Greetings James,
At the risk of pissing you off ….. again, I am seeking clarification on my understanding of what I would consider a relatively minor point in the teaching. It revolves around the jiva’s three bodies and what does or does not die. I have touched on this with you and Sundari in the past around the Subtle Body being “the traveller” and whether a gross object, the body, actually can be said to die but obviously needs repeating I guess.
Here goes. Keep in mind this is my attempt to make the knowledge firm.
There is only the one eternal Jiva. It appears as the many due to the shattering and scattering of rajas. It is awareness and the three bodies. As the three bodies, it is known or an object and as an object, it is matter, inert. Because the jiva has a Subtle Body composed of various compositions of the three gunas, it acts as a sort of prism through which consciousness reflects, giving the appearance of sentience, whether that be a plant, an insect, a mahatma or a Trump.
However, being only a reflection, both it, the SB and the GB are inert and what is inert never was alive, therefore was never born and never dies. Born and dying are inappropriate words, like saying my car died on the side of the road. What actually takes place is the apparent nature of the gunas, arising, existing and decaying.
The Subtle Body does not reside in the brain but flows through the brain in a manner analogist to the way electricity flows through a radio or heater or light bulb. It continues to apparently exist when the brain/Gross Body “dies” giving rise to the idea of a soul or spirit that “travels” to the next Gross Body.
Now James, this is where the knowledge does not seem so clear for me. The SB is the doer, the generator for karma and vasanas which can not be extinguished just by the disappearance of the GB. However, in today’s world of material reductionism, it would appear that the mind, consciousness is a dependent factor residing in the body which in turn is responsible for the life of the individual.
However, according to the teaching, the SB is not dependant upon the GB but it merely no longer has the means to express itself,(as in the case of electricity not being expressed through a broken radio) it resolves or collapses into the Causal Body as occurs in deep sleep. In the Causal Body the vasanas exist in potential or seed form until the next, shall I say, Big Bang or birth and the wheel of samsara continues.
It is all mithya and yet it is not as Advaita Vedanta is a non-dual teaching. It is the Self appearing as the many due to the apparent power of Maya/Isvara. The “why”, “how” and “when” is actually the domain of God/Maya in the form of space, time and causation. These three questions reside in Ignorance/Maya and in essence asking them is like asking why why, how how and when when.
It is a matter of perspective as to the “I” locating in the jiva/three bodies or self/ Sat, Chit Ananta. Actually this statement is probably not correct as there can be no perspective for the Self. Ramji, this is all for the mind, but I would appreciate your feedback.
James: After all these years it’s clear that you really don’t know what Vedanta is all about. I won’t even try to unravel the issues that hide beneath the surface of your words. I have tried my level best to set you straight but I have not succeeded. Not for want of patience, I can only conclude that you don’t know how to listen. Here is the answer to your question. I have no doubt that you will fail to understand it. It is the last time I will reply to your questions unless follow you my suggestion below.
The eternal jiva is Awareness plus three bodies. The three bodies are inert. They don’t contain joy. If eternal awareness doesn’t know it is eternal, it identifies with the three bodies and comes to grief. If it subtracts the 3 bodies when it thinks of itself, it is free. If not, not. Awareness isn’t born nor does it die. Matter isn’t born nor does it die. When Awareness shines on the three bodies they seemingly live and die. Your job is to subtract the three bodies on a moment to moment basis; they are “not self.” Evidently you have not engaged in a disciplined study of the teachings. This is the essence of Vedanta. I suggest you start over. Here is a copy of Tattva Bodh. Spend one or two months on it every day for one hour. Commit the concepts to memory. Then write me and I will tell you what to study next. Only questions relevant to the text itself will get a reply. If you are going to do self inquiry you need to do it right. If you want my help then you need to follow my suggestions. If you don’t, I won’t help you. You are a very exasperating person.
