Power and Bliss

Few days ago, I met him.. Again.. after long time.. I saw him, as usual.. Man with a smile on the face, and humor on the mind. Practicality in behaviour, idealism in eyes.. Yet, I sensed something more.. Something that was resolute.. That was missing in his eyes, when we met last. The serenity was appealing, mind was seemingly enjoying the solitude.. As if, few of his daunting questions were answered.. I also saw a tinge of pain and emptiness.. Emptiness that usually occupies the heart, when knowledge dawns.. Perhaps emptiness is a wrong adjective. But something exists in heart when a person is ignorant.. People say, it is bliss.. It goes away, with knowledge.. I guess, power and bliss cannot co-exist..

I asked him about his life.. Said he was fine.. There was a momentary silence.. And then, he started..

" Love is a strange thing..Perhaps, it is Maya's way of trying and making unknown connections.
If connection works, it stays.. If it doesn't, it either fades away with time OR breaks... But as long at it remains, the person is devoid of emptiness.. Devoid of vacuum within.
Usually, dawning of knowledge, is detrimental for existance of love.. For love arises from veil of ignorance.. That's why it is blissful.. "

" But, how can knowledge be detrimental to love? ", I asked..

He gave me playful smile and answered," Becoz, with knowledge, comes purpose.. The thirst for knowing the purpose of our own existance arises so spontaneously, that all the connections of heart are severed.. Of course, lovers try and keep this away like a poison.. With knowledge comes ability to think rationally. Ability to see horizons clearly.. Ability to see horrid future with greater resolution.. With it comes the complete knowedge of ourselves.. Hence, it also provides us the way to effectively face the future.. Tell me, my friend... How can two individuals love, when one of them is seeing such horrid visions which are relatively more neutral and hence rational.."

I was litsening in rather casual manner.. I was thinking about this theory of his.. rather I was thinking about the corollary for this theory..

" Then perhaps, Love must be detrimental to knowledge as well" I asked, sarcastically..

" Of course it is", he said," Love is like a hallucination.. So real that it severes our touch with reality and our ability to neutrally understand the happenings of the world.."

I understood.. I did not pursue the topic..

Next day, I went to see her.. She was also a good friend of mine.. She was bit shaken.. But quite and composed from her appearence.. I sensed the emptiness in her eyes too.. But that was due to loss or something, as opposed to gain of knowledge in his eyes.. Her eyes were a bit melancholy.. Seemed to me that his knowledge was indeed detrimental..

After formal talks and few silent moments, she started..

" Philosophy of life was simple for me.. Live in present.. Not to worry about future.. Don't even try and see too far in future.. And have courage to face whatever comes.. This faith and love are the real strengths of man.. As long as the love between two individuals exist, it helps us past all the obstacles.. I was aware of the differences.. And I was also aware of the similarities.. But his questions and his invoking of logic, caused the bliss on our hearts to go away.. Now you can see the emptiness.. I still choose to live as I believed was right.. I won't say that what he did was wrong... But what he did with me, was not right... We were happy and Blissful together.. Now, perhaps, he is lonely and powerful"

I left after some time... This incident gave a different insight to me..

The choice between bliss and power, is always a painful one.. Painful for person who prefers bliss.. Lonely for the partner who prefers power.. It all depends upon the Inner nature of the person.. The person's Swadharma.. No one can blame any of the person for making any of the choices based upon his OR her own Swadharma... But this is not seen in practise..

If we have look at HE and HER in day-to-day life, we can see that blame-game is not avoidable.. Perhaps, it is essential.. This makes me think again about the thin veil of ignorance called Maya on the human mind.. How essential ignorance is.. That no Deed is performed without it.. And how blissful we are, when a part of this system of Maya..

The problem begins, when we start rising up and see at world from a neutral point of view. This departure from Ignorance and Bliss, is an interesting thing to study..

But, inevitably, everyone makes this choice at some stage of life.. Some make this choice early.. Some later.. Some in next lives.. But at some stage, the individual begins to think about his departure.. He may be connected to his loved ones, but the drive to explore is so insurgent in the mind that he wilfully makes this choice.. Many times there are false dawns.. He makes and attempt but cannot break the connections.. But one day, he breaks the bondages..

What about the other person, then?? Who perhaps is not ready to make that choice and break the bondage.. For no fault of his own, that person has to loose the bliss in his life.. He becomes unhappy because of choice he did not make.. What of such person... Statistically speaking, Maya takes care of such person, and that individual finds the new bondage which he so lovingly seeks, giving him the sense of completeness and security..

Perhaps he was having false dawn of Knowledge.. Perhaps he was not.. But he made to choice to understand and know.. nonetheless..

She is a sweet girl.. She will be in sorrow for lost love.. Perhaps cursing herself.. Perhaps her lover, who chose knowledge's path.. But with times, the love in her heart will overcome this momentary grief.. She wil again be blissful.. And continue to be one, until time comes when she has to make the same choice...

And the cycle of Maya goes on and on........

On Dualistic and Monistic perception of Existance

Unity and duality are the two basic approaches of a Vedic individual in his spiritual journey...

The Advaita school of vedic philosophy propounds that everything in the universe is fundamentally same.. The Dualistic school of thought says that there is subtle duality in Supreme truth and rest..

Although both of these views are apparently contradictory to each other, in deeper sense, they in fact are complementary to each other..

I visualize Duality in terms of potential difference. The duality in Vedic literature is shown in form of famous duals like Praan-Rayi, Shiva-Shakti, Aatman-Brahman... In the terms of physical sciences, it can be seen as matter-energy.. In other oriental philosophies, like taoism, it is seen as Yin-Yang... In other words, this apparent duality is acknowledged by almost all of the oriental philosophies....

The basic question that arises in the minds of seeker is whether this duality is reality OR Illusion.. In other words, is this reality true OR false...

It is indeed difficult to say whether what we see is truth OR untruth. Because, I feel that it is just vagary of perception. It all depends upon the frame of reference of the observer. Hence it automatically becomes relative.

Hence, in Vedic philosophy and hinduism, this duality is given same important place as it is given to Advaita OR monism..

The approach of Advaita is that everything is Brahman.. (Sarvam Khalvidam Brahmam).

The approach of Dvaita school is somewhat like I am Brahmam... (Aham Brahma asmi)..

There is a subtle difference in the two approaches. First one negates the individuality..Since it says that EVERYTHING is Brahman, there is no scope for individual perception and understanding... In other words, there is no scope for individual's EXISTENCE as individual...

The Dvaita school propunds that I am Brahman.. This I denotes the individual's state while experiencing this unity.. It is difficult for anyone of us to forget our own consciousness.. The feeling that I exist is almost impossible to overcome. It is a bit difficult step to go from I exist to I am Everything and futher, Everything exists....

Universe/Multiverse Just Is...

It is just a different point of view towards same thing.

Advaita school usually condemns the approach of Dvaita school.. Same is vice-versa..
However, what is needed is to achieve a golden mean...

It is the basic law of Universe/multiverse that for any thing to HAPPEN, what is required is potential difference.. All types of energies flow from higher potential to lower potenial.. Not only energy, even the matter shows similar tendency.

This Potential Difference is depicted in the concept of Dvaita OR Duality.. Becoz, it is this difference that keeps individual performing Karma.. Without Karma, nothing can exist.. And karma itself is a deed done by one sane human being with respect to other living being.. As it involves the concept of ME and OTHERS, it falls under the domain of Dualism OR Dvaita..

After an individual attains the state of Advaita in Supreme Samadhi mentioned in Patanjali Yog-sutras, there is nothing left for him to do.. Rather he cannot perform any karma as the duality is vanished and potential difference gone.. Two things at equal potential cannot perform work..

Hence all reasons of that person to exist are gone, and he unfies with the Parabrahman.. But until this stage, Duality enables a person to survive/to exist..

As it is stated above that experience of Unity bars a person from performing any karma.. But karma is extremely important as it is the reason of the existance of Universe..

Hence there is an ingenious phenomenon of Maaya OR Matrix.. This Maaya keeps a thin veil of ignorance on the minds of living beings, thus creating the illusion of Duality.. Although it is an illusion, it is so real and so essential that most of us prefer to live in Maaya and do not question its existence..

Everything in Universe/Multiverse tends to attain stability OR unity.. It is Maaya that maintains the Duality and hence maintains the Potential difference.. This enables the universe to exist.. The Sanskrit term for Universe Jagat arises from 2 word roots.. Ja meaning to come to birth OR existence.. Ga meaning to move..
One which comes into existence from movement OR difference, is Jagat OR world..

Thus, we can see, how important both Dualism and Monism are.. What is required is to strike a golden mean...

Hence, the correct approach. according to me, is as follows..

Unity>>(leads to)>>duality(maintained by Maya)>>(Purpose of person)>>to experience unity in apparent duality..