reflections on Oneness
The young Rama asks what is prana, what is mind, and what is the difference? The sage replies that quiescence – stillness – of mind is needful in order to obtain direct witness of the Atma. It is the only thing in existence, and all else is ideation and willpower, resolve; that which is powered and driven by the energy of Atma itself. Truly, it is an enquiry into the real; as the prayer Asatoma begins: From the Unreal, lead us to the real.
The young Rama begins by asking what are the different types of karma (actions). The sage narrates the story of King Janaka of Videha, and the strategies he took up to manage the outgoing mind. Pain and pleasure, want and desire, unhappiness and dissatisfaction with the world are all caused by ideations in the mind. The sage gently takes the young Rama through the steps of being firmly established in the Atma. Sage Vasishtha tells Rama, ‘You must destroy mind with mind.’
The young Rama asks about attaining liberation (moksha) – freedom from the cycle of birth – death – and birth again. The sage reminds Rama that the universe is neither real nor unreal; it is experienced because of the ideation of the mind. With the company of the goodly and godly and the saints (satsang) even the dumb and blind can journey to moksha.
When we are born, we bring the mind with us. Mind and soul move on to the next birth, and within the mind are ideations, tendencies, unsatisfied – unfulfilled desires. We call these contents of the mind vasanas. Vasanas are an inherent mental tendency (conscious or unconscious), karmic seeds, impressions; the impressions of past experiences; desire for various objects and experiences. So the young Lord Rama asks the sage an important question: How do we rid ourselves of vasana?
The world comes at birth. Are we having sankalpa (ideations) at birth? The young Rama asks about sankalpa and how these can arise and vanish. The sage gives illumination, and among that illumination, tells that “The mind creates a vast panorama in an instant, and at times it becomes too subtle to be grasped.”
The young Rama is asking questions about different centres of creation of Brahma, such as lotus, akash, egg and water. He wants to know how this differentiation occurs and why. He is told, “The universe is created at times by Sada Shiva, or by Brahma or Vishnu.”
The young Rama is asking questions about ideations (thoughts that manifest as illusion, maya) The young Rama wants to know how that which is the Brahman state can manifest as Brahma, the Creator.
Since everything is Atma, how is it that bodies are flesh and bones? The young Rama sits at the feet of the Sage and listens.
The young Rama asks about ignorance and the effects thereof. The Sage tells that ignorance causes suffering and the cycle of death and rebirth. The only activity that halts ignorance is seeking – and experiencing – the Atma.
The young Rama continues with his questions. If the Atma is non-dual, and everything is created in Atma, how is it that the imagination arises in the seer?