FROM A SITE VISITOR: there’s all these contradictions, the part I don’t get is “there’s only consciousness” but at the same time “in the Absolute state there is no one to be consciousness of anything.” Then Maharaj talked about “even in the sleep state the consciousness still is conscious” but at the same time “even in the Absolute state there is consciousness or awareness but no one to be aware of it.” Then, “neither matter nor energy can be created nor destroyed” but “this is finite while that is infinite.” Help! Brad
F.: Also, understand that within that field, various atoms are moving, interacting, and being conscious of each other. Energy is moving in wave and particle form, so unmanifested consciousness is not “at-rest” in the sense that it is not in motion. It is. The term “at rest” (certainly misleading on one level) merely points at the non-manifested status of the consciousness at that point.
Moreover, do not think that there is some definable quantity of conscious-energy that is immobilized while in some larger system or field or pool of energy, “waiting” and positioned in a way that will allow it to be siphoned into some process that leads to manifestation or re-manifestation. Portions may manifest or re-manifest...or not. (Furthermore, as an example of the energy manifesting or not, note the difference in what happens when sunlight hits the surface of the moon vs. what happens when it hits the surface of a plant on earth.) Furthermore, the fact that some particles of previously-manifested consciousness might manifest again, and might not, nullifies such concepts as “karma” and “reincarnation.” I have not been born even once, so how could I possibly be “born again” or be born “multiple times”? Those two concepts are the result of body-mind-personality identification which always produce a desire for continuity.
So, at this very moment, there is a field or system of energy that can be called “the absolute”—pure, absolute, conscious-energy. Within that field, there is movement and interaction, at this very moment; however, when conscious-energy is not manifested in a temporary grouping of elements with a nervous system, the consciousness cannot be conscious of itself. Furthermore, do not take the Absolute to be some special “place.” It is merely a “system” of energy—infinite, limitless, and omnipresent—from which quantities of energy might move to adjacent regions. If that energy becomes “caught up” in a movement of energy that happens to strike a plant, then it can manifest temporarily, yet there is no governing body or entity that determines whether such a chance happening might occur or not.
To understand the cycling of consciousness “out of” or “into” a field or system, see what happens the moment that a bug is struck by the windshield of an automobile: much of the elemental structure remains on the glass (ash-to-ash, dust-to-dust); the air that was circulating as breath is instantaneously released and united with the universal pool of air; and the conscious-energy is instantaneously released into an omnipresent field…into that infinite pool of energy that can neither be created nor destroyed. The energy does not “go there” to some special place.
Next, understand that too much has been made of what is called “The Absolute.” It is nothing more than an all-pervasive body or system or field or pool of energy, energy that is not currently manifested via a group of elements with a nervous system. Yet IT IS. In the process of trying to assign “supernatural” or “extraordinary” or “heavenly” or “special” attributes to a field of energy, (a) most persons now take the Absolute to be a mystical, supernatural location and (b) persons who believe that it is “up there” or “out there” do not understood that it is all-pervasive.
As a result of religious and spiritual leaders having glorified an energy field, the Absolute is imagined by many to be a place—even a geographic place in some teachings—that is not “here” but which is “there” instead. All such distortions attempt to place limitations on the limitless; yet even John Paul II, as programmed as he was, was aware enough to say that “we must correct the geography of Gehanna: there is no literal heaven or hell…they are mental states, and you are in one or the other right now.” ("Gehanna" also known as "Gehenna," "gehenom" or "gehinom.")
[NOTE: An editorial in La Civilta Cattolica, a Jesuit magazine with close ties to the Vatican, also said at that time, “Hell is not a 'place' but a 'state,' a person's 'state of being’.” The pope and the magazine merely adumbrated what Christ had said: “No one will ever see the kingdom of heaven…it is within.” Yet those who are programmed with religious dogma and who are enamored with their belief in the dualities of “good vs. bad” and “punishment vs. reward” as well as their desire for eternal continuity of body and mind and personality will called themselves “Christians” while completely ignoring the later Advaita teachings of Christ, that there is no heaven, in order to cling to the desires of body and mind: "Yes we are Christians, but we do not consider all of the teachings of Christ. We'd rather cling to the dualistic notions of hell and heaven and hope we can avoid hell and earn the right to live forever in heaven."]
With the widespread distorted thinking among persons, however, the Absolute has been misconceived as “heaven,” as “the home of the gods or a god,” as “a place where persons will go for eternal bliss if they are good,” ad infinitum. The smashed bug is neither “at rest” nor enjoying “its place of final rest.” Neither are any humans who have ever walked the planet.
Here is all that happens when a human “dies” or when a bug is struck by the windshield of a car: a temporary “association of” or “involvement among” certain elements and energy and air comes to an end. Though that particular association ends, the elements do not end, the air does not end, and the energy does not end. What did come to “an end” with the smashed bug (or a "dead human") was an ever-changing combination of elements, air, and energy which were in a constant state of flux but perceived by persons to have had continuity. The fact is that no “same bug” will ever be again, and no “same human” shall ever be again, but the same elements and air and energy shall be forever.
But keep it simple now as you revisit one set of the teachings that were a quandary for you: “It’s all consciousness…there’s only consciousness” but at the same time “in the Absolute state there is no one to be conscious of anything.” Now you should be able to see from the example of the atoms that they are conscious of the presence of each other; that they move in relationship to each other; and that their movements influence the behavior of each other. However, even as atoms were conscious of the presence of other atoms, there was no “one”—no being with a nervous system—that could allow the consciousness to be conscious of the fact that it is; nevertheless, the consciousness still IS, though it is not conscious of the fact that it IS. The same is the case with "brad" prior to manifestation, and the same shall be the case with "brad" post-manifestation.
It has been shown how consciousness IS even though there is no witness of that consciousness when unmanifest. Therefore, the consciousness was and is definitely “there,” the atoms were and are conscious of the presence of each other, and they all acted and reacted, and now act, in a certain way as a result. Even in a pre-manifestation state, consciousness was functioning, even without any consciousness of consciousness. (So much for the concept of "sacred contracts.") The same happens each night as you sleep.
Even as you are not conscious while in deep sleep, consciousness continues to function and guides the brain and heart and other organs through their functions, automatically and spontaneously. You need not try to stay awake and be aware of your heart and lungs in order for them to work. Consciousness does that. Yet awake or asleep, you need not be conscious of the consciousness that is guiding the lungs to inhale and exhale and that is guiding the heart to contract and pump. That parallels abidance as the Absolute: as this manifested conscious-energy called “floyd” functions as consciousness that is conscious of, there is no “one”—no person—who is there and witnessing it. It’s all just happening, spontaneously, by itself. Please enter the silence of contemplation.
NOTE: Some have e-mailed to say they’re trying to select some readings but don’t know where to begin after seeing all the options offered on the site. This is for them:
REALIZATION RESOURCES:
WORKING ON LEARNING TO QUESTION IT ALL AND BEING FREE OF THE FALSE (BUT HONORED) CONCEPTS AND BELIEFS OF YOUR CULTURE? Read IT’S ALL BULLSHIT (<--click for synopsis)
WORKING ON BEING FREE OF RELIGIOUS PROGRAMMING AND DOGMA? Read SPIRITUAL SOBRIETY(<--click for synopsis)
WORKING ON BEING FREE OF BODY AND MIND IDENTIFICATION? Read WHAT HAPPENS WHEN I DIE?(<--click for synopsis)
WORKING ON BEING FREE OF MIND AND PERSONALITY IDENTIFICATION? Read LIBERATION(<--click for synopsis)
Read THERE’S NO SUCH THING AS “PEACE OF MIND”(<--click for synopsis)
WORKING ON “THE FINAL PIECE” AND PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER? Read THE ESSENCE OF THE TEACHINGS(<--click for synopsis)
Read FROM THE I TO THE ABSOLUTE (A Seven-Step Journey to Reality)(<--click for synopsis)
WORKING ON ISSUES ARISING IN RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE NON-REALIZED AND ON FINDING SOLUTIONS TO “RELATIONSHIP PROBLEMS”? Read CASTING LIGHT ON THE DARK SIDE OF RELATIONSHIPS(<--click for synopsis)
INTERESTED IN A NOVEL STARRING A REALIZED ADVENTURER? Read THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF WARS(<--click for synopsis)
INTERESTED IN A NOVEL WITH A CHARACTER WHO EVOLVES FROM A LIFE OF MISERY TO THE PEACE OF REALIZATION? Read THE TWICE-STOLEN NECKLACE MURDERS(<--click for synopsis)
INTERESTED IN RESTORING FINANCIAL SANITY AND USING A ZEN APPROACH TO HANDLING FINANCES BY USE OF A METHOD THAT HAS A PROVEN RECORD? Read LIVING WITHIN YOUR MEANS(<--click for synopsis)
Read ENDING FINANCIAL PROBLEMS(<--click for synopsis)
INTERESTED IN AN ADVAITA VEDANTA RETREAT?(<--click for information)
