[Please note: Departing today for a vacation trip to the Hill Country. If my companion can pick up a WiFi signal on her notebook, postings will continue; otherwise, this series will continue Friday morning.]
FROM A SITE VISITOR: [Please see the
F.: (The exchange continues):
V.: I understand that this would be the case even if i believed God to be a Spirit. I mean, there is not much difference. the Void should know nothing exists.
F.: First, there is no difference at all in “God” and “Spirit.” Both are illusory concepts. Secondly, a Void can know nothing. Are you seeing why more questions and reading are required before any additional effort is made to verbalize your understanding? Putting your thoughts into words at this point can only reinforce your misconceptions and, if shared with other beginners, can only add to their confusion.
Further, it is not only a Void that knows nothing post-manifestation. That "state" is beyond beingness and non-beingness, so there is no “one” to know anything: no self, no Self, no Infinite Self-ness, no Ultimate Self-ness. As reported, awareness in that state is not even aware of awareness, is not even aware of “itself,” so to speak. The phenomena of self-awareness and Self-Awareness are limited to the manifestation.
Here’s some background that might facilitate the understanding of consciousness. In the original case of consciousness manifesting in the void that would become what is called “this universe,” a subatomic particle of the very first atom was “conscious of” the movement of another subatomic particle.
(The proton and the electron particles “stayed together” because the electrical charge of each “attracted” the other in this original instance of the simplest form of conscious-of-ness, “a” being conscious of “b” and vice versa.) The movement of one affected the movement of the other, but neither particle was conscious of “itself.”
V.: The spirit should know nothing else exists. But how does this knowledge comes in the first place?
F.: The knowledge (of self) comes spontaneously, a now common happening that first began after all of the elements evolved over billions of years in such a manner that the consciousness was able to manifest spontaneously. (Consider the bird or the deer that moves deeper into the forest to avoid a human walking through the woods: both have knowledge of self, both are aware of the beingness, and both move away from the perceived threat of the unknown in order to sustain continuity.)
Among humans, the knowledge of beingness also manifests spontaneously; additionally, the knowledge of Self manifests spontaneously, but the supposed knowledge of (false) self or selves follows programming. That the knowledge of Self is known intuitively is shown by the one who answers “Yes” to the question, “Would You still be You even if your body lost its arms and legs?” Awareness of the fact that Self is beyond self is intuitive and spontaneous, but the awareness is lost via the corrupting of the consciousness. All other so-called "knowledge" comes via programming and conditioning and enculturation and domestication, and—when religious and spiritual concepts are introduced—the ideas accepted as “truth” do not constitute knowledge but form a collection of “learned ignorance.”
In a followup e-mail:
V.: Does the concept of Brahman start with manifestation only?
F.: Indeed, all concepts start post-manifestation only. God did not create men. Men created God (or multiple gods) via the consciousness that is warped as a result of fears and desires. Men have created all concepts. In regards to that subject, Maharaj shared the following to show how belief in duality precedes belief in god(s):
“First of all you identify something as being good or bad for yourself. Then, in an effort to acquire good or to get rid of the bad, you have invented a God. Then you worship such a God and ... you pray to that God for something good to happen to you.”
V.: I think I am beginning to understand. I'd like to ponder more over what you said before i can ask anything further.
F.: As a Realized Cherokee grandmother advised, “Take at least three moons to dwell on any consideration prior to response,” so your inclination to consider and ponder is well-founded. In fact, seventy-two hours might be an overly-optimistic timeframe. Some persons require years of consideration of pointers before all lies are seen to be lies, allowing an understanding of Truth to finally explode into awareness via the re-purified consciousness. Please enter the silence of contemplation. (To be continued]
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