Consciousness Is Eternal 2

In the Upanishads there is the analogy of the waves and the ocean that I spoke of earlier. Each wave arises from the same mass of water and falls back into it. In this brief period of time, from the time it rises until the time it falls, it thinks that it is different from the rest of the ocean. Similarly, each wave thinks it is independent and disconnected. The baby wave that is just born is given a name by the other waves, which are already present. Not only that, after a while this wave starts to define itself an identity: 'This is my father wave,' 'This my mother wave,' 'These are my friends,' 'These are my teachers,' 'These are my enemies,' and so on.

After a while, the wave has forgotten that it has risen from the ocean. It gets busy in carving this false identity for itself. And before it realizes, it falls back into the ocean. Whether the wave likes it or not, whether it wants to believe it or not, it must fall back into the ocean because that is where it came from. It has no choice. It came from the ocean and it must go back into the ocean. All problems arise when the wave thinks it is different from the ocean and resists it. Different waves start to compare themselves with each other about which one is better and even fight wars with each other.

If the wave understands that once it falls back it will emerge elsewhere as another wave, then there is no need to resist the fall. It will relax and enjoy. The wave will suddenly start to enjoy its play in the ocean. If the wave understands that other waves present in that vast mighty ocean are the same water, the wave will suddenly feel a deep connection with other waves because it knows that at the core, they are all one.

If we understand this simple theory of life — that we came from the same Source and we return to it — we realize that we are connected to something much greater than our individual self.

A small story:

Five blind men were stuck in a forest. They were lost and trying to find their way out. They used their hands to feel things around them to tell them where they were. As they walked, they stumbled into an elephant.

One of the blind men happened to be near the legs of the elephant. After feeling them for a while he said to the others, 'These are tree trunks, the bark is so rough, but it's okay. We can get some shelter below these trees for the day.'

Another blind man who was near one of the bulky sides of the elephant said, 'My God, such a huge wall! It looks like we have come to some mansion, let us go inside and explore.'

Then suddenly another blind man started feeling the smooth and sharp tusk of the elephant. He exclaimed, 'Hey, look at what I found, a spear! This will help us if any animal attacks us in this forest.'

His other friend was near the ears of the elephant. He jumped with joy, 'These are some nice big fans I found. It is so breezy here!'

The last of the blind men happened to be near the trunk of the elephant. He felt the trunk and quickly screamed, 'Snake, snake!'

By now, everybody was confused. None of them knew who was correct. After a while, they each started to get angry that their friends were not listening to them. They started to fight over their different ideas of what they thought they had found.

This is the same state in our lives. When we are in ignorance, we are fooled by everything in the world and we miss what it really is. The blind men fought with each other because they did not understand that the different things they perceived belonged to the same

elephant. If we don't catch the thread that connects the entire universe, we miss the beauty and the bliss. It's only when we realize that each of us is a manifestation of the same Divine Energy that we feel a deep connection with everything and everyone.

The universal Consciousness manifests in numerous ways and is also responsible for its destruction. When the same universal energy is unmanifest, unexpressed, it exists in potential form. This is referred to as purusha in the scriptures. When this energy manifests itself in this world, taking various names, forms, and shapes, it expresses itself as prakriti. Prakriti is the creative expression of purusha.

Purusha, or the unmanifest energy, is beyond Brahma, the creator, Vishnu, the maintainer, and Shiva, the rejuvenator. The universal Consciousness that runs in all beings is beyond names and forms. However, this same universal Consciousness in manifestation becomes Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva. The creation, maintenance, and destruction happen when this very same energy manifests as prakriti.

The life force that caused us to be born also maintains us. Every little thing happening within us is carried out by the same Intelligence that brought us into this world. Similarly, the same Intelligence accompanies us when we leave the body.

The water of the ocean is the purusha and the waves that dance and play are prakriti. The water appears to be divided in the form of waves of many shapes and sizes.

Part 3: Bhagavad Gita, Commentary by THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM

In reality it is one mass of the same water. Similarly, Krishna reminds Arjuna that the Paramatman, the supreme Spirit, appears to be divided into purusha and prakriti because of the different creations and expressions of prakriti. However, He is beyond all this and exists as undivided. At their core, all are creations of the Universal Energy.

Krishna says that He is the supreme Self, or witnessing Consciousness that is the source of all light in all luminous objects.

There is a beautiful verse in the Katopanishad:

na tatra suryo bhaati na chandra taar kam nemaa vidhyuto bhaanti kuto yamagni tamewa bhaantamanu bhaati sarwam tasya bhaasa sarwamidham vibhaati

This means: the sun, moon, and stars cannot illumine that self-illuminating Consciousness, what to say of fire? But by following that self-illuminating Consciousness, sun, moon, and others become bright. From the brightness of the body of the Supreme Lord, the whole universe becomes bright.

The sources of light as we understand them are the sun, moon, lightning, fire or the artificial means of electricity. All these produce light, which makes life possible. An object that is around us becomes visible because of the light energy. The chakshu, the energy behind vision, can perceive that object when the surroundings are lit up. The light energy from the sun is responsible for the birth and growth of all living beings. All beings on planet Earth depend on the sun for their survival.

What gives these sources of light the energy to run? What drives them? The universal Consciousness gives energy to all sources of light. Krishna calls this Self the 'Source of light.' The sources of light - sun, moon and lightning derive their energy from that self-luminous Self. That is why there is a common adjective given to the Self as 'effulgent' or 'luminous.'

In a deeper sense, when the Self is referred to as luminous, it is not what we normally understand. The Self is pure Intelligence and this knowledge dispels ignorance. An enlightened Master sees everything with clarity. He sees truth as it is. You see, when you are in a dark room you are ignorant of what is present in that room. When the lights are switched on, you become aware of things around you.

An enlightened Master uses the lamp of Consciousness to see the truth as it is, without any filters. Using this lamp, he experiences his surroundings in totality. This lamp is not like any other lamp; it cuts the layers of ignorance, however deep they may be. He sees 360 degrees. He does not filter what he sees like we do. Please understand, the filtering that we do is the cause for our problems. We do not see whatever exists as it exists. We distort it to suit our ideas born out of our engraved memories.

Our ego, which is loaded with emotions and memories, does not allow us to see and experience reality as it is. It is like when your computer is overloaded with highresolution images. What happens? It can't process whatever information is passed to it. Similarly, we use a filter of past emotions, ideas, and memories to see the world. As a result we stop seeing things as they are. When we operate from our ego, we live in a fantasy world of our own without knowing what truly exists.

The ego is like darkness; it has no positive existence. Just as darkness is the absence of light, the ego is the absence of awareness. To struggle to kill the ego is like struggling to push darkness out of the room.

So how do we see things as they are and experience the truth? To expel the darkness, what you need to do is to forget about dealing with the darkness. Focus your energy on light instead. Bring a small lamp into the room and the darkness will leave on its own! This lamp of Consciousness and awareness is available to all of us. It lies within us.

Forget all about the ego. Instead, focus on bringing a lamp of awareness into your being. When your entire Consciousness has become a flame, the ego is no more.

Q: Master, I have been confused by what I have read about purusha and prakriti. You said purusha is the water of the ocean and prakriti is the waves. It is so simple. Why are other explanations so complicated?

All truths are simple. We complicate them because we do not understand the truths ourselves. We are full of self-doubts so we wish to cover all bets. We want the reader and the listener confused so that they do not ask more questions. The objective of all philosophers is to confuse others so that they cannot make out how confused they themselves are!

Don't get tied up in knots trying to understand these words. There is no need. Scholars and philosophers can worry about them. What you need to know is that there is one energy source. It is the same source that runs this universe and each of us. The absence of this awareness causes our problems and suffering.

This energy source is what Krishna calls Paramatman, which loosely translated is 'the supreme Spirit.' This is Krishna Consciousness, God, or whatever else you wish to call it. It pervades everything and everyone, and without this energy nothing can work. This energy is intelligent. It is buddhi and shakti, intelligence and power, or powerful intelligence.

The Sankhya philosophers, such as Kapila, dissected this concept further. They termed purusha as the unmoving part of this intelligent energy. This is the base, the foundation, the unseen, unmanifest energy. As an analogy, this is the ether of the space, the water of the ocean and the soil of the earth. Prakriti is the manifestation of this potential energy. Purusha is pure energy; prakriti is its manifestation as matter, so to speak. Prakriti represents the waves in the ocean and the plants in the soil.

Understanding that it is all the same undifferentiated purusha is Self-realization, nothing else. Enlightenment is directly experiencing that you are one with that intelligent energy, the Paramatman. That is why there is no need to achieve enlightenment. You only need to be aware that you are that. You need to understand that you are not the separated wave, different from the waters of the ocean. You are the ocean. You are the wave and the ocean.

This is all there is to it. Let the philosophers worry about all the attributes of prakriti and so on. You relax!