Frank: Dear Sundari,
Thank you, so grounding!
I had not made the link between dispassionate discrimination for dharma and adharma, up to now I only focused these two qualifications on self vs not self. I see the jiva is also within the “big” Jiva/Isvara – in a sense, the same. This means these two qualifications are so important for both aspects.
Sundari: You are welcome! Yes, it has to be both. This is what makes devotion for Isvara complicated. In the talk I gave last night on Zoom, I discussed this problem. Our instinctive knowledge of dharma, which is basically non-injury in thought word and deed, coupled with our unconscious religious conditioning of whatever origin, makes us rebel against a God who is both dharma and adharma. We would like to be comforted by a nice God that does good things for the world and who protects us. But the nondual God, whose essence is nondual love, is nonetheless, not the fuzzy do only good dualistic God. This is why the whole discussion on what morality or ethics actually are is so complicated. Not to mention that religions have no idea what to do about the thorny issue of why their God allows evil, and ‘bad’, and ‘bad’ things to happen.
The only way out of that conundrum is through Self-knowledge. It seems like Vedanta strips us of a nice God (who also punishes though). But in fact, it gives us the only God that makes total sense. The nondual God, Isvara wielding Maya, is karma phala datta, the controller of the dharmafield, and the giver of karma. To do that, all possibilities must exist within the matrix of mithya, or it would collapse. Though Isvara and the jiva share the same essence or identity as Consciousness, as humans we are constrained with limited knowledge of why anything happens in the field, let alone why the field itself exists. Moksa does not give us omniscience, only freedom from bondage to the doer and the field of karma.
Frank: When I go back to see family in the UK and my brother and I get in a car, the first minute is still scary. Your Maya metaphor possibly extends here also….that first minute, even though I have clear knowledge we won’t crash, the mind and emotions think we will. The first minute is analogous to being firm in the knowledge and standing in awareness – until it passes – but this is happening all the time with fears as well as desires.
Sundari: Fear is built into the jiva program, and it is the easiest emotion to build stronger vasanas around. It is normal and human to experience all emotions, and we are not in control of them as they all come from Isvara, the Causal body. As Self-knowledge strengthens, the mind becomes increasingly porous to everything that arises from the field. It just passes through, like the wind does in an empty room. That is what freedom from bondage means.
Frank: The pulsing in the forehead, or also, if I occasionally iridescent dark blues or silver patches near me – these are also Maya. In times past I thought this was “special”, or “I” was special and got caught up in spiritual things, going a long way for nothing, round in circles. There is nothing there.
Your counsel “But don’t get seduced into thinking that unless the pulsing is present, you are off course. You are never not the Self and don’t need any physical reminder of that. Only keeping the mind on the Self, and discriminating satya from Mithya” is solid grounding thank you. It allows me to put that one to rest.
Sundari: Good for you.
Frank: It’s just phenomena – but then everything, even the “mundane” is also Iswara. But it’s a real miracle there is any-“thing” at all, anywhere. There is so much concern about the big bang (what was “before”?), or aliens (other intelligent life?) or even just “when did “life” start on earth?” as if the rocks and planets and universes don’t count. These used to concern me as if, if any of them were answered I could finally say “see, now we know, ha!”. I realise now that answered or not answered, to any degree, makes no difference.
Sundari: Right on. Vedanta really does make life a lot easier, as it takes away the mystery about everything. There is nothing that we cannot understand anymore, even though we are not omniscient like Isvara. Though it may seem to take some of the fun out of it, in some ways, as we also lose desire for any particular experience. It is not that we cannot enjoy life, we just don’t need anything in particular to do so. I would pick being Self-satisfied any day!
Frank: Inquiring into this, there must be a trillion things I am also not even aware of. Some may be psychological, some “real” (i.e. out there physical or “not in my head”) – but is there any difference even then? i.e. the teaching of objects and how far away is the object.
Sundari: Nothing is outside of our head. We only ever experience everything there, hence the problem of subjectivity. This is a thought universe operating in very predictable programmes created by the forces that run the Field (gunas) and are interpreted by our five senses. Translational neuroscientists have established that the process of observation/experience is the same as what you experience during a magic trick, which is a series of “electrochemical signals going around a bunch of circuits in your brain.” Because there are no windows in your skull, the only way you can get information into your brain is through your five senses.
From there, your brain draws on past memories and then uses cognition to fill in the details — essentially forming what neuroscientists call “a grand simulation of reality.” From this point of view, it is true that we create our own reality because we do not experience the world as it is, we experience everything through the filters of our subjective beliefs, opinions and tendencies. It’s not that the world around you isn’t there. It’s there, but you’ve never actually lived there. You’ve never even been there for a visit. The only place you’ve ever been is inside your mind. Now that’s a thought to give some pause! Maya superimposes the illusion of duality onto nonduality, like a mirage of water on the desert floor, it appears real but isn’t.
Frank: I feel truly blessed. Today was the first day of some holiday in a long while. I had breakfast with my son, we did some sport – and the thought came in my mind – all this life – God is. Including everything I thought was me. I used to think, “I” was separate – but the separateness I begin to see is an illusion. Like in your fantastic Satsang on God recently – “you can’t miss [the target i.e. it’s right there everywhere all in front of you and in you].
Sundari: Yes, I wrote more about that in a recent satsang. God is a big topic and there is so much to say about it, though in essence, it is very simple, too. Check out the four satsangs I posted on my talk on Zoom last Sunday.
Frank: I am treading lightly with this knowledge – its exorcising in fast fashion the idea of being separate to the “man in the sky”, with a religious real estate agent in between, and also the idea of spiritual-without-god-escapism (I can do it on my own thank you) and even nihilistic styles of Buddhism – Tibetan, Japanese..more subtle but same stuff – all artefacts in Maya.
Sundari: Does not square up with reality, I am afraid.
Frank: With no disrespect to anyone trying those, I tried all, some diligently for years, going long ways for nothing.
Thank Iswara “I” am still here, even after the detours. It feels as if the last train had almost left the station – but, I jumped on the Vedanta bus, thanks to you and James and here we are.
Thank you so much again,
Sundari: I am so happy for you that you got on the Vedanta bus! It’s not for everyone, that is for sure. And no judgments, if it’s not. But for those whose karma it is to find a seat, we are very blessed, indeed!
Thank you for writing, I love hearing from you
Much love
Sundari
