Mind & Happiness 130

Sri Ramana said, “having taken innumerable Births“, he was referring to this repeated process of forsaking one Dream Body & imagining another Dream Body to be our self.  Rebirth or Re-incarnation is therefore not real, but is just a Dream – an imaginary event that occurs repeatedly in our seemingly long “sleep” of imaginary “self-ignorance”.

Though Rebirth is merely a figment of our Imagination – a Dream created by our own Desires & Fears – it is “as real” as our present Life in this World, which is itself just as “real” as our Mind, the limited & distorted form of Consciousness that experiences this & so many other Dreams.

Until we know what we really are, thereby putting an end to our imaginary “sleep” of “self-forgetfulness” or “self-ignorance”, we will continue to experience one Dream after another.  In each of those Dreams we will mistake our self to be a Body that we have created by our own imagination.  Since the fundamental cause of all the Suffering & lack of perfect Happiness that we experience in this Dream-Life & so many other Dream-lives is our imaginary “”self-forgetfulness”” or “self-ignorance”, we can end all our Suffering & attain perfect Happiness only by experiencing the Absolute Clarity of true Self-Knowledge.

Since the illusion of Duality is caused by our “self-forgetfulness” – our “forgetfulness” of our fundamental Non-Dual Consciousness of our own infinite & absolute Existence – it will be dissolved only when we experience perfectly clear Non-Dual Self-Knowledge or Self-Consciousness.

By seemingly forgetting our Real Self, we enable our self to imagine that we have become a Body. Therefore though we have never really ceased to be our Infinite Real Self, we do appear to have become something else.

Hence in his 1^st Verse of Ēkātma Pañcakam, Sri Ramana says that having forgotten our Real Self, having repeatedly imagined our self to be a Body, & having thereby seemingly taken birth in innumerable different bodies, when we finally know our self we become our self once again.  He says:

“[…] finally knowing our Self [& thereby] becoming our Self […]”

He does not mean to imply that the attainment of true Self-Knowledge is really a process of “becoming”.  Relative to our present State of “self-forgetfulness”, in which we seem to have become a Body & Mind, the State of Self-Knowledge may appear to be a State in which we will once again become our Real Self, but in Reality it is just our Natural State of Existence, in which we remain as we always have been – that is, as our immutable Real Self.

The word that Sri Ramana actually uses in this Verse is ādal, which is a gerund that primarily means “becoming” but can also mean “Existence”. Therefore, though the words “iṟudi taṉṉai-y-uṇarndu tāṉ-ādal“, which form the subject of this Verse, could be translated as: “finally knowing our Self [& thereby] becoming our Self“, they can be translated more accurately as “finally knowing our Self [& thereby just] Existence our Self.”

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.

Mind & Happiness 129

Even when our Mind subsides temporarily such as in Deep Dreamless Sleep or Death, our deeply rooted Desires & Fears are not dissolved, because our basic “self-ignorance” persists in a dormant form.  Therefore as soon as we are sufficiently rested, our dormant Desires & Fears rouse us from sleep, giving rise either to the experience of this Waking State or to the experience of a Dream.

All our Dreams are caused by our latent Desires & Fears, & our present Waking State is just one of our Dreams.  Just as all that we experience in a Dream is our own thoughts, which are formed by our latent Desires & Fears, so all that we experience in our Present Waking State is our own thoughts, which are likewise formed by our latent Desires & Fears.

Since our Present Waking Life is actually just a Dream in our imaginary sleep of “self-forgetfulness” or “self-ignorance”, the State that we call Death is merely the final termination of this particular Dream. The entire Life of our present Body is one continuous Dream, which is interrupted each day by a brief period of rest in “sleep” [Deep Dreamless Sleep or Dream], but which resumes as soon as we have recuperated sufficient energy to engage in another period of mental activity.

One feature of this Dream is that the imaginary Body that we now mistake to be our self appears to grow gradually older & more worn out, until eventually we forsake it permanently. The State in which we thus permanently cease to imagine our present Body to be our self is what we generally call Death.

Since Death is just the ending of an extended Dream, it is merely a State of temporary subsidence of our Mind, like the Deep Dreamless Sleep that we experience every day.  After we have rested for a while in Deep Dreamless Sleep, our latent Desires & Fears impel our Mind to rise & become active once again in another State of Dream.  Similarly, after we have rested for a while in Death, our latent Desires & Fears impel our Mind to rise once again in another State of activity, in which we imagine some other Body to be our self.

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.

Mind & Happiness 128

Our present Waking Life is actually just a Dream that is occurring in our Imaginary Deep Dreamless Sleep of “self-forgetfulness” or “self-ignorance”.  When we imaginarily ignore or forget our Real Self, which is Infinite Existence, Consciousness, & Happiness, we seemingly separate our self from the perfect Happiness that is our own Self.

Therefore until we reunite with our own Reality, which is Absolute Happiness, we cannot rest, except during the brief but necessary interludes that we experience in Deep Dreamless Sleep, Death & other such States, in which our Mind subsides in a state of temporary abeyance or inactivity.

Because we have imaginarily separated our self from our own Infinite Happiness, we feel perpetually dissatisfied, & hence our innate love for Happiness impels us to search restlessly for the Happiness that we have lost.  Thus our natural love for Happiness, which is our own true Existence, is seemingly distorted, manifesting in the form of Desire, which impels us to be active, thereby driving our self further away from our True State of Existence.

Whereas true Love is our Natural State of just Existence, desire gives rise to “doing” or activity, which distracts us from our essential Existence.  How does our love for Happiness become distorted as desire ?  Having imaginarily separated our self from our Infinite Real Self, we now feel Happiness to be something other than our self, & therefore we seek it outside our self in objects & experiences that we imagine to be other than our self.  In our Natural State of true Self-Knowledge, we experience Happiness as our own Self, & hence our Love for Happiness impels us just to be our Self.

In our imaginary state of “self-ignorance”, on the other hand, we experience “happiness” as if it were something other than our self.  Hence our simple Love for Happiness is distorted as innumerable desires for things other than our Self – for objects & experiences that we imagine will give us the Happiness for which we crave.

Because our “self-ignorance” clouds our natural clarity of Discrimination, it deludes us, making us imagine that in order to be happy we must obtain things other than our Self – whether material Objects, Sensual experiences, or Intellectual knowledge.  We imagine that certain experience  will make us happy, & certain other experiences will make us unhappy.  Hence we desire those experiences that we imagine will make us happy, & we fear or feel averse to those experience  that we imagine will make us unhappy.

Thus our “self-ignorance” inevitably gives rise to our Desires & Fears, which impel us to be constantly active, striving by Mind, Speech, & Body to experience the Happiness for which we yearn so intensely.  Until we attain the Non-Dual experience of true Self-Knowledge, thereby dissolving the Illusion of “self-ignorance”, we will not be able to free our self from the gripping vice of Desire & Fear.

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.

Mind & Happiness 127

Our present Waking Life is actually just a Dream that is occurring in our Imaginary Deep Dreamless Sleep of “self-forgetfulness” or “self-ignorance”.  When we imaginarily ignore or forget our Real Self, which is Infinite Existence, Consciousness, & Happiness, we seemingly separate our self from the perfect Happiness that is our own Self.

Therefore until we reunite with our own Reality, which is Absolute Happiness, we cannot rest, except during the brief but necessary interludes that we experience in Deep Dreamless Sleep, Death & other such States, in which our Mind subsides in a state of temporary abeyance or inactivity.

Because we have imaginarily separated our self from our own Infinite Happiness, we feel perpetually dissatisfied, & hence our innate love for Happiness impels us to search restlessly for the Happiness that we have lost.  Thus our natural love for Happiness, which is our own true Existence, is seemingly distorted, manifesting in the form of Desire, which impels us to be active, thereby driving our self further away from our True State of Existence.

Whereas true Love is our Natural State of just Existence, desire gives rise to “doing” or activity, which distracts us from our essential Existence.  How does our love for Happiness become distorted as desire ?  Having imaginarily separated our self from our Infinite Real Self, we now feel Happiness to be something other than our self, & therefore we seek it outside our self in objects & experiences that we imagine to be other than our self.  In our Natural State of true Self-Knowledge, we experience Happiness as our own Self, & hence our Love for Happiness impels us just to be our Self.

In our imaginary state of “self-ignorance”, on the other hand, we experience “happiness” as if it were something other than our self.  Hence our simple Love for Happiness is distorted as innumerable desires for things other than our Self – for objects & experiences that we imagine will give us the Happiness for which we crave.

Because our “self-ignorance” clouds our natural clarity of Discrimination, it deludes us, making us imagine that in order to be happy we must obtain things other than our Self – whether material Objects, Sensual experiences, or Intellectual knowledge.  We imagine that certain experience  will make us happy, & certain other experiences will make us unhappy.  Hence we desire those experiences that we imagine will make us happy, & we fear or feel averse to those experience  that we imagine will make us unhappy.

Thus our “self-ignorance” inevitably gives rise to our Desires & Fears, which impel us to be constantly active, striving by Mind, Speech, & Body to experience the Happiness for which we yearn so intensely.  Until we attain the Non-Dual experience of true Self-Knowledge, thereby dissolving the Illusion of “self-ignorance”, we will not be able to free our self from the gripping vice of Desire & Fear.

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.

Mind & Happiness 126

Even now in our present Waking State, if we turn our attention away from all thoughts towards our own Essential Self-Consciousness, “I exist”, all our knowledge of external objects will disappear.  Is it not clear, therefore, that all our objective knowledge depends upon our thoughts about the objects that we know ?  We appear to know an object only when we form an image of it in our Mind.  Since mental images are what we otherwise call thoughts, all that we know of external objects is only the thoughts of them that we form in our own Mind by our power of Imagination.

Except our Essential Self-Consciousness, “I exist”, everything that we know or experience is only a thought – one among the many mental images that we form in our own Mind. Just as we understand that everything that we experience in a Dream is merely our own Imagination, by analysis we can understand that everything that we experience in our present Waking State is likewise merely our own Imagination.

Our belief that our knowledge of this seemingly external World corresponds to something that actually exists outside our self is merely an Imagination – one among the many thoughts that we form in our Mind. There is absolutely no evidence – & there never can be any evidence – that the World we now experience actually exists outside our self, any more than there is any evidence that the World we experienced in a Dream actually exists “outside” our self.

In Verse 1 of Ēkātma Pañcakam, after the first 2 clauses,

“Having forgotten our self” & “having thought ‘[this] Body indeed is myself’.”

Sri Ramana adds a 3^rd clause,

“having [thereby] taken innumerable births.”

What exactly does he mean by this ?  How actually do we “take innumerable Births” ?

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.

Mind & Happiness 125

We are Consciousness, & everything that we know is merely a form or image that appears in our Consciousness – that is, in us – like waves that appear on the surface of the ocean.  Just as the water of the Ocean is the one substance of which all Waves are formed, so our Consciousness is the one substance of which all our Thoughts – that is, all the Objects known by us, including our Body – are formed.

Our Body & everything else that we know are just a series of thoughts or mental images, which we form in our own Mind by our power of Imagination.  Since everything other than our own Consciousness is just a figment of our Imagination, our Consciousness alone is Real, & hence it is the one true substance of which all other things are formed.  In the final sentence of the 18^th paragraph of Nāṉ Yār? Sri Ramana says:

“In both Waking & Dream thoughts & names-&-forms occur simultaneously.”

In this context the plural form of the compound word nāma-rūpa, which literally means “name-forms” & which can be translated as “names-&-forms“, denotes all the objects of the World which we imagine exist outside our Self.  In each of our States of mental activity, whether we imagine that State to be Waking or Dream, we experience the fact that the objects that we recognise as Existence merely thoughts that we have formed in our own Mind & the objects that seem to exist outside our self, both appear simultaneously.

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.

Mind & Happiness 124

The relationship between our self & our Body is similar to the relationship between gold & a gold  ornament.  Just as gold is the 1 substance of which the ornament is made, so we are the 1 substance of which our Body & all the other objects of this World are made.

Therefore in Verse 4 of Ēkātma Pañcakam Sri Ramana says:

“Is [an] ornament other than [the] gold [of which it is made] ?  Having separated [freed or disentangled] our self, what [or how] is [our] Body ? One who thinks himself [or herself] to be [merely a finite] Body is an ajñāni [a person who is ignorant of our one Real, Infinite & Non-Dual Self], [whereas] one who takes [himself or herself] to be [nothing other than our one Real] Self is a jñāni, [a Sage] who has known [this One Real] Self.  Know [your Self thus as this 1 Infinite Self].”

In the kaliveṇbā version of Ēkātma Pañcakam Sri Ramana added the word vattuvām, which means “which is the substance,” before the initial word of this Verse, poṉ or “gold”.  The word vattu is a Tamil form of the Sanskrit word vastu, which means “substance“, “essence” or “reality” & which is a word that is often used in Philosophy to denote the Absolute Reality, our own Self-Conscious Existence, which is the one essential substance of which all things are formed.  Since Sri Ramana is here using gold as an analogy for our Real Self, by describing gold as the vastu or “substance” he implies that we our Self are the one Real substance of which our Body & all other things are merely imaginary forms.

The rhetorical question: “Having separated our self, what is [our] Body ?” expresses 2 closely related truths.  Firstly, it expresses the truth that our Present Body does not exist when we separate our self from it, as we do in both Deep Dreamless Sleep & Dream.

Secondly, & in this context more importantly, this question is an idiomatic way of expressing the truth that just as an “ornament” cannot be other than the gold of which it is made, so our Body cannot be other than our Real Self, which is the one substance of which all things are made.

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.

Mind & Happiness 123

The State that we now experience as Waking is in fact just another Dream.  Just as we now mistake our Present State to be Waking, in a Dream we likewise mistake our then current State to be Waking.  We always mistake whatever State we are currently experiencing to be our Waking State, & we consider all our other States to be Dreams.

What distinguishes one State of Dream from another is that in each such State or each series of such States we mistake a different Body to be our self.  Since we remember a series of consecutive States in which we mistook our self to be the same Body that we now mistake our self to be, we consider each of those States to be a resumption of this same “Waking State”.  However, we also remember other States in which we mistook our self to be various other bodies, so we consider those other states to be “Dreams”.

Since the fact that we take various different bodies to be our self is what makes us imagine that there is a basic distinction between our Present so-called Waking State & our other States of Dream, in the 3^rd sentence of the 18^th paragraph of Nāṉ Yār ?  Sri Ramana says, “In Dream [our] Mind takes another Body“.

In our Present State of Dream, we consider certain other States of Dream to be real, because in them we took this same Body to be our self, but we consider yet other states of Dream to be unreal, because in them we mistook other bodies to be our self.

How exactly do we “take another Body” in each of our Dreams  ?  In a Dream we imagine the existence of some other Body, & we simultaneously imagine that Body to be our self.  Similarly, in our Present so-called Waking State we imagine the existence of this Body & simultaneously imagine it to be our self.  Just as the Body that we mistook to be our self in a Dream was merely a product of our own Imagination, so this Body that we now mistake to be our self is merely a product of our own Imagination.

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.

Mind & Happiness 122

In order to know our self, we must keenly scrutinize our Self – that is, we must focus our attention wholly & exclusively upon our Essential Consciousness of our own Existence, “I exist”. So long as we have any Desire, Attachment, Fear. or Aversion for anything other than our own Essential Self-Consciousness, whenever we try to focus our attention upon our Self, we will be distracted by our thoughts of whatever other things we Desire, Fear, or Feel Averse to.  

 And so long as we believe that those other things exist outside our own Imagination & are therefore real in their own right, we will not be able to free our self from our Desire, Attachment, Fear. or Aversion for them.  Therefore to help us to free our self from all our Desires, Attachments, Fears, & Aversions, Sri Ramana & other sages teach us the truth that everything other than our own self-Consciousness, “I exist”, is unreal, being a mere figment of our own imagination.

 This is why in Verse 559 of Guru Vācaka Kōvai he confirmed the inference that we can draw from the fact that whatever we experienced in a Dream appeared then to be as real as what we experience in this Waking state appears now to be, stating explicitly:

 “If Dream, which appeared [and was experienced by us as if it were real], is a mere whirling of [our own] thoughts, Waking, which has [now] occurred [and is Existence experienced by us as if it were real], is also of that [same] nature [that is, it is likewise a mere whirling of our own thoughts]. As real as the happenings in Waking, which has [now] occurred, [appear to be at this Present moment], so real indeed [the happenings in] Dream [appeared to be] at that Time.”

 Sri Ramana affirms emphatically that Waking & Dream are both a “mere whirling of thoughts.”   That is, they are each a series of mental images that we form in our own Mind by our power of Imagination.  In other words, other than our Fundamental Self-Consciousness “I exist”, every thing that we experience in either Waking or Dream is just a figment of our own Imagination.

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.