THE ABSOLUTE

Is there such a thing as the Absolute or Brahman? The Absolute might as well have no existence, rather, Brahman might as well be merely a conjecture. One must identify oneself with as the Absolute, only then, it is possible to come to terms with the transcendental state, in hindsight–the writer will explain this further down the episode. Inert and static, the Absolute or Brahman, is the basis or the container of everything, they say, including the Atma (Self) and the Jiva (false Self), in potentiality or seemingly or apparently. What basis or container is the Absolute? How can the Absolute support or be the basis of anything if It is spaceless and timeless? They say, Brahman is omnipresent? Where, show me please? This, “show me please,” is mind stuff. The Absolute is incomprehensible, right! Where is space in it? If there is no space in It, where is here and now and omnipresent? Is It omniscient? No-Jnana is Jnana and Jnana is no-Jnana. Here and now is mind stuff anyway, its spatial and temporal, and the past already, catch it if you can. Space is the first thing reflected, they say, without which, nothing can appear, nor time. This is true. The writer can only say the Absolute is silent, inert, abstract, unimaginable and spaceless. Is it self-conscious? It is neither Conscious nor non-Conscious, within or outwith. There is no way in which It can be conveyance. So, tell the writer please, is spacelessness comprehensible? In what way? That is why it is said that mind or intelligence cannot go there; mind, the dynamic aspect of Consciousness, cannot survive or exist in spacelessness, because the nature of the mind is space and time. The Absolute is spaceless, therefore, there is nothing here at all; there is no reflection, no creation, no manifestation. In what way and how can these occur without space? To know and realize the Absolute, is to be the Absolute, spaceless, unreflective, unmanifest, so the closest idea of the state of the Absolute is called Nirvikalpa Samadhi, a state of total repose. The awe and the memory of the uncommon experience enables one to identify the transcendental state. Here only the One is, and that is I. I am the Absolute, who else? In the highly revered and sacred scripture, Kind Janaka is teaching Ashtavakra, thus, Tripura Rahasya, Ch XVII, Verse 110-112, King Janaka reflects upon his state, “Nirvikalpa samadhi is characterised by the experience of the true Self alone, namely, Pure Intelligence. Though eternal and resplendent even ordinarily, this Abstract Intelligence is as if it did not exist“. Janaka further reflects, “Abstract Intelligence is the background on which the phenomena are displayed, and it must certainly manifest itself in all its purity in their absence, although its appearance may look new at first. It remains unrecognised because it is not distinguished from the phenomena displayed by it. On their being eliminated it becomes apparent. This in short is the method of Self-Realization.” If the Absolute has no space, where is I and where is you? Who said “I” reflect or manifest–what, where? There is no space for I nor you to appear, sorry. There is no partitions nor divisions in it, how can anything appear in It? The false self, makes all this appear, the world and you and them, in my space, in its own imagination, own reflection, which it normally does whilst waking and dreaming, through its own Maya (karma, vasanas). This is superimposed on the Self. Do we see how we reflect the waking, dreaming and sleep from within ourself in space and in time? Then we cringe and moan about our own created misery. This is the false self who wanders looking for fun. Who is non-dual and dual? Clear the room to make space please, then I can manifest duality. I mean, there is only that Holy Substance everywhere, where from does the notion of non-duality arise? I will tell you, because the mind creates space for duality to arise, so we think about non-duality. Can we understand this? Tough, huh. Its tough alright. But it is easy, because “I am” is the Absolute. The I is never anything other than the Absolute. Neither Sat-Asat, nor Chit-Achit, Nor Ananda-Aananda. You are bored, huh, so Moksha is out of the equation then, go wander about like the ego does. Tripura Rahasya, Ch XX, Verse 56. When the mind has completely resolved into the Self, that state is called Nirvikalpa samadhi (the undifferentiated peaceful state). After waking up from it, the person is overpowered by the memory of his experience as the one, undivided, infinite, pure Self and he knows ‘I am That’, as opposed to the puerile (childish) I-thought of the ignorant. That is Supreme Knowledge (vijnana or pratyabhijna jnana). So, can time appear in no-space? No, Can Maya appear there? No. Can motion appear there? No. Can ether appear there? No. Is there cosmos in it? No. Is it outside the cosmos? Yes, beyond the mind. What can this substance, Consciousness, be? Nothing. This is Jnana. The Absolute is beyond the trinities, knower, knowing and knowledge; seer, seeing and seen; waking, dreaming and sleep, etc. Furthermore, can one distinguish the Self, Atma and Brahman? Since, it is beyond and transcends the mind, in what way can these be distinguished or partitioned, like this is the Self, this is Atma, and this is Brahman? Who can point to it thus? However, that which is common of the aforementioned “substances,” is Consciousness. Consciousness, then, is, in other words, the Absolute or the Self or Atma. None of the said can be partitioned in reality because they are one and the same. Consciousness cannot be partitioned, however, Consciousnesses own power seemingly partitions Itself into variety…seemingly. Then walks in the Jiva, and further partitions itself into waking, dreaming, and sleep, past, present and future, me, you and them, etc. This is the mystery beyond the trinities. Therefore, tell me if one who behaves like a log of wood in Nirvikalpa Samadhi or the one who is engaged in duty, but both abiding in Consciousness, what would be the difference amidst them? None. As long as ignorance is crushed at its root in all cases, and this is why it is said that Sahaja Samadhi is best amongst all states. In fact, there are no other states other than the one only state, Sahaja, in reality. That is why the writer maintains that “I” is the Absolute. When one penetrates the deep mysterious centre (viz, transcends the mind), which is in all beings, one’s selfhood is literally gone, absorbed into nothing-ness. On recollection, the writer can react and say, after much deliberation, it is spaceless or no-space. Can this be said to be absolute or stillness? We must not even try and attribute the Absolute in any way. It Is. There is no love, no joy, no compassion, no positive nor negative emotions, no suffering, etc, in that state, for let us not fool ourselves and others about this. From Paul Brunton’s notebooks 28/2 #141-145, The “I AM.” “Only afterwards, when looking back at the experience, dare he say that the experience itself was ineffable but what it concerned was incomprehensible; it was luminous, but that which shone was an unseen power. The actual experience alone can settle this argument. This is what I found: The ego vanished; the everyday “I” which the world knew and which knew the world, was no longer there. But a new and diviner individuality appeared in its place, a consciousness which could say “I AM” and which I recognized to have been my real self all along. It was not lost, merged, or dissolved: it was fully and vividly conscious that it was a point in universal Mind and so not apart from that Mind itself. Only the lower self, the false self, was gone but that was a loss for which to be immeasurably grateful. The question of “I” and of self-consciousness in any form, whether universal or personal, vanishes when the truth is known because there is none then to mark out selfhood of any kind. When it is understood that the mind cannot become an object to itself, it will be understood that everything one may say about it will merely impose an illusory limitation upon it. There are not two thoughts, the ego and the universal self, to enter into relationship in the final stage.” When dynamic Consciousness merges into static Consciousness, what arises is simply the purity of the divine and static Consciousness. When we challenge the existence of the dynamic Consciousness within us, it disappears, leaving merely the light of the eternal static Consciousness. We have then realized our true state of purity and Absoluteness; in reality, there is only this, nothing else, and we are never apart from it. Being gripped by static Consciousness results in a state free from rebirth, free from karma, free from misery, which has hounded us for many uncountable life times–for we have abandoned our natural state. Having said this, our reaction (human reaction) to the engulfing subsequent natural state, Sahaja or Turiya, is delight. We come down to earth, so to speak, and are filled with delight. Worldly transactions will go on, dying, death, and whole caboodle will be witnessed, pain and pleasure will be witnessed, but we will be free from the ignorance that has gripped us for numerous births, and that is because of the I-am-the body sense that has long grasped us. Now, the Self grasps you, for you cannot grasp the Self. The Self cradles you, for you cannot cradle the Self, though we are the Absolute. The Self then reflects clearly through you. Goodness will follow you. Love will follow you. Compassion will follow you. You will lose I-am-the-body sense, but you will gain the Absolute-is-I sense. Anandamayi said, “It is but the Self that calls Itself, and none other than the Self that realizes Itself.” With this new sense on-tow, you will see the Self as all and the whole and everywhere present. This is your real Selfhood. The chase is finished. That is It. Then, there is nothing on earth holier than your Self, as you are, because of your presence as the Self. All the place where your footsteps trod become sanctified and holy. Of course, there are a variety of Sages engaged in all sorts of dharma and duties, from abiding in Samadhi to ruling their kingdom, for their prarabdha makes it so, but no-Jnana-Jnana is never lost, in fact, it never gets lost; Our human reaction to Sages or Jnani’s is conditioned because we are constantly and habitually partition static Consciousness into parts or variety, rather, superimpose our mind on it. So, if you expect your family or relatives or spouse or past-friends to see clearly your holiness, forget it, it won’t happen, sorry so say. Why? I will tell you. Because their “eye of wisdom” is clouded over by their conditionings and opinions about you and other things and people and family, for their “glass is full,” as Zen masters would say. Therefore, do not approach a Jnani with your glass full. How can a Jnani fill the glass if it is already full? You have to make the effort to even partially if not fully empty it first. The Jnani will then empty the glass by pouring out all the filthy fluid in the glass and then fill the glass for you with pure nectar. There are exceptions of course, but those who understood the Saintliness of the member of their family because it was pointed out to them by other devotees and reports and gossip (gossip stems from the Old English word godsibb, which originally meant “godparent” or a close spiritual relative. Over centuries, the meaning shifted to describe close friends gathered during social events like childbirth, weddings, burials, and eventually evolved into the modern concept of sharing casual and intimate news), and over a period of time, they started to realize the holiness of that member of their family. Sri Bhagavan’s family’ historical tale is interesting. Sri Bhagavan Ramana said, “A Jnani sees no one as ignorant. He sees only the Self. But to the ignorant, he appears to help them awaken.” Sri Bhagavan did distinguish Atma, the Self, from the Absolute, Brahman, when asked, by stating that, “Atma is the personal “God,” and Brahman is the impersonal “God.” Sri Bhagavan said (Talk 146), “Realization is already there. The state free from thoughts is the only real state. There is no such action as Realization.” This is for teaching purposes or from a lower standpoint of view. From a higher perspective, therefore, reconciliation of the relative and the absolute without contradiction is Advaita Vedanta’s Sahaja Samadhi. It is not as if we do not realize the Self at any given moment, we simply do not recognize the Self or ignore of Beingness for want of being attentive to It—we are too busy chasing happiness outside our own holy Self-Hood. To this we have to make the effort to repair within our own self-hood by looking closely. Only then we will realize that this is our natural state of being this is Seeing God As He Really Is, for we are That.