Namaste Atanu,
I think your explanation is splendid!
The fact that we are looking at this world, its inhabitants and their experiences both collectively and individually, in a myopic perspective leads us to think that there is suffering, pain, pleasure, fame, misery etc. when in actuality the sum total of this entire experience, or universe if you will, is perfection (Brahman).
I was told a wonderful analogy to better understand this viewpoint.
Imagine a group of ants crossing a dirt road in a straight line. They go about their business scurrying along the ground for bits and morsels of food and when they find it, they carry it back 'home' to feed on. Suddenly, it starts to rain heavily and many of the ants are washed away, some of which are never to be found again. The rest of the ants, through great peril, get back home and mourn the loss of their loved ones and the lost food! Such misery in Ant City has never been witnessed before! At the same time, in that particular village where Ant City is located, the farmers are rejoicing and there is joy in the air, for the drought has finally come to an end! The men can harvest their crop and have a prosperous season due to the rainfall!
Now, how can one 'man's' (ants') misery be another's joy? If one were to look at the sum total of the events that took place on that day, there was neither happiness nor misery! The perspective enables us to see that the entire 'game' is perfection where there is no imbalance whatsoever.
Therefore, I think that perspective is really important in dealing with life's situations and other things in general. After all the earth (Universe), with all its misfortunes and apparent inequity, is Tat (perfect).
Namaskar.
hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~
Namasté TatTvamAsi
The book I use is called I Am That, Talks with Śrī Nisargadatta Mahraj - ISBN 0-89386-022-0
You can also find it on-line. Saidevo has posted the link ( that I cannot recall but am sure you can search on HDF to find it).
Yet ( for me) reading this wisdom by computer is less comfortable and a book allows me to make notes, read in a comfortable chair - all that.
praṇām
यतसà¥à¤¤à¥à¤µà¤‚ शिवसमोऽसि
yatastvaṠśivasamo'si
because you are identical with śiva
_
That which is without letters (parts) is the Fourth, beyond apprehension through ordinary means, the cessation of the phenomenal world, the auspicious and the non-dual. Thus Om is certainly the Self. He who knows thus enters the Self by the Self.
hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~
Namasté
From Talks with Śrī Nisargadatta Mahraj - I Am That
Q: Is perfection the destiny of all human beings?
A: Śrī Nisargadatta Mahraj:
Of all living beings - ultimately. The possibility becomes a certainly when the notion of enlightenment appears in the mind. Once a living being has heard and understood that deliverance is within his reach, he will never forget, for it is the first message from within. It will take roots and grow and in due course take the blessed shape of the Guru
praṇām
यतसà¥à¤¤à¥à¤µà¤‚ शिवसमोऽसि
yatastvaṠśivasamo'si
because you are identical with śiva
_
hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~
Namasté
'...let Me be many'
In the Taittirīya Upaniṣad , Brahmanānanda vallī ( 6th anuvāyka or sub-section) offers the following:
so'kāmayata bahu syāṁ prajāyeyeti
This says,
He ( Brahman - sa) sounded out (syāṁ) His wish/desire (kāma) to bring forth (praja) and become many (bahu), let (Me) to be born.
My question is why? A wish to become many - how is Brahman not totally full, complete. What could Completeness Itself want? Is it not inferred that if you desire or will someting, that you are looking for something additional? What is Brahman's intent?
praṇām
words
- so = sa स another way of saying the Supreme, the Universal, He, Brahman; used to denote used to denote Puruṣa
- kāma कामwish , desire , longing ; having a desire or intention
- yata यत- held forth, governed
- bahu बहु -much , many , frequent , abundant , numerous , great or considerable in quantity
syāṁ or syam स्यम् to sound , cry aloud , shout , cry , note ām आम् is an interjection of accent or recollection- prajāyeyeti - praja is to bring forth - bring forth ~birth~
Last edited by yajvan; 22 April 2009 at 03:15 PM.
यतसà¥à¤¤à¥à¤µà¤‚ शिवसमोऽसि
yatastvaṠśivasamo'si
because you are identical with śiva
_
In this quiet moment after homework and before dinner I bring this precious thread back to the surface.
A perfect pie, golden and whole sits upon the counter...and until the moment I come and cut it into pieces, it can not be enjoyed.
Perhaps it was a desire to share this wonderous experience?
Being perfectly, fully, one and one alone, Beloved wanted to share so He broke each of us off from His beautiful perfect form so that He could share existence with each of us?
Is this not the same reason we bring our own broken portions into this world? As I broke each child off from this fragile vessel to share this world I have created upon this frozen hill?
As a mother I do understand this need, things were perfect before...but it was accompanied by such a solid silence that I was compelled to fill it will the laughter of children.
Perhaps this particular feeling is shared between Beloved and this simple portion still struggling through this captivity to come home.
Perhaps the moment each of us begins to feel the strain of this muddied existence is when Beloved begins to allow us to retract?
My hope is that the weary which have seen enough behind the curtain to begin to ask these questions above, do find pardon and move beyond this leela back to the shelter of Beloved.
I no longer fear death, of anyone or anything. If the whole world were to retract tomorrow, the last word upon my lips would be thanks to Beloved for this act of mercy.
Death is truly the great liberation of captivity. Though, I still am compelled to intercede when it comes to suffering.
I am grateful Beloved gave me a chance to bring beautiful portions into this realm to raise in this place of such misery. Each of them acts as my prayer for compassion and I send it out into this world knowing the perils they will face...but knowing no matter what peril may befall us...we will ultimately return unscathed, perfect and willing to Him.
Naya,
That is so beautiful!
Maya
Namaste,
I would like to give my humble opinion regarding yajvan's question regarding Brahman's wish to become many. The text is clearly viewing Brahman from the personal, dualistic perspective, thus, I would say that SA ("he") would refer to Brahma and not Brahman (the impersonal). Also, I believe, the word is actually sah, which is a masculine pronoun, reffering to the personal creator, Brahma. The text is attributing personal characters to Him, as to wish/want something implies that we are already talking about some individual, something that is already separate and perceives duality. That One that wished to become many was already perceiving the duality between HIM and Nothingness, just as a man experiences duality in a dark room. He was alone, yet he was limited, because He was seeing Himself as an individual... So, considering that it is Brahma who became many, I think everything becomes clear now. Ultimately, we cannot explain how all this happened and how the personality of Brahma came into being and no text will ever be able to depict that
Sarvam khalvidam Brahman
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