Self-Enquiry 5

If Action can be said to “occur” in a Waking State Dream, then such would be the role of a Body, but not ever the role of Transcendent Consciousness, the sole Reality, from which thoughts creating a Waking State might seem to arise & into which they must finally subside. That Body is considered in Ignorance to consist of objective Matter throughout the intermittent Waking State Dreams between its Birth & Death. Presumed to recline in a bed, or the like, when Nightly Dream supplants that Waking State Dream, the Waking Body is not experienced while any given Dream Body is apparently experienced. Nor is a Waking Body experienced in Deep Dreamless Sleep when there is no “competing” or “excluding” Body exists at all. Given this “spotty” record of appearance, the essentially inert Body can hardly be claimed to be the True “I”, the Self.

Nonetheless, when a Body is mistaken to be oneself, the apparent reflection of Consciousness in a “Mind” is mistaken to be a separate Individualized “knower”, an Ego–I. Stripped of Mis-identification with that Body head-quarters [literally], neither Mind nor Ego can long continue, & Liberation ensues. Conversely, with full re-identification with Witnessing Consciousness, Pure Being or Self, or Existence-Consciousness-Happiness in any other manner, Mis-identification with Body, Mind, nor Ego cannot long continue, & Liberation ensues.

Short of either such Path, dropping Mis-identification with the Performer of Action, the Enjoyer of Pleasure, the victim of Suffering, the holder of Tendencies [vasanas], the Conceiver of concepts, the Perceiver of percepts, the Thinker of thoughts, or any such can remove a supporting “stone” in the “wall” of binding Ignorance. In whatever Form, to whatever degree, Knowledge alone destroys Ignorance, & not any kind of outer [physical] or inner [mental] Action.

Failing to finally & completely drop Mis-identification allows an intermittent [punctuated with Dream & Deep Dreamless Sleep] Waking State Dream to continue with Ups & Downs, ultimately: old age, disease, & death. Such is soon followed by another such Waking State Dream [re-incarnation] on the spinning Wheel of Birth & Death. Eventually, [subject to the delay of confusion bred from bad Karma] Liberation ensues. Why, wait ? Why, delay ?

Why does it work this way ? Does it work this way ? Has any of this really happened ? Such questions can, but need not be, part of the Self-Inquiry: Who am I ?

[The above themes & 1600 pages more are freely available as perused or downloaded PDF’s, the sole occupants of a Public Microsoft Skydrive “Public Folder” accessible through  www.jpstiga.com ]