Thursday, July 23, 2020

the inner characteristics in all things

As I age, and my body morphs into an older characterization of my younger self, my feeling of myself within my mind has not changed.  That is to say, in my mind my identity, my character, the way I use my energy, has remained constant.  And further, this felt quality of myself would remain the same even as I awakened from sleep, even if  I were hit on the head and lost consciousness, even if I awakened from a coma, even if I had amnesia.  This individualized quality of being is experienced, at sometime or another, by every spiritual awakened human being.  Even though there is unrelenting change bombarding our being, there is also a place of constancy within our consciousness, and this constancy gives us our feel of our unique quality.  

All manifest things have a certain predominant quality.  For instance, if an oak tree seed were planted, an oak tree would manifest, not a pine or maple tree.  The oak tree's DNA has instructions and memory to form an oak tree; of course within the instructions are continuous adjustments of internal relations to external relations.  Therefore, not all oak trees would look 100% identical, but their oak treeness, their quality, their essential characteristics, and their function would predominately remain the same. 

You the reader, have probably noticed the difficulty of confidently understanding some of the meaning of certain ideas put forth in this bloge. This difficulty arises first, from your unfamiliarity with the ideas put forth, and the limits of the English language for explanation.  The English language has no equivalent words for some of these ideas.  They are beyond its syntax.  That is the reason Sanskrit and other languages are used.  These other languages have incorporated these ideas into their word syntax.

So without further adieu, there is a Sanskrit word, "gunas," which identifies the three qualities inherent in all differentiated matter. The three qualities are called, (in Sanskrit): "satta, rajas, tamas" (see Bhagavad-Gita for reference, Chapter XIV).  The explanation that follows will be a paraphrase from the Gita.  Universal Nature is the womb where the seed and production of all things emanate.  The three qualities run throughout the web of Nature, each participating of the nature of the other two, yet each one possing its predominant characteristic.  However, not one of these three can be considered apart from the other two. The sattva quality is light or truth: the rajas quality is passion or desire, the tamas quality is indifference or darkness. The sattva quality by reason of its lucidity and peacefulness entwines the soul to rebirth through attachment to knowledge and that which is pleasant.  Rajas, is of the same nature of desire, producing thirst and propensity, imprisoning the Ego through the consequences produced from action.  Tamas, the offspring of the indifference in nature is the deluder of all creatures and imprisons the Ego in the body through folly, sleep, and idleness.  Therefore, the gunas emanate from Universal Nature and affects all differential matter.  The predominate quality of all things comes from the constancy of our higher consciousness, moving through all manner of experiences, aggregating those experiences into individualized characteristics or qualities.

The idea of constancy of the predominant quality within a world of constant change appears paradoxical, and because our world is partly built upon dualistic principles of attraction and repulsion, many ideas are paradoxical.  Yet, there is a way through paradox, but it takes a shift from linear thinking to a more expansive, universal thinking.  The Zen Buddhists use "koans" as one technique to help initiate a brake down in the inductive thinking pattern of their students.  Koans are paradoxical questions sprinkled with nonsense, ie., 'You know the sound of two hands clapping, what is the sound of one hand clapping'?  The student tries to solve the koan through inductive thinking, but after spending much time, energy, and frustration, ultimately fails to understand.  Understanding only comes after the student surrenders their inductive thinking pattern, thus allowing a shift of thinking into a more universal pattern.    

So, how does our predominate quality of being stay constant through constant change?  All manifested things have at their core, the essence of their being, an indivisible god-spark.  Pythagoras called this essential core a "monad."  Because the monad is indivisible its quality is homogeneous, stays the same essentially and is not affected by change.  Thus the monad stays within its divine realm or plane, and is not affected by change.       



                                          One truth many paths. Be good, due good.

                                                             Louis DiVirgilio























































because     

Thursday, July 9, 2020

Indwelling consciousness of all systems, entities, and beings

All things have consciousness.  "I don't agree," you are probably saying.  "My senses show me that some things have consciousness: human beings, are self conscious, animals to some extent, even plants have consciousness, but a rock would be too great a stretch for my mind to include under the idea of consciousness."   

Let us take some time and examine the viability of your senses to provide real understanding.  Your senses are of limited quality.  For instance, our vision is limited to within a certain range of light waves.  Physicists tell us that the total known range of light waves is from far infrared at 3 millimeters, to vacuum ultraviolet, at .3  nanometers, (one-billionth of a meter).  The average range of light waves visible to human senses is from 400 to 700 nanometers.  We hear within a specific decibel range.  We taste, touch, and smell all within specific ranges of flavors and tactile sensations,  These given sense limitations function as a clearinghouse, filtering out all senatations not precisely corresponding to our standard range of reception.  The result of this filtering process produces a standard range of experience patterns, and their corresponding states of consciousness.  So within the limited range of our senses is a broad spectrum of possible misperceptions.  Who has not misperceived a coiled rope or hose for a snake, or a leaf lying on the ground as a bird or squirrel?  Thus we can understand that using our senses as a competent measure of reality is not always reliable, couple that with the capacity of our emotions to misinterpret our perception of reality, and we have a formidable dynamic for misperception.  There is a American Indian saying that gives credence to our capacity to misperceive our senses, in goes: "Believe, only 50% of what you see, and nothing of what you hear."

Thus far we have a good argument for not trusting our senses to distinguish reality, but that is not altogether enough evidence to conclude that a rock has consciousness.  Here we will turn to a specific field of physics called Quantum Physics for an opinion.  Scientist in this field, theorize that at the core of the material world there is a non-material realm that can be termed consciousness. And as we can say that the material world is made up of atoms, we can also say that this indwelling field of consciousness is what the universe is made of.  A rock then, is fundamentally made up of fields of electromagnetic energy-molecules modulating on an energy level of very high frequency and low amplitude.  The rock's outer wrapping (as to density, form, and color) is the direct effect of the quality of the energy radiating from within.  Thus even a rock, whose outer nature appears inert, has an inner, non-visible nature of dynamic energy.

In the Chandogya Upanishad, a father, Uddalaka is teaching his son, Svetaketu about the invisible nature, called the Self, our higher Self, the Atman:
                       ..."Please Father, tell me more about the Self."
                          "Yes, dear one, I will,Uddalaka said.
                          Bring me a fruit from the nyagrodha tree." 
                         "Here it is, sir." 
                          "Brake it,  What do you see?"
                          "These seeds, Father, all exceedingly small."
                          "Break one, What do you see?"
                          "Nothing at all."
                           "That hidden essence you do not see dear one,
                           From that a whole nyagrodha tree will grow.
                           There is nothing that does not come from him.
                           Of everything he is the inmost Self.
                           He is truth; he is the Self supreme.
                           You are that, Svetaketu; you are that."

Consciousness is a medium that we, and all things manifest, live, move, and have our being; much as water is the medium of aquatic beings.  It is the essential core of all being and is the nexus between all manifestation.   The same core of consciousness is within you, as Lao-Tzu calls the "10,000 things."
However, not only does consciousness support and sustain being, but also generates it.  Consciousness as consciousness, is a pervasive, most subtle, ether like fluid, infilling space, the largest mass, and the most minute particle, all this while maintaining its infinity.  Its is analogous to our Sun-probably the highest consciousness in our solar system.  The Sun continuously emits its rays in a 360 degree pattern.  It does not discriminate where its rays impact.  All things within its range receive as much unconditioned sunlight as they are capable of receiving.  Yet the Sun's essential quality remains the unchanged.  Of course, even the Sun lives, moves, and has its being from Universal Consciousness, and this is were a complete analogy brakes down. 

Here, as we are discussing Universal Consciousness, know we are touching the apex of thought.  Our thoughts are reaching to our Source.  This is such a sacred sphere of thought that the ancients would not blasphemy by giving a name to the Source.  In the Sentences of Sextus, Sextus the Pythagorean, says, "Do not investigate the name of God because you will not find it.  For everything called by a name receives its appellation from that which is more worthy then itself.  So that it is one person that calls and another that hears.  Who is it, therefore , who has given a name to God?"...  To the ancient sages, God was Unspeakable, Unutterable, Ineffable.  They would speak of It in the most pure and sacred location, among humans of wisdom, and would only mention It in the most universal terms, such as, That, Self, That which is and is not.  Consciousness qua consciousness, in its most pure and universal ideation, is the quintessence of all being; Consciousness is the Source.  All things originate from that, all evolutionary developments appear under Its will, and all things will return to It. 

Contemplate the idea of Universal Consciousness; let your mind open to Its possibility.     


                                      One truth many paths.  Be good do good. 

                                                         Louis DiVirgilio