Hi Dave,
I’m rewriting yesterday’s email. It was a miserable failure because I missed your question. I’m getting old. Here it is. l deleted the first part of yesterday’s email, which wasn’t actually relevant. Forget it. When I woke up this morning, Isvara told me to revisit the topic. I hope this works.
Dave: I do love hearing from you even if it seems marked by often perplexing brevity.
James: That’s the truth. Emphasis on perplexity. I am completely gobsmacked as usual, Dave. These questions make me think that nothing Vedantic has stuck. I think your memory isn’t working properly. But so, what? Mine isn’t working properly either owing to old age and meds. It’s not supposed to work forever. It is an assemblage of memories that has to disintegrate. All the other faculties gradually pack up too. It’s the same for everyone. Be that as it may, the Anthony Hopkins story below gives me insight. I think there is a proper question in it.
Dave: Finally, have you seen the movie “Father” or “The Father” starring Anthony Hopkins in the role of Anthony an 80-year-old man suffering from dementia that recently came out on Prime? It has gotten very good reviews on “Green Tomatoes” I’m told. Watching it, I could not help but wonder how it would be different if Anthony had the knowledge of Vedanta. With age, memory seems to be a very big problem for the jiva who has been conditioned so heavily to identify with it.
James: He wouldn’t think that memory was real. I think you’re worried that you’re losing your mind?. So the answer to your question is this: When your mind is gone are you gone? The answer is no. Your mind depends on you but you Dave’t depend on your mind. If you know that, it doesn’t matter if your mind is gone. It’s gone when Dave is sleeping and you are none the worse for it. So just think of it as a big sleep.
Dave: In regard to memory or lack thereof, I am so thankful to you and Vedanta.
James: Dave’t thank me. I have nothing to do with it. Isvara is the one you need to thank. Whether the mind is working or not is not under the control of the Self or under the control of the Dave self or the James self. The Self doesn’t even know there is a mind other than itself. And the non-eternal jiva is generated by ignorance of the Self so it isn’t capable of knowing anything. It is just an inert thought.
I know a person whose mind isn’t working but that “person” still exists. So I just talk to the Self, which can, with the help of Maya, respond. It takes an extra one or two seconds for the Self to process the meaning of my words, but sure enough It responds appropriately.
Remember the Terry Schiavo incident some years ago? Her mind was so gone the Self couldn’t speak through it. However, it still reflected on it . But the doctors wouldn’t pull the plug because it was clear she was still conscious and alive, because of the Self’s reflection.
She was of no use to her husband who had moved on and wanted to marry someone who could function in the apparent reality so he petitioned the court, which said he could pull the plug, which he did. Do you think pulling the plug on Terry, the refection, pulled the plug on the original?
If our moon disintegrates sunlight will still shine in the place where the moon once existed. In fact the sun is shining on all the reflective bodies at the same time it illumines the space between the bodies. So when the Dave moon is gone you will still be here shining. Stop worrying about it for your own good. When it’s gone you won’t know it’s gone anyway, so the whole issue is a non-starter .Anyway, your mind is not gone. You are still writing me, perplexing the hell out of me and generating the same dumb jokes, for which I’m sure Isvara forgives you.
Dave: Much love to both you and Sundari
James: Thanks, Dave. Much love to you too.