Musings on non-duality

[Unseeking Seeker]

To shed some light on non-duality, in as understood or let us say, recognised along my journey has brought about this post, inviting views from all:

So, say, we pick up any scripture, The holy bible, Bhagavad Gita or discourses by Ramana, Nisargadatta, Swami Sarvapriya Nanda, poems of Kabir, affirmations of Anandamayi Ma, Mehr Baba and many more, what is essentially pointed out to is that God alone is, the all there is and everything else is a manifestation or extension of His consciousness. Why, the epic book ‘The holy Science’ by Swami Yukteswar Giri begins by stating that ‘God or Sat is the only true substance and is all in all in the universe’.

Alright. Presented by wisdom of the ancients, we may accept or we may reject the teaching. Either way, it does not matter because be we for the motion or against it, we are operating from fulcrum of lower mind, generating a this or that concept.

We are here in duality. So we are the subject amidst myriad objects, cognised by awareness, enabled by mind and senses. We recognise we are limited by space and time and also the spectrum of our awareness operates in a narrow bandwidth. Moreover, our awareness is stuporous, going through waking, dreaming and deep sleep states. Even in the waking state, our attention oscillates.

From this dualistic state of consciousness, how can we say that non-duality is anything other than a mere concept and if it is, it is clearly not recognised. In my case too, it was as such and reinforced with an education in engineering, where logic, analysis and data were the guiding lights. There came a time however, when I chose to enter silence, to explore what lies beyond the range of fragmented thought.

Anyway, to cut to chase, there were several spiritual experiences, telepathic communications with ‘higher beings’, the kundalini activation finally resulting in both the dark void immersion as also later, bliss enablement in permanence. Let’s not go into all that right now. The takeaway however was that I was still in duality. The only exception was the couple of samadhi experiences where time and space disappeared and my formless awareness became, transmuted as the bliss flame, as one without a second. So, that’s non-dual but on ‘returning’ it was evident that the experience was without freedom in as, there was no way I could exit samadhi simply because there is no one there. Yet return I did, through an unknown mechanism. So, ok, great but nothing gained.

Abiding at all times in thought rested awareness, without any fear or desire, which became my ever present flowing orientation, it was only recently that one day, I ‘saw’ the ego or identity drop off, just as a dead leaf drops off a tree. It was so clear. Then all that was, was light of Self, soft white yet bright, renewing itself within itself in time and space vaporised Absoluteness, feeling complete, in ineffable peace, with complete freedom yet having no need for any coming or going or doing to be done in the state of being as such without attribute.

How long I remained as such I cannot tell. Clearly, this was singularity in the true sense, a state transcendental. The actions arising herefrom are choiceless, spontaneous and seemingly thus, I chose to return to form, bringing back the direct recognition of this knowing, which I may add, is gradually getting assimilated within that the litmus test of being that that does not come and go is established or embodied. In this contest, we may rely upon Swami Lakshmanjoo who said ‘with every breath we see the universe appear and disappear’ or words to that effect.

Back in duality what happens is that we look at the flow of life from the immediacy of the now-pulse, present fully therein, which automatically signals absence of thought* (*unless we need mind to perform a task, just like any other limb), a continuum of mindfulness, attentive and aware of the rising and subsiding of the external, within the tranquil internal. Oscillations yet are, in the human experience but I’d say, quite mild and with a rapid return to the zone of equipoise.

On the internet I observe self-proclaimed knowers talking on the subject in nebulous terms, so I thought I’d just share this in as simple words as I could manage. Also, I’d like to invite your views on this, since upon reflection I find that the Self, having no attribute in a state of completion and peace is yet alone but feeling no lack, so … nothing but to enrich itself yet in love, wisdom and power, shifts from undifferentiated awareness to differentiated perception in duality. Just a thought.

[JustBe]

It’s a lot to take in but I’ve read it all

Can you condense this down into what you’re pointing too?

[Unseeking Seeker]

I’m not pointing to anything, JustBe other than that once we recognise the Self, as living light in a singularity, we operate from that understanding in duality. The question that yet remains is why would we choose descent when we are compete as we are? The reason seems that awareness bereft of love is barren. I’m actually looking for inputs on this.

[JustBe]

Originally Posted by Unseeking Seeker

I’m not pointing to anything, JustBe other than that once we recognise the Self, as living light in a singularity, we operate from that understanding in duality. The question that yet remains is why would we choose descent when we are compete as we are? The reason seems that awareness bereft of love is barren. I’m actually looking for inputs on this.

I asked for understanding of what your trying to convey, it wasn’t quite gelling..

I recognise my living light/completeness and now I live with awareness, we are all characters playing roles, when not awakened to our true nature beyond these roles.

When you say awareness bereft of love is barren.

Doesn’t that come back to the earliest foundations of loving care that either expands or contracts the perception of ourselves as ‘complete’ ..we are all a product of our environment in our human design. It would be very rare, if we retained our wholeness at birth.

[JustBe]

The question I’d like to ask you is this, why is it a descent?

[Unseeking Seeker]

@ JustBe ~ Descent as in a lessening - as Self, we are complete, in duality we feel incomplete. We are here in limitation.

About love, in the field of Self, it is without attribute. The bliss we feel in duality becomes peace because when all is one there is no benign friction of polarities. We alone are, as the all that is, in unending renewal continual.

[JustBe]

Originally Posted by Unseeking Seeker

@ JustBe ~ Descent as in a lessening - as Self, we are complete, in duality we feel incomplete. We are here in limitation.
About love, in the field of Self, it is without attribute. The bliss we feel in duality becomes peace because when all is one there is no benign friction of polarities. We alone are, as the all that is, in unending renewal continual.

We are yes, but this world catapults us into a sleep state, where we forgot our true origins. You asked why do we choose this descent? Isn’t it choice and no choice. We choose to incarnate to experience ourselves in human form, but what experiences we come into are often choices not our own but those trapped in both their dual and non dual existence?

Isn’t an infant complete in its infancy? Are humans not fully assimilated in their own, the reason the infant either wakes to that completeness or not?

Can you comment on my response?

[HITESH SHAH]

Originally Posted by Unseeking Seeker

inviting views from all:

While non-duality is reality at the very base level (if u consider physical reality of sleeping and awake state of our lives ), in spirituality this state is taken to highest levels . And seeker's experience of non-duality becomes real,continuous ,intense ,granular .

Further non-duality experience also results best activity and best blissful resting state. In non-duality with expansion of awareness , seeker feels one with others around him/her and he/she becomes very active in their expression of occult love towards these new-found selves .I am unable to somehow get this sense here.

[Unseeking Seeker]

@ JustBe ~ the question is, if we feel no lack whilst as Self in singularity, other than to learn something that is offered in duality, why would we go through the trouble?

So waking state, senses and mind at work with power to discern, perhaps choose. In dream state, senses rest but thoughts continue to spiral. We, as an object in the dream think we are there the subject, we have no free will, so all there is, is our response to what is manifest. In the deep sleep state everything goes blank, yet we awake refreshed. So deep sleep is possibly singularity which we do not recall when we wake up in duality.

About children, who can say what they feel? But reflect, a baby’s fontanel is physically open. Is that a coincidence?

[Unseeking Seeker]

@ Hitesh Shah ~ in singularity there is neither space nor time and no measure. It is one without a second. The Self has no attribute and is yet recognised directly as living light renewing itself within itself and at peace.

To be honest, I did not feel any love at level of Self, pure awareness, yes, peace yes, that’s it. Love possibly needs someone to love, so we may say peace is love in singularity, it becomes bliss in duality, enabled by union of polarities. In singularity there is no polarity so we have peace instead.