notes to transcreating jiva

1.

Some divide the drg drsya viveka into two, thinking the first 31 slokas are the real deal and the last 15 a later addition. 

For example, Tejomayananda only comments on the 31. Nikhilananda notes all 46. Who knows? After all, there’s questions as to authorship. Shankara? Vidyaranya? Bharati?

There is a progression in the 31 from the seen to nirvikalpa samadhi which seems to make it a whole. Whether it’s a whole part or a whole whole shall be argued by linguists. Mystics see these things differently.

2.

Rather than beginning with the seen, the second part begins with the jiva, which considered further, is a particular version of the seen.

“Reality of jīva is to be understood in a threefold way. It means we look at the reality of jīva from three different standpoints. There is no threefold reality but there are three points of view of the same reality.” ~Dayananda

The logician in me wants to line up limitation-containment-identification, presentation-reflection-projection, and imagination-dreaming-illusion with satcitananda.

2.

Like identification is not sat, reflection is not cit, imagination is not ananda.

Identification is not sat. Limiting oneself to the body-mind is a conditional existence. Such limitation is not pure existence.

The projection of consciousness is not cit but the reflection of consciousness is. Imagination is not ananda but love is.

4.

I first learned the concept of continuous improvement in quality control. In nondoing, I see there is no continuous improvement.

There’s continuous change and adapting to it. A tour guide taught me this in Monument Valley when I asked her about the Navajo people and climate change.

The light reflecting in the water is light. The light moving in the water is water.

Transcreating Jiva: toward Nikhilananda’s Notes on Drg Drsya Viveka sloka 32

There are these three nondual myths concerning individual consciousness. Call them limitation, presentation, and imagination.

That of limitation is like infinite space being contained in a clay pot. As if subject to the upadhis of prana, atman identifies as jiva.

That of presentation is like the sun reflecting on water, like the light of consciousness reflecting in the mind, its reflection assuming the qualities of the medium.

That of imagination is like noumenal atman (due to avidya) dreaming an individual jiva. Or like absolute brahman (due to maya) dreaming this universal isvara.

footnotes

1. limitation, containment, and identification.

2. presentation, reflection, and projection.

3. imagination, dreaming, and illusion.

The Power of Satcitananda

1.

Atman is to individual consciousness as brahman is to universal consciousness.

As the dream cannot know the dreamer in any fractal actuality of dreaming, transmigration must remain a mystery under the jurisdiction of maya, no matter how obvious fractal dreaming appears to be.

When I awaken, I still may know a dream or two. But my dreams have never known their dreamer. Lucid dreaming being the exception that proves the rule.

In other words, reincarnation is more than likely, but who knows.

No one looks for the dalai lama. The dalai lama looks for you.

2.

Sat is cit

Like existence and consciousness

Existence-consciousness is ananda

Ananda being unconditional love

Satcitananda

Sat is for the existence principle

Cit is for the awareness principle

And ananda is for the holistic principle

Satcitananda is the power of three.

3.

What’s so funny about existence, awareness, and self-love?

On self-inquiry and myth-making

Sat is never in denial

Cit is never unaware even in deep sleep

Ananda is the nondual source of love.

Ananda is preventing advaita vedanta from becoming just another belief system.

samadhi em dash

samadhi—

it’s not about what you know but how to know what is what—

all samadhi is savikalpa—

kalpa means duality—

savi remaining with—

nirvikalpa samadhi means beyond samadhi—

samadhi is a state of meditation—

its two main practices are self-inquiry and myth-making—

within and without.

Transcreating Samadhi: towards Tejomayananda's commentary on Vidyaranya's Drg Drsya Viveka sloka 22

Samadhi cannot be done by doing. Only the knowledge of nondoing does. That’s basically the understanding of jnana.

Samadhi is not about thoughts of knowing, but abiding in the consciousness illuminating the thought of knowing.

Samadhi isn't a verb but a noun. One doesn't do samadhi, but abides in samadhi. Samadhi is the alert, unwavering and balanced state of duality abiding in its nondual truth.

The practice of samadhi is within or without. That within of atman is self-inquiry, discriminating between seer and seen, in self-realization.

That without of brahman is more a metaphysical inquiry, looking beyond the superimposition to the substratum of absolute reality.

on advaita vedanta

1.

advaita vedanta is like distilled myth. but rather than starting with intoxicating stories of the mind, let's start with ten-thousand proof absolute.

begin at the beginning. what is the nature of an absolute godhead?

the nature of an absolute godhead is obviously unborn existence, immutable awareness, and wholly beloving.

2.

given that this empirical world is none of the above, how could something so unbrahman be?

and if unbrahman be, then there is no brahman.

but advaita vedanta begins with brahman! therefore unbrahman cannot be.

3.

unbrahman therefore must be an illusion, maya, dreamstate, name and form superimposed on satcitananda.

this is the genius of advaita vedanta as i see it. it doesn't start with creation. it establishes the nature of the absolute godhead, brahman, first.

rather than beginning in samsara, it establishes the primacy of nirvana. and since there is no samsara in nirvana, that's that.

On Atman and Brahman

In maya,

there's the duality of experiencer

and the world of experience.

For the mathematical purposes of nonduality, 

atman represents the experiencer,

and brahman represents the world of experience.

But beyond the universe of maya,

atman is brahman.

Meet Me In That Field

The material world consists of five qualities. Existence, awareness, and the beloved belong to brahman. Name and form belong to maya. You can call them satcitananda and namarupa.

Being, consciousness, and bliss are the characteristics of one’s real self as well. They are utterly undeniable, no matter how much one tries to deny them, and one tries miserably every day.

Satcitananda is my deepest nature. Name and form is my false impression. Meet me in the field of Kurukshetra.

ordinary nonduality

1.

nonduality is more myth than belief system, but most choose to believe it anyway.

myth is more a map than religion. most make myth their religion anyway.

maps are made to assist fellow travelers in traversing the great unknown, made by those who know the territory, and confirmed by users.

trust a map as long as your experience confirms it. never believe a map no matter how many times you've used it. things change. only you don't.

2.

reality is not ordinary. ordinary indicates sequentially arranged. reality is beyond the space of arranged and the time of sequentially.

but neither is reality extraordinary, and that's really the point here. it's just badly worded.

reality is not extraordinary; ordinary life is. ordinary life is purely conceptual; consciousness isn't.

consciousness is consciousness is consciousness. reflected consciousness is still consciousness. colored light is still light.

3.

in conclusion, nonduality is a map. consciousness isn't ordinary nor extraordinary. consciousness is all there is. 

also, language is an explosive thing, the real big bang—use it carefully, my friend.

the dreamer knows the dream but the dream doesn't know the dreamer. transmigration is a lot like this, i think.

in my experience of dreaming, dreams reincarnate several times each night.

Crossing the Nescience

Consciousness appears to be internal and the world appears to be external until you look at things with an open head.

The individual self is superimposed on an infinite self. The phenomenal world is superimposed on an absolute substratum. Remove this supermaya and atman is brahman.

Look, it takes a lot of thought to divide the indivisible. It takes no thought at all to drop maya like a stone, like a bad habit, like an unfaithful lover.

Good words and hard reason can only take you so far. Ask Zeno, my friend. It’s the plenary experience within and without that crosses the mighty paradox.