Seeing Faith

Existence, consciousness, and bliss is the rope. Name and form is the snake.

Sat, cit, and ananda are not three layers of brahman. Satcitananda is a single substrate, brahman. And namarupa is a superimposition of maya on this substrate.

This analogy of rope and snake is a temporary article of faith and not dogma. This advaitic myth is not to be believed, but confirmed.

Without confirmation, it's neither truth nor untruth. And believing myth with blind faith doesn't make it true, but untrue. Yet as long as the myth hasn't been unproven, keep the faith.

Reflections on Satcitananda

The reflection of satcitananda is satmaya, citmaya, and anandamaya, of course.

Anandamaya is the causal body. This is like saying self-awareness is the primal cause. 

Anandamaya is nothing if not a seeker and a lover.

The mind is satmaya, existence-maya, dream. The intellect is citmaya, consciousness-maya, buddhi.

Witnessing is to existence (being) as intuition is to consciousness (knowledge).

The happiness urge is anandamaya, always the procreant urge.

As devotion is to bliss (oneness).

In the name of the witness, knower, and beloved.

On Intuition (footnotes to metaphorical nonduality)

Metaphors address the right side of the brain.

The right side of the brain connects to the left side of the subtle body.

Here intellect and intuition reside.

The intellect is an aspect of the reflection of pure consciousness on the subtle body. 

They call this aspect the vijnanamaya, or citmaya so to speak.

Intuition is that point of reflection, like the witness is in regards to satmaya.

They call this the knower.

Metaphorical Nonduality

Of course you can’t talk directly about the nonconceptual absolute. This is why indirect metaphors are used.

Rather than appealing to the logic of the mind, metaphors address the intuition of the intellect instead.

Space and pot, rope and snake, canvas and painting: these are just a few examples used by Shankara and his Advaita descendants.

The great space is not contained by the clay pot. The rope is falsely thought to be a snake. Maya, jiva, and namarupa are superimposed on Brahman.

footnotes

metaphors address the right side of the brain.

the right side of the brain connects to the left side of the subtle body

where intellect and intuition resides.

the intellect is an aspect of the reflection of pure consciousness on the subtle body. 

they call this aspect, the vijnanamaya, citmaya so to speak.

intuition is that point of reflection. like the witness in regards to satmaya, but in a knowing kind of way. the knower.

Picturing Vidyaranya

In Pancadasi 6, Vidyaranya pictures this analogy of a painting in which the canvas is the substrate, brahman.

The canvas is conditioned with starch. This is the unmanifested maya. Between brahman and maya is isvara—absolute brahman is not even touched by maya.

Outlines of forms are drawn. This second conditioning is still the unmanifest, the totality of subtle bodies called hiranyagarbha.

The physical world of variety and color is the last superimposition. A subtle body identifing with a form is called the jiva, living and dying within this avidya.

footnotes

1. hiranyagarbha is the golden egg, the cosmic self, the seed of the universe, the sutratman, the totality of subtle bodies or the single jiva (eka-jiva-vada says there's one jiva and one material body with one consciousness and all other individuals are semblances in dream bondage.)

2. eka-jiva-vada is one atman, one maya, one jiva, one dreamer.

in advaita, eka-jiva-vada is the bad kid.

but it's not solipsistic. it only appears that way. it's not extreme ego, but xtreme universality.

you don't treat others as if they are yourself—they ~are~ yourself.

love your neighbor AS yourself. matthew 22:39.

"Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

This is the first and great commandment.

And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."

~Matthew 22:37-40 (kjv)

this is the real jesus in a nutshell.

love the i-am with all your heart and love others as oneself.

3. i'm not a fan of the transmigratory jiva. for me, it stinks of the religious.

it's just not my cup of mythology.

and that's all it is. do not believe nonduality even if it's called advaita.

don't get me wrong. it's a perfectly good religious myth, encouraging self-realization within a social religious structure.

this is why ramana is such a threat to vedanta. eka-jiva-vada abandons the socially useful concept of transmigration.

it's neither direct nor indirect. it's as it is.

when another asked ramana about their own individual experience as counter to his eka-jiva one, he'd reply, you are that.

n was adamant maurice's translation of the dialogues was to be titled, i am that.

this is also the direct knowledge of advaita vedanta, the indirect knowledge being brahman is and the jiva transmigrates.

eka-jiva-vada bypasses the indirect knowledge of transmigration with the direct knowledge of brahman, maya, eka-jiva, dreamstate.

brahman-maya-ekajiva-avidya.

Only Happiness

It's not body-mind as much as body-prana-mind.

The body-prana-mind is not the doer. The intellect is.

Intelligence in touch with consciousness is intuition.

The intellect lost in mind is violence.

After anandamaya comes citmaya and satmaya.

The intellect is citmaya and the mind is satmaya.

Only the mind knows non-existence.

Only the intellect knows unconsciousness.

Only happiness knows maya.

Deconstructing the Sheaths

The five sheaths in advaita are superimpositions upon superimpositions, like snakes on snakes.

The first superimposition is called anandamaya. It's the locus of avidya. Thus it's the causal body—the subtle and material to follow.

It's after maya but before karma. In the land of individual consciousness, the quest for happiness starts here.

The subtle body consists of vijnanamaya (intelligence), manomaya (mind), and pranamaya (life force).

In the reflexive universe, this is the stuff of functional compounds and organic chemicals.

Is it paradoxical the life force is superimposed on the mind is superimposed on intelligence?

Brahman is the absolute substrate, but buddhi is the substrate of the subtle body.

Wild Sentience

In advaita mythology, even energy is inert.

It says the outer body, life force, mind, intelligence,

and causal body are all insentient in essence.

Only pure consciousness is sentient in reality.

It's the reflection of pure consciousness upon the subtle body

which catches consciousness and spreads like wildfire!

On Perennial Self-Inquiry

Nonduality is myth and not belief. But reality is easier to believe than realize.

Look, nonduality is like a map published by a trusted source. 

It tells you where you are metaphysically speaking and where truth is.

Careful, just because truth is on your map doesn’t mean you’re there.

Neither does it mean you’re not. That’s where honest self-inquiry comes into play.

It follows non-abiding realization is a common understanding.

Believing it's abiding is a common misunderstanding.

on brahman pond

in isvara universally reflexive maya

an evolutionary admixture of functional compounds and organic chemicals is becoming so subtle

pure consciousness is reflecting perfectly off it's early evening glassy surface