Sage Ramana asks us to contemplate on "Who AM I", which is a pointer to REALITY. What is REALITY then? Who is this "I"? Is the 'I' different from what I AM? These are dobts arising in ME. My understanding is: "I" is Consciousness (bhodam) ; This "I" Consciousness is the expression of "AWARENESS". I AM is an appearance on the I Consciousness as a sense of Existence. Without I there is no I AM. To understand these concepts we need an analogy. Water,( the Reality) expresses as Ocean (I Consciousness), and waves thereon make an appearance as I AM. The Universe is perceived as 'I AM'. Without "AWARENESS" there is no "I". Without "I" there is no "I AM" and in the absence of "I AM" there is no Universe. Apart from Awareness, I-Consciousness, I AM-Universe, there is an imaginary "I" (a phantom" I " known as ME or MINE) claiming individualiy and freedom of volition. The status of this imaginary "I" can be remembered by the status of an individual wave among the innumerable waves in the Ocean. How ridiculous for a wave claiming independent existence and freedom of volition! Sage Ramana's advice is to find out the REAL I (in the analogy of ' Water - ocean - waves - wave', the wave has to castaway the enclosure it has assumed around it) . Sri Sankara's aphorism " Brahma Satyam; Jagan mitya; Jeevo Brahmaiva na aparah " - Brahman Alone is Real; the world is unreal; the individual soul is non-different from Brahman - may be remembered in this context. The 'world is unreal' has to be understood as "All differences and plurality are illusory"; " Brahman is homogeneous and Whatever is, is Brahman".
In the vedantic texts there is a mention about seven spheres of ignorance. They are:
Beeja - Jagrat; Jagrat; Maha - Jagrat; Jagrat-swapna; Swapna; Swapna - Jagrat and Susuhpthi.
Beeja-jagrat = I-Conciousness (in a static stage, without object) otherwise known as 'Avyakta' 'Akshara" or Ishwara
Jagrat= "I AM"-Consciousness with the sense of perception - otherwise known as 'vyakta', 'kshara' "viswam"
Maha-jagrat: 'Iam so & so (with a name and form) - sense of individuality and volition of its own = Vyakthy; phantom I
Jagrat-swapna: vyakthy entertaining desires, fear and anxiety
Swapna: an echo of maha jgrat and jagrat swapna
Swapna-jagrat: -do -
Sushupthy: deep-sleep where "I" consciousness remains dormant, and "I AM" and "ME" are absent
Similar to the seven spheres of ignorance there are seven spheres of Knowledge. They are:
subeccha; Vicharana; Asanga-bhavana; vilapani; satvapatthi; Pathartha-bhavana; Thureeya
Good intention; spiritual inquiry, attitude of detachment; vasanas - submerging, bodhananda bhava; enlightenment and Mukthy.
Thureeya is " I Consciousness" witnessing its own sankalpa of "I AM" the Universe and "ME" the imaginary individual I .
It is "I Consciousness" that decides out of sankalpa, the course of the Universe, similar to Ocean deciding the course of the movements of the waves.
Only by doing all these tatwa-vicharas we may be able to understand the purport of the Sage's advice. In the absence of sravana, manana and Nidhityasana, a mere repetition of the advice "Who AM I" as a mantra , I am afraid, would lead us nowhere. Sage Ramana is pointing out the temporality of the phantom I and the eternity of Real I. He is pointing out the illusory wave claiming independent status, visa-vis the Ocean, the substratum, and the water, the reality.
Monday, June 26, 2006
Thursday, June 22, 2006
ETERNAL SEARCH
What is this search for? A dreamer searching for the dream person? A shadow searching for its source? A phantom-I" searching for the "real I"? A wave searching for the ocean? A person not counting himself as the tenth man and searching for him in the asembly of ten? The Truth is that there is no dreamer, there is no shadow; there is no phantom I, there is no individual wave and there is none missing. The shadow exists because of the false notion entertained by an individual that he stands independent of the SOURCE. Similarly, it is out of sheer ignorance that a wave feels itself independent, and the man too out of forgetfulness omitted to count himself. So long as, there is ignorance and there is forgetfulness about our true nature , the search will go on for ever. A dreamer cannot find out the dream person so long as he is in the dream. All these statements are mere concepts!! Once the dreamer wakes up from the dream, the concepts come to an end., or conversely, when the concepts end, the dreamer wakes up.
With the above 'concepts' in mind, we may proceed with the 'search'. Philosophers as well as Vedantins commonly use a few terminologies in their search. They are:
Brahman -- Ishwara -- Viswam -- Jeeva
Awareness - Consciousness -- Universe -- individual
Noumenon - No-phenomena - phenomena -- sentience
Base -- Substratum -- Appearance -- manifestation
Aadharam -- Athishtanam -- Abhasam -- Prathibhasam
Vyaktavyakta -- Avyakta -- Vyakta -- Vyakthy
Purushottama -- Akshara Purusha -- Kshara Purusha -- jeevatma
Paramashiva -- Parashakthy -- Adhishakthy -- Iccha-kriya-gnana sakthy
Mayadeeda -- Mahamaya -- Jaganmaya -- jeeva
In each of the above quadruplets, the first one represents Absolute, the second one is Expression, the third one is Appearance and the last one is dreamer-the individual!
The individual experiences pleasure and pain alternately while reacting with persons and events. He desires for continuous pleasure forgetting the fact that pleasure and pain are two facets of the same coin. It is PEACE that appears as pleasure and pain on either side. The Truth is that both pleasure and pain, apparently opposites, get synthesised in PEACE (which is the swaroopa of Consciousness - the Source of the individual) We can see many more dualities , apparently opposites, posing as thesis and anti-thesis, getting merged in synthesis. To mention a few: Ritam and satyam merging in Param; preyas and sreyas merging in Moksha; priyam and hitam merging in Anantham, aham and twam merging in Asmi, avaranam and vikshepam merging in Vastu-nishtam; apara and para merging in Paratpara, saguna and nirguna merging in Gunatheeha; gnanam and vignanam merging in Atma-gnanam , vyakta and avyakta merging in vyaktavyakta, kshara and akshara merging in Purushottama, Adhisakthy and parasakthy merging in Paramasiva, Universe and consciousness merging in Awareness, Ishwara and Viswam merging in Brahmam.
The individual experiences duality only because he has forgotten the SOURCE--Consciousness--Peace. The peace in him (which is his true nature) dissipates as pleasure and pain. To the extent he develops an attitude of equanimity, he realises his Self - he realises PEACE - his true nature. With this realisation established permanently in him, he could see his Self in all beings and all beings in his Self. There is no more duality of subject and object. An individual wave finds harmony with other waves realising that they in common emanate from the Ocean, exist in the Ocean and ultimately dissolve in the Ocean. Similarly, an individual feels harmony with the entire universe once he has realised that both himself and the universe rest in Consciousness.
The individual is Consciousness, the Universe is Consciousness and whatever is, is Consciousness only. Consciousness is the expression of Awareness and it is Consciousness which appears as Universe . The individuals with a sense of individuality and doership and experiencing the dual aspects of pleasure and pain, are also in the 'sankalpam' of that One Source - Consciousness.
The dreamer-individual is dreaming with dream concepts of independece, sense of doership and experience of pleasure and pain. Consciousness which has caused the dreamer and the dream, shall one day (if It chooses so) wake this dreamer up from the dream to remain as Consciousness (pure) forever. May this dreamer till then merge with the Cosmic Dream!! (Consciousness, the maker of the cosmic dream has control over it and each event in the Cosmic dream is decided by the Consciousness similar to the ocean deciding the course of individual wave) The Cosmic dream of the Consciousness is the Universe along with the illusion of individual with a sense of volition of his own. The purpose for which Consciousness creates a dream and a dreamer entity is best known to Consciousness only. A microcosmic dreamer-"an individual wavelet", cannot measure the fathom of the Ocean. May the Will of Consciousness function in this tiny speck ,as It Wills.
With the above 'concepts' in mind, we may proceed with the 'search'. Philosophers as well as Vedantins commonly use a few terminologies in their search. They are:
Brahman -- Ishwara -- Viswam -- Jeeva
Awareness - Consciousness -- Universe -- individual
Noumenon - No-phenomena - phenomena -- sentience
Base -- Substratum -- Appearance -- manifestation
Aadharam -- Athishtanam -- Abhasam -- Prathibhasam
Vyaktavyakta -- Avyakta -- Vyakta -- Vyakthy
Purushottama -- Akshara Purusha -- Kshara Purusha -- jeevatma
Paramashiva -- Parashakthy -- Adhishakthy -- Iccha-kriya-gnana sakthy
Mayadeeda -- Mahamaya -- Jaganmaya -- jeeva
In each of the above quadruplets, the first one represents Absolute, the second one is Expression, the third one is Appearance and the last one is dreamer-the individual!
The individual experiences pleasure and pain alternately while reacting with persons and events. He desires for continuous pleasure forgetting the fact that pleasure and pain are two facets of the same coin. It is PEACE that appears as pleasure and pain on either side. The Truth is that both pleasure and pain, apparently opposites, get synthesised in PEACE (which is the swaroopa of Consciousness - the Source of the individual) We can see many more dualities , apparently opposites, posing as thesis and anti-thesis, getting merged in synthesis. To mention a few: Ritam and satyam merging in Param; preyas and sreyas merging in Moksha; priyam and hitam merging in Anantham, aham and twam merging in Asmi, avaranam and vikshepam merging in Vastu-nishtam; apara and para merging in Paratpara, saguna and nirguna merging in Gunatheeha; gnanam and vignanam merging in Atma-gnanam , vyakta and avyakta merging in vyaktavyakta, kshara and akshara merging in Purushottama, Adhisakthy and parasakthy merging in Paramasiva, Universe and consciousness merging in Awareness, Ishwara and Viswam merging in Brahmam.
The individual experiences duality only because he has forgotten the SOURCE--Consciousness--Peace. The peace in him (which is his true nature) dissipates as pleasure and pain. To the extent he develops an attitude of equanimity, he realises his Self - he realises PEACE - his true nature. With this realisation established permanently in him, he could see his Self in all beings and all beings in his Self. There is no more duality of subject and object. An individual wave finds harmony with other waves realising that they in common emanate from the Ocean, exist in the Ocean and ultimately dissolve in the Ocean. Similarly, an individual feels harmony with the entire universe once he has realised that both himself and the universe rest in Consciousness.
The individual is Consciousness, the Universe is Consciousness and whatever is, is Consciousness only. Consciousness is the expression of Awareness and it is Consciousness which appears as Universe . The individuals with a sense of individuality and doership and experiencing the dual aspects of pleasure and pain, are also in the 'sankalpam' of that One Source - Consciousness.
The dreamer-individual is dreaming with dream concepts of independece, sense of doership and experience of pleasure and pain. Consciousness which has caused the dreamer and the dream, shall one day (if It chooses so) wake this dreamer up from the dream to remain as Consciousness (pure) forever. May this dreamer till then merge with the Cosmic Dream!! (Consciousness, the maker of the cosmic dream has control over it and each event in the Cosmic dream is decided by the Consciousness similar to the ocean deciding the course of individual wave) The Cosmic dream of the Consciousness is the Universe along with the illusion of individual with a sense of volition of his own. The purpose for which Consciousness creates a dream and a dreamer entity is best known to Consciousness only. A microcosmic dreamer-"an individual wavelet", cannot measure the fathom of the Ocean. May the Will of Consciousness function in this tiny speck ,as It Wills.
Monday, June 05, 2006
TRUTH--ABSOLUTE
TRUTH ABSOLUTE
We have a body - a physical structure- and we are ever conscious of it.
So long as we have this body-consciousness, we would continue to differentiate chit and jadam, dehi and deham, kshetragna and kshetra, akshara and kshara, atma and anatma, actual and perceptual, avibhaktham and vibhaktham, consciousness(pure) and consciousness (dynamic), purusha and prakrithy, Ishwara and jagat,etc. This body- consciousness would disappear only with the death of the physical structure, and in some exceptional cases, it would disappear when one enters nirvikalpa samadhy. Even saints and sages who are intellectually convinced about the adwaithic finality of the one TRUTH Absolute (Awareness), are not able to outlive this phenomenon of body- consciousness. However,our understanding of the TRUTH ABSOLUTE (Awareness) contemplatively would enable us to remain as Pure Consciousness, as a Witness, to all its reflections. Pure Consciousness is the Witness to its own reflection which shines as diversified form of consciousness. To make it more clear -Pure Consciousness is the Witness and the Consciousness in the reflected aspect is the doer while TRUTH Absolute -Awareness- remains as such without the act of doership or witnessing.
Pure Consciousness is known differently as Chit, Dehi, Purusha, Ishwara etc. The first expression of the Absolute is Pure Consciousness . Vedantins declare this as 'beeja jagrat'. The reflection of consciousness is 'Jagrat" and with the sense of individuality and sense of doership the same becomes 'maha jagrat. "I" is the 'beeja jagrat': "I AM" is the 'jagrat' and "I am so and so; this is mine" is the 'maha jagrat'. In beeja jagrat, Consciousness remains as such. in the jagrat, the reflection of Consciousness is dynamic, and in the maha jagrat, the reflection is ego. It can be easily remembered with the analogy of Water, ocean, waves and individual wave (Water the Reality; Ocean the Pure Consciousness: waves the Consciousness reflected as dynamic; and individual wave is the ego sense of individuality and doership. Truth Absolute (Awareness) is the base; Pure Consciousness (the first expression) is the substratum, and the Universe(consciousness in dynamic form) is the REFLECTION. Ishwara ( another name of Consciousness) is the expression of the Truth Absolute. I see Him enveloping the Universe, I see Him in me and I see Him in 'perceiving'. It is His will that prevails to express as phenomena, to express as individual and to express as individual volition. With this intellectual conviction and by contemplative vision of the one and only Truth, let my little ego immerse in Him just as a wavelet immerses in the Ocean. May His Will prevail. May I ever feel that I am only a wavelet willed by the vast Ocean of Consciousness. This is the Ultimte Truth.
We have a body - a physical structure- and we are ever conscious of it.
So long as we have this body-consciousness, we would continue to differentiate chit and jadam, dehi and deham, kshetragna and kshetra, akshara and kshara, atma and anatma, actual and perceptual, avibhaktham and vibhaktham, consciousness(pure) and consciousness (dynamic), purusha and prakrithy, Ishwara and jagat,etc. This body- consciousness would disappear only with the death of the physical structure, and in some exceptional cases, it would disappear when one enters nirvikalpa samadhy. Even saints and sages who are intellectually convinced about the adwaithic finality of the one TRUTH Absolute (Awareness), are not able to outlive this phenomenon of body- consciousness. However,our understanding of the TRUTH ABSOLUTE (Awareness) contemplatively would enable us to remain as Pure Consciousness, as a Witness, to all its reflections. Pure Consciousness is the Witness to its own reflection which shines as diversified form of consciousness. To make it more clear -Pure Consciousness is the Witness and the Consciousness in the reflected aspect is the doer while TRUTH Absolute -Awareness- remains as such without the act of doership or witnessing.
Pure Consciousness is known differently as Chit, Dehi, Purusha, Ishwara etc. The first expression of the Absolute is Pure Consciousness . Vedantins declare this as 'beeja jagrat'. The reflection of consciousness is 'Jagrat" and with the sense of individuality and sense of doership the same becomes 'maha jagrat. "I" is the 'beeja jagrat': "I AM" is the 'jagrat' and "I am so and so; this is mine" is the 'maha jagrat'. In beeja jagrat, Consciousness remains as such. in the jagrat, the reflection of Consciousness is dynamic, and in the maha jagrat, the reflection is ego. It can be easily remembered with the analogy of Water, ocean, waves and individual wave (Water the Reality; Ocean the Pure Consciousness: waves the Consciousness reflected as dynamic; and individual wave is the ego sense of individuality and doership. Truth Absolute (Awareness) is the base; Pure Consciousness (the first expression) is the substratum, and the Universe(consciousness in dynamic form) is the REFLECTION. Ishwara ( another name of Consciousness) is the expression of the Truth Absolute. I see Him enveloping the Universe, I see Him in me and I see Him in 'perceiving'. It is His will that prevails to express as phenomena, to express as individual and to express as individual volition. With this intellectual conviction and by contemplative vision of the one and only Truth, let my little ego immerse in Him just as a wavelet immerses in the Ocean. May His Will prevail. May I ever feel that I am only a wavelet willed by the vast Ocean of Consciousness. This is the Ultimte Truth.
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