Nice to meet you all again. This is my view about Brahman.
Brahman, is
capable of disorder,thoughts,nature,pleasure-sufferings,subject-object,knowledge,ignorance, Duality. If Brahman, in absolute sense, has not the capability of these, these might not have been experienced in relative sense.
Greenslade may question that, saying Absolute and Relative is itself Duality which Viswa might have to look into. But, it's not so.
Duality means, Experience. Experience can happen only in Duality. In absolute sense (Non-duality), no experience happens, as Nature/Prakriti (5 sheaths from Annamaya to Anandamaya, 3 gunas) is in Unmanifested state. Unmanifested means, Nature is present but it is subtle and not experienced.
I go with Vedanta, and not Advaita Vedanta, as Advaita gives reason for Relativity as "Ignorance". When questions raised how come the Ignorance/Tamasic Guna dominate if Absolute is Absolute Always (Ignorance cannot happen if Brahman is Totally Consicous/Aware in Absolute sense) - it has not proper answer for that. Thought Ignorance is the cause, it is the second cause after the Causal Body, only after Atman sheds it's light upon Nature/3 gunas, Tamasic Dominates and Ignorance happens, but what is the cause for Atman shedding it's light upon Nature if Atman in itself is Pure Consciousness/Knowledgeable/Awareness, Advaita has no Answer - as they assume Atman/Brahman as Consciousness/Pure Knowledge/Awareness. The Causal Body is Sat-Chit-Ananda (Saguna Brahman, only Advaitins call Brahman in Absolute sense as Sat-Chit-Ananda, but not me, I call it only in Relative sense), which is the cause for Ignorance. Sat-Chit-Ananda is the cause for Ignorance, but how come Sat-Chit-Ananda arise in limitations to Time (in relative sense)?
So, how come there happens this relative sense (Manifested Nature), i.e. Experience happens? Why the Absolute (Experience-less) is prone to relativity? How Nirguna Brahman, comes to bound to Time/relativity even before "Ignorance- a domination of Tamasic Guna"?
No answer. No one can grasp the reason behind for the CAUSAL body (how/why absolute changed into relative and there is a desire for experience), as Intelligence and thought and Bliss and Consciousness and everything happens to come only after the time came/start to be. Religions and many schools says different answers for the 'how and why' questions according to their own view/knowledge/experience, but in truth, no accurate answer. And so, it is called Maya (A Power which cannot be really understood but only can remain unattached with the need of that power and reach that Absolute - Non-Experience State). When first Relative happens, there happens to be Atman seated in this Pond/Heart and start to feel conscious of everything, and so Bible and many starts with "In the Beginning", no one cannot know what happened before the Beginning for the Beginning of Time come into Existence. And so I feel, Buddha never tried to go back to the past to find 'how/why', but only on the now, to cut off all desires.
Every Knowledge known and Experience felt are bound to Duality, whatever form-less and form-full it might be, whatever ignorant and knowledgeable it might be, whatever delusion or Enlightenment experience it might be, all the experience and Knowledge happens only within this Pond/Consciousness.
Can we call Brahman in Absolute sense as Consciousness?
Nope. Consciousness, is not a Noun but a place/Ground. Consciousness is not a living entity. Only Water/Atman is THE ONLY living entity and not the Pond/Waves. The Living entity - Atman, seated in the cave/heart/Consciousness, and witness all the actions of waves and never acts.
Pond and Waves, are not living entity. A Pond (Consciousness), is a place for 5 sheaths to Manifest and Experience, a place for the waves to play. Consciousness is also bound to Time. A slight difference here is, Waves can arise only in a Pond (Consciousness) but not the Ocean (Absolute or Infinite or Brahman).
All the actions of waves (made up of five elements and sense organs and locomotary organs and mind and Intellect) are bound to 3 gunas. Even the action of an Enlightened/Liberated (including GOD - Brahma/Vishnu/Rudra or Sakthi or Jesus or etc.,), is bound to the 3 gunas where one dominates in every action, and for enlightened beings - the Sattvic Guna dominates to set a role model for the Rajasic and Tamasic People and never have a desire for Sattvic Actions too. Even Plants have life, and killing plants or plucking fruits is injuring living being, so Sattvic people also have to injure for eating/living. Many organisms are killed by waking/breathing, so unconsciously killing happens in Sattvic domination too. Every action, there is a killing/injuring (consciously or unconsciously), but being a Sattvic is less injuring compared to other gunas. Only when one is actionless, then no domination of 3 gunas happens, but in every movement/actions - these 3 dominate one upon another.
Can Brahman can be known in Absolute sense? Nope. Only in Relative sense, as Formless Sat-chit-Ananda, as Nothingness, can it be known, but not in Absolute sense, as it is Infinite. Infinity cannot be actually experience, and only parts/finites of Infinity can be experienced. Brahman (in absolute - infinite sense - beyond time) remains unknown, Always.....
So, is all the above view necessary for Enlightenment? Absolutely not. Is there a need to understand "Who am I?" for Enlightenment/etc., more than intellectual? Absolutely not.
When one desires for these experience/knowledge of 5 sheaths, it will go on. When one sees the limitations and conditions of these, and step aside from desire for anything, in time one reaches the Enlightenment (where no Karma/attachment adds up to any actions), and when time comes to an end, one reaches the absolute.
It's all unto one. One is always free to decide what they really need/want in life/after death. But, in all the experience of 5 sheaths, including Bliss, has it's own limitations to time (either psychological or physical). Even though Bliss is bound to Time, it can be used as a Boat in this stream, as it will end only when time ends, and until that it happens to remain unlike Intellect/Mind/Physical objects. Bliss, is the real/true happiness in this relativity, and not the pleasure from Knowledge or thoughts or sensual objects.
So, Bliss is the highest experience one can get in relativity/duality, and it is available for everyone, including Putin/Hitler/Satan. No Bars for anyone, like everyone goes to sleep, irrespective of the actions they do in waking and dreaming states.
It's all Attachment and Desire. One has to decide what they really upto, either to experience 5 sheaths or nothing they really want. If one desires for any experience in any of this 5 sheaths, Bliss included, one is sure bound to duality. If one desires for nothing, and ready to face whatever happens (say a thief comes and stoles everything he has, or a psychotic/inhumane person kills his parents/wife/son/friends/people/animals/etc.,), then that is true renunciation but not the physical renounce. One has to ask themselves whether they are ready to be alone (in a desert or city or etc.,) all life long, ready to be in a crowd full of Humane and Inhumane people, ready to be in a Satanic place, ready to face death - if someone kills or an animal attacks or nature destroys, ready to leave everything one accumulated/nearby and ready to face whatever happens in life? If not, what I'm feared of, because everything is Brahman.
Without these attachments/desires to 5 sheaths subsides, no enlightenment occurs, whatever methods/songs/meditation/action-less been or however sufferings felt. Senses/thoughts tries magically to impress the Intellect. But, the Intellect has to be very sharp of all the limitations of them and itself, and the view of that sharp intellect, is the view of the Fearless lion - which the Elephants obey and subsides. Then, Bliss is Felt, arising from the right heart and spreading all over the body and beyond in this tremendous silence of Mind, the heart is where the Atman rests and remains action-less and be the witness of all the actions of Intellect-Mind-Body.
Note - I might have posted this in "My Space", but I welcome questions to many non-dual persons here, so that I might learn a different view. The all above is my own view, but I'm open to learn too if the questions are reasonable, and I also give a warning that, I might question the other person's own views too, and so please, one who wants to be safe in their views/knowledge, please give a note that "Don't question it", so that I might read your views and inquire for myself and never reply with any question about your views.
All Others, let's inquire like philosophers say, let's debate like Buddhists did, let's argue like Shankara did. Let's DANCE.
Hybrid Mode
