Saturday 11 June 2016

Rules of Creation Part 6

6. Adharo  Dhikaranam
The Substance of the Absolute.

The beginning that is not a beginning and the end that is not an end. The substance of the absolute cannot be formed of any substance and so in the absolute we are in the realm of a singularity. It is beyond science, beyond matter, beyond life, and beyond consciousness. It is beyond the known and the knowable nevertheless it is. In creation there is conception from which arises creation but this is only an appearance. In truth there is only the absolute everything else is a reflection of that absolute. In each apparent stage of creation such as matter, life, consciousness and the absolute we move from the apparently solid to increasingly more refined and subtle states. In the beginning we believe what we are told and what we experience are absolutely true. In time what appears absolutely true is found to be absolutely not true and then we move beyond even that. We move beyond these things because these things are only appearances and so do not really exist; they are not true. Whatever appears to be true but is in fact not must inevitably break down and reveal itself. This process of what we take to be true that is in fact not is in the beginning always difficult and likely to be resisted strenuously. In time it becomes easier and eventually we begin to see that as we let go of beliefs that were not true, suffering naturally decreases. Once this is noticed we start to become more and more committed to completing this process. When buddha said ‘I will not move from this place until it is finished’ he was saying in effect ‘I will not move from this place until this process is complete’. It can be likened to a line of dominoes standing side by side as the first one falls it is inevitable that the second and the last will also fall and as this process continues it gets faster and faster and harder and harder to stop. A momentum is built from which there is no turning back but at a certain point we would not wish to turn back. Our early fears and projections of what this process is and where it will lead are inevitable wrong. We fear that we will cease to exist and that all human meaning will be removed. While this is actually true it is not true in the way we think it is. The part of us we call the ego is found to be based on assumptions that are not true. We believe that this ego which is actually composed of beliefs and measurements that have no true existence is all there is and so are terrified of losing it. How can we lose what was never there in the first place. Beliefs and measurements have no true existence or meaning other than what we give to them. Even though these beliefs and measurements do not exist in any real sense they are not lost what is lost is our dependence on them. Beliefs may be useful or not and if a belief is useful why would we discard it. On the other hand if a belief is not useful it will likely produce suffering which becomes a discouragement from believing something that is not true. In the end we find that fear itself does not exist; it exists because we conceive of it and once it is conceived it is created and even proven to be true. If we do not conceive of fear then it is not created and so does not exist. This can only be seen when our beliefs lose their validity. If a coil of rope is seen in a darkened room we may easily mistake it for a snake. Once we have mistakenly identified the rope as a snake we naturally become fearful and this fear is taken to be real and based on something that is perceived to be dangerous but at no point was the rope anything other than a rope. This analogy illustrates very clearly how easily we can make a mistake in perception and then have to live with the result of that mistake. In the case of a rope that appears as a snake when we see our mistake the fear ceases to exist but at no point can the fear be said to exist. We can believe that an error in perception is true but what appeared to be true was not. When the appearance breaks down as it must if it is not true then we see that we have been tricked by our own mind into perceiving something that was never actually there. In this process of moving from the apparently real and solid to the more refined and subtle this learning is very slow, natural and difficult to avoid. Even so learning eventually must take place and increasingly we find that everything that was taken to be true but was in fact not breaks down and as it does our suffering begins to dissipate. It dissipates because suffering like fear does not exist except in our imagination. The whole of this apparent existence is only a reflection of the absolute and what is a reflection must have a source. To find the source we must find our way out of the maze of reflections in which we find ourselves. This maze of reflections has a purpose, a maze with no way out could also have no way in and so would be meaningless. The fact that we are inside this maze of reflections means that there was a way in and therefore also a way out. The way out is to see that the reflections themselves although not real indicate that which created them; the absolute. Within the reflections there seems to be no end of possibilities for  mistaking the unreal for the real. Even so the fact that something taken to be real is in fact not real indicates that behind or within the unreal is also the real. In Sanskrit the word maayaa is usually taken to mean illusion but the best translation is more revealing. Maayaa is composed of that (yaa) which is not (maa) so maayaa is that which is not. Life can therefore be  seen to be composed of what is and what is not and through the enquiry that leads to revealing what is not we are finally left with what is. The strength of the illusion is due to the mistake of giving meaning to that which has no meaning. Physical sensation has no meaning the fact that we give it meaning is the mistake. If the truth is that physical sensation has no meaning then finding this truth would negate most of the illusions we take to be real. When we come to believe that physical sensations are real we also begin to create states that are not, like anger, fear, sadness, depression,desire and even pain. Without meaning the physical sensations become nothing more than physical sensations that have no meaning. Getting to this point we are free from all the negatives that confuse us so much. Adding meaning to that which has no meaning we become trapped in a world of suffering which must continue until the truth is realised. In the reflections are reflections of the absolute so lying just behind or even within the reflections resides the absolute. In the reflection is an appearance that tells of the implication of the absolute. 

Friday 10 June 2016

Rules of Creation Part 5

5.Dhruvamapaye Padaanam.
The source of all movement and potential is the eternal unmoving to which all movement and potential returns.

All that is can be seen as some form of movement. It is almost as though if it does not move it cannot be known to exist. Equally if it does move then in some way it can be said to not exist. This obviously sounds contradictory until it is looked at more closely. In quantum theory it is suggested that all matter has a dual nature that exists and does not exist and fluctuates from one state to the other in rapid succession. The whole universe exists and does not exist almost at the same time. It is not unlike what takes place at the cinema where light is projected through a film at a particular speed and suddenly the appearance of reality is presented to us on a blank screen. What appears as reality is actually light on a screen. This reality that is made of light is so effective that we can laugh, or cry or feel fear as well as many other emotions. As well as the light on the screen there is also to be taken into consideration the meaning that is given to the light by the brain and consciousness. Light has the appearance of being measurable but this too is illusion the same illusion that allows music to be heard, recorded and measured, In effect sounds are stitched together and held in the mind to produce music. Sound has no meaning other than the meaning we give it. This is true of light and colour or anything produced and experienced by the senses. Even matter which we take to be solid can only appear solid due to the meaning we attach to it.

There are many translations of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras here is my translation of the second Sutra.

Yogas Citta Vrtti Nirodah
Yogas - Absence of belief, concept, illusion. As well as the knowledge that what we are experiencing is illusion. So even while experiencing the illusion it is known to be illusion.

Citta - All aspects of consciousness including belief, concept and illusion as well as pure consciousness or that which remains when belief, concept and illusion are seen to be unreal and non existent.

Vrtti - Belief, concept and illusion which together form the ego. That which is self created and which appears in the field of  pure consciousness. Patterns of measurement that form the totality of the universe that is experienced by the body/mind as thoughts and physical sensations that form feelings and emotions as well as sight, sound, touch, taste and smell. Stories created in the mind that link all of these together to form the illusion of separation and movement. Vrtti is movement or vibration of the mind in such a way as  to form the illusion of reality in all its varied forms.

Nirodah - Cessation of Vrtti or cessation of belief, concept and illusion. Cessation can only occur when these three are seen to be unreal and non existent. No action can be taken to cause cessation, action to cause cessation would imply that there is something real that needs ending and trying to end something in this way would only be confirming that this something is real. Cessation can only occur through understanding or realisation of the truth; that everything we take to be real in terms of beliefs, concepts and illusion are in fact not real and non existent. We are designed to naturally come to this understanding or realisation and the whole of existence is aimed at causing this through the intervention  of suffering. The body being vulnerable to ageing, physical and mental harm as well as death is ideally designed to come to this understanding. There is no way to control this, all that is possible is that we learn directly from the phenomenon of suffering in all its forms that suffering can only exist when we believe something that is not true.

All that is experienced by the body and mind is illusion but this illusion has a purpose, the purpose is for the circle to complete itself. In the beginning without a beginning there is the Absolute or consciousness which is also potential. Within the Absolute arises the desire to create something that although this something will appear separate and other than the Absolute is nevertheless always nothing but the Absolute. The Absolute is ‘the eternal unmoving’ and that which is created is ‘from which all movement returns’. That which is created which is everything that can be known must inevitably return to its source ‘the eternal unmoving’. This is like a virtual reality game that is so convincing that we have forgotten it is a game but even so the rules of the game determine that no matter what we do the game is arranged in such a way that the results of our beliefs and actions will ultimately and inevitably break down to reveal the source. The reason our beliefs and actions must break down is because they are based on something that is not true. When something that is not true is taken to be true is the point in which the rules of the game say that the belief and actions arising from what is not true must in due course manifest in suffering. Also that this suffering will be in direct proportion to the degree of error in our beliefs. We can believe anything we like but we cannot escape the rules of the game.

Tuesday 7 June 2016

Rules of Creation Part 4

Karmanaa Yamabhipraiti Sa Sampradaanam
The Ultimate Purpose of Realising that Potential.

To create, think, feel or do anything, potential has to be activated. For anything to happen in this universe potential has to be activated. For the universe to exist means potential has been activated. The universe being created is not a static thing rather it sets in motion a continual movement of more and more creation, destruction and potential. Once there is life there is an explosion of potential being activated. Once potential is activated there is movement, change, and consequences. Potential can be activated consciously or unconsciously and there seems to be no limits to what can be created. In each act of creation conscious or unconscious there needs to be a desire. That desire whatever it may be will produce a series of consequences and these consequences will in time cause new creations to emerge. These new creations can be seen as learning or evolution. What we may call mistakes are part of this learning or evolution. Seeing this we can then see that the so called mistake was a necessary part of the learning and evolution and therefore was not a mistake. Whatever ‘mistakes’ taking place in the world right now are a manifestation of the learning that is a natural consequence of the activation of potential. Even the suffering that is a consequence of a ‘mistake’ is necessary for the learning to take place. Consequences and the learning that follows can take place over any period of time. Time itself is an illusory framework in which the learning takes place and is created by various activations of potential. Because of the constraints or consequences that come with the creation of time it becomes very difficult to see the big picture. It is easier to see the consequence of actions in the short term such as touching something hot but some consequences will not appear for many years or may appear for many generations to come. The world as it is today is the consequence of every act of potential that went before and most of what went before we have no knowledge of. From birth it seems the only knowledge available to us is the very limited knowledge left by past generations. In the beginning we trust and believe in this knowledge that we inherit but in time we find out that it is not to be trusted because sooner or later acting from this knowledge  produces suffering. Fortunately past knowledge is not our only source of learning any real learning can only take place in what I call responsibility. Responsibility is the direct consequence of our thoughts, feelings and actions as experienced by the body. With responsibility there are no excuses for what we do think or feel. Because of the knowledge we inherited from the past we continue to do what was done in the past we make excuses for what we do or we blame someone as when a child says ‘he/she made me do it’. No one can make or cause us to do anything we are always responsible for what we do because we will experience sooner or later the consequence of our actions. Responsibility is the only thing that works consistently. When we act on beliefs we are not being responsible although we will experience the consequence of acting on our beliefs. Belief is knowledge inherited in the past or formulated in the present it therefore has no relationship to responsibility or the world as experienced through the senses alone. When we are able to live through the senses alone we are at peace with ourselves and the world there are no beliefs to take us away from that peace. Everything we think feel or do results in learning however long that may take. With responsibility the learning is always immediate because the senses are always at their best in the moment they are activated in the present. When we respond from memory we are responding to the present with knowledge from the past. Memory is not just data from the past it is instructions from the past and our tendency is to use memories as instructions. Sometimes we are following instructions from memories that were laid down when we were very young or when we were less able to comprehend what was happening. We base our beliefs on what we experienced and the limited ability we had to understand what we were experiencing. Once a memory is formulated it tends to be accepted as truth and even when the result of following these memory instructions is suffering we rarely deviate from following these instructions.. Reliance on memories as instructions means that we are unable to learn or that learning will be very slow. Activating potential no matter how that is done must ultimately result in perfection or consciousness. This can be a very slow evolutionary process or it can be immediate. When we are able to activate the potential through our body and its senses the learning becomes much more immediate. Everything we do is done when we have a purpose even if that purpose is negative. The ultimate purpose we can have is to transcend our own beliefs and by so doing come to the realisation that everything we do we do for and from consciousness.