HINDU BY “BIRTH,” BUT INVESTIGATING ADVAITA, Part Five

[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 02 November 2007 post for the e-mail which is being responded to today]

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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IDENTIFICATION: Something, or No Thing? Part One

[Excerpts from the soon-to-be-released book FROM THE ABSOLUTE TO THE NOTHINGNESS]

FROM A SITE VISITOR: No identity at all? Everybody is SOMETHING, and whatever that SOMETHING is, is our identity.

F.: [Today’s post is again for those seekers who have completed, or almost completed, the “journey” to Full Realization. Some pointers will not be relevant for beginners.]

First, the way in which you use the word “identity” would need to be clarified, and there are likely some additional subconscious usages that you are not even aware of. Do you mean “the distinct personality of an individual regarded as a persisting entity”? Realized Advaitins understand that there is no personality and that no entity persists.

Or do you mean, “the individual characteristics by which a thing or person is recognized or known”? Realized Advaitins know that “the individual” is a bogus concept, that “characteristics” are fiction since they deal with personality, and that persons/personas are nothing more than assumptions generated via corrupted consciousness.

Or do you mean, “That which describes objects in a manner that distinguishes them from other objects”? Realized Advaitins understand that “one as opposed to others” is dualistic and thus false.

You likely are not referring to “the individual sense of importance in a social context,” but might you be referring to “self-knowledge about one's characteristics or personality,” that is, to “a sense of self”? Surely not.

So consider: if you are referring to “True Self-knowledge or to “a sense of True Self,” then you are still dealing with a false identity. How could that possibly be false? Because the terms “True Self” or “Real Self” are frequently misused (even by many Advaitins or would-be Advaitins). Many now use the terms to point to the noumenon or to the Absolute in an effort to support the existence of a Self-cum-continuity even while agreeing that no self can have continuity.

Likely, your stance is that, while the phenomenal is that which is physically manifested and observable by one or more of the five senses, some other sense is employed to recognize that an identifiable Self exists beyond physical manifestation. At the elementary level, when a protégé is taking the first steps on the “path” to Realization, that idea is often allowed by teachers.

At the more advanced level, though, it is understood that the True Self is merely the second of two witnessing modes, the pure or re-purified consciousness that knows ItSelf and knows the Oneness (as opposed to subject-object witnessing). That Pure Witnessing Consciousness sees no “others” and is incapable of any dualistic misperception, yet it’s entire functioning is still dependent upon its manifestation. Thus, even that “True Self” is limited and is not an "eternal identity."

Further, that “True Self” is not “God,” though many who have morphed this philosophy into a religion will defend that Self-God concept as well. Instead, the True Self is merely that pure consciousness which can look to the phenomenon and know that it is not as perceived, which can know that no self is real, and which can understand that no noumenal “Self with identity” exists either.

The pure consciousness understands that when the pronoun “I” is employed as the pure consciousness speaks, it refers to that which is beyond beingness and beyond non-beingness; therefore, it is beyond “I-ness” and identity as well. Krishna was very direct in stating that any who do not understand that are “fools.” That which is beyond beingness and non-beingless must also be beyond self, Self, self-ness, Self-ness, no-self-ness, and even no-Self-ness.

Of course, that pointer about "fools" is misunderstood by most, understood by few, and hated by many. For those still trapped in the egotism that is generated by accepting and defending an identity (whether that might be an identity “now” or an identity “later”), let it be said that they have at least been fooled and continue to function from within that condition. The primary consideration must be, "How can the state of zero concepts...(continued in the book)

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Please enter the silence of contemplation. (To be continued)
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