The Advaita view is that everything is Brahman. The world as it appears is a false superposition on the underlying reality. We get deluded and enticed by something like a decoration . A natural question arises in us. If everything is Brahman then the mind also is Brahman . The desire, aversion , all sin everything should be Brahman. So why do you say then that you should not have desires and all. The answer to this is simple. When you really get to the point where you only see Brahman everywhere including the desires in your mind, the delusions in your mind etc , these things don' t arise in you. For how can Brahman rise and fall?. The unified view that everything is Brahman or pure consciousness only is all that is needed. Everything no longer would need to be done thereafter. It is only to the Jivatma the concept of desire etc is there. Once you are truly resting in your true nature, all the mental modifications just come and go . They never stay . They just drop off on their own. So for such a state there is no need for detachment , because he is the very embodiment of detachment.
Consciousness flowing outward through the senses is desire. When that subsides mind rests in its true source. Conversely when you are in your true self, consciousness never sees outward . When delusions and desires drop where are the problems in this world. If this is the case , why do we still continue this sufferings in life?. This is because the solution to our problems is within us. No one other than you can cure you. If you get a disease you go to a doctor and she cures your illness. This disease unfortunately cannot be treated that way. The resolution has to be done by the patient herself. When Rama asks Vasishta about whether there are any clues in this world about its illusory nature.
Rama: Agreeing that the world is nothing but an illusion can’t we help a person to avoid the troubles in the world using some clues from the world itself?
Vasishta: No, that is not possible. Will any amount of hammering by us here break the mountains in the dream of another? Any clue, any method is a part of your imagination. Misery is a part of his imagination. The two imaginations cannot meet at the same place. Hence each man has to rid his sorrow on his own through Self-Knowledge.
All our life is only a struggle to attain something. To become something, to accomplish something to be happy and so on. We never for a moment question to whom does all these accomplishments pertain to ?. Is it for the body ?. Is it for the mind?. When thought that way, the accomplishments , the failures doesn't make sense. How can the body feel proud?. How can the mind feel proud?. Who is feeling this accomplishment?. Who fails in life?. Can we point out an entity here ?. All that is clear s that there is some knowledge of some happenings in life. Aren't we just knowers of happenings?. These happenings are labeled as certain things by our intellect or mind that is all. Its value depends on our belief in those values. The moment those values are questioned, the happenings loose their significance.
In order to understand the illusory nature of the I consciousness , all you need is to analyze what happens when you dream. What happens in a dream?. You go to sleep. Then in that state another "you " is created. And around that illusory "you " a whole world is created called the dream world. All the happenings there is pertaining to the created "you". Where from does this dream world originate?. It is from your own consciousness . Or put in another words the dream world is another form of you only. So how can you say that the dream world is untrue or the wake world is true. All are created from you the origin of consciousness. So if one is untrue, can the other be more true?. What is really true is the consciousness from which both originates. The appearances are both untrue.
You might say that the difference between a dream and a wake state is that what i see as the world is the same as what you see . There are some similarities in the world, while the dream is something private to my experience. But analyze it closely. Do you see the same world as i do?. Aren't there interpretations and analysis of happenings in life that is private to you just like your dream?. Does it agree with my perception of the same happenings ?. So we can safely say that the wake state and dream state are the same in terms of interpretations , analysis , feelings etc . They are all private to each one of us just like our dream. The reality is not seen as it is . Just like we dream many unreal objects and happenings , in our wake world also we create lot of imaginary things and suffer because of that. What is a suffering to you may not be a suffering for me. I can sort of imagine , but is not the same. What is happiness for me may not be the same for you. In short the wake state is as unreal as dream. However both states have a real thing which is common. That is pure knowing or awareness. It shines its light on both the states and makes us realize its unfailing truth.
To the ordinary person , the sun rises in the east and sets in the west. So he would say it is moving across the sky everyday. He can live as long as he wants in this knowledge. But astronomy tells us and it can be seen also that the sun never moves . It is the earth that rotates from west to east. Similarly an ordinary person lives in the delusion that the world , its changes , its importance are all real. For a liberated person it is not so. He says clearly like the astronomer that the world is just a superposition of our senses on the consciousness. An astronaut who has gone to the moon would tell us that the moon is a larger sphere rather than a 20 cm round disc shape that we see in the sky. Just as the world is a superposition on the underlying Brahman, the body too is so. The mind also is so. You need to drop them to see what is the reality. Appearance are deceptive. You need to see through them.
It is the belief in the appearance that lead us to believe in such silly things as rebirth and other stuff. In the light of Brahman , there is no such thing as rebirth. Because in order for something to be reborn some entity should exist other than Brahman. We all know that Brahman is eternal and free from all such nuances. Since nothing exists apart from it , who is getting reborn ?. It is the ego that sees this body getting reborn and all. A form has no significance. whether it is a body , a thought or mind or anything. No form is the same as another. Take a pile of lentils . Now measure another one with a vessel and mix it up. Now take a pile again. Is the first pile reborn ?. Can you distinguish the lentils from the first pile. There are no birth or death actually. There are only modifications or manifestations. Consciousness getting modified all the time into various forms and appearances.
As life looses its significance, its forms and figures merge into pure consciousness, it merges with the totality and we realize that
Sarvam khalvidam brahma ...
Consciousness flowing outward through the senses is desire. When that subsides mind rests in its true source. Conversely when you are in your true self, consciousness never sees outward . When delusions and desires drop where are the problems in this world. If this is the case , why do we still continue this sufferings in life?. This is because the solution to our problems is within us. No one other than you can cure you. If you get a disease you go to a doctor and she cures your illness. This disease unfortunately cannot be treated that way. The resolution has to be done by the patient herself. When Rama asks Vasishta about whether there are any clues in this world about its illusory nature.
Rama: Agreeing that the world is nothing but an illusion can’t we help a person to avoid the troubles in the world using some clues from the world itself?
Vasishta: No, that is not possible. Will any amount of hammering by us here break the mountains in the dream of another? Any clue, any method is a part of your imagination. Misery is a part of his imagination. The two imaginations cannot meet at the same place. Hence each man has to rid his sorrow on his own through Self-Knowledge.
All our life is only a struggle to attain something. To become something, to accomplish something to be happy and so on. We never for a moment question to whom does all these accomplishments pertain to ?. Is it for the body ?. Is it for the mind?. When thought that way, the accomplishments , the failures doesn't make sense. How can the body feel proud?. How can the mind feel proud?. Who is feeling this accomplishment?. Who fails in life?. Can we point out an entity here ?. All that is clear s that there is some knowledge of some happenings in life. Aren't we just knowers of happenings?. These happenings are labeled as certain things by our intellect or mind that is all. Its value depends on our belief in those values. The moment those values are questioned, the happenings loose their significance.
In order to understand the illusory nature of the I consciousness , all you need is to analyze what happens when you dream. What happens in a dream?. You go to sleep. Then in that state another "you " is created. And around that illusory "you " a whole world is created called the dream world. All the happenings there is pertaining to the created "you". Where from does this dream world originate?. It is from your own consciousness . Or put in another words the dream world is another form of you only. So how can you say that the dream world is untrue or the wake world is true. All are created from you the origin of consciousness. So if one is untrue, can the other be more true?. What is really true is the consciousness from which both originates. The appearances are both untrue.
You might say that the difference between a dream and a wake state is that what i see as the world is the same as what you see . There are some similarities in the world, while the dream is something private to my experience. But analyze it closely. Do you see the same world as i do?. Aren't there interpretations and analysis of happenings in life that is private to you just like your dream?. Does it agree with my perception of the same happenings ?. So we can safely say that the wake state and dream state are the same in terms of interpretations , analysis , feelings etc . They are all private to each one of us just like our dream. The reality is not seen as it is . Just like we dream many unreal objects and happenings , in our wake world also we create lot of imaginary things and suffer because of that. What is a suffering to you may not be a suffering for me. I can sort of imagine , but is not the same. What is happiness for me may not be the same for you. In short the wake state is as unreal as dream. However both states have a real thing which is common. That is pure knowing or awareness. It shines its light on both the states and makes us realize its unfailing truth.
To the ordinary person , the sun rises in the east and sets in the west. So he would say it is moving across the sky everyday. He can live as long as he wants in this knowledge. But astronomy tells us and it can be seen also that the sun never moves . It is the earth that rotates from west to east. Similarly an ordinary person lives in the delusion that the world , its changes , its importance are all real. For a liberated person it is not so. He says clearly like the astronomer that the world is just a superposition of our senses on the consciousness. An astronaut who has gone to the moon would tell us that the moon is a larger sphere rather than a 20 cm round disc shape that we see in the sky. Just as the world is a superposition on the underlying Brahman, the body too is so. The mind also is so. You need to drop them to see what is the reality. Appearance are deceptive. You need to see through them.
It is the belief in the appearance that lead us to believe in such silly things as rebirth and other stuff. In the light of Brahman , there is no such thing as rebirth. Because in order for something to be reborn some entity should exist other than Brahman. We all know that Brahman is eternal and free from all such nuances. Since nothing exists apart from it , who is getting reborn ?. It is the ego that sees this body getting reborn and all. A form has no significance. whether it is a body , a thought or mind or anything. No form is the same as another. Take a pile of lentils . Now measure another one with a vessel and mix it up. Now take a pile again. Is the first pile reborn ?. Can you distinguish the lentils from the first pile. There are no birth or death actually. There are only modifications or manifestations. Consciousness getting modified all the time into various forms and appearances.
As life looses its significance, its forms and figures merge into pure consciousness, it merges with the totality and we realize that
Sarvam khalvidam brahma ...
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