German: Thank you, dearest Sundari for affirmation and further deepening. I find it so interesting at the moment our discussion on God, love of God and surrender. As I am just reading the collection of recordings from M. called the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna this is particularly inspiring. There is so much love expressed in those dialogues. Ramakrishna has an “extreme” position on that topic. One of the things he says is there is no jnani without the fully established relationship with God (using my words; for him God is the mother -Kali). The reason as I understand it is, that God/Maya binds us with its creation, so we need her help. We find that help through discrimination, contemplation and meditation.
Sundari: I love our discussions too. Ramakrishna’s take on God seems in accordance with scripture. Inasmuch as there is a person, and we know that they do exist even if they are not real, without Self-knowledge, we are indeed bound by Maya and the creation. To be free of bondage to both the personal identity and the creation requires understanding what both are, where and how they originate, and how the field of creation functions. This requires understanding Isvara as the impersonal nondual intelligence and principle behind creation (synonymous with Consciousness,) wielding Maya – the forces that make creation manifest, the three gunas. This is what the understanding of the nondual God is all about, seeing as we cannot separate the creation from the creator or the person.
The tricky part is differentiating and discriminating between the person-like God of duality and the impersonal nondual God of Vedanta. The former is the religious dualistic God who keeps the creation going with the scales of justice imposed on life and the person, reward and punishment. Whereas the nondual God, however one names it, does not enter the creation, is not affected by it, and is never in judgement of anything. It simply delivers karma to the jiva in accordance with the natural laws that run the creation.
This God and the Jiva have the share the same identity as Consciousness (nondual Love). But when Maya manifests, and ignorance stands in the way, it seems like they are separate because they have such vastly different powers. Isvara is omniscient and in charge of the Total creation, whereas the personal jiva knows only its subjective reality, and is in control of nothing, really. Once Self-knowledge removes personal ignorance of our true identity, we know there is no difference between us and Isvara, in essence. But we are nonetheless devoted to Isvara because as the jiva, we owe everything to Isvara. So we live in surrender and gratitude.
And indeed, without surrender to, worship of and an understanding, not only the difference between the two, but especially the importance of having a personal/impersonal relationship with the nondual God as our primary relationship, the jnani is not a jnani, and moksa is not possible.
Thank you so much for the translation, I have sent it to Mani to post. In future, you can send your translations directly to him as only he can post them.
Much love dear friend
Sundari
so much love
