Enjoyment as an innate product of Self. (Adi Shankaracharya)

A short verse from Sankara, which implies the dependence of all phenomena (and their enjoyment) on the ever-present ever-blissful Self (Atman) that you are- rather than the conventional view of inherently existing external objects, which seem to be the cause of our enjoyment as a limited individual.

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विषय स्वतः प्रिय नही होते, किन्तु आत्मा के लिए ही प्रिय होते हैं,
क्योंकि स्वतः प्रियतम तो सबका आत्मा ही है ।
इसलिए आत्मा सदा आनन्दस्वरूप है, इसमें दुःख कभी नही है तभी सुषुप्ति
में विषयों का अभाव रहते हुए भी आत्मानंद अनुभव होता है । इस विषय में श्रुति,
प्रत्यक्ष, एतिह्य (इतिहास) और अनुमान-प्रमाण जागृत (मौजूद) हैं ।


Sense-objects are pleasurable only as dependent on the Atman manifesting through them, and not independently, because the Atman is by Its very nature the most beloved of all. Therefore the Atman is ever blissful, and never suffers misery.

That in profound sleep we experience the bliss of the Atman independent of sense-objects, is clearly attested by the Shruti, direct perception, tradition and inference.

श्रीमद आदि शंकराचार्य द्वारा रचित विवेक-चूड़ामणि
Vivek-Chudamani by Shrimad Adi Shankaracharya

Am I 'the universe'? Yes and no.

It's understandable some people rail against the commonly held notion in spiritual circles that "you are the universe!", and speaking from a dualistic standpoint, it is nonsense. There's clearly 'this' here, and 'that' there. And as a starting point (from a dual reference point), the attention does need to be directed back onto 'that' which is aware of itself (hence all the exhortations to find the watcher, see the seer, abide in beingness, notice that you are not the object etc etc.)

BUT, let's not throw out the baby with the bathwater. 

There is another response from another perspective, and probably a little more accurate in terms of doing away with the above duality of ANY subject and object (if such can be aimed at):


Comment (spiritual person A):

"You are the universe." What crap. You might as well say "You are your body."
Or perhaps we are so asleep that we managed to switch the word "God" for "Universe" without noticing - meaning: great, awesome, otherly, infinite space beyond our comprehension.
Whatever the universe "Is", it's not that which we perceive with our five physical senses, and it's sheer human arrogance also to state that our collective awareness is "it".
Rant over.


Response (DP):

Although the OP has a point, from another perspective, what are we BUT phenomenality? 

Noumenality can't even be spoken of, and is attribute free, so the only 'part' of existence that can be spoken about and that makes any sense to equate is, in fact, just phenomenality and therefore 'the universe'. 'The body' is just a designated label for what's showing up sense-wise.. And yes, I'm that too (otherwise there would be yet another duality set up).

Whose problem? Check.

Douglas Harding hits the target again.

Forces and Faith There are no fates, factors, or forces outside the First Person that I am, working against me. Even the "nastiest" things that happen to me as third person are in reality my profound intention as First Person.  So I say YES! to life, and this is the true therapy.  The solution to a problem, no matter what it is, is to see whose it is. Not to understand or feel or think who has the problem, but actually to gaze on that WHO and await what comes of the gazing. This seeing and this waiting you can always do, whatever your need. The rest is out of your hands. See what happens, and trust it.  Trust Who you are to come up with the right answer at the right time.  ~ From: Open to the Source, by Douglas Harding

Rest in awareness, and rest AS awareness.

In or As??

This seems like a big deal over nothing, and such as small point, BUT it needs to be said.. since it can have a huge impact.

Many nonduality and awareness teachers often tell people (in books or otherwise) to just "Rest in awareness", or "Rest in presence", or just relax into the awareness.. etc. etc.

There's nothing wrong with this.. BUT, simply stated, when telling individuals to just do this, it implies that 1) there's an individual to perform the action and 2) there's a separate object/thing called 'awareness', 'presence' etc. and that 1) needs to merge/attend/rest in 2).

The then causes:

a) the individual to try to find 'awareness', 'presence' etc.

b) the individual to hang on to their erroneous belief in a seperate personal self, with volition

c) the individual to keep seeking for (a), and either to give up in frustration or erroneously announce that they're actually managed to 'rest in awareness' or attain some false personal state of nondual awareness etc. (and then go off and teach others how to do the same).

Anyhow, cutting to the chase, the above can be avoided and remedied by replacing "in" with the word "as".

Instead of "resting in presence", one rests AS presence. There is no more individual. There is no one. Just presence.

Instead of "resting in awareness", one rests AS awareness. Again, the individual disappears. Resting AS something is mutually exclusive, in that two things can't be happening at once.

Try it out- rest AS awareness, AS presence, AS your natural self and what you really ARE.

Peace out.

Mind and body like space, and simply the nature of existence.

From Dudjom Lingpa’s commentary to the Sharp Vajra of Conscious Awareness Tantra:

Identifying the Creator of All Phenomena as the Mind: 

“Here is the way to examine the agent, or sovereign, that creates all phenomena as the mind, which is primary among the body, speech, and mind. During the daytime, nighttime, and the intermediate period, due to the mind’s self-grasping, the body and speech appear to the mind. Over the course of a lifetime, it is the mind that experiences joy and sorrow. Finally, when the body and mind separate, the body remains as a corpse. When the speech disappears without a trace, the mind follows after karma and is the agent that wanders in saṃsāra. From one perspective, for those three reasons, among them recognize the mind as primary. From another perspective, none of those three is anything other than the mind; therefore, by ascertaining them as the mind alone, among them recognize the mind as primary. The former perspective is determined in accordance with their conventional mode of appearances, while the latter perspective is determined in accordance with their conventional mode of existence.”

Establishing the Mind as Baseless and Rootless: 

“By examining in that way whether the mind that is the all-creating sovereign of the body, speech, and mind—or of all phenomena—is really existent or really nonexistent, the mind is found to have no basis or root, so it is not established as having any shape or color. The five elements and five [sensory] objects appear like objects of the mind, and your own body appears as its base. But if all these are investigated from an ultimate perspective, they are found to be like space, not truly established as either one thing or many. Ascertaining the origin, location, and destination [of the mind] as object-less openness is the spontaneous actualization of the essential nature of the path of cutting through. This is not something freshly achieved, but is simply the knowledge of the mode of being of the nature of existence.”

Evolution derailed.

Evolution Derailed There are many teachers on the tent revival satsang circuit talking about enlightenment as the next great step in the evolution of the human race, and it's all very exciting because that step is happening now, with lots more people waking up than was ever the case at any other time in history.  This kind of thing is just confused and dream-bound thinking. Enlightenment has nothing to do with turning points in history, with lots of people waking up. It has nothing to do with evolution.  As Jed McKenna notes, "If anything, enlightenment is evolution derailed." Evolution is a completely dualistic concept.  Individuals, or the whole race, growing and changing and developing and becoming better over time: this is a description of dualism, of how dualism operates. Evolution is about change in relative objects. Enlightenment is the opposite; it is about realizing the Truth, absolute subjectivity, which is unchanging. - David Carse, Perfect Brilliant Stillness