For a Gnani, the
experience of birth, life death and the
world is a mere mirage, because he is fully aware of the fact that all the
three states are mere illusion created out of consciousness. All the three
states they appear and disappear in succession. The witness of the three states
is neither the or waking entity nor the
dream entity but the the formless soul, the innermost self. Thus the witness is
apart from the witnessed(three states).
When one is “awake,” he
incessantly thinks, and when he goes to sleep and dream, he does not think any
the lesser. But when he passes from
dreamful to dreamless sleep, his thoughts cease and he enjoys undisturbed
peace, till he wakes again and resume his
thinking and with it his restless, peace-less state. But all these are
happening within the three states and he is aware of the experiences only in
the waking experience.
The waking
experience is mere illusion. The experiencing birth,
life, death and the world are within the illusion. Due to ignorance, the illusion is experienced
as reality. The illusion is present in the form of ‘I’ or mind. The mind is
present in the form of the universe. The universe appears as waking or dream
and disappears as deep sleep. The three states are one in essence and that
essence is consciousness. The consciousness (soul) is the innermost self. On
the standpoint of the innermost self the three states are illusory.
Thus experiencing the birth,
life, death and the world within the illusion (waking or universe) with the
illusory self (waking entity or ego), within the illusory experience (waking), is bound to be an illusion.
The illusion is created, and sustained, and finally
dissolves as consciousness, which is the innermost Self. Since, there is no second thing other than
the consciousness (soul); the consciousness itself is ultimate truth or
Brahman. The one who has realized this truth for him
this illusion is passing show because he is fully aware of the fact that his
body, his ego and his experience of the world to be consciousness. Practical
peoples approach is more practical, and they are stuck with the reality of the
practical life within the practical world, they take it as real whereas Gnani
sees his body his ego and his experience of the
world as consciousness.
When the mind exists,
then only the duality prevails. Absence of mind is absent of duality. Therefore
waking/dream/mind/duality is one and the same thing.
People think life is
miserable because they are not aware of the fact that, the self is neither the ‘waking
entity’ nor the self is the dream entity
but the self is the formless soul, which witnesses the coming and going of the
three states. formless the ultimate standpoint the three states are unreal but the formless
witness of the three states,which is the soul is real and eternal. So, the soul which is present in the form of consciousness
is real and eternal.
Waking or dream is a state of diversity. In deep sleep the
waking and dream disappears and the experience -Free State prevails. But soon experience appears again in the dream
and continues till a full “waking” takes place in a new body, after another dreamless
lull. This daily cycle of waking ,dreaming and sleeping is a miniature of the cycle of
birth, life and death.
