Dear Sundari
Thank you for your help with my last inquiry, it was incredibly clear and concise. I have another two questions though. The first is about saving the environment. What is the real issue around it, and what do we need to do, or can do, to assist?
Sundari: The environment is an issue close to mine and James’ heart. It is an outrage what we humans have done to it. Yet, how can we blame anyone when  the root cause is ignorance of our true nature? It is not evil humanity behind it all but the driving force of ignorance in the form of survival, desire and the need for more. Maya programs everyone this way, until something happens to develop some objectivity and make them aware of their impact.
All of the debates around the environment are to do with the human ego, and they’re focused on the survival of humanity. But it’s somewhat ridiculous to say that human beings need to be concerned about the survival of nature. Isvara could get rid of most of us pretty quickly as it did with the dinosaurs, with a timely meteor hit, volcanic eruption or seismic shrug. If human beings are extinguished, nature will continue to exist. Another living being will come along and overtake humanity. There is no way we will ever truly impact Isvara.
That said, especially as inquirers, we need to follow the dharma of non-injury. With regards to the environment as with everything else, this will require inquiry into what drives us and why. Nothing will fundamentally change us or the system until it is taken as a fact that the true source of wealth is functional eco systems. The products and services we derive from the eco system – meaning everything that sustains human life –  are derivatives from the eco system. What the blind  ignorance of human greed has made it so hard to understand is that it is impossible for derivatives to be more important than their source.
Yet, as with all things mithya and desire/ignorance driven, that is exactly what  our world economy is based on. The principle that derivatives are more important than their source. As things stand, the products and services we gain from the eco systems for the most part, are what have monetary value and the eco systems have zero value. And this cannot be true. It is all entirely backwards, and  catastrophically false. This is what Maya does – it reverse the truth about everything.
What can you do? Live as consciously and sustainably as possible. Take care of your environment, be conscious of why, what and where you buy anything. Make a sankalpa to not consume. To buy only what you need. And leave the rest to Isvara. You can only ever take care of your own karma and dharma, nobody else’s. As inquirers, we know that the person and the world are only apparently real, so whatever the outcome, we as the Self, will never be impacted.
Susan: My second question is about silence. Is it the same as Self-knowledge?
Sundari: Silence is always an interesting topic. What is it, and can it produce Self-knowledge? Well, no because silence as in the absence of sound is not opposed to ignorance. But yes in that silence as a symbol of the Self is a great tool for discrimination. Anything ‘in’ the silence, i.e., any sound, is not you. Anything that moves is not Self, and sound requires movement and a suitable instrument to hear it, an ear. For there to be an ear, there must be a jiva. No ear, no  movement, no sound. Does this mean deaf people are enlightened? Unfortunately not unless Self-knowledge has obtained.
You cannot be ‘in’ silence because silence is an object known to you as the Self. Sound does not obscure Self-knowledge and silence will not produce it. But it is very hard to maintain a sattvic mind if it is always exposed to noise. The brain craves silence because it allows sattva to emerge so that we can tune in the bliss of Self. And though sattva is not moksa, it is the springboard for it. So definitely cultivate silence. I sometimes find it hard to take my mind out of the silence because it is a refuge from the noise and clammer of rajas and tamas. Growing up I was often (and still am in social situation) accused of ‘tuning’ out. I actually was not tuned out but attuned to the Self.
Much love
Sundari
