advaitin] Shri Atmananda's teachings -- 2. The three states

[Guest guest]

Namaste Maniji.

 

Raj-ji has given a sound explanation about the logic of it all. I

would, however, like to add a personal note.

 

Pain and pleasure are made of the same fundamental 'fabric' -

Consciousness. During meditation when we continuously sit in one

pose, the feet often become uncomfortably numb. It is then good to

remind us that the numbness is in fact us - Consciousness. Thus,

the 'sufferer' of numbness is pushed to the background and numbness

shines alone with the meditator comfortably 'housed' in it. This

applies to other discomforts too. Pleasures can also be similarly

treated by pushing the enjoyer back to the background and fully being

in their glow. I believe this attitude, if practised, will

eventually grant the advaitic equanimity of samadukhasukhakshamatA.

 

PraNAms.

 

Madathil Nair

________________

 

 

 

advaitin, "rajkumarknair" <

> The problem is that when we recall the experience pleasure or

pain,

> we do it from the standpoint of body or mind. And when viewed from

> that standpoint, that pleasure seems desirable and pain seems as

> something to be avoided. This makes it difficult to investigate any

> painful experience.

> The investigation can be done on any waking state experience.

The

> point is that we should not be distracted by the objects that lead

to

> the experience. The right questions to ask will be : "To whom did

> this experience occur? " or " From where did this experience

rise?".

> That will lead us to the depth of our consciousness, where the

> distinctions between pain and pleasure does not exist.

[Guest guest]

Dear Sri Nairji, and all learned members,

 

Namaste

 

Happiness/unhappiness, pleasure/pain, heat/cold, and such other opposites i.e.

dwandas have nothing to do with Consciousness. It is Jeeva, i.e. the ignorant

jeeva which has, due to ignorance and the resulting superimposition of

atmani-atma and anatmani-atma, forgotten its real swaroopa of “shantam, shivam,

advaitam” therefore, Anandam, that appears to be affected by these dwandas, and

these dwandas, seem to be the Tatashta lakshnas or temporary characteristics of

Jeeva. The enlightened Jeeva knows that these are just temporary and its real

swaroopa is “sat chit anantham” or “shantam, shivam, advaitam” and therefore

Anandam, and therefore, it is udaseenah, i.e. indifferent of these dwandas. It

cannot be that after enlightenment, one does not get pain. He does get, but he

is indifferent to it and to all such experiences/dwandas.

 

In deep sleep, the “demanding I” i.e. Jeeva is temporarily free from its

“demands”, because the whole anthakarana, or mind stuff, which includes the Ego

or the demanding I, appears to take rest. During the waking state also, when

there is no demands on the part of Jeeva, it enjoys Shanthi, (bliss), neither

happiness nor unhappiness, the most desired state {?}.

 

In this connection, I think we should compare the experience of a person under

anesthesia, a person in swoon, and a person in trance.

 

I checked with a person who was under anesthesia while undergoing an operation

and he narrated his experience as follows:

 

“Once I took a deep inhaling of the air with chloroform, for a couple of seconds

everything became dark for me, I saw so many stars, then suddenly, what happened

I cannot say. When I came out of the influence of anesthesia, after a lapse of

many hours (I was told by others), I could of make out for how many hours I was

under anesthesia, and the gap cannot be explained by me. I came to know during

that gap the doctors cut open my abdomen and performed the operation for a

couple of hours and I never felt any pain when the operation was on, though now

I have pain over the place under bandage.”

 

A person under swoon also seems to have more or less the same “experience” as

above.

 

A person known to me when came out of the “trance” said, he was not aware of the

surroundings and he was very much aware of some experience which cannot be

explained, and as if he was controlled or under the spell of some other entity.

During the trance he behaved in a very peculiar way like talking as if some

deity is talking, drinking a lot of sandal wood paste, etc. etc. I have come

across many such instances of people going into “trance”. Maybe sort of

hallucinating.

 

As compared to the above, when one is in deep sleep, he gets up from the sleep

and/or feels disturbed sometimes even by a mosquito bite.

 

So in deep sleep, the sleeper’s response to external stimuli is very much there,

though he does not feel/experience during the deep sleep already existing

pains/pleasure, prior to his falling into deep sleep, such as headache, stomach

pain, hunger, etc. The moment he wakes up he becomes aware of such pain/pleasure

etc. Chaitanyam or consciousness continue to pervade in some {?} degree the

Jeeva and its equipment body, mind and intellect even when he is in deep sleep,

whereas it seems this Chaitanyam is temporarily absent in a person under

anesthesia, and that is why he does not feel any pain etc.

 

The learned members are requested to give their views on the above.

 

Hari Om

 

Mani

 

P.S. I plan to be in Trivandrum during the third week of December for around 3

days, and would like to buy some of the books written by Sri Atmanandaji. Can

someone give me the address/tele number etc. from where I can get them? I would

also welcome anyone in the group, from Trivandrum contacting me. My contact tele

number would be 0471 2492699.

 

Thank you

 

 

rajkumarknair <rajkumarknair wrote:Maniji,

 

advaitin, "R.S.MANI" <r_s_mani> wrote:

>

> [

>

> Namaste, all

>

> Sri R.K.Nair wrote in one of his postings:

>

> <<< There are several examples in our everyday life. For example,

I say that today I enjoyed a tasty meal. But if we investigate thatDiscussion of Shankara's Advaita Vedanta Philosophy of nonseparablity of Atman

and Brahman.

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