post 15

Nurtureoneslife:

When a man no longer confuses himself with the definition of himself that others have given him, he is at once universal and unique. He is universal by virtue of the inseparability of his organism from the cosmos. He is unique in that he is just this organism and not any stereotype of role, class, or identity assumed for the convenience of social communication. 

~ Alan Watts

The individual  soul being unreal, it follows  that there  is no perceiver of the  world. This may be surprising;  but it need not  be so. The  seer and his spectacle are inseparable;  they are like the two ends of a single stick;  as a stick will always have two ends, so every perception involves the two, the seer and his spectacle.  The three, namely the seer, the spectacle and the relation of seeing form a triad, of which  the essential element is the  seeing, which becomes possible by the light of Consciousness; by that light both the seer and the seen are manifested. It is not possible to attribute reality to the seer, while denying it to the spectacle. If we accept the view that the spectacle, namely the world, is unreal in any sense, then we must also accept the view that the seer of the world is unreal in the same sense and to the same extent. The spectator is in fact an integral part of the world; both in waking and in dream the spectator and the spectacle form one single whole, appearing and vanishing together. 

The Sage brings home to us the spurious nature of the ego - the individual soul - by means of a parable. On the occasion of a marriage an uninvited guest, an utter stranger to both the parties, came in pretending to be an intimate friend of the bridegroom. At first the hosts, namely the bride's party, believed him and honoured him accordingly.  But after a time suspicions arose and inquiries began to be made as to who he was and what right he had to come in. The two parties met and began to question each other. The impostor saw that he was sure to be exposed and treated as he deserved if he remained; so he quietly disappeared. Just like the impostor in this parable is the ego. It is neither the real  Self, nor the body; so long as no inquiry is made, the ego persists and enjoys the status of the real Self; but when an inquiry is made - when the quest of the real Self is begun and persisted in - it will vanish, leaving no trace. This is exactly what we are told by the Sage in verse -25 of 'Ulladu Narpadu. 

- from 'Maha Yoga' (p-94,95), under the topic 'The Soul'.

- Om namo Bhagavate Sri Ramanaya!

A letter to a friend

The only sustainable relationship between two people is one in which both of you Individually reach for your Higher Selves. If someone is not willing to reach for the greatest, most Awesome, Loving & Productive version of themselves, you must lovingly move on - leaving them behind - trusting them to find their own way.

Just having a partner does not take away your loneliness, mind you! There are millions of people who have partners, soul mates, who have fallen in love and married the same person, and yet they feel lonely! Many may not come out and tell you honestly, but if you ask the ideal couples, "Tell me one secret, do you ever feel lonely or anything like that?" They will say, "Yes!" The only people who don’t feel lonely are the ones who are connected with the being, with the self. One who is established in the self feels no loneliness. Only spiritual elevation can take away the loneliness, not soul mates.

...

"The moon’s reflection cannot be seen clearly in ruffled water, but when the water’s surface is calm a perfect reflection of the moon appears. So with the mind: when it is calm you see clearly reflected the moonèd face of the soul. As souls we are reflections of God. When by meditation techniques we withdraw restless thoughts from the lake of the mind, we behold our soul, a perfect reflection of Spirit, and realize that the soul and God are One."

— Paramahansa Yogananda

"Where There Is Light"

Further Reading:

📖 yssi.org/HA