by Sri Bimal Mohanty
VOL No. 57 November . 2005

 


  Atma
 Knowledge
 Creation
 God
 Spiritualism
 Sanatan

 Questions
 e-mail

"SUSTAINING GOD CONSCIOUSNESS.
(Continued)- More about sacrifice. "

"Based on the lectures by Sri Bimal Mohanty"

QUESTION 1 FROM SRI A P RANJITH

Respected Mohantyji!, I am from Australia and your site gives me spiritual wisdom to fill my heart. One of my friends said to me about four years back that " Every thing is nothing and nothing is every thing and there is nothing called nothing" ( Or Nothing is Every thing Everthing is Nothing there is Nothing called Nothing.) Is this is a statement to explain Brahman. I would like to know from you.

ANSWER: We must, you will agree be quite clear about the words that we use to denote what we mean. The problem is always greater when the Sanskrit words as used in our scriptures are translated in english language. By ‘everything’ we shall address all such words as anantatva, paripurnatva, sarvam, infinite etc. and for ‘nothing’ we shall address such words as sunyata, nullity, void etc.

In Spiritual parlance ‘infinity’ is not confined to any numerical term nor sunya is a mathematically zero. In its full ramification infinite is all inclusive ‘sarvam’ and sunya is absence of all. Both sarvam and sunya are not limited to what the ordinary mind is capable of conceiving, but transcending it to the level of supramental consciousness- the realm of gnosis where total knowledge is grasped.

Logically there is nothing like ‘nothingness’. By definition ‘nothingness’ means absence of ‘things’. Absolute nothingness means absence of all things without exception. One can only imagine a state of nothingness, when he is also aware of what things are absent. That means he should also be aware of all things that he understands to be absent. He must be fully aware of all these things.

If he is aware of things, he is indeed never in a state of ‘non-awareness’. The state of non-awareness proves also to be a state awareness. Both the states of knowledge and non-knowledge then tend to stand together as one.

To borrow words from Sri Aurobindo, “these two states are opposed to and incompatible with each other only for our mental logic…. In reality as we find when we see things with a knowledge founded on the supramental identity and vision and think with the great, profound and flexible logic proper to that knowledge, the two are only co-existent and concurrent status and movement of the same truth…”

So if infiniteness is the reality and sunyata has no real existence, then where from this concept of sunyata comes?

The concept flows from infiniteness itself. Infiniteness or anantatva is the very characteristic of Brahman, who is all pervading, all encompassing, all in all and this unlimited universe in its every atom is full of Brahman in His infiniteness and there is indeed no void anywhere.

Our scriptures in thousand and one places stress on this very truth to be realized that the highest knowledge is to see Brahman everywhere.

Yet, we in our deluded minds, are dazzled by the physical multiplicity of the world around us and look at them as the realities, forgetting that concept of everything as Brahman.

So the ‘nothingness’ is conceived as that state of our consciousness, where every single distracting form, name or character is wiped out from our consciousness leaving Brahman as the only reality. The absence of all multiplicity is nothingness, the nullity or sunyata.

When all multiplicity is set aside, only Brahman in His oneness remains. He is never absent. He is infinite and everything. So ‘everything’ and ‘nothing’ are indeed the same state of consciousness depending the state of the mind.

QUESTION 2 FROM Ms INDRANI SANYAL

We often find people turning to God only when in distress. Is it some kind of a divine trick to force people to submission? Why can not people be made to live happily without bringing in God?

ANSWER: That is quite an intriguing way to look at life. There are four kinds of people who develop God consciousness. The knowledgeables or Jnani who by sheer exercise of mind, intellect and determination and having exploited well the available knowledge base, have already come to realize the path towards true enrichment of Life and pursue it. The next are the enquirers or Jignasu, who venture upon to question and explore new spheres seeking always, higher, better and wider life above the humdrum of mundane existence. The third ones are the material gain seekers – the Artharthi- who also aspire for bettering their lives and seek extra resources (not necessarily only money) using which they plan to achieve their goal. The fourth ones are those in distress – the Arta- who have created a mess of their lives and seek respite and deliverance.

God comes to the rescue of all of them. He is not happier with one and disgusted with the other. He lets the individuals to find out for themselves. Since the ultimate aim of everyone is a better state of existence, like a doting parent he extends his grace to all. To look at it from another angle, by turning towards God, we strengthen our own hope, the very elixir of life. With hope, returns confidence and a positive frame of mind and we eventually work out our own way to become happier.

It is not that God (Paramatma) only attracts the soul (Jiva). The attraction is equally inevitable from soul to God. An existence without God-consciousness is like living in darkness without light. For sometime, the cover of darkness may be acceptable but not for long. Soon everyone longs for light. You do not grow in darkness, you only grow in light. Altrnative to growth is decay. Who will ever want that? God-consciousness is a necessity and not a choice.

QUESTION 3 FROM SRI SANJAY LULLA

People ask me what are my spiritual interests pursuits. I am at a loss to answer them. The spiritual purpose is to attain a stable state of connection with Brahma where one realises the self that I am this and am part of this. Like a drop of water from the clouds recognises that it is part of the vast ocean. Am I wrong? Please advise since spirituality is not a hobby nor a side interest like art and craft. Its the very purpose of the self Thanks

ANSWER:You are almost right in your perception. Therefore you should not be at a loss to express your feelings about spiritualism. If you have been going through the articles in AHWAN, we have discussed on various occasions, the purpose of our existence, the ultimate goal of all jivas, our individuality as well as our relationship with Brahman etc. Perhaps a little variation is needed to your thinking and I would explain it this way.

Spiritualism is adhyatma jnana or the consciousness (chetana) of the Supreme Self- the Brahman.

This jnana is not to be understood as limited to knowledge per se, but includes application of this knowledge through out our journey from the first spark of existence until that ultimate goal is reached.

The ultimate goal for all is satchidAnanda- The Truth of all things, its realization and the bliss that follows the realization.

Strictly speaking, one does not acquire spirituality. We are all derived from the spirit and shall eventually merge with the spirit. We are the spirit. Hence we all are by nature spiritual. The ignorance of this fact due to maya influenced delusion, when cleared through Yoga, is what commonly understood as ‘some one getting spiritual’.

QUESTION 4 FROM SRI ANTARYAMI SAHOO

What is the spiritual significance of non-hindus being debarred from entering some hindu temples?

ANSWER: It is a custom still prevalent in some hindu temples only, and has no spiritual sanction. If the so called Hindu religion is identified with the sanAtan or vedantic philosophy, then this is definitely an aberration (vyavichar) residing in the minds of some ignorant people, which runs counter to the core philosophy (vichar) of the sanAtan dharma.

If, in one breath we accept- vAsideva sarvamidam-, all these are indeed manifestations of Vasudeva the Lord or the Brahman, and also Ishwara sarvabhutAnAm hriddeshe tisthati Arjuna.. (Lord Krishna advising Arjuna that God resides in the inner sanctum of every creature), then prohibiting anyone who comes to the premises of the Lord with respect and devotion, is wrong and borders on hypocrisy.

Of course, it goes without saying that those who enter the temples, should do so with respect and reverence and without any ulterior motives, or should not act in any manner that may vitiate the sanctity associated with a place of worship. In such cases denial will be fully justified.