A person has many varied experiences in a day, yet somehow one still knows, I am me. One may feel happy or sad, thoughtful or anxious, the states come and go. Experiencing all these different states, one might think the person would feel discontinuous, but that doesn't appear to happen. One still considers oneself an individual.
How is it that one doesn't loose oneself? The inference is that there is something stable behind the individual, something ongoing, something real. The unchanging background of awareness is what Vedantins call it. And the One who knows this is called "Realized."
As the person remains himself, or herself, despite the constant changes, just so, consciousness itself remains one, despite having the experience of billions of different bodies. Not only is this similar to the person's sense of retaining individuality, it is the same thing, for the background of all persons, that which provides the background, is Consciousness itself.
Vedanta establishes that there is no difference between an individual having various passing feelings and thoughts, and consciousness having the experience of billions of bodies. The person passes in an out of feelings and thoughts, and Consciousness knows the passing in and out of experience, of all the bodies.
The experience of the individual, and the experience of Consciousness are One and the same. The only difference is that the individual feels that his body-mind owns the consciousness, whereas, in fact, the individual is only a focal point in consciousness. The mistaken identity is simply ignorance. To "realize," is simply to see through the ignorance.
Body-mind states come and go, yet the person knows himself as one. Consciousness experiences the coming and going of bodies, yet knows itself as One. The coming and going of body-minds does not split consciousness into the many. There is only One in many forms. Realize that and be free.
Showing posts with label Advaita. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Advaita. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Advaita Round Robin
Advaitists tell us that:
Enlightenment means realizing that, "You are not the doer."
Enlightenment means realizing that, "The Absolute is the only doer."
Enlightenment means realizing that, "You are That."
So - enlightenment leaves you back as the doer after all!
~ John Wren-Lewis ~
So, we are back again, in the world, as the doer. How does that feel? Does it feel enlightened?
Any way you look at it, you end up being the doer. It's just that depending on the level of awareness, one is either a personal doer, or an impersonal doer.
One could say, "Whatever I do is the will of Source," and absolve oneself of any responsibility. Notice however, that this absolution is aligned with the small self, making excuses for the small self to do whatever it desires to do.
Perhaps, as awareness increases, one surrenders the little doer for the bigger one. One may find oneself repeating lines from the Lord's Prayer. "Thy will be done."
Would not a true sense of the larger self ask, "What is thy will?"
The higher level of awareness actually takes more responsibility, not less. Whereas the gang-banger selling drugs on the street corner, does not think about what is good for anyone else.
So perhaps one needs to consider the level of responsibility one takes for oneself, and the world, as an indication of how enlightened one actually is.
This of course, does not preclude surrender, as in "Thy will be done."
Thus one is in the position of "Thy will be done," and here is my contribution. I give what I can give, without taking on responsibility for the results.
Enlightenment means realizing that, "You are not the doer."
Enlightenment means realizing that, "The Absolute is the only doer."
Enlightenment means realizing that, "You are That."
So - enlightenment leaves you back as the doer after all!
~ John Wren-Lewis ~
So, we are back again, in the world, as the doer. How does that feel? Does it feel enlightened?
Any way you look at it, you end up being the doer. It's just that depending on the level of awareness, one is either a personal doer, or an impersonal doer.
One could say, "Whatever I do is the will of Source," and absolve oneself of any responsibility. Notice however, that this absolution is aligned with the small self, making excuses for the small self to do whatever it desires to do.
Perhaps, as awareness increases, one surrenders the little doer for the bigger one. One may find oneself repeating lines from the Lord's Prayer. "Thy will be done."
Would not a true sense of the larger self ask, "What is thy will?"
The higher level of awareness actually takes more responsibility, not less. Whereas the gang-banger selling drugs on the street corner, does not think about what is good for anyone else.
So perhaps one needs to consider the level of responsibility one takes for oneself, and the world, as an indication of how enlightened one actually is.
This of course, does not preclude surrender, as in "Thy will be done."
Thus one is in the position of "Thy will be done," and here is my contribution. I give what I can give, without taking on responsibility for the results.