Michael: I am curious whether the experiential bliss that you explained to me is the same as or related to the (akandhakara) thought of limitlessness? I read the satsang titled Why Seeing the Light of Awareness Makes the Jiva Happy at NeverNotPresent.com.
In it, Ted says that a clear reflection is as good as the real thing, and above that some questioner says that he realized the inherent emptiness in objects, which was confirmed by Ted.
Sundari: The akandhakara vritti is not experiential; it is just the hard and fast knowledge: “I am awareness.” The thought of limitlessness is as good as the real thing, BUT, if Self-knowledge is not firm, the thought/experience will end, and so will Self-knowledge.
Michael: The reflection is an object as well, but still just as unreal as all other objects?
Sundari: Yes. Even the experience of awareness in a purified mind is an object known to awareness.
The mirror analogy works well here. Everything reflects light, but a mirror reflects light clearly, as it is. The clearer the mind (reflective surface) the more distinct are the objects in it. Even though all objects arise in awareness, it is not as easy to see some objects as awareness, because they are obscured by tamas. The point is, if the mirror (mind, or reflective surface) is clear, the Self as the object reflected in the mirror can be precisely known as an object of knowledge/experience. In non-dual reality, experience and knowledge are the same. There is no obscuration in a clear mirror. However, the reflection is still only a reflection of the Self. It is not the Self and it is not conscious.
~ Love, Sundari
