I’ve been going through the Mandukya again really slowly. I hadn’t appreciated that advaita means that I/the Self am not a cause. Brahman does not produce, multiply or divide. We’re meant to understand that Brahman/I lends existence to the experienced world.
James: It’s easy not to appreciate this fact about the Self because most of Vedanta teachings are cause and effect, which is suitable for beginners but doesn’t make sense considering the fact that reality is non-dual.
Yesterday, this fact came to the forefront. I lend existence to everything appearing in front of me, including space! The various objects are still seen and transacted with but the mind isn’t interested in following them unnecessarily. The usual “dramas” of family, politics, physical pain etc are sideshows. There is a subtle experience of happiness, of satisfaction going on all the time.. It’s not highly sensational, yet it is unmistakable. This is surprising.
I’ve not had mind-blowing mystical experiences on my spiritual journey. I never did drugs either. Maybe not a bad thing, as I didn’t get sidetracked by getting attached to highs. But knowing who I am is not an experience, there has been a question mark about where self-knowledge is leading. After all, the jiva does want a “better experience”.
James: Mystical experiences tend to be more detrimental than beneficial, so you are lucky.
So now, I can trace a direct link between the experience of fullness and the knowledge that I lend existence to this world and the jiva. The formless background (me) feels “tangible”. The forms are also me but they feel less tangible than before.
James: Good. Yes, it is ironic that what you can touch, smell and taste seems solid and real…tangible… and the Self which you can’t see touch, taste, hear and smell, seems intangible, but it actually solid and substantial. Maya has the power to turn things around 180 degrees. It is amazing. Whatever satisfaction arises in the presence or absence of a discrete experience is the bliss of yourself shining forth.
I guess this will wax and wane for a time. But can I take it that it’s now just a matter of becoming more stable in this? Continue doing what I’m doing?
James: Yes, non-dual knowledge establishes itself gradually as the jiva patiently renounces the desire for fresh experiences. You are Being, a self-satisfying bliss that neither comes nor goes. You are shantam (peace), shivam (always good), sundaram (the beauty that makes beauty beautiful.) Steady as she goes. You’re on the bus. The conductor stored your baggage and punched your ticket. Sit back and look out the window. Let the knowledge do the work.
Much love,
Ramji