtler, more internal, more pervasive. As the Self is the subtlest and innermost being, it is the most supremely real, according to Advaita Vedānta.

Reference:

1. Grimes, John (1996). A Concise Dictionary of Indian Philosophy: Sanskrit Terms Defined in English. Albany: State University of New York Press