Dear Ramji

I have been fascinated for eons by maps. I am trying to build a sacred geography of the being I am, of the process I am part of, in a minimalist abstraction. Can it be said to be about an invisible energy cloaking itself with a mind and ego to create apparent division and separation then progressively removing these and other effects by loving itself and understanding its constitutional situation?

jai govinda

Hi Mike,

Yes. The most frequent idea used to describe the spiritual process from beginning to end is involution and evolution. It goes something like this:

Act 1

In the beginning there was the Self and the Self alone. It grew tired of non-duality and the desire to experience itself as 'the other.' So it forgot who it was (Maya) created the five elements and then appeared as the jiva, a limited bundle of consciousness. To make sure that it would re-awaken it planted a seed of remembrance at the root of the spine that would re-awaken when it became weary of its play in the non-dual. (End of involution, beginning of evolution).

Act 2

Then it 'turned within' and began the long journey home up the spine though many planes of existence until it burst from the body and merged with the infinite light that it always was.

*****

Of course, from the Self's point of view none of this happened, in fact nothing ever happened, but individuals often feel the need to explain who they are, why they are here, and where they are going. Life does seem like a journey and this kind of journey metaphor or veil metaphor seems to closely approximate experience. The problem with it, as I have been arguing for a long time, is that if the metaphor is taken literally it can prevent Self realization. Nonetheless, taking into account the limitation of words, it is perhaps a rough but serviceable metaphor.

Love,

Ramji

Hi Ram

You made some interesting comments, it would be nice to elabourate: "it planted a seed of remembrance at the root of the spine", what precisely is this, I realize you are probably referring to the kundalini, but any particular thing/energy, point or essence i.e. was it a full version of itself or just a limited aspect?

Hi Mike,

‘Planted a seed’ means a memory of wholeness, completeness, limitlessness. As we ‘journey’ through life ‘peak’ moments happen when the conditioned mind dissolves and we see/experience from the Self’s point of view. Each time this happens it leaves a vasana, a subconscious memory and these memories (seeds) eventually become more than an unconscious urge for fulfillment or meaning; they rise to the plane of consciousness and the person begins to think of ‘permanently returning’ to the Self. It is often called ‘going home.’ The idea of kundalini, the ‘serpent’ power, is an idea of latency, potentiality. It is ‘coiled’ like a spring, ready to be released. It means there is always the potential of ‘return.’ It is ‘hidden’ at the base of the spine. ‘Hidden’ means ignorance. We are unaware of it. ‘Base of the spine’ means the lowest point. Even at the lowest point of our life’s journey it is there waiting to break forth. Even in the basest states of consciousness it is possible to experience release. A snake is chosen to represent this memory, this latent power, because snakes live in the holes in the ground. They live in the dark, i.e. ignorance and come out into the light. I’m sure the image was inspired by the cobra which coils itself so it can strike. When we garner enough of these ‘spiritual’ vasanas they cause some kind of major epiphany and our life ‘strikes out’ in a new direction.

Of course this metaphor is only meaningful if we assume a position of Self ignorance. This memory is the Self but it is not the full power of the Self. If it were there would be no need for the world and for evolution. It would just wake the person up instantly and for good once he or she had fallen asleep…which means that there his no need for the universe and time…etc. The ‘spiritual’ reason for the universe…according to human beings…is to provide a field in which the forces of involution and evolution can work themselves out. In fact, from the Self’s point of view, there is no creation, no time and no purpose. Everything is already accomplished so no forces need to play and nothing needs to be discovered.

Anyway, it is just a tiny memory, but oh what power it has! Even though Self ignorance is beginningless and all pervasive, it eventually succumbs to the power of this idea. A person can be born over and over through countless lifetimes and still this seed guides him or her home. This is so because experience is transitory and the joys that one picks up always fade…motivating the search for a happiness that does not decay. This happiness is always with us because it is the very nature of the Self.

Vedanta puts an end to this metaphor by telling us that the seeker is the sought. Its teachings do not employ the journey metaphor but point out something that is not appreciated…the fact that you are already and always ‘home.’ The journey metaphor is dangerous because it defines the Self, the goal, as something to be attained experientially. And this sets up craving for ‘Self experience’ which is a joke because everything you are experiencing every minute is the Self…assuming a non-dual reality. Vedanta therefore counsels one to ‘give up the search’ and see that you are everything you could hope to attain.

Ram