Day 310 - The Awakening of Consciousness

Day 310 - The Awakening of Consciousness

Insights into Non-Dual Reality and Liberation

Rama: “Lord, you said that when knowledge sees itself as separate, it becomes bondage. But how does that perception end? How does liberation arise?”

Vasistha: “When one is fully awakened, the heaviness in the mind vanishes. Then, liberation—pure, formless, and peaceful—naturally emerges.”

Rama: “And what exactly is this ‘perfect awakening’? How does it free us from bondage?”

Vasistha: “True knowledge is beyond words and definitions. It does not identify with any object. When this is directly known, that’s perfect knowledge.”

Rama: “If knowledge has no object, then how did the illusion of separation between knowledge and the known even start?”

Vasistha: “It’s the mistaken belief that something exists outside of pure knowledge, which creates this illusion. In reality, there is no outside, no inside—only the one infinite self.”

Rama: “But here we are—‘I’, ‘you,’ the sun and moon, all the beings in this world. How can all of this be dismissed as non-existent?”

Vasistha: “None of it was truly created, even in the beginning. What seems real is simply a dream, a mirage. And just as water in a mirage isn’t real, neither is this appearance.”

Rama: “Then how can all these forms and beings seem so real?”

Vasistha: “There’s no effect without a cause. Since nothing truly exists to cause this universe, it’s unreal, like a reflection in a mirror that vanishes when you look away.”

Rama: “But what about before creation? Couldn’t the infinite consciousness have held the potential for this universe within itself, which then manifested later?”

Vasistha: “If that were true, then the universe would be the same as consciousness itself. The self is not dual, so it cannot give rise to something else. Consciousness alone is real.”

Rama: “Then why does it seem like this world was born, grows, and dies? Why does the illusion even appear?”

Vasistha: “In reality, it does not arise at all. The self simply appears to know itself as ‘something else’—that’s the only illusion. When you stop seeing the world as ‘other,’ the illusion ceases.”

Rama: “So, consciousness dreams itself into forms. But why can’t these forms be real, like waves in the ocean?”

Vasistha: “If you think of them as waves on the ocean of consciousness, then you see no separation between them. But don’t be caught in the appearance of difference, because in truth, only the ocean exists.”

Rama: “Then who is here to experience this world? Who feels caught in this illusion?”

Vasistha: “Bondage is nothing more than mistaking the reflection for the substance. Know that the ‘object’ is simply a thought, and bondage falls away. Realize that consciousness is all, and there is neither bondage nor freedom.”

Rama: “Even so, this world is experienced as solid and tangible. How do we free ourselves from that sense of solidity?”

Vasistha: “By questioning it. Look at what seems real and see how it was never there at all. By this reflection, the mind recognizes the dream-like nature of the world, and it loosens its grip.”

Rama: “And once I see through this illusion?”

Vasistha: “Then the mind is like a rain-washed painting. All attachments and mental conditioning fade, and you rest in supreme peace.”

Rama: “But this conditioning is deep-rooted from many lifetimes. How does it dissolve?”

Vasistha: “By realizing the truth: all objects and experiences are just the self’s reflections, with no independent reality. When this is seen, the whole wheel of birth and death stops.”

Rama: “So, what’s left after this conditioning ends?”

Vasistha: “The belief in external reality fades, and with it, all attachments. You no longer chase anything in the world, and peace naturally fills you.”

Rama: “And the things we once clung to—why don’t we miss them when they disappear?”

Vasistha: “Because when you awaken, you see they were never real. Just as you don’t grieve a mirage when it vanishes, you won’t grieve this world once you see through its illusion.”

Rama: “Then how does one begin this inquiry into the nature of the mind?”

Vasistha: “Exactly as you are doing, Rama. By questioning its nature, seeing that it arises as mere consciousness. This inquiry purifies the mind and brings liberation.”

Rama: “But even the inquiry—doesn’t that create an idea of liberation?”

Vasistha: “True inquiry leads beyond ideas and concepts. It reveals the self as beyond thought, free from illusion.”

Rama: “But why, then, do we talk of duality, of teachers and students? How does this make sense if only the self exists?”

Vasistha: “Teacher and student are just concepts within the play of consciousness. For the enlightened, there’s neither bondage nor freedom, for all is the one self.”

Rama: “Yet, if there’s no diversity, why talk about the oneness of that diversity?”

Vasistha: “These ideas of unity and diversity are but waves on the surface. Look deeper, and see that all is one indivisible consciousness, eternal and still.”

Rama: “And who, then, is bound by the illusion of this world?”

Vasistha: “The conviction that the world is real is bondage. Realize it’s illusory, and both bondage and liberation lose all meaning.”

Rama: “But like a nightmare that feels real while it lasts, isn’t the illusion troubling until we wake from it?”

Vasistha: “Yes, but the moment you wake up, the sorrow fades. Reflect on the truth that this world, too, is a passing illusion, and be free.”

Rama: “And when this conditioning fades, what is left to see?”

Vasistha: “Nothing but peace. The world becomes as unreal as a washed-away painting. What remains is boundless, without beginning or end.”

Rama: “How is that boundless state experienced?”

Vasistha: “You are that boundless consciousness. Not an experience, but the source of all experiences. Beyond objects, beyond even thoughts of liberation. Simply rest in this infinite peace, beyond cause or reason.”

Rama: “I feel a profound stillness, Lord. The illusion of creation and dissolution seems like nothing more than a passing thought.”

Vasistha: “Indeed, Rama. You have awakened. Let this wisdom abide in you as effortlessly as the breath, as constant as the self.”