Friday, April 9, 2010

Awareness

The Purity of Absolute Nothingness negates itself and creates the infinity of Being in Awareness. As Buddha says, "Form is shunyata and shunyata is form. There is no form without shunyata and there is no shunyata without form." He further said, 'To meditate on shunyata is futile like being a moth burning in a flame. While the moth that burns in fire atleast achieves extinction and hence the end of its suffering, the one who merely meditates on nothingness just suffers endlessly.' Nothingness or Mahashunya is just a transitory state before the Supreme Conscious Bliss which is verily Paramatman. The Spanda Karika or 'stanzas on vibration' specificaly counter the deluded belief in 'nothingness'. To quote from the Spanda Karika (Stanzas on Vibration), a beautiful flowering of Kashmir Shaiv mysticism,

12. Nothingness can never be an object of contemplation because consciousness is absent there.( It is a mistake that one has perceived nothingness) because when reflection (subsequently) intervenes, one is certain that "IT WAS".

13. Therefore consider that to be an artificial state similar to deep sleep. That principle( awareness) is forever perceived and not remembered in this way( as a memory of 'nothingness').

Again,

23-24. Once the Yogi enters That State which he takes as His support and firmly resolves that 'I will surely do whatever He says,' both the sun and the moon set, following the ascending way, inot the channel of Sushumna, once the sphere of the universe is abandoned.

25. Then in that Great Sky( of Awareness), when the sun and the moon dissolve away. THE DULL MINDED YOGI IS CAST DOWN INTO A STATE LIKE THAT OF DEEP SLEEP. THE AWAKENED HOWEVER REMAINS LUCID.

The last verse clarifies everything. Nothingness is the casting down of the dull yogi into deep slumber and not any valid experience. The adept does not swoon but goes deeper and still deeper into ever vibrant awareness. Thus Awareness is Real while nothingness is a stupor which appears in awareness due to dullness of the seeker.

To inhere in Awareness is sadhana and all talk of 'nothingness' is a delusion and an obstruction.

The last verse clarifies everything. Nothingness is the casting down of the dull yogi into deep slumber and not any valid experience. The adept does not swoon but goes deeper and still deeper into ever vibrant awareness. Thus Awareness is Real while nothingness is a stupor which appears in awareness due to dullness of the seeker.

To inhere in Awareness is sadhana and all talk of 'nothingness' is a delusion and an obstruction.

Shunyata is like a bathroom where the soul washes off all taints of materialism and becomes pure spirit and then an enjoyer of the Supreme Conscious Bliss and then verily Supreme Conscious Bliss whih is Paramatman. Nothingness as an intermediary state is crucial but any idea of 'absolute nothingess' as an abiding state is a delusion. The Spanda Karika and Shiva Sutras and also yogic experience is absolutely clear on this.

Nothingness as the end goal of spirituality is tantamount to accepting existentialism nihilism and would make everythign futile.

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