The See of Awareness, Part One

1.

You’ve been led to that deep well of awareness

But only you can drink from, and dissolve in, that.

2.

That awareness is the substrate, the real self, paramatman,

And not yourself.

3.

Not only is that sea of awareness always there,

This superimposition of yourself is merely conceptual, dreamlike, maya.

4.

Any thought, including yourself, is merely floating in that awareness,

like waves in the sea, like words burning in a fire.

5.

The more time you float in that water of awareness,

The more realized is that water is the sea, and there all the time.

6.

And further, time is just a concept floating on that timelessness,

And I am, in truth, that timeless awareness.

Ayam Atma Brahma Forever

I'm going to strawberry fields / Nothing is real / And nothing to get hung about / Strawberry fields forever

1.

Brahman is not a name as much as an adjective without a noun—

big. As in beyond the bang.

2.

And atman is the very breath, the inner spirit, soul, heart, swing, poetry.

3.

Atman is brahman is the big reveal

and paradoxical revelation—

haiku kahuna koan.

Brahmavidya in the Material World

No language can describe the nondual truth but scientific language in particular is especially out of its element.

Science is concerned with the material world and is quite wonderful in its ability to circumscribe that maya, but brahmavidya not so much.

The genius of scientific language is in the inner logic of locking its discoveries into place. In brahmavidya, logic is important too, but so is artistry and paradox, not exactly the expertise of science.

Shankara, that 8th or 9th century proponent of advaita vedanta, is nothing if not logical, yet often lands on metaphor for his most important points.

The rope is never a snake, the sky is never a cloud, the desert is never a mirage, the sea is never a wave, and truth is never a science.

Song of Maya

The expression of brahman is always changing but brahman never changes.

The ignorant will freeze some particular span of space and time to worship for its monumental creativity—and defend its monument against all change.

Only the grateful dead live are the grateful dead. A poet reads in order to write. As consciousness, one writes.

The poet is not the word as brahman is not the universe but the wave is the sea.

Ode to Enlightenment

It’s not true everyone is enlightened about their true nature, but it is true that no one is not brahman.

Enlightenment is just an ostentatious word for having rid oneself of this unborn ignorance once and for all. But I like it.

Not only is that one attentive to one’s natural awareness amidst the word cloud of the world’s loud benightedness,

but one is actually that awareness—awareness is always enlightening one if one is actually listening.

Nonduality Comics 231121tu

1

The mind may come to know what it isn’t and what the mahavakyas say it is and cipher exactly the value of one and exactly the value of two and wait there for the magic bus that is coming to take me away ah ha!.

They say realization happens in the intellect, that reflection of divine intelligence, that cave of atman, that city of brahman, that lotus of my heart.

Call it pratibodha and say om.

2.

So what science sees as a great black hole is actually the self-shining seer seeing science.

You can't see it. That's why you have to listen. Silence is not an end in itself. It's the prerequisite for this listening.

And one doesn't listen by this listening. One listens by heart.

3.

At the heart of every concept is awareness, pure consciousness, that essential principle of existence.

Vedantic scientists have named this postulate of truth, pratibodha-vidatam.

Vedantic poets call it rope and snake.

4.

Awake the lotus heart is lucid dreaming.

Stevie wonder dreaming in the city of brahman—skyscrapers and everything.

In my day, the grateful dead were grateful for their psychedelic resurrection as pure consciousness and the beatles went all the way to rishikesh. This was my generation baby.

5.

Everything appears in the self-shining light of pure consciousness (natural awareness), does it not?

So the question you have to ask yourself punk, are you the appearance or the natural awareness?

It's the simple equation behind every koan: om is mu.

X.

Call it pratibodha and say om.

So what science sees as a great black hole is actually the self-shining seer seeing science.

Vedantic poets call it rope and snake.

Awake the lotus heart is lucid dreaming!

It’s the simple equation behind every koan: om is mu.

6.

If you feel you need to breathe, your god is obviously still vayu.

And by the transitive property of the gods themselves, you may choose any aspect of this absolute manifestation to worship instead.

For this is the heart of all polytheistic points of view. Praise maya!

The Sun of Self-awareness

The sea pervades and envelops the wave that’s not a wave but is maya’s brave new world of dreaming unawareness.

For unawareness is just a temporary state, much like the grand appearance of a superstar and its transformative return to the great black hole of brahman.

Look, only the mind sees that paramatman as a great black hole; the nondual self is in reality the self-shining seer.

Nonduality Comics 231118st

1.

Indidividual consciousness is called the knowing atman because unborn ignorance has this natural need to know.

Universal consciousness is called the great atman because the wizard of maya.

And pure consciousness is called the peaceful atman as in tattvamasi satcitananda.

2.

It’s ok to call science your god.

God is the god of ten thousand attributes. Take as many as you want.

My god is maya neat.

3.

Science is still looking for the God of Consciousness inside Its Dream.

That’s like looking for the sea in the middle of an island paradise.

The big bang is easy. Beyond the big bang is the razor’s edge.

4.

Individual consciousness is a conditioned consciouness. 

The conditioner is the world of individual consciousnesses.

It's a vicious cycle.

5.

A table is more than 99% space. Relax, you can’t put your elbows on it.

Objects appearing in consciousness appear to be something other than consciousness. They’re not.

Pure consciousness you are, Luke.

6.

Tao is to parabrahman

as te is to the sattva of maya

and sunday is to tamas

and yang is to the guna of rajas.

Om Lao Tzu

7.

Existence is the substrate and life its expression.

Personal lives are its writhing dreams and nightmares.

Waking up is every dreamer's destiny. Arise!

8.

Five days out of seven I'm not saying what I'm thinking; that's my earworm to be seen through.

Two days out of seven I am consciousness talking to consciousness. Each one of those days is like a long weekend.

Wake up Maggie, I've been playing the Upanishads louder lately. Enjoy!

9.

tao is to parabrahman

as te is to the sattva of maya

and yin is to tamas and yang is to the guna of rajas,,,

om, l,ao tzu

The Nondual Trinity of Consciousness

Individual consciousness is due to ignorance. All the ignorance in the world is due to this avidya. It’s why the world is what it is: samsara.

Universal consciousness is still an illusion, although its laws of nature work impeccably. You can put your trust in maya and give it any god-like name you love.

Pure consciousness is the godhead. The principle of existence is its nature. And as natural awareness, it is the deep blue substrate sea.

Vedantic Cosmology:Nikhilananda on Katha 1.3.10,11,13 (and Shankara on the Sanskrit)

Beyond the senses are the objects; beyond the objects is the mind; beyond the mind, the intellect; beyond the intellect, the Great Atman; beyond the Great Atman, the Unmanifest; beyond the Unmanifest, the Purusha. Beyond the Purusha there is nothing: this is the end, the Supreme Goal.

~Katha 1.3.10-11 (tr-Nikhilananda)

The first manifestation of Pure Brahman, due to Its association with ajnana, is called the Unmanifest. The first entity to emerge from the Unmanifest is Hiranyagarbha, also known by such other epithets as Brahma (the World Soul, or the Cosmic Mind) and Prana (the Cosmic Life).

It may be stated here that the purpose of the Vedantic cosmology is to explain the universe and its origin in such a way that it can establish the sole reality of Brahman, apart from which the universe is unimportant either from the standpoint of reality or from the standpoint of ultimate value. In the deepest spiritual experience the material universe is found to be non-existent.

~Nikhilananda

The wise man should merge his speech in his mind, and his mind in his intellect. He should merge his intellect in the Cosmic Mind, and the Cosmic Mind in the Tranquil Self.

~Katha 1.3.13 (tr-Nikhilananada)

The activities of the senses should be stopped and the attention directed to the mind. Then the mind should be drawn into the buddhi, or discriminative faculty. Next the aspirant should sink the buddhi into the Cosmic Mind, or Hiranyagarbha. In other words, he should make his mind as pure as the Cosmic Mind, which is free from all notions of discrete individuality. Last, the thin veil of the Cosmic Mind should be rent, and the seeker should merge in the Absolute, which is calm because of an utter absence of any distinction or difference either with regard to others or within Itself.

~Nikhilananda

Shankara's Sanskrit Commentary:

Prajnah, the discriminating man;

yacchet, should merge. What (should he merge)?

Vak, i.e. vacam, the organ of speech, (i.e. all the organs), vak being used suggestively for all organs. Where? 

Manasi, into the mind; the use of the word with a long i is a Vedic licence.

Tat, that mind, again;

yacchet, he should merge;

jnane atmani, into the intellect - bright by nature-which is their self; as the intellect pervades the organs, beginning with the mind, it is their self, their innermost principle.

Jnanam, the intellect;

niyacchet, he should dissolve;

mahati atmani, in the Great Soul-the First Born (Hiranyagarbha). The idea is that he should make the intelligence as clear in its nature as is the First Born. And that Great Soul again,

yacchet, he should sink;

sante, into the peaceful -whose nature does not admit of any distinction, which is unchangeable; (into that peaceful)

atmani, Self-into the real Self which is within all and is the witness of all the modifications of the intellect.

~Shankara (tr-Gambhirananda)