Reality 106
Self-Knowledge [further continued]:
Self-Knowledge [further continued]:
Bondage is only Ignorance, or error in understanding. One does not attain Self-Knowledge due to Ignorance about the True Nature of the Self & adherence to false conceptions about the Self. The Ignorance makes one feel bound, & the adherence to false notions maintains the Ignorance, yielding the apparent solidity & false continuity of Illusion. Both Ignorance & the tendency to adhere to it are destroyed by Self-Inquiry to know the Truth of the Self.
Sri Shankara declares that just as trees on the bank seem to move when one is in a moving boat, so “transmigratory existence” (life in a Waking World, repeating like nightly dreams, but rather as “physical” Re-incarnation) seems to be true to one who mis–identifies the Self with the Mind.
Thus, when the Mind “moves”, one thinks that the Self (like the stationary trees) “moves”. When the Mind is still, one assumes the Self is still. Because the modifications of the Mind are pervaded by the reflected light of Consciousness, with the qualities of Reality & Identity borrowed from pure Being, one assumes that the Self is identical with the Mind & identifies oneself with those modifications. Thus one imagines, “my thoughts, my state of mind or being, my experiences, etc.” The Mind, or the Ego, is objective, appearing by the light of pure (absolute non-dual) Consciousness alone. Pure Consciousness is the Absolute & is directly realized as existing as such when the “this”, or the objective portion, falsely attributed to it is negated.
Ignorance, or Illusion, is merely a superimposition. By “superimposition” is meant the imagined placement of some attributes, that do not belong to the Self, upon the Self. The basis of the superimposition is real. That basis is pure Existence, pure Consciousness. The superimposed is not a reality in & of itself, but is only a product of Imagination, the result of Ignorance.
It is like the snake imagined to be present when there is only a discarded rope in dim light. The snake is not real & was not really born. But in Imagination, the snake seems to be there, & as long as one is convinced that the snake is there, the true rope is invisible. If one removes that Illusion with the light of Knowledge, he sees the rope alone, as it is, which has been the only reality the entire time. The snake in the analogy represents all that is attributed falsely to the Reality of the Absolute Self, such as the World, the Body, Mind & its conceptions & tendencies, as well as Ego.
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"There is no Creation, no Destruction, no Bondage, no longing to be freed from Bondage, no striving for Liberation, nor anyone who has attained Liberation. Know that this to be Ultimate Truth."
– the "no creation" school of Gaudapada Nome – Ajata Vada
for very succinct summary of the teaching & practice, see: www.ajatavada.com/
[A brief note of explanation – the other Blog noted below is entitled "Non-Duality & Science", & so the more Science oriented pages (from what I like to think of as a "comic book") have been posted there, while other chapters have been posted here. Science is a mental discipline that attracts some worthy admirers & participators. Some of these, too few, are good prospects for the ancient teaching introduced here in many ways. Otherwise certain Science topics like the Anthropic Principle, reinforce the general Theism which is a good idea in this materialistic age. A few other topics in Science, such as the Copenhagen II – Max Born – Von Neumann – Wigner model of Quantum Mechanics, are worthy entries to the extent that they introduce Consciousness into the physical Sciences. All that aside, the real topic here is the pinnacle as Advaita Vedanta, Non-Duality – that pinnacle being Ajata Vada, No–Creation. The great Teachers of the same include Sri Shankara & Sri Ramana Maharshi. Both would support Theism in general & adaptations of Vedanta, such as Vishishtadvaita Vedanta – Qualified Non-Duality, for those not making headway in Ajata Vada, their present course of growth might be better served with a temporary involvement in Qualified Non-Duality. The scientist who perhaps best expresses the influence of Qualified Non-Duality in Science, for instance, would be the quintessential "New–Age" Quantum Physicist, Amit Goswami. And so to that source, & the Quantum Activism he currently advocates [with a 1–course degree program], along with more than a half-dozen good books & former participation in the controversial What the Bleep movie, to him I extend enthusiastic endorsement, for that Qualified Non-Duality described in the context of Science. I do not stand so much "with him", as much as nearby saluting his good work. Again, as here, the goal is inserting Consciousness into Science & "saving the World."]
[A brief note of explanation – the other Blog noted below is entitled "Non-Duality & Science", & so the more Science oriented pages (from what I like to think of as a "comic book") have been posted there, while other chapters have been posted here. Science is a mental discipline that attracts some worthy admirers & participators. Some of these, too few, are good prospects for the ancient teaching introduced here in many ways. Otherwise certain Science topics like the Anthropic Principle, reinforce the general Theism which is a good idea in this materialistic age. A few other topics in Science, such as the Copenhagen II – Max Born – Von Neumann – Wigner model of Quantum Mechanics, are worthy entries to the extent that they introduce Consciousness into the physical Sciences. All that aside, the real topic here is the pinnacle as Advaita Vedanta, Non-Duality – that pinnacle being Ajata Vada, No–Creation. The great Teachers of the same include Sri Shankara & Sri Ramana Maharshi. Both would support Theism in general & adaptations of Vedanta, such as Vishishtadvaita Vedanta – Qualified Non-Duality, for those not making headway in Ajata Vada, their present course of growth might be better served with a temporary involvement in Qualified Non-Duality. The scientist who perhaps best expresses the influence of Qualified Non-Duality in Science, for instance, would be the quintessential "New–Age" Quantum Physicist, Amit Goswami. And so to that source, & the Quantum Activism he currently advocates [with a 1–course degree program], along with more than a half-dozen good books & former participation in the controversial What the Bleep movie, to him I extend enthusiastic endorsement, for that Qualified Non-Duality described in the context of Science. I do not stand so much "with him", as much as nearby saluting his good work. Again, as here, the goal is inserting Consciousness into Science & "saving the World."]
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