KW: Thank you, Isabella, for responding so fast! You said: “The zero-sum game refers to the fact that there is nothing to gain in the world of objects, because objects are value-neutral, but Maya makes them look sexy and juicy.”
Don’t we require food and drink and need to reproduce?
Are these not necessary and sufficient conditions which must be met, in order to maintain the physical form?
Sundari: Yes, these are all natural functions required to maintain the body and keep the human race going, and Isvara takes care of all of them, as it does everything else. Nobody is doing anything. The question is as always, are you your body? Are you asking about satya or mithya? Do you know the difference? It is clear you do not, even though I explained it in our last exchange and James has tried to do so in the past.
Vedanta is not denying the existence of the person and the world, it only reveals that they are only apparently, not actually, real. And as I said in my last email to you:
“Real is defined as ‘that which is always present and never changing,’ which only ever applies to satya,the Self, consciousness. ‘Apparently real’ applies to everything else, i.e. mithya, that which is always changing and not always present. So given these two all-important definitions, which category do you think the body and the world it inhabits is in?”
While the body must be taken care of to survive, to propagate the species and, mainly, to experience peace of mind, it is not real, and it is not you, awareness. You are present with or without the body, and always have been. Understanding what that means, i.e. knowing that your true identity is consciousness and not the finite body, is where all the teaching of Vedanta comes in. Once you do know the difference and never confuse satya with mithya again, moksa has obtained and you are free of dependence on the body and the world for your happiness. While you continue to exist as a body-mind in a world of apparent objects, you are no longer seduced by duality, Maya, and live free as the Self. The body will die but you, being unborn, never do.
KW: You see my problem is that since Isvara has the duty of justice/distribution of all possible resources, there is a large population of beings who are without them.
Sundari: Yes, and Isvara is doing a perfect job of taking care of the Total, without help from anyone or thing, all appearances to the contrary notwithstanding. You think it should be different from the way it is, you know better than Isvara how things should be. The world is working the way it must and there is nothing wrong with any of it unless of course you are convinced it is real.
The whole Creation movie (and it is a movie) is based on duality, a thing can only exist if its opposite also exists, that idea. This is a dreamworld because reality is actually non-dual. Duality is superimposed onto the Self/satya by Maya. It makes the unchanging one principle LOOK like it is changing and more than one thing. It is not, just like a mirage looks real but is not. A trick of light.
