ADVENTURES IN ADVAITA VEDANTA...

Adventures in Advaita Vedanta, the philosophy and science of spirit. We are one you and I; are you curious why?..


BMI - Not Who I Am!

Hari OM

'Text-days' are for delving into the words and theory of Advaita Vedanta.

Last week we began introduction to the BMI chart, with transcription of Gurudev's presentation on the subject.  If you have not already done so, please review it. Here is part two.
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Now.  The body, the mind and the intellect are made up of matter. Calcium, carbon, phosphorus. Grosser matter is the body, subtler matter is the mind and intellect.

Matter, whether gross or subtle, is inert and insentient. You and I are dynamic and conscious.

Where does it get it? The parts of a car are all inert matter and it moves.  What makes the car move? What makes a bulb glow? There must be something other than the bulb, expressing through the bulb. In the same way, what is it that is enlivening me? The time comes when I have not energy, my efficiency gone, the beauty of emotions gone, my brilliance of intellect gone, even Einstein stopped 'working'. The body is there, lying down, but it has no faculties, abilities.  Why?  "LIFE" is no more expressing through it.

Therefore my friends, there must be something other than matter in the BMI to enliven the BMI. That is why it is said in the Bible that God is 'in the heart of all, enlivening everything'…'lending faculties to them by His Grace.' Just as the bulb has got light with the 'grace' of electricity, the heater has got heat by the 'grace' of electricity, you and I are today functioning as we are due to the 'grace' of something other than matter. Since it is something other than matter is called 'the spirit'. In the spiritual centre, the spark of existence/ consciousness is one in everyone, just as the electricity is one but the bulbs are different; the radios are different, the computers are different, equipments are different, but the electricity is one. Cars are different... but the petrol is one and the same. LOVE is the same, plant, animal or human; [that which] enlivens everyone according to the equipments available, that One Reality is indicated by the sound symbol 'OM'.

So the consciousness, or OM, when it's passing through Body, (made up of the sense organs, the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, skin of your body), there crystalises a sense of conscious individuality.  'I' the Perceiver, perceiving [via organs of perception] the sense Objects.

"'I' am seeing, 'I' am hearing, 'I' am smelling, 'I' am tasting."

How do you see? "Oh swamiji it is so simple, with the eyes 'I' see!" Aaaaahhh.  Eyes cannot see. If eyes could of themselves see, every one of us would have one eye only - because we would have kept one eye on the office...or at home...to have an eye on your people! No the eye(ball) canNOT see and in this modern world it is not difficult to understand, as we are doing transplant. I die, but my eyes are young.  They are taken and given to a blind man and he starts to see through my dead eyes! Uh-uh.  It is not the eyes which are seeing, but the consciousness behind them, becoming conscious of what the eyes are transmitting and then I say I SEE (or hear or smell…)

All the time what we are meaning is that 'I am conscious of the hearing, conscious of the smell, conscious of the taste..' The consciousness behind [the equipment] enlivens and not knowing, 'I' become 'Mr Perceiver', the seer, the hearer, the smeller, the taster, the toucher.

Similarly consciousness functions through the mind, becomes the conscious, psychological 'me', the 'Feeler. 'I' feel, with the mind, various Emotions...the endless varieties.

The same consciousness functions through the intellect, expressing as the conscious 'Thinker'...thinking the world of Thoughts.

Thus the world of Objects, the field of Emotions and the realms of Thought are the fields from which I gather my experiences, with the sense organs of the body, mind and intellect. So BMI are the equipments of my experiences.  OET represents the field of my experiences; and 'I' the experiencer, the individualised, conscious ego, is the PFT.

It is not that 'I' am seeing with my eyes, becoming the perceiver; but the moment you understand 'I' am seeing through my eyes you become independent. You are standing in our drawing room, you are seeing the moon rise; now the question is "who is seeing the moon rise"?

"Simple swamiji, the window is seeing the moonrise." Why? "If there is no window, will you see the moon?"

[Nonsense]. Is it the window seeing the moonrise, or is it that you are seeing through the window? So are you not 'you' who is in you who is using these equipments to experience the outer world?

Thus, 'I' the consciousness in the eyes become the 'seer', in the ears become the 'hearer',  in the nose the 'smeller', in the tongue the 'taster', in the skin the 'toucher'; in the mind the 'feeler', in the intellect the 'thinker'. Ahaaaa - in the unholy combination you have forgotten who YOU are and unholy combination identified with the body, mind and intellect. You said that "I am the perceiver, feeler, thinker."

It is this PFT who wants 'private interview' for the sorrows of his life.

THINK!
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Again, write down the questions which arose as you read this, express any doubts. Prepare for part three.