Re: Origins
Namaste Lyn.
Originally Posted by
Penumbra
My question is- what is the reason for why people are not already united with Brahman, or self-realized?
This qestion can be answered philosophically in many ways, typically with probing counter questions:
• Who is asking these questions? Does Brahman, the Self which is the substratum of all individual selves feel it is not united with them or is it the other way?
Obviously, Brahman, who is always united with its selves, does not ask this question. Why is this so, specially when Brahman knows about its many selves that are at variance with one another? And how can the individual selves who are not themselves real 'feel' their disunity with Brahman, the underlying Self?
MuNDaka Upanishad gives the answer to these questions in the form of a story:
Two birds were perched on the branch of a pippala tree. One bird was busy eating the fruits of the tree, going gaga or chichi about it. The other bird was simply watching this busy bird, doing nothing, except being a witness to the activities of the second bird.
The bird that stays watching, is the Atman/AtmA/Self which is nothing but Brahman, the ParamAtman. The busy bird is the JIvAtman. The pippala tree is this human body. The pippala fruits are the sensual pleasures.
Incidentally, this Upanishadic story is considered to be the source of the Bible story of Adam, Eve and the Garden of Eaden. The word 'apple' is derived from the Sanskrit 'pippala'. The word 'pippin' meaning 'a variety of apples, specially those valued as dessert', today remains as a not-so-distant cousin of its Sanskrit source.
Apply this story to the explanation of MANDukya Upanishad that Devotee has given, and you have the answer:
The watchfulness and remaining as witness, is the real state existence of the Self--the state of Turiya--of the Atman Bird. The indulgence and restlessness of the JIvAtman Bird are due to its coming into existence in the states of waking and dreaming. Although it is always busy, the JIvAtman Bird has still its times of deep sleep when it dissolves its apparent individual existence and stands united with its Atman.
Why are there or why should there be two birds? It is because of the tree, this human body where they both live. Using the Infotech terminology, the JIvAtman is the actually the Proxy but due to its temporary, individual consciousness, it thinks it is the real Server, while the real Server itself simply waits on, that is accommodates the idiosyncrasy of its proxy.
In essence, the real existence of the Self is only the state of Turiya that pervades and includes all other states. In the states of waking and dreaming, however, the Self of its own volition gives rise to its individual selves, simply watching its own dreamy existence as individual selves in these states, and waiting for them to come to an end.
Originally Posted by
Penumbra
What brought about the current state of illusion?
This question again can be answered with counter questions for the sake of understanding the situation better:
• What made the novelist to create his/her works of fiction? What made the Director to produce his great movie script and enact it with a specific set of film artists, sets and locations into a make-believe world? Since the characters in a novel and film are only creations of the novelist and director, can't it be said that they are mere extensions of his own 'personality' or individual self? Or is it a case that the novelist/director 'split himself/herself up' into many characters?
A possible answer is that the novelist/director wished to know more about the individual's capability and so set about the 'lIlA' or game of creation. And the novelist/director stands only as witness to all that he/she creates and enacts.
Last edited by saidevo; 27 July 2009 at 10:44 AM.
रत्नाकरधौतपदां हिमालयकिरीटिनीम् ।
ब्रह्मराजर्षिररत्नाढ्यां वन्दे भारतमातरम् ॥
To her whose feet are washed by the ocean, who wears the Himalayas as her crown, and is adorned with the gems of rishis and kings, to Mother India, do I bow down in respect.
--viShNu purANam
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