Mind & Happiness 132
When we wake up from a Dream, we know that everything, that we experienced in that Dream, was merely our own Imagination & was therefore entirely unreal. Similarly, when we attain the Non-Dual Experience of True Self-Knowledge, we will know that everything that we experienced in this State of “self-forgetfulness” (including our “self-forgetfulness” itself) is merely our own Imagination, & is therefore entirely unreal.
In our Present experience, the only thing that is Real is our own Self-Consciousness, “I exist”. If we did not exist, we could not know our own Existence, nor could we imagine the existence of anything else. The one real basis of all our knowledge & all our experience is our own Consciousness. When we say “I know” or “I experience”, we imply “I am conscious.” However, though we sometimes appear to be conscious of things other than our self, our Consciousness of those other things appears & disappears. Being impermanent, it is only relatively “real”.
The only thing of which we are permanently conscious is our self – our own Existence, “I exist”. Even when we are conscious of nothing else, as in Deep Dreamless Sleep, we continue to be conscious of our own Existence, because our Existence is inherently Self-Conscious. In other words, we are Self-Consciousness, & hence we always experience our self as “I exist”.
Since our Consciousness of other things appears only when our Mind is active, it is merely an Imagination. But since we are the Consciousness that experiences both that imagination & the absence of it in Deep Dreamless Sleep, we are the Real Consciousness that underlies the imaginary Consciousness of otherness.
Since the only form of Consciousness that we experience permanently is our own Self-Consciousness, we can definitely conclude that it is the True & Essential form of Consciousness. In other words, since we are the fundamental Self-Consciousness that underlies the appearance of all other forms of Consciousness, we alone are the True & Essential form of Consciousness.
We can also conclude that we are the Absolute Reality, because we are the fundamental non-dual Self-Consciousness “I exist”, which is essentially unqualified & unconditioned, Existence free from all limits & any form of dependence upon any other thing. Whatever else may appear or disappear, & whatever change or other action may seem to happen, our Essential Self-Consciousness always remains unchanged & unaffected.
Therefore, whereas all other things are relative, our true Self-Consciousness is absolute.
We are absolute Existence, absolute Consciousness & Absolute Happiness. Therefore if we wish to free our self from all un-happiness & all forms of limitation, we must know our self as we really are. That is, we must actually experience our self as the Absolute Non-Dual Self-Consciousness that we really are, & that we now understand our self to be.
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
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.