Lay spirituality and the pursuit of truth.. according to Santthosh Kumaar

The pursuit of truth is very personal journey. The self is nothing to do with the individual life because ups and down of life is mere illusion. The burden and bondage of life within the dream becomes unreal when waking takes place, similarly one is not affected by the suffering of the world when the self becomes aware of the fact that, it is neither waking entity nor the dream entity. Realizing the ultimate truth will not bring remedy for our present situation in our practical life within the practical world but it definitely brings freedom from experiencing the illusory practical life with the practical world as reality.

A Gnani may go in silent mode and say nothing because he knows his body; ego and his experience of the world and the person who is questioning him are also as consciousness. Thus for him the forms and names are mere illusion created out of consciousness. And he has becomes one with the nature of the true self, which is non-dual silence.

The physical existence is reality on the base of physical self. Whatever one feels as a person is reality within the physical existence. If physical existence is taken as reality then there is no meaning in seeking truth because he has accepted the physical existence as truth. Once physical existence is accepted as reality then the experiences within the physical existence prevail as reality.

My point is we have to view our life from ultimate point of view, then only we become aware its illusory nature.

The nature of things necessarily unpreventable and uncontrollable when one regards world as world of diversity. Only when one is able to base his-self from ultimate standpoint and views the experience of diversity [mind] as consciousness only, then he becomes aware of their unreal nature of the physical existence or mind.

One, who has realized that existence and non-existence and change are in the nature of things, easily finds repose, being unperturbed and free from ignorance. The pain and pleasure exist as reality because of having the idea of two [duality]. To get rid of the reality of the pain and pleasure one has to find the formless substance of the duality [mind] to realize the whole diversity is created out of single substance, which is consciousness. Realizing the consciousness as ultimate truth, one becomes aware of the unreal nature of the mind, which appears as waking or dream [duality] and disappears as deep sleep [non-duality].

Serious Seekers who desirous to know the truth, for them nothing brings contentment other than acquiring the self-knowledge. For one who becomes aware of the fact that, the self is not physical but consciousness becomes aware of the fact that, the physical existence [illusion] has no base, and its reality is in illusory in its nature.

Our individual life is nothing to do with ultimate truth. The individual life is reality within the waking or dream. The three states are mere illusion on the ultimate standpoint. The ultimate truth, which is consciousness, is the substance and witness of the illusion and it is within the illusion and it is always apart and eternal.

As person perceiving the world one thinks he is born in this world and world existed prior to him, this conviction makes him physical oriented, thus he views and judges the worldview on the physical base therefore his understanding is limited to the physicality.

Deeper inquiry reveals the fact that, the self is not physical but it is formless [consciousness]. On the base of formless [consciousness] as self, one becomes unreal nature of the mind, which appears as waking or dream. Thus, the waking is as unreal as dream.

When man his world are within the illusion and all his experiences are happenings within the illusion. Until one thinks the physical self as real self, he is bound to be in the realm of duality. The one which knows itself as body with the name is not the body but it is consciousness. When the consciousness withdraws itself then there is neither body, nor the name, nor the world exists. And consciousness alone prevails as nondual existence.

Where is the body, where is mind, where is the world; the void; or despair in the true self, which the taintless soul or consciousness. They are or have becomes consciousness.

One thinks there is mind when he has thoughts, but when thoughts are not considered different from the consciousness, which is the true self, then where is the division into, waking, dream and deep sleep etc.
Void implies to duality: the universe may not exist but the thought of the second is there. If one knows there is Void [emptiness/nothingness], then there is something there to be known and know. They are or have become consciousness.

What are scriptures, what is self-knowledge, what is mind without the objects, what is contentment, and where is desirelessness for the formless soul/true self, which is ever devoid of sense of duality.

What is knowledge? What is ignorance? What is the ego? What is duality? What is mind? What is bondage? What is liberation? What is definableness to the formless self/soul, which is in the form of consciousness?

All these appearances are mere mirage, which come and go; hence meaningless to the formless soul/true self.

The ego based knowledge is not ultimate knowledge because ego based knowledge is dualistic knowledge based on the object [body] as subject. But in non-dualistic Knowledge whatever seems to exist also is consciousness; therefore there is no scope for the existence of the second thing.

What is past karmas? What is liberation –in this life? and what is that liberation at death? for the birth- less soul, which is ever formless.

Nearest state to understand the soul by itself is to eliminate mentally waking and dream as in deep sleep. Once this is grasped one has to understand everything is consciousness, which is the true self.

What is the doer or the enjoyer? What is cessation of thoughts or rising of thoughts? What is immediate perception and its result to, the formless soul, which is ever impersonal. A Gnani is the one who is never afraid of thinking and knowing all his individual experience and the world to be consciousness.

What is the world and what is meant by the aspirant for liberation; what is contemplative and what is man of knowledge; what the self is and what liberated self to the formless soul, which is the non-dual essence.

When we analyze the dream experience we find the dream entity, dream world with all people in it appeared as a whole, and the dream reality lasted until waking experience appeared. When one tries to know the truth of his true existence in waking through inquiry, analysis and reasoning, one becomes aware of the fact that, the self is not physical but it is formless soul, which is in the form of consciousness which is the essence of the three states from which the three states are made. Thus the illusions of the three states are made of one single substance, which is consciousness. By realizing the formless substance, which is consciousness as self, the ignorance vanishes and one become aware of the fact that the three states are mere illusion on the standpoint of the formless substance ,which is also the witness of the three states.

When knows the soul as the true self:-
What are projection and retraction, what are end and means; what are failure and success to the formless soul, which is formless and non-dual in its nature. The mirage appears and merges back into its essence is not an appearance at all.
What is the knower, the means of knowledge, the object of knowledge; what is anything or nothing to the soul which is ever formless. Knower, knowledge, object, thing, nothing or any word one may utter is after all they are the words and words have meaning only within the mirage. The consciousness is ever present in all the three states but as a person, one is unconscious of the consciousness because he thinks the body as his self.

When all knowing, known and knower are simultaneously mental as in dream what else is there to trouble about understanding them. Because of considering the waking experience as reality one is incapable of understanding and assimilating the non-dual truth.

What is the distraction? What is the concentration, dullness ad delusion, happiness and sorrow to the formless soul, which is ever actionless.
As a person one may be drawn to observe his body and the world, but the Gnani is not disturbed by because they all are consciousness to him.

The physical attributes are nothing to do with the soul/self wrongly; all the attributes belong to the ego not the soul. Identifying the physical attribute to the soul is the cause of the ignorance.

What is relative? What is absolute happiness and misery to the formless soul, which is ever devoid of thought and activity?

If anything has a meaning it is only in duality. Happiness and sorrow are the nature of duality, which is mind, their differences therefore illusory on the standpoint of the formless soul, which is ultimate reality.

What is illusion? What is ignorance? What are birth, life and death? What is world? What is attachment and what is detachment to the soul/self, which is ever formless.

The mind and soul are one in essence ultimately. All argument about consciousness never touches it. The soul is not the ego in this particular body but principle which holds the whole physical existence [universe], which contains everyone and everything known and unknown. All words have no place and thoughts cannot reach. Even the thought of the soul or consciousness is just illusory and contradictory, because the thought and words belong to the world of duality.

What is activity or inactivity, liberation and bondage to the formless soul/self, which is ever immutable and indivisible. There is no division into nations, races and colours of kinds of men in wisdom. It is not enough to but one must always see the formless soul [consciousness] as self and the witness the witness of all the three states and always realize and practice it. Some people get glimpses of truth and lose it; so it must be established. Such fixidity is the goal.

What is instruction and scriptural injunction? What is disciple and guru? What indeed is object of life for the formless soul, which is absolute and free from limitation?

Life is with world. World is within the waking or dream, the illusory limitation. When there is no second other than consciousness, then what is there for the soul /self to attain? But when one thinks the self is physical, then there is various things he will want to get and so be trouble by their lack. Hence don’t wrongly imagine the self to be the body.

What is existence, nonexistence, unity or duality? What need us there to say more? Noting from the soul because whatever seems to emanate from it, is non-different from itself. There is no second thing other than the soul, which is in the form of consciousness. One should not mistake self [soul] for the ego.
Those who assert world is reality, are still in elementary stages of preliminary analysis. The world is reality within the waking experience but the waking experience is mere illusion. The same way the dream world was reality within the dream experience. The dream became unreal when waking took place same way waking becomes unreal when non-dual wisdom dawns.

Santosh Kumar
(or Santthosh Kumaar)