Sama: Second. I am forever stuck at the very foundation of the science of Vedanta – not understanding what defines Consciousness and constantly doubt this is even existing outside the Brain. If I take away my instruments of perception and thought, I am supposedly left with Consciousness but even then, how can I prove to myself it’s is not a leftover function of the brain? I fall into this pit over and over again in working with Vedanta.
Sundari: What is the brain? It is a lump of meat, as inert as any other object. It appears to be conscious because Consciousness shines on it, just like a light illumines a dark room. The brain is a tool for the jiva (Subtle Body) to process and store information. It is a function of the mind, the Subtle body, which is not limited to the brain. The brain is in the Subtle body or mind. Without Consciousness and a functioning brain/mind, it is not possible to be conscious of objects.
What is an object, you may ask? An object is anything known to you, which includes your mind/brain. But with or without a brain/mind being present, Consciousness is not affected because it does not need objects to know itself. The Self exists independently of everything, but all objects depend on Consciousness to exist. The only ‘proof’ of that is the fundamental logic of Existence, which you can establish by asking yourself some simple questions. See below.
The mind provides us with our means of knowledge for objects, the senses, which give us perception and inference. The only problem? Consciousness is not an object of knowledge. Consciousness (the Self) cannot be known by the mind/brain, the senses. For Self-knowledge to obtain in the mind, the mind must be prepared (qualified), and we need a valid means of knowledge for Consciousness, which is Vedanta.
Vedanta is like a word mirror to experience your Self, Consciousness, reflected in a pure, qualified mind. You are experiencing your Self all the time because it’s the only option, you are just not aware of it when the mind is under the spell of duality. The trick is to know that you are not the reflection, the experiencing entity. You are the source of the reflection, Consciousness, the non-experiencing entity. Just like you are not your reflection in a mirror, though it is you also.
The first question to ask yourself, is: How do I know what I know? You cannot be what you know, can you? What you know is known to you. Who or what is that? If you say it is your mind that knows objects, are the objects (your thoughts and feelings) not known to you? Yes. Do they know you? No, they do not. Your thoughts and feelings or any other object you are looking at are not conscious. But you are. The only thing we need to determine is who that ‘you’ is. And then the trick is to live that truth as your primary identity. It sounds simple but is not because Vedanta, nonduality, is counter-intuitive due to the hypnosis of Maya, duality. Maya produces the belief that objects are separate from you, Consciousness, the knower of the objects, and that you need objects to complete yourself.
To function in this world, our senses relay information from the Field (our environment) to our mind, which then interprets it through our intellect, thoughts, and feelings. But sadly, the senses are not equipped to know Consciousness because they too are objects and the Self/Consciousness is the subject. The object can never know the subject because the subject, Consciousness, is subtler than the objects. Consciousness is the ever-present factor that always knows what we are seeing, thinking, and feeling. Therefore, you cannot be your mind. Your mind is another object known to you.
Even in deep dreamless sleep, when there is no information exchange between the Field and the mind because the mind is withdrawn into the Causal body, Consciousness must be present. If it were not, you would not know you slept when you wake up. And, in fact, you would never wake up again because you (body/mind) would be dead. If you accept this—and how can you not—you must agree that Consciousness cannot be negated, for two main reasons. Apart from the obvious fact that you could not be here reading this if you are not conscious, there must be Consciousness present for you to deny its existence. You cannot step out of, deny, or negate Consciousness. It is the one and only, constant, non-negatable, ever-present factor.
The second question is: Who or what is looking out of your eyes? Our vision cannot help but be organized around light. We cannot see anything without light being present. But when we look at an object, we are not aware of the light that makes vision possible. Just like we are not consciously aware of Consciousness shining on the mind (which is inert) and shining on objects (also inert) because we are identified with our mind. Consciousness is not only looking out of our eyes it is all that is visible and what allows us to see. We could say that Consciousness is both light and that which makes light possible. The same Consciousness that ‘looks’ out of your eyes, looks out of my eyes, the eyes of every stranger in the street, and every sentient being on this planet because this is a non-dual reality. There is only one Self.
What or how each individual sees (their subjective reality) depends on their conditioning, or vasanas, but that does not affect Consciousness, which conditions to nothing and sees only itself. The same brain responses that enable us to see a tree or a person as a tree or a person instead of a ghostly swarm of buzzing atoms, also enable us to experience Consciousness every time we open our eyes. We just must know who is ‘seeing’ and what we are looking at. That is called discriminating what is real, the nondual Self/Consciousness, from what is apparently real, the body/mind. See definition of real and apparently real below.
The hardest thing to assimilate, yet it is obvious if you think about it, is that since you know the mind and the thoughts in the mind, you cannot be the mind or your thoughts. You are the one who “sees” or knows the mind/thoughts. Reality is nondual so there is just Consciousness and thoughts appearing in Consciousness. Take thought away and you are left with Consciousness. But you cannot take Consciousness away. For instance, take the thought/doubt appearing in your mind: “how can I prove to myself it’s is not a leftover function of the brain?” Who is it that knows that thought? It can’t be Marianne, because Marianne is an object known to you, Consciousness. So, take Marianne and her thoughts away and you are left with the only option: Consciousness knows the thought.
The main aim of Self-inquiry is discriminating the “seer”, the Self/Consciousness, from the objects, or not-self. I.e., discriminating between Satya (Consciousness) that which is real, never changes and is always present, and Mithya (body/mind/experience), that which is only apparently real, meaning not always present and is always changing. If you cannot discriminate between your Self, Consciousness, and the objects that appear in you (i.e. your mind and the thoughts that appear in it), you cannot be free of ignorance – the hypnosis of duality.
Self-knowledge, Vedanta is very simple but very counter-intuitive. You cannot study or rationalize Consciousness (the subject) because it is who you are. You must be taught properly because the mind is conditioned by Maya, beginningless ignorance/duality, full of ignorant ideas. Until Self-knowledge is firm, the mind only ever understands anything through the filters of its conditioning (vasanas).
Therefore, without a valid means of knowledge wielded by a qualified teacher, the mind will interpret what it reads or hears and not assimilate the true meaning, so Self-knowledge cannot obtain. We have no other valid means of knowledge for Consciousness other than the scripture, Self-Knowledge/Vedanta, and it requires qualifications. Faith in the scripture and a burning desire for freedom from dependence on objects are the starting point.
Sama: Are these topics suitable for online Skype? I am happy to make a donation either way
Sundari: Yes, ‘these topics’ are available online on our website. In fact, they are the main subject of all the teachings, which you say you have read, but clearly, not assimilated. We have literally thousands of satsangs available on our website on this and all our publications deal with it in one way or another. Do not feel bad about it, ignorance is very tenacious and very difficult to eradicate. But not impossible. James and I are both available for Skype satsang by donation, no problem. We can also help to advise you how to create a study group.
Much love, Sundari
