Knowing the Truth of Unity Consciousness

A Course in Tranquility Lesson 10 of 14 — Knowing the Truth of Unity Consciousness

“Because you are in variety, you say you understand unity — that you have flashes, etc., remember things, etc.; you consider this variety to be real. On the other hand Unity is the reality, and the variety is false. The variety must go before unity reveals itself — its reality. It is always real. It does not send flashes of its being in this false variety. On the contrary, this variety obstructs the truth.” -Ramana Maharshi

Up to this point in our study of enlightenment and tranquility we have covered:

Lesson 1: Being happy for no reason; Living a natural and spontaneous life; Meditation

Lesson 2: Love and Relationships

Lesson 3: Health

Lesson 4: Vision and Purpose

Lesson 5: Grace and Spiritual Practice

Lesson 6: Absolving your past

Lesson 7: Reality Vs. Your Story

Lesson 8: Practicing your faith

Lesson 9: Forgiveness

The past lessons are meant to serve as a proper foundation to launch this process of moving into tranquility. As it is stated in the Gita, “First, we are to work to discover what we are, and become self-realized. Once we know what we are, then our work is to remain in tranquility.” Once we set in motion the principles outlined in the previous lessons, we are to continue tending our garden and let the seeds of our positive intention to learn and grow come to fruition. As this continues, we then have our capacities directed to understanding what we are, and to experience the truth of life and its meaning.

Since this work, is not intended to birth a religion or a new dogma, you may find that you still need a religious observance, or a specific teaching to guide your quest for self-knowledge and tranquility. By all means, explore your bible, Gita, Yoga Sutras, Buddhists texts, Koran, Zen works, etc. The morality and lifestyle regiments will do well to keep your days organized and focused, which is useful for everyone. Let the words of the following lessons guide your mind into contemplation and direct experience of reality “as it is” and acceptance of full knowledge of what you are beyond your false sense of self.

Now we move into the deeper side of practice. In the second half of these lessons, we will challenge the most instinctual and ingrained tendencies a human being can cling to. It is these final threads we endeavor to clip, that we may float free into our pure conscious nature, while living out a natural life in this realm, or in any realm we may find to inhabit.

The quote from Ramana Maharshi, at the top of this lesson, summarizes one of the prime difficulties a spiritual aspirant faces as they move more fully into their pure conscious, tranquil nature — the false idea that we exist as separate and varied beings, and are trying to re-experience our unity with the wholeness of life.
The devotee says, “I am experiencing separateness from God and the divine consciousness. I want to know Unity consciousness. I want to know my pure blissful nature. When I meditate I have flashes of insight into oneness and peace, but then I re-experience this sense of separateness.”

The Great Sage responds, “Unity consciousness does not send flashes of its being into this false variety. The Unity is always there, the reality. Yet the waves of our concept of variety washes over it, and so we only see the Unity, when the waves recede.

It is the concept of variety and separateness that obstructs the truth of unity. When we can see through the concept of variety, unity will reveal itself clearly.”

Keep in mind, this is only my conjecture of how this conversation could be stretched out. But the point of all this, is that, typically we say we are separate from the divine infinite consciousness, and on those days when we have a really great meditation or an extremely satisfying stress free day, that we catch a glimpse of unity consciousness and peace. When we say we are longing for unity, we are affirming a duality and separateness.

Unity, duality, separateness, these are all just words. They have no corresponding reality. Imagine what would happen if you dropped these concepts. If there is no Unity, then there is no duality. If there is no longing to be reunited in God, then there is no separateness from God. It is the words and concepts we used that keep us from experiencing reality, as it is, right now.

Exercise – Accept The Reality of Unity Right Now

1) When you next meditate, avoid any thoughts or the entertainment of any notions that you are doing this to become closer to God.  Of course the thoughts and notions will arise. Just ignore them. A good friend once told me, “Just because someone tells you something, doesn’t mean you have to believe it.” The same goes for your thoughts. Just because they show you possibilities and ideas, doesn’t mean you have to listen to them or even buy their product.

2) Use your meditation technique, because you know it is going to calm your mind and emotions and settle down the waves that make you think and feel you are separate from the wholeness of life. Do this until you are settled and peaceful. Then simply sit. Acknowledging that the room you are inhabiting, the couch you are sitting on, the candle you are looking at, is a direct, unified, manifestation of the divine essence that is all things.

3) Just sit.

Thoughts may still rise and fall, but ignore them.  Let go of the sense that for you to experience the divine presence directly, you need to have fabulous visions, or see the future, or feel ecstasy. Remember, real love is unconditional. Love the divine as it is revealing itself to you right now in this moment. That may be an empty room, or the darkness of your closed eyes, or the steadiness of your breath, or the sunshine reflecting of the house next door. Do not shun the divine presence, just because it is appearing as it always has, normally, and openly.  Look beyond appearances to the simplicity of the beingness in the moment.

This is why so many people fail to wake up or accept grace within their lives. They have a fairy tale of what it “should” look like. Love the divine for what it is, not for what you would like it to be. Wouldn’t you ask the same of anyone else? Don’t you want to be loved for what you are without any reservations, without having to put on a show, or having to act unnaturally? Why not show that same respect to the divine within and around you? Just as your heart would burst if you knew that kind of love, and you would smile from ear to ear, and your presence would radiate peace and warmth all around you, see how the divine presence responds in that same situation of unconditional love and acceptance.

We talk of Self-realization. What does that mean? It means we know the fullness of our being. We know we are beyond the mind, body, senses, time, space, etc. It means we know we exist, perpetually. We know we are eternally and immutably free, and that our only chains and bondage come from the concepts we adopt as true, and the defining characteristics we accept that we may experience a limited existence as a particular kind of being. But these are all just words with no corresponding meaning until you have direct experience of what this feels like. That is why we meditate and endeavor to practice a life that will harmonize our nervous systems and free our consciousness to have this direct experience. It is the spiritual practices that we choose that creates the grooves that directs us back to the acceptance of our true nature.

We can say that meditation or spiritual practice doesn’t work for us, but what we are really saying is that, it is not working on the time-scale we would like it to. Any authentic spiritual practice undertaken with the proper motive and surrender into the process will lift us up and out of our limited “character” that we have chosen to play in this life time. However, since we’ve chosen to play the game, we will of course come back to that character until the game is over.

The free soul, has learned the rules, knows that he/she is identified with particular chess piece on the board game of life, and is willing to be a good sport and play the game until the end. Once done, the free soul is awake, and can willingly choose if he/she would like to play again, or just exist in pure consciousness.

Self-realization directly experienced is what reveals to us the rules of the game we are playing, and shows us the proper perspective from which we are playing it. We know we are not the chess piece; we are the hand that moves it. When the chess piece falls, we move on to another game, if we choose.

Spiritual Practice and Experiencing Unity

When asked about the aim of spiritual practice, Ramana Maharshi said, “Removal of ignorance is the aim of practice, and not the acquisition of Realization.  Realization is ever present, here and now. Were it to be acquired anew, Realization must be understood to be absent at one time, and present at another time. In that case, it is not permanent, and therefore not worth the attempt. But Realization is permanent and eternal and is here and now.

Again he was asked, “Grace is necessary for the removal of ignorance?”

Maharshi replied, “Certainly. But Grace is all along there. Grace is the Self. It is not something to be acquired. All that is necessary is to know its existence. For example, the sun is brightness only. He does not see darkness. Whereas others speak of darkness fleeing away on the sun approaching. Similarly, ignorance is also a phantom and not real. Because of its unreality, its unreal nature found, it is said to be removed.

Again, the sun is there and also bright. You are surrounded by sunlight. Still, if you would know the sun you must turn your eyes in his direction and look at him. So also, Grace is found by practice alone although it is here and now.”

If you want to know unity you must look at unity. You must not focus on separateness and variety. You see your next door neighbor, the tree outside, the computer in front of you, or your cat on the couch, and you say, “they are separate from me.” You create separateness in this way. The first step to experiencing unity is to start accepting the notion that all that you experience is not separate, but is a continuous extension of your being.

In the autumn, when the leaves turn gold and orange and purple, you sit on a mountain top and a deep yearning arises to be one with nature and its beauty. This is separateness. Instead, see the colors, and the trees blowing in the wind, and smile. Accept that beauty as your very self. You have dressed your self in Autumn’s splendor.

In meditation, you look on the face of your spiritual teacher or your depiction of the divine on the altar before you, and you long to know what that teacher knows or be one with that manifestation of God. You divide the wholeness. Instead, accept that what they know, you know, and you are expressing it through your particular life situation. Accept that you are as much a part of them as your hand is to your elbow. They may be separated by a short physical distance, but they are a part of the same body. The hand and the elbow are equally important to have a working appendage. Do not judge what part of the body of God you may be.  It is still the body of God.

In time, as your practice becomes stronger there is another practice to undertake. Now instead of working to change your ideas ‘that you are separate from all of life’ to ‘accepting that you are one with all of life’, you let go of even that. You no longer decide to say, “I am one with everything.” You no longer label your oneness. You simply experience life as it comes. No labeling, just experiencing. You surrender to the truth of your self as all.

You no longer need words or concepts to prove it, or to remind your self about it. You are IT! Another discourse with Ramana Maharshi will help to clarify this point.

A devotee asked, “By the desire to surrender constantly, increasing grace is experienced, I hope?”

Maharshi replied, “Surrender once for all and be done with the desire [to surrender]. So long as the sense of doership is retained there is the desire; that is also personality. If this goes the Self is found to shine forth pure.

The sense of doership is the bondage and not the actions themselves.

‘Be still and know that I am God.’ Here stillness is total surrender without a vestige of individuality. Stillness will prevail and there will be no agitation of mind. Agitation of mind is the cause of desire, the sense of doership and personality. If that is stopped there is quiet. There ‘Knowing’ means ‘Being’. It is not the relative knowledge involving triads, knowledge, subject and object.”

The devotee inquired at this, “Is the thought ‘I am God’ or ‘I am the Supreme Being’ helpful?”

Maharshi said, “‘I am that I am.’

‘I am’  is God — not thinking, ‘I am God’.

Realize ‘I am’ and do not think I am.

‘Know I am God’ — it is said, and not ‘Think I am God.’”

So we see, from here, we must move from thinking to knowing. By meditation we clear the way to know directly. Knowing does not come from thinking or reasoning, it comes from having the capacity to experience what is, rather than our labels and ideas about what we’d like ‘what is’ to be.

In the next lesson we will explore specific advanced techniques useful to moving into this wisdom and Self-knowing. They may not be easy, but they are effective, and take practice, as with all things. Of course, your current meditation practice is helpful too, so long as you are intent and attentive to the procedure.

Sincerely, Ryan Kurczak 2010

Alone

Sometimes I feel alone when I am in a new place, or in a far away place, or even when I’m with the people I love. I’ve had this habit since childhood,
and even now it can strike me.

We can feel alone when no one is around, or when we are with our best friend, or even in a large group.

We can feel full of life and presence in a forest, or by our selves in silent meditation.

Ultimately, when we can turn off the stories in our minds about how things should be, in regards to our relationship to the world and others, and sit quietly, feeling the movement of our inner heart, we may find we’ve never been alone, because there is nothing other than the very expression of consciousness through our own individualized lens of perception.

We don’t always feel this, because the mind/ego needs a reason to feel unsettled, or needs an obstacle to overcome to feel important. Give attention to the inner heart, and the ego/mind dissolves. Then we are left only with the heartbeat, the throbbing of eternity, beyond all craving or desire. See if there is a question or experience of aloneness in that state.

I remembered this, this morning after I awoke and meditated deeply on my heart. I gave my self fully to my breathe and feeling my consciousness beyond my small human mind and personality. It felt as though a flower had opened to the sun, and I was the first to see it.

(Notes from travels in WV).

Back to meditation now, before the days yoga sutras class begins.

Oneness in the Divine

Ramana Maharshi - Great Sage from the early 19th Century

“Because you are in variety, you say you understand unity — that you have flashes, etc., remember things, etc.; you consider this variety to be real. On the other hand Unity is the reality, and the variety is false. The variety must go before unity reveals itself — its reality. It is always real. It does not send flashes of its being in this false variety. On the contrary, this variety obstructs the truth.” -Ramana Maharshi

The quote from Ramana Maharshi, summarizes one of the prime difficulties a spiritual aspirant faces as they move more fully into their pure conscious, tranquil nature — the false idea that we exist as separate and varied beings, and are trying to re-experience our unity with the wholeness of life.

The devotee says, “I am experiencing separateness from God and the divine consciousness. I want to know Unity consciousness. I want to know my pure blissful nature. When I meditate I have flashes of insight into oneness and peace, but then I re-experience this sense of separateness.”
The Great Sage responds, “Unity consciousness does not send flashes of its being into this false variety. The Unity is always there, the reality. Yet the waves of our concept of variety washes over it, and so we only see the Unity, when the waves recede.

It is the concept of variety and separateness that obstructs the truth of unity. When we can see through the concept of variety, unity will reveal itself clearly.”

Keep in mind, this is only my conjecture of how this conversation could be stretched out. But the point of all this, is that, typically we say we are separate from the divine infinite consciousness, and on those days when we have a really great meditation or an extremely satisfying stress free day, that we catch a glimpse of unity consciousness and peace. When we say we are longing for unity, we are affirming a duality and separateness. Unity, duality, separateness, these are all just words. They have no corresponding reality. Imagine what would happen if you dropped these concepts. If there is no Unity, then there is no duality. If there is no longing to be reunited in God, then there is no separateness from God. It is the words and concepts we used that keep us from experiencing reality, as it is, right now.

Exercise 1 – Accept The Reality of Unity Right Now

1) When you next meditate, avoid any thoughts or the entertainment of any notions that you are doing this to become closer to God.  Of course the thoughts and notions will arise. Just ignore them. A good friend once told me, “Just because someone tells you something, doesn’t mean you have to believe it.” The same goes for your thoughts. Just because they show you possibilities and ideas, doesn’t mean you have to listen to them or even buy their product.

2) Use your meditation technique, because you know it is going to calm your mind and emotions and settle down the waves that make you think and feel you are separate from the wholeness of life. Do this until you are settled and peaceful. Then simply sit. Acknowledging that the room you are inhabiting, the couch you are sitting on, the candle you are looking at, is a direct, unified, manifestation of the divine essence that is all things.

3) Just sit.

Thoughts may still rise and fall, but ignore them.  Let go of the sense that for you to experience the divine presence directly, you need to have fabulous visions, or see the future, or feel ecstasy. Remember, real love is unconditional. Love the divine as it is revealing itself to you right now in this moment. That may be an empty room, or the darkness of your closed eyes, or the steadiness of your breath, or the sunshine reflecting of the house next door. Do not shun the divine presence, just because it is appearing as it always has, normally, and openly.  Look beyond appearances to the simplicity of the beingness in the moment.

This is why so many people fail to wake up or accept grace within their lives. They have a fairy tale of what it “should” look like. Love the divine for what it is, not for what you would like it to be. Wouldn’t you ask the same of anyone else? Don’t you want loved for what you are without any reservations, without having to put on a show, or having to act unnaturally? Why not show that same respect to the divine within and around you? Just as your heart would burst if you knew that kind of love, and you would smile from ear to ear, and your presence would radiate peace and warmth all around you, see how the divine presence responds in that same situation of unconditional love and acceptance.

Adapted from A Course in Tranquility Lesson 10, from the Author.