Day 225 - Understanding Creation

Day 225 - Understanding Creation

Time, Space, and Consciousness

"Time, space, and other factors in creation are none other than consciousness. When it is realized that all these are but thoughts and notions and that the self is one and indivisible, how can they be regarded as unreal? In the seed, there is nothing but the seed—no diversity. Yet, there is the notion of potential diversity (of flowers, fruits) supposedly present in the seed. Similarly, cosmic consciousness is one, devoid of diversity, yet the universe of diversity exists only in notion.

Diversity as Illusion

"The stone is single; the notion of numerous lotuses arises only in relation to that single stone. Similarly, the notion of diversity arises in consciousness without causing diversity. Just as water in a mirage both exists and does not exist, diversity in relation to the infinite consciousness is both real and unreal. All is indeed Brahman, the infinite consciousness. The notion of the existence of lotuses in the stone does not destroy the stone, and Brahman is unaffected by the world-appearance, which exists as the very nature of Brahman in Brahman. There is no essential difference between Brahman and the world: they are synonyms. When reality is thus seen, only Brahman is seen.

The Non-Dual Reality

"Just as all that is seen as water in the world is merely hydrogen and oxygen gases, the world-appearance is but Brahman alone. The one consciousness appears as the mind, mountains, etc., just as the multicolored feathers and wings of a peacock are present in the egg of the peacock. This potential power is present in the infinite consciousness. Whatever is seen now as the diverse objects of the universe, when seen with the eye of wisdom, reveals only Brahman or the infinite consciousness. It is non-dual though apparently diverse, like the notion of diversity in the fluid in the peacock's egg. The notion of Brahman and the world is both dual and non-dual. That which is the substratum for all these notions of unity and diversity—that is the supreme state.

The Pervasiveness of Infinite Consciousness

"The infinite consciousness pervades the entire universe, and the universe exists in the infinite consciousness. The relationship is one of diversity and non-diversity, just as the numerous parts of the peacock are in the one 'egg-substance.' Where is the diversity in all this?"