Question:

In Yoga Vashishta on page 33 last paragraph, it is said that the Creator is the mind or pure intelligence, the Creator is the mind and pure intelligence is His body, thought is inherent in the mind, the object of perception is inherent in the perceiver. Who has ever discovered a distinction between the two? This world that appears to be so real is but a dream and the objects of perception belong to the perceiver. How is it, we are all sharing the same dream is my question, Ektaji? Please explain!

Answer:

The easier way to understand this is from the angle of Advaita or Non-Duality, where one clearly understands that there are no two. Instead of beginning from the understanding of two, where we understand it as matter and spirit, Advaita starts with the understanding that there is no two.

Matter and spirit are not two, in fact, there is just one, it doesn’t matter whether you call it spirit, supreme energy, consciousness, awareness, God or whatever. The name does not matter, there is just this awareness.

For example, you are right now reading this blog, your eyes are reading something on a computer screen, it is your perception that you are the perceiver and the computer screen is the perceived object, but from the standpoint of Advaita, there is ‘no two’ here.

How? 

Touch the computer screen, what do you experience? You only experience a sensation.

When you listen to music, what do you experience? You only experience a sensation.

When you watch a movie, your experience of the images dancing on the screen is nothing but perception in your mind.

So really one does not truly experience the objects of the world, one only experiences one’s own perceptions and sensations.

Irrespective of which sense faculty you use, whether taste, touch, sight, smell, or sound, at every level you are limited to:

• • the experience of the perception of the sound and the sensation created by the sound,
  • the experience of the perception of taste and the sensation created by the taste,
  • the experience of the perception of sight and the sensation created by the sight,
  • the experience of the perception of smell and the sensation created by the smell,
  • the experience of the perception of touch and the sensation created by the touch.

You do not experience anything outside of perceptions, sensations, and the thoughts of perceptions and sensations and the emotions/feelings that arise on account of the thoughts of these perceptions and sensations.

Examine carefully that your entire experience from the day you are born till the day you kick the bucket, everything is limited by only perceptions, sensations, ideas, concepts, thoughts.

In summary, you only experience your own mind and if you look carefully you will understand that each and every human, in fact, each and every living being experiences only their own mind, they do not really experience matter. 

If this has become very clear that there is just mind or pure intelligence or awareness or supreme energy, the answer to the next question is simple.

How is it that we are all sharing the same thing?

We are all sharing the same thing because it is all downloaded from that ONE Source, The Supreme Energy, The Supreme Awareness.

That is the higher path of Advaita [Non-Duality]. Yoga Vashistha provides glimpses of Advaita wisdom. Ramana Maharishi, Atmananda Krishna Menon, and other Advaita masters have explained Advaita in depth. If Advaita chimes with you, then follow that path.

On the path of Advaita, you will realize that you have no evidence of the existence of matter. Everything as you see it, as you experience it, is simply the mind. When you dive into Advaita a little more, you will know that the mind is simply the awareness/knowingness. A dive deeper will help you recognize that the knowingness/awareness is alive, that is why it is called ‘Sat-Chit-Ananda’ – ‘Existence-Consciousness-Bliss’. Having understood this it will be very clear for you to understand why we call it a dream.

From the perspective of Advaita matter does not exist, there is no duality, it is all consciousness/awareness/supreme energy/God. The creation is only an illusion, only a dream. The same ONE consciousness having ONE same dream!

If you get this, then Advaita is your path. If you don’t get it, then keep walking the spiritual path until the day you reach the Truth!

#Non-Duality