Mind & Happiness 98

Do we not all feel our self to be a particular human Body ?  When we say, “I was born at such-&-such a time in such-&-such a place.  I am the son or daughter of so-&-so.  I have traveled to so many different places.  Now I am sitting here, reading this”, & such-like, is it not clear that we identify our self with our Body so strongly that we habitually refer to it as “I” ?

But do we not at the same time also feel our self to be the Consciousness within this Body, & do we not therefore refer to this Body not only subjectively as “I”, but also objectively as “my Body” ?  Are we then 2 different things, this physical Body that we call “I”, & the Consciousness that feels itself to be within this Body, but at the same time regards this Body as an object that it calls “my Body” ?   No, we obviously cannot be 2 different things, because we all know very clearly “I am one”.

That is, we each feel that we have only one self or “I”, & not 2 or more different “I’s”.  When we say “I”, we refer to a Sense of self-hood that is intrinsically single, whole & indivisible. Does that then mean that this physical Body & the Consciousness within it that feels it to be “my Body” are not 2 different things, but are one & the same ?  No, they are very clearly 2 quite different things, because we all know that our Body is not inherently conscious.  Though we cannot know our own Body when our Consciousness is separated from it, we do know that when the Body of some other person dies, it remains just as a lump of insentient matter, devoid of any Consciousness.

Since a physical Body can thus remain without Existence conscious, the Consciousness that appears to be united with it when it is alive & awake is clearly something that is different from it. Moreover, & more importantly, just as we know that a Body can remain without any Consciousness of its own, we also know from our experience in Dream that our own  Consciousness can remain without this Body that we now mistake to be “I”.  In Dream we are conscious, both of our self as a Body & of a World around us, but we are not conscious of this Body, which at that time is supposedly lying asleep on a bed, unconscious of the World around it.  Is it not clear, therefore, that our Consciousness & our Body are 2 different things ?

The above themes & 2500 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 

short-cut: http://sdrv.ms/YPOgkX or http://tinyurl.com/nnyyr58  link directly to free E-book PDF files

www.jpstiga.com/

http://jstiga.wixsite.com/nonduality/

Different blogs (but with graphics) are available on:

http://www.blogger.com     as  “Being-as-Consciousness, Non-Duality – new & final version” with link:

http://Being-as-Consciousness.blogspot.com/

“There is no Creation, no Destruction, no Bondage, no longing to be freed from Bondage, no striving for Liberation, nor anyone who has attained Liberation. Know that this to be Ultimate Truth.”

–  the “no creation” school of Gaudapada, Shankara, Ramana, Nome – Ajata Vada

 for very succinct summary of the teaching & practice, see:  www.ajatavada.com/

[A brief note of explanation – this Blog is entitled “Non-Duality & Science”, & so the more Science oriented pages (from what I like to think of as a “comic book”) have been posted there, while other chapters have been posted in the other Blog noted below. Science is a mental discipline that attracts some worthy admirers & participators.  Some of these, too few, are good prospects for the ancient teaching introduced here in many ways.  Otherwise certain Science topics like the Anthropic Principle, reinforce the general Theism which is a good idea in this materialistic age. A few other topics in Science, such as the Copenhagen II – Max Born – Von Neumann – Wigner model of Quantum Mechanics, are worthy entries to the extent that they introduce Consciousness into the physical Sciences. All that aside, the real topic here is the pinnacle as Advaita Vedanta, Non-Duality – that pinnacle being Ajata Vada, No–Creation. The great Teachers of the same include Sri Shankara & Sri Ramana Maharshi.  Both would support Theism in general & adaptations of Vedanta, such as Vishishtadvaita Vedanta – Qualified Non-Duality, for those not making headway in Ajata Vada, their present course of growth might be better served with a temporary involvement in Qualified Non-Duality. The scientist who perhaps best expresses the influence of Qualified Non-Duality in Science, for instance, would be the quintessential “New–Age” Quantum Physicist, Amit Goswami. And so to that source, & the Quantum Activism he currently advocates [with a 1–course  degree program], along with more than a half-dozen good books & former participation in the controversial What the Bleep movie, to him I extend enthusiastic endorsement, for that Qualified Non-Duality described in the context of Science.  I do not stand so much “with him”, as much as nearby saluting his good work. Again, as here, a goal is inserting Consciousness into Science & “saving the World.”]

also:  Most of this material will be long searchable via “John Stiga” etc, on the “Wayback Machine” Internet Archive.

Also related to these topics, there are now 8 Kindle books on “Amazon.com”, reference-able by the author “John Stiga”, each indicated as non–copyrighted, public–domain, & priced at the minimum $0.99 each.