scene 10. With Basho in 2007

Ten in binary is 1010.

Hallowen is the end of the 10th month.

All Saints turns it up to eleven.

O Matsushima 11111010111.

Explaining Devatmasakti [z3]

Another name for Brahman's power of Maya is Devatmasakti: Deva for the god of religion; Atma for the self of metaphysics; Sakti for the energy of science.

This Devatmasakti is hidden in the strands of sattva, rajas, and tamas; creator, protector, and destroyer; Brama, Vishnu, and Shiva; electricity, inertia, and gravity.

Maya is not separate from Brahman. Brahman is the sovereign of Maya. Maya is not one with Brahman. Maya has no beginning but has an end. Maya is inexplicable.

***

maya appears in brahman. maya is made of brahman. brahman is all there is.

brahman, with the power of maya, projects, conceals, reveals, as awareness is self-aware.

that minus illusion equals this minus ignorance. in the name of brahma, brahman, parabrahman.

***

A dream is not separate from the mind. The mind is the sovereign of dreams. 

A dream is not one with the mind. Dreams have no beginning but possess an end. 

Dreams are inexplicable in that way.

footnotes

Devatmasakti is the life force. Devatmasakti is I Am. Devatmasakti is the one I love. Beyond Devatmasakti is the truth.

Ten in binary is 1010. Hallowen is the end of the 10th month. All Saints turns it up to eleven. 

A dream is not separate from the mind. The mind is the sovereign of all dreams. 

A dream is not one with the mind. Dreams have no beginning but do have an end. 

Dreams are inexplicable.

scene 9. on greycourt pond

I was loving my golden goddess on the shores of Greycourt Pond—

such a moment of profound revelation is called kensho in zen.

Like fishing holes in a frozen Lake Winnepesaukee, 

the water rising through is of one blissful Brahman.

And Know I Am (Z2)

The life force inside of us is the great power of Maya.

The mind is a gadget powered by Brahman's electricity.

Brahman is the unmoving mover and we people are the bumper cars.

Ah to leave this neon world behind and know I Am.

Nirguna Brahman takes in Saguna Brahman—no dreams allowed.

***

Universal existence is I am.

I am somebody is a personal life.

Brahman is the principle of existence;

I is just a symbol for that ground.

Please don't take it personally.

***

Loving a golden goddess on the shores of Greycourt Pond.

Ice-fishing holes in a frozen Lake Winnepesaukee.

That holy water rising through is one of blissful Brahman.

scene 8. himalayan shaman.

In the High Sierra, peaks look like white caps topping granite waves bottoming out in Yosemite Valley.

Brahman is causeless. Maya is beginningless. Brahman with the power of Maya is the first cause.

From Glacier Point, Half Dome looks like some Himalayan shaman appearing in universal consciousness.

Z1. Awakening Realization

The mind is dreaming day and night.

The state of consciousness in avidya is sleeping. 

In the waking of realization, consciousness is stateless and pure.

There are two states of sleeping: sleep and deep sleep.

And there's two states of sleep: daydreams and nightmares.

***

The noumenal absolute 

is Brahman.

Brahman is 

the ground of consciousness, 

the principle of existence, 

holistic bliss infinity.

Pure consciousness is absolute awareness. 

The mind is reflected consciousness. 

Attention minus thought equals awareness.

***

In space-time, cause is this hyphen.

Maya is beginningless—which came first?

Universes rise and summit, 

descend and arise like a sine wave unto realization.

***

In the High Sierra, peaks look like white caps topping granite waves bottoming out in Yosemite Valley.

Brahman is causeless. Maya is beginningless. Brahman with the power of Maya is the first cause.

From Glacier Point, Half Dome looks like a Himalayan shaman appearing in universal consciousness.

***

A square circle is unreal as is all mythological religion.

Dreaming isn't real obviously. Science isn't either of course.

Only consciousness-existence is real. Only brahmavidya knows that.

scene 7. let the sunshine pop.

Orange yellow sandstone canyons are appearing in Mesa Verde.

The spacetime of Ancestral Puebloans arise in a timeless silence.

Into a circular underground cathedral called a kiva—

the heart of Brahman.

Consciousness Reflecting

i. ekam atma

The subtle body of the buddhi is reflecting consciousness 

and not producing it—Brahman is self-existent.

Am I a body-mind reflecting consciousness or am I consciousness 

reflecting in a body-mind appearing in myself? That is the real question.

ii. keep the faith

Not buddhi but buddha.

Keep the faith. Tattvamasi.

What's so funny about satcitananda?

iii. scene seven sunshine pop

Orange yellow sandstone canyons are appearing in Mesa Verde.

The spacetime of Ancestral Puebloans arise in a timeless silence.

Into a circular underground cathedral called a kiva—

the heart of Brahman.

iv. manifesting self-awareness

The Grand Illusion is beginningless but ignorance ends.

The Big Bang is not as much a beginning as the next big thing.

The seventh substage needs the next stage to lift it like a satguru.

Chandogya 7.15-25 per Swami Krishnananda

One of the most insightful transcendant commentaries concerning the second half (and first half) of the Chandogya 7 (post-prana) is by Krishnananda in his 'The Chandogya Upanishad' published by The Divine Life Society and available for free in epub and pdf forms at https://www.swami-krishnananda.org/chhand_0.html {which is commentary and not a strict translation per se). Here are some selections:

15. Life (Prana)

Nobody can understand what life is. We utter the word ‘life’ many times, but we cannot explain what it means. It is not what we do daily that is called life. Though we generally identify life with our activity, it is a mistake that we commit. Life is something inscrutable. Life is really what we are. Here, it is called prana. 

It is not the breathing process, but the life principle itself, without which there would be neither aspiration, nor self-consciousness, nor anything for that matter. The entry of the universal into the particular is the juncture which is called life operating in our personality. It is the borderland of the infinite, where the individual expands into the expanse of the infinite and the infinite contracts itself into the finite, as it were. This particular junction is what we call life.

We think we have understood what life is, but we have not understood what it really is. It is a mystery that is operating in all names and forms. Whoever understands this mystery as the all-comprehensive Reality which is superior to all names and forms, which is infused into all names and forms, which is the Reality of even the so-called names and forms, including the name and form of our own self, is a master of Knowledge. He is called in this Upanishad as ativadi, a specific term here indicating one who possesses surpassing knowledge and whose utterances are surpassingly true.

At this stage, Narada is unable to speak. His breath is held up, as it were. He does not know what he is hearing from this great master. This master observes the silence of the disciple who now does not say as on previous occasions, “Please let me know if something more is there.” He keeps quiet, his mouth is hushed and his mind has stopped thinking. He does not know what to speak. Seeing this, the master himself starts pursuing the subject further without being accosted by the disciple.

16. Truth (Satya)

Transcendent speech is an expression of transcendent knowledge. And transcendent knowledge is that knowledge which is identical with transcendent truth. This is the peak of experience, the peak of wisdom. Our speech should be based on the reality of Being. Only then it manifests itself as reality.

“Satyam tv-eva vijijnasitavyam—my dear Narada,” says Sanatkumara. “You want a knowledge which is tuned up with reality, but you must know what reality or truth is. Unless you know what truth is, how can you try to identify your knowledge with truth, or truth with knowledge? You must have a clear conception of what I mean by ‘truth’. Only then can you have an aspiration for identifying your knowledge with truth, knowing truth and speaking truth.”

17. Truth and Understanding (Vijnana)

Again we are in a vicious circle of argument, as it were. You want to know what is truth. Truth has to be known as it is, and not as it appears.

“O Narada,” says Sanatkumara, “you can speak truth only when you know what truth is; otherwise, how can you speak truth? But do you know what truth is? Truth is not what you perceive as true in this empirical world. The whole world is not true. It is not the ultimate truth. So, how can you say that anything in the world is true? Whatever you speak is not true. You must know what is really true. When one knows what truth is, then one speaks truth.”

We are here entering into the difficult subject of the ultimate principle of our very life, knowledge and truth, jnana and satya.

18. Thought and Understanding (Mati)

The word mati and similar other words used in these passages of the Upanishad carry a meaning much more deep than what appears on the surface, because we are treading upon forbidden land where the mind cannot easily reach, where things go almost beyond and above our heads. 

We do not know what we are speaking and what we are hearing. Such is the condition that is being explained here. Such is the state into which Narada is being initiated by Sanatkumara, the great master.

There is something higher than this knowledge or aspiration for truth. What is that? It is the tendency of one’s being to move towards Reality. It is the very reason behind our aspiring for Reality.

We say, “I must know God,” “I must search for Reality,” “I must aspire for the Absolute.” How did this idea arise in our mind? There is a tendency in us to move towards the Reality. This tendency is prior to our consciousness of Reality.

“Isvaranugrahad-eva pumsam advaita vasana,” says the great master Dattatreya. We do not know how aspiration arises in our mind. It has not come due to our efforts, because effort cannot be there without knowledge. But the question is, “How has this knowledge arisen?” 

So Bhagavan Dattatreya says that perhaps it is God’s grace, or we may call it the grace of the Absolute, or the mysterious outcome of the very process of evolution which is egged on by some principle of which we have no idea and the purpose of which is far, far beyond our understanding.

Only when this tendency, this inclination of your total being towards the Reality is there, only then can you have an aspiration for Reality, not otherwise.

19. Faith (Sraddha)

Sraddha, faith in the existence of Reality, and the working of this tendency of movement of one’s being towards Reality are almost simultaneous. How do we know that Reality exists? That is a faith that is in our mind, introduced into us by the very tendency of Reality urging itself forward towards its own Self-realisation. 

This faith is superior to thought and understanding. It is not what we call blind faith, but an irrepressible feeling in us that Reality is. It must be there. We do not have any doubt about Its being. 

Mati and sraddha go together. So, Narada is told here, “This sraddha, faith in the very existence of Reality, is somehow to be taken as prior to mati, the consciousness of the tendency towards Reality working through your being, when this faith is present in you.

20. Steadfastness (Nishtha)

When one has steadfastness in Reality, then this superior faith also comes. A person who has steadfastness becomes one with the Reality, as it were, in his psychological being. This is called nishtha in this section. Sanatkumara says that when there is nishtha, there is sraddha, and when there is sraddha there is mati, the tendency in one to move towards Reality.

What exactly is this steadfastness referred to in this section? It is an incapacity of the mind to contemplate anything except Reality. If we think, we think only that; otherwise, nothing. The very function of the mind is set in tune with the nature of Reality so profoundly that we have virtually become that.

21. Activity (Kriti)

All this is the effect of another important factor, kriti, self-control, that has either been exercised by the aspirant or arisen in him automatically, whatever be the reason behind it. In other words, it is a withdrawal of consciousness from every kind of external perception.

Self-control does not mean a pressure exerted upon the senses by force of will, but a spontaneous withdrawal of consciousness from its desire to externalise itself in respect of outward things on account of the superior faith, on account of this aspiration, on account of this knowledge.

When the outside objects of sense cease to be, the subject also ceases to be. When one thing goes, its counterpart also goes. So when the world has gone, the ‘you’ or the ‘I’ also is gone. There is nothing on either side, neither on the object side nor on the subject side. This great achievement is prior to everything, transcendent to everything.

22 Happiness (Sukha)

The whole process of creation, manifestation and dissolution, evolution and involution, the entire activity of the cosmos is an urge of happiness. It is happiness that is trying to recover its own consciousness and establish itself in its own pristine all-comprehensiveness. It is this that is called activity. It is this that is called enterprise and aspiration. It is this that is also called cosmic evolution.

The very fact that the mind is not satisfied with its own self and feels an obligation to move towards something outside should be indication enough that something is lacking in the mind itself.

But the other doctrine that the world is the source of happiness also seems to be refuted by a deeper analysis that no object seems to be capable of attracting the attention of everyone at the same time, nor even one and the same subject at all times.

The impulse from within which seeks for happiness is an answer to this question. It answers its own question by saying that no one is satisfied with any amount of happiness which is bounded by finitude of any kind.

So Sanatkumara says, “My dear Narada, happiness is not anywhere and yet it is everywhere; it is in a completeness of Being that you can find happiness.”

It is the ‘spiritual fullness’ which philosophers call the Absolute, which the followers of religion call God, and which psychologists call the supreme Spirit. The infinite Reality that is behind all finitudes, that alone can be regarded as complete by itself,

23 The Infinite (Bhuma)

The term ‘Bhuma’ used in this Upanishad is a novel word of its own kind which cannot be easily translated. It has a pregnant significance within itself which implies absoluteness in quantity as well as in quality, an uncontaminated character, permanency of every type, immortality, infinity and eternity. 

All these ideas are embedded in the very concept of what the Upanishad calls ‘Bhuma’. Well, we can translate it in no other way than to call it the Absolute Being. The Brahman of all the Upanishads is the same as the Bhuma mentioned here in this Chhandogya Upanishad. That alone is happiness.

It is completeness of being that is the source of happiness. But where is this completeness of Being? It is not in the objects of sense, not in the union of one and two, or in the union of many. Social union is no union at all. They are coming together in a physical, psychological or social sense, no doubt, but they are not real union. Union is a real blend into a single Being.

Not in the finite is happiness to be found—valpe sukham asti. The Absolute, Fullness alone is Bliss—bhumaiva sukham. “So I reiterate, O Narada, this is the truth. The total union of Being as such which I regard as Bhuma, that is the real Bliss. So I say once again that Bhuma, the Fullness, is Bliss."

24. The Infinite and the Finite

“Do you want to know what Completeness is? And do you want to know what finitude is? Here is the definition,” says Sanatkumara. “Where one sees nothing except one’s own Self, where one hears nothing except one’s own Self, where one understands nothing except one’s own Self, that is Bhuma, the Absolute; and where one sees something outside oneself, where one hears something outside oneself, where one understands or thinks something outside oneself, that is the finite.” 

So here is the whole matter clinched in a single sentence, describing what is Fullness and what is not-fullness. What is immortal is the Bhuma alone, and what you call mortal or perishable, is the finite.

The relativity of things is the support of things in this world. Everything hangs on something else in this world. I hang on you, and you hang on me. That is how we live in this world. But, no such hanging is possible in the Bhuma. It is self-sufficient, self-supported, self-complete and self-existent. It is not any relative being. It is the absolute Being.

25 The Ego and the Self

The Atman in the subject is that which is identical with the Bhuma that is cosmic. So, a distinction is to be drawn between the individual subject and the subjectness universally present behind the individualities. That is called the Atman.

Now, what is this ‘own Self’? It is not my self. It is not your self. It is not the bodily self. It is not the individual self. It is the Universal Being, the All-Being, the All-Presence, Bhuma. This is what is called the Self. And when we say the person enjoys himself, it is the Absolute that is enjoying Itself.

This is a very great distinction that we have to draw when we try to understand these passages of a highly mystical character. A person of this nature endowed with this knowledge, acquiring this realisation, becomes a master of himself, which means to say a master of all things. Self-mastery is mastery of the universe. Atma-svarajya. Atma-svarajya mentioned here is Universal Lordship. It is the experience of God-Being.

But what about those people who do not have this knowledge? They are subjected by other people and controlled by them. They are limited from all sides. If one is living in a world of externalities, those externals shall compel one to subjugation to their own laws and mandates. This cannot be escaped.

scene 6. highway one.

In samsara, I am somebody. In maya, I am. In reality, there's the principle of existence.

Mountains and rivers and the hydrologic holy see—

crossing the Bixby Creek Bridge somewhere between Seattle and Manhattan Beach.

Isvara and Its Power of Maya

1. universal powers of maya

Brahman is undivided. Through the power of its Maya, this holistic bliss is manifesting as gravity.

Brahman is immutable. Inertia is that law of the changeless upholding the changing.

Brahman is infinite. Electricity is that infinity pervading the finite.

2. the ativadi says

The life force is Isvara. The vital breath is Isvara.

The suble body of the cosmic egg is Isvara.

Where the universal meets the individual is this moment of life.

3. these dreams of prana

One's real self is that noumenal absolute.

Prana is universal consciousness as experienced in an individual existence.

Every dream feels real while you're in it, and just another dream when you're not.

scene 5. long fall in franconia notch.

The last time I saw the Old Man of the Mountains was during that colorful long fall in Franconia Notch, October 2002.

He finally fell in May of '03.

In my opinion, the interstate did it, although I know the caws of crow are countless.

October is Brahman, is Brahman, Parabrahman

1. October is Brahman

This falling leaf is Brahman.

That supernova in future Scorpio is Brahman.

The fact that the Battle of Hastings took place on this date in 1066 is Brahman.

2. is Brahman

All names and forms are Brahman.

This singular mind and particular body are Brahman.

This vital force is God; that principle of existence is Brahman.

3. Parabrahman

The vital force is universal consciousness, Saguna Brahman, Isvara, praise be.

The principle of existence is that satya in that absolute satcitananda, Nirguna Brahman.

The vital force is not the real self. Paramatman is Parabrahman.

4. untitled

Atman is given a name and form to be used in brahmavidya.

Brahman is awareness. Brahmavidya is self-awareness.

Ayam Atma Brahma.

Chandogya 7 Outline with Introductions and Notes (work in progress)

"Now, we are moving towards the seventh chapter of the Upanishad, which is a very prominent one because it expounds the magnificent doctrine of the Bhuma, the Absolute, the plenum of Being, the fullness of Reality, and this is done in a Socratic manner, gradually taking the mind of the student from the lowest reality conceivable to the highest, stage by stage, indicating thereby that nothing is lost when the Absolute is realised." ~Krishnananda

"The sixth part of the Upanishad has taught about the Supreme Reality and described the universe as in essence Sat, or Pure Being. But nothing has been said about the phenomenal objects which are Its modifications. The seventh part explains these objects, from name (nāma) to the prana, and through them teaches about the Self, or Ultimate Reality. It is like pointing out the branch of a tree in order to show the moon shining behind it. If the physical objects are not explained, some may think that there are objects which are still unknown. Names etc. have been explained with a view to enabling the mind to under-stand, by gradual steps, subtler and subtler truths, all ending in the Knowledge of the Self. Another purpose of the story is to show that though phenomenal entities are relatively good, the Self is supremely excellent. The story further states that the highest Knowledge can be effectively learnt only through the relationship of teacher and disciple." ~Nikhilananda

"The seventh chapter of Chāndogya-upaniṣad is in the form of a beautiful dialogue between Sage Sanatkumāra and his brother turned disciple Nārada. Both are the mind born sons of the Creator, Lord Brahmā. In Indian tradition, one can form any personal relationship with the Lord, like a friend (Arjuna), a mother (Yaśodā), a servant (Hanumāna) and so on. Similarly, the Guru too can be considered as a mother, father, relative, friend, knowledge, wealth, God and all.1 However, when one wants to learn about life and its prime goal, one must approach the Guru with the attitude of a sincere disciple." ~Vimalananda

Outline adopted from Sandeepany:

PART 1: “Jiva” – THE INDIVIDUAL SOUL 

Section 1: “Nama” – NAME 

Section 2: “Vak” – SPEECH

Section 3: “Mana” – MIND

Section 4: “Sankalpa” – WILL

Section 5: “Citta” – INTELLIGENCE 

PART 2: “Dharma” – UNIVERSAL LAW 

Section 6: “Dhyana” – CONTEMPLATION 

Section 7: “Vijnana” – UNDERSTANDING

Section 8: “Bala” – STRENGTH

PART 3: “Jagat” – THE UNIVERSE 

Section 9: “Anna” – FOOD

Section 10: “Apa” – WATER 

Section 11: “Teja” – FIRE 

Section 12: “Akasa” – SPACE 

PART 4: “Isvara” – THE CAUSAL BEING 

Section 13: “Smara” – MEMORY 

Section 14: “Asa” – ASPIRATION 

Section 15: “Prana” – LIFE FORCE 

PART 5: “Sadhana” – SPIRITUAL PRACTICE

Section 16: “Satya” – TRUTH

Section 17: “Vijnana” – REALISATION

Section 18: “Matih” – REFLECTION 

Section 19: “Shradda” – FAITH 

Section 20: “Nishtha” – STEADFASTNESS 

Section 21: “Kriti” – ACTIVITY

Section 22: “Sukha” – HAPPINESS 

Section 23: “Bhuma” – THE INFINITE 

PART 6: “Bhuma” – THE INFINITE 

Section 24: “Moksa” – LIBERATION 

Section 25: “Swarat” – INDEPENDENCE 

Section 26: The VISION of the Ativadi 

Section 27: Supporting Verses

 

Some verses and notes:

3.1 Mind surely is greater than speech. Just as the closed hand encompasses two āmalaka, or two kola, or two akṣa fruits, so also does the mind encompass speech and name.

4.1 Saṅkalpa (will) is surely greater than mind. Verily, when one wills, then he intends in his mind, then he sends forth speech, and he sends it forth in a name.

Sri Shankaracharya defines Sankalpa as “the ability to discriminate between what is done and what is not.” This almost appears to place it on par with intellect. 1 There is a fine line between Intellect (dealt with in the next section) and the Will. Both are said to have the power to decide upon a course of action. However, Will is a lower power than Intellect – that is why it is occurring earlier in this sequential text. Will decides purely on the basis of the likes and dislikes already in the mind. It cannot tell what is right or wrong. In this sense, whilst it will determine what one does or does not do, it is not a moral force. Will is the force of “wanting”. It can want something very mean, base or selfish. Nevertheless, it is a factor that is higher than the mind, which is just a bundle of all desires. The function of the Will, the weighing of options, could have a very selfish interest, since Sankalpa is not an enlightened part of the inner instrument. ~Sandeepany

5.1 Intelligence surely is greater than will. Verily, when one understands, then he wills, then he intends in mind, then he sends forth speech, and he sends it forth in a name.

Intelligence here stands for two functions. First, comprehension of an object or an event in relation to a particular time and place. Secondly, the capacity to examine the objects, events and relations of past and future and their advantages. ~Swahananda

13.1 "Memory (Smara) is indeed greater than Space. Even if many people sit together, if they lack memory, they cannot hear anyone, reflect, or understand anything. But when they remember, they hear, reflect, and understand. Through memory one recognizes one's children; through memory one recognizes one's animals. Meditate upon Memory."

Here, smara is a peculiar term which has been interpreted as the power of consciousness which is recognised as self-existence. Our consciousness of our own existence is prior to the operation of our consciousness of the recognition of space outside us. // Now at this stage, there is sudden shift of emphasis from the external to the internal when Sanatkumara says that self-consciousness is superior to everything that he has told Narada up to this time, including space itself, which means to say the whole world of externality. ~Krishnananda

14.1 "Hope/Aspiration (Āśā) is indeed greater than Memory. Kindled by hope, memory learns mantras, performs rituals, desires children and livestock, and longs for this world and the next. Meditate upon Hope."

So, there is a desire for infinity and eternity that is present in us, of which we are not conscious. We foolishly interpret it as desire to exist in this body. This aspiration is asa. Thus, for a betterment in our life, aspiration towards self-transcendence comes even prior to self-existence. ~Krishnananda

15.1 "THE PRANA is, verily, greater than hope. As the spokes of a wheel are fastened to the nave, so are all these [beginning with the name and ending with hope] fastened to the prana. The prāna moves by the prāna. The prana gives the prana to the prana. The prana is the father, the prana is the mother, the prana is the brother, the prana is the sister, the prana is the teacher, the prana is the brahmin.

THE PRANA: The prana is the self of all, and includes action, the agent, and the result of action. It manifests itself in three principal forms: the body of Hiranyagarbha, the external air, and the principal vital breath in a living creature. The self (atman) dwells in the body with the support of the prana. When the prana departs from the body, the self, too, gives it up. The self, of which the prana forms an upādhi, and the consciousness which is behind the body of Hiranyagarbha are both non-different from the Supreme Self. All entities-beginning with with names and ending in hope are fastened to the prana. ~Nikhilananda

Prāṇa is universal power. Actions, instruments of actions and the results of actions make up the whole world and Prāṇa is the power which operates through all these. This Prāṇa is known as Hiranyagarbha as it is the power of knowledge and movement that are found in the entire universe. Again, the same force of Prāṇa exists as moving air in the external world and the respiratory action in the living body. Ātman or Spirit resides in the individual body bound by the Prāṇa and when the Prāṇa leaves, Spirit also quits the body. The Spirit conditioned by Prāṇa as the animating force in the body and that which resides in the body of Hiranyagarbha are one and the same. All the entities that constitute the world are contained in this force of Prāṇa. In the previous sections it has been made clear that the knowledge of everything depends on memory and they are interconnected by aspiration or desire. The force of Prāṇa exists within and without like a thread piercing and uniting everything and it binds and upholds the whole universe through desires arising from aspiration. ~Swahananda

15.4 ‘Prāṇa indeed becomes all these. He, indeed, who sees thus, reflects thus, and realises thus, becomes an ativādī. If someone were to say to him, ‘You are an ativādī,’ he should say, ‘Yes, I am an ativādī.’ He should not deny it.

"We think we have understood what life is, but we have not understood what it really is. It is a mystery that is operating in all names and forms. Whoever understands this mystery as the all-comprehensive Reality which is superior to all names and forms, which is infused into all names and forms, which is the Reality of even the so-called names and forms, including the name and form of our own self, is a master of Knowledge. He is called in this Upanishad as ativadi, a specific term here indicating one who possesses surpassing knowledge and whose utterances are surpassingly true." Krisnananda

16.1 BUT IN reality he is an ativadi who has become an ativādi by the knowledge of the True." "May I, venerable Sir, become an ativādi by the knowledge of the True." "But one should desire to know the True." "Venerable Sir, I desire to know the True."

Note: BUT ETC: The prāna, or Hiranyagarbha, is the highest of all phenomenal entities. Nārada thought that there was nothing higher than the prana, and so kept quiet and did not ask his usual question: "Is there anything greater than the prana?" He was evidently satisfied with an inadequate knowledge of Brahman; for the prana, too, is a modification. The knower of the prana has been described as an ativadi in the foregoing chapter only from a relative stand-point. The real ativādi is he who knows the Highest Truth, which transcends all phenomena. Sanatkumāra realized the defect in the thinking of Narada, who was a qualified student, and resumed the conversation in order to acquaint him with Truth. ~Nikhilananda

17.1 "When one understands the True, only then does one declare the True. One who does not understand the True does not declare It. Only one who understands It declares the True. One must desire to understand this understanding." "Venerable Sir, I desire to understand."

Note: WHEN A PERSON ETC: It is only when a person really understands the True that he renounces all that is false; then he speaks of Pure Being alone, which permeates all modifications. Modifications, perceived by the senses, are empirically true, but Pure Being is Ultimate Truth. The modifications, however, have value inasmuch as they lead to Pure Being. Närada was led from empirical truth to Ultimate Truth. ~Nikhilananda

18. The word mati and similar other words used in these passages of the Upanishad carry a meaning much more deep than what appears on the surface, because we are treading upon forbidden land where the mind cannot easily reach, where things go almost beyond and above our heads. We do not know what we are speaking and what we are hearing. Such is the condition that is being explained here. Such is the state into which Narada is being initiated by Sanatkumara, the great master. There is something higher than this knowledge or aspiration for truth. What is that? It is the tendency of one’s being to move towards Reality. ~Krishnananda

26.

1. Verily, for him alone, who sees thus, reflects thus and understands thus, life or prāṇa springs from the Self, aspiration from the Self, memory from the Self, space from the Self, fire from the Self, water from the Self, appearance and disappearance from the Self, food from the Self, strength from the Self, understanding from the Self, contemplation from the Self, intelligence from the Self, will from the Self, mind from the Self, speech from the Self, name from the Self, hymns from the Self, rites from the Self – all this (springs) from the Self alone.

2. There is this verse about it – He who sees this does not see death, illness or any sorrow. He who sees this sees all things and obtains all things in all ways.’ ‘He is one, becomes threefold, fivefold, sevenfold and also ninefold. Then again he is called the elevenfold, also a hundred and tenfold and also a thousand and twentyfold. When food is pure, the mind becomes pure. When the mind is pure, the memory becomes strong. When memory becomes strong, there is release from all the knots of the heart. The revered Sanatkumāra showed to Nārada, after his impurities had been washed-off, the further shore of darkness. People call Sanatkumāra as Skanda – they call him Skanda.

Chandogya 6 Selected Teachings

6.1 clay, gold, iron

1. ‘Dear boy, just as through a single clod of clay all that is made of clay would become known, for all modification is but name based upon words and the clay alone is real. 

2. ‘Dear boy, just as through a single ingot of gold, all that is made of gold would become known, for all modification is bat name based upon words and the gold alone is real, 

3. ‘Dear boy, just as through a single nail-parer all that is made of iron would become known, for all modification is but name based upon words and the iron alone is real—such, dear boy, is that teaching.’

6.2 beginning being

1. ‘In the beginning, dear boy, this was Being alone, one only, without a second. Some say that, in the beginning, this was Non-being alone, one only, without a second. From that Non-being arose Being.’

2. Āruṇi said, ‘But how, indeed, dear boy, could it be so? How could Being arise from Non-being? In truth, dear boy, in the beginning (before creation), there was Being alone, one only, without a second.

6.8 root being

4. ‘Where could its root be apart from food? Even so, dear boy, with food as the shoot, look for water as the root; with water as the shoot, dear boy, look for fire as the root; with fire as the shoot, dear boy, look for Being as the root. All these creatures, dear boy, have Being as their root, have Being as their abode, and have Being as their support.

7. ‘That Being which is this subtle essence (cause), even That all this world has for its self. That is the true. That is the Ātman. That thou art, O Śvetaketu.’ ‘Revered sir, please explain it further to me.’ ‘So be it, dear boy said (the father).

(sah yah esah anima; aitadatmyam idam sarvam; tat satyam, sah atma; tat tvam asi, svetaketu iti)

6.9 honey being

1-2. ‘As, dear boy, the bees make honey by collecting juices from different trees and reduce them into one essence, and there, as these juices have no such discrimination as “ I am the juice of this tree, I am the juice of that tree”; even so, dear boy, all these creatures having merged into Being, do not know, “We have merged into Being.”

4. sah yah esah anima; aitadatmyam idam sarvam; tat satyam, sah atma; tat tvam asi, svetaketu iti

6.10 river ocean being

1-2. ‘These eastern rivers, dear boy, flow along to the east and the western ones to the west. They rise from the ocean and merge in the ocean, and become that ocean itself. And there as these rivers do not know themselves as “I am this river, I am that river”, even so, dear boy, ail these creatures, having come from Being, do not know, “We have come from Being”. And whatever these creatures were here, tiger or lion or wolf or boar or worm or fly or gad-fly or mosquito, that they become again.

3. sah yah esah anima; aitadatmyam idam sarvam; tat satyam, sah atma; tat tvam asi, svetaketu iti

6.11 being does not die

3. The father said, ‘Dear boy, know that even so being left by the living self this body surely dies but the living self does not die. That being which is this subtle essence, even That all this world has for its self...

6.12 imperceptible being

1-2. ‘Bring a fruit from this banian tree.’ ‘Here it is, revered sir.’ ‘Break it.’ ‘It is broken, revered sir.’ ‘What do you see in this?’ ‘These seeds, small like particles, revered sir.’ ‘Break one of these, my child.’ ‘It is broken, revered sir.’ What do you see in it?’ ‘Nothing, revered sir.’ The father said to him, ‘Dear boy, this subtle essence which you do not perceive, growing from this subtle essence the large banian tree thus stands. Have faith, dear boy.

3. That being which is this subtle essence, even That all this world has for its self...

6.13 salt and being in the body

1-2. ‘Put this salt into water and then come to me in the morning.’ He did so. The father said to him, ‘Bring the salt, my child, which you put into water at night.’ Having searched for it, ho did not find it, as it had compretely dissolved. ‘My child, take a sip from the top of this water. How is it?’ ‘It is salt.’ ‘Take a sip from the middle. How is it?’ ‘It is salt.’ ‘Take a sip from the bottom. How is it?’ ‘It is salt.’ ‘Throw this water away and then come to me.’ He did so (and returned saying), ‘It is there always.’ The father said to him, ‘Dear boy, as you do not see what is present in this water though indeed it exists in it, similarly, (Being exists) indeed in this body.

3. sah yah esah anima; aitadatmyam idam sarvam; tat satyam, sah atma; tat tvam asi, svetaketu iti

6.14 the preceptor

1. ‘Just as, dear boy, (some robber) having: brought a man from the Gandhāra region with his eyes bound up, might leave him in a very desolate place, and just as that man70 would shout towards the east, or towards the north, or towards the south, or towards the west, (saying) “I have been brought here with my eyes bound up, I have been left here with my eyes bound up.”

2. ‘And as some one might remove his bandage and tell him, “The Gandhāra region is in this direction, proceed in this direction” and as he, enquiring his way from village to village, and being instructed and capable of judging by himself, would reach the Gandhāra region itself, even so, in this world, that person knows who has a preceptor. And for him, only so long is the delay as he is not liberated (from the body) and then immediately he is merged in Being.

3. sah yah esah anima; aitadatmyam idam sarvam; tat satyam, sah atma; tat tvam asi, svetaketu iti

6.15 knowing and not knowing

1. ‘Dear boy, the relatives of a man who is ill assemble round him and ask, “Do you know me? Do you know me?” As long as his speech is not merged in the mind, the mind in Prāṇa, Prāṇa in fire, and fire in the supreme deity, so long does he know them.

2. ‘Then when his speech is merged in the mind, the mind in Prāṇa, Prāṇa in fire, and fire in the supreme deity, then he does not know them.

3. sah yah esah anima; aitadatmyam idam sarvam; tat satyam, sah atma; tat tvam asi, svetaketu iti

6.16 the one of knowledge

3. ‘And as in this case he (the man attached to truth) is not burnt, (similarly a man of knowledge is not born again) Thus has all this world That for its self. That is the true. That is the Ātman. That thou art, O Śvetaketu.’ From his words Śvetaketu understood that—yea, he understood.

~tr. Swahananda

Chandogya 6.8.7 Tattvamasi per Shankara

स य एषोऽणिमैतदात्म्यमिदः सर्वं तत्सत्यः स आत्मा तत्त्वमसि श्वेतकेतो इति भूय एव मा भगवान्विज्ञापयत्विति तथा सोम्येति होवाच ॥ ७॥ इति अष्टमः खण्डः ॥८॥

sah yah esah anima;

aitadatmyam idam sarvam; 

tat satyam, sah atma; 

tat tvam asi, svetaketu iti

6.8.7. 'That which is this subtle essence, all this has got That as the Self. That is Truth. That is the Self. Thou art That, O Śvetaketu.'

[this will be repeated in 6.9.4, 6.10.3, 6.11.3, 6.12.3, 6.13.3, 6.14.3, 6.15.3, 6.16.3]

Shankara: Sah yah, that which has been spoken of as Existence; is eșah, this; animă, subtle essence, the Source of the universe. 

Sarvam, all, idam, this; aitadātmyam, has got That as the Self. All that has got this Existence as its Self is etadātmā. The state of having That as the Self is aitadātmyam.

This whole universe has become possessed of a Self through this Self which is called Existence; it has no other Self which is subject to transmigration. (This follows from other Upaniṣadic texts such as, 'There is no other hearer but This, no other thinker but This' (Br. III.8.11)). 

And the Self through which all this universe becomes possessed of its Self (Existence), tat, That itself is the source called Existence; satyam, the Truth, the supreme Reality. 

Hence sah, that indeed; is ātmā, the Self of the world, its inmost essence, its quintessence, its very reality, because the word Self, when not preceded by any other word, conventionally denotes the inmost Self, like the conventional words cow etc. 

Hence tvam, thou; asi, art; tat, that Existence; śvetaketo, O Śvetaketu.

6.9.4

Entering into which those creatures return again, and entering into that which is of the nature of subtleness, which is Existence, and which is the Self, others who are different from them, whose attention is fixed on Existence which is the true Self, do not return, 'sah, that; yah, which is; eșah, this; anima, subtle essence', etc. has already been explained (VI.8.7). 

As in the world, somebody sleeping in his own house, having got up and gone to another village knows that he has reached some other village, and feels, 'I have come from my own house', similarly, why do not the creatures have the consciousness, 'I have come from Existence'?

6.10.3

It is seen in the world that ripples, waves, foams, bubbles, etc. rise on the water, and become identified with it again, i.e. they become destroyed. But the creatures, although they go to their causal state every-day in deep-sleep, death, and dissolution, do not get destroyed 

6.11.3

As it has been shown in this illustration of the tree, a tree is said to be living when it remains associated with a soul and continues unwithered, drinking sap etc. And when bereft of that it is said to be dead. 'Somya, O good-looking one; viddhi, know (this); evam eva khalu, verily as such'; iti uvāca ha, this he said. 'Jīva-apetam, when separated from the soul, detached from the soul; vāva kila, surely; idam, this body; mriyate, dies. Na jīvah mriyate iti, but the soul does not die. For it is seen that a man, who still has some works un-finished, completes it after having woken up from deep-sleep, remembering, 'This residual work of mine remains unfinished.' And from the fact that no sooner are creatures born than they hanker after breast-feeding, and have fear etc. it is understood that they possess memory of the experiences of breast-feeding and suffering in past lives. Moreover, since rites like Agnihotra etc. have some purpose to serve, it follows that the soul does not die.

How again, is this very gross world, bearing such names and forms as earth etc. born from Existence which is very subtle, real in nature, and devoid of any name and form?

6.12.3

'If that Existence is the root of the world, why is It not perceived? O venerable sir, please explain this to me again with the help of an illustration.

6.13.3

That which', etc. is to be explained as before. 'If in this way, although Existence which is the root of the world is not perceived through the organs, like the subtleness of salt, It can be experienced through some other means, then what is the means for realizing That by realizing which I shall become fulfilled, and by not realizing which I shall remain unfulfilled? 

6.14.3

Please explain to me over again, with the help of an illustration, the process by which a person having a teacher becomes united with Existence.

6.15.3

Although merger in Existence is similar in the cases of a man of Knowledge and a man of ignorance, still, the ignorant man returns, but not the wise one.

6.16.3

The Self, by remaining steadfast in which, or by not being so, one gets release or bondage respectively, That which is the root of the universe, That which is the abode and basis of all creatures, That which is the quintessence of all, and That which is birthless, immortal, fearless, auspicious, and nondual, tat satyam, That is Truth; sah ātmā, That is your Self. Therefore, tat tvam asi, Thou art That; śvetaketo, O Śvetaketu.' This sentence has been explained more than once.

Who again is that Śvetaketu, denoted by the word 'thou'?

It is he who knows himself as, 'I am Śvetaketu, the son of Uddālaka', and who, after hearing the instruction, thinking over it and understanding it, asked his father for knowing what has not been heard of and thought of, and remains unknown, 'Venerable sir, how is that instruction imparted?' He who has become entitled to be the hearer, the thinker, and the knower, is none other than the supreme Deity himself, who, in the form of a reflection has entered into the aggregate of body and organs made up of fire, water, and food,--of the universe, and is One without a second', since the two (ideas) are contradictory. Because, when the Self, One without a second, is realized as 'I am This', then, the idea of differences, such as, 'This thing is different from me', 'This has to be accomplished by me', or, 'By doing this I shall enjoy its results', are not logical. Therefore it is reasonable that, when the true knowledge of the non-dual Self as Existence is realized then, the false, mutable knowledge of the Self as the individual soul ceases.

~tr. Gambhirananda

Beyond the Mystic

The mystical isn't real. It's just the last stop on the way. 

Happiness is a C-plus. Joy is pretty much a solid B. Ecstasy is B-plus.

They say ecstasy is almost bliss. Bliss is limitless.

As the vital breath is the glue holding the body and mind together.

The subtle body of the buddhi is reflecting brahman.

Happiness, joy, and ecstasy are our three states of reflected bliss, love.

scene 4

Ravens are whirling in this medicine wheel. Rattlesnakes are turning ouroboros.

Big Sur waves are crashing like Jack Kerouac. Monterey is popping.

Basho in Matsushima. The Bhagavad Gita on Walden Pond.

Footnotes to 3/not 2

Gaudapada says the two states of sleeping are deep sleep and dreaming. The two states of dreaming are sleeping and waking.

I minus nescience equals God minus Maya. Tattvamasi says the Chandogya.

Cosmic consciousness is mystical and ecstatic, far beyond the body, breath, mind, and intellect, but not real. See Taittiriya 2.6.1.

Three Divided by Not Two

1. The Power of Three

The holy trinity of nonduality is atman, brahman, and oh, maya.

Consciousness, existence, and the bliss of limitlessness are not three but the incalculable nature of brahman triangulated.

Further, waking, dreaming, and deep sleep are three states of consciousness appearing in the so-called fourth, turiyam.

2. Attributes

Gaudapada says the two states of sleeping are deep sleep and dreaming. The two states of dreaming are sleeping and waking.

I minus nescience equals God minus Maya. Tattvamasi, says the Chandogya.

Cosmic consciousness is mystical and ecstatic, far beyond the body, breath, mind, and intellect, but not real. See Taittiriya 2.6.1.

3. Beyond the Mystic

The mystical isn't real. It's just the last stop on the way. 

Happiness is a C-plus. Joy is pretty much a solid B. Ecstacy is B-plus. 

They say ecstacy is almost bliss. Bliss is limitless.

4.

The vital breath is the glue holding the body and mind together. The subtle body of the buddhi is reflecting brahman. Happiness, joy, and ecstasy are the three states of reflected bliss, aka love. Bliss is unconditional love.