Going beyond duality!

The center is the most safest place than the outer rim. Imagine a bicycle. The wheels are in contact with the road. The wheel go around and touch every point of the road and they undergo the ups and downs in gradient, the rough ride, hilly territory etc., Sometime it has to climb down and move through patches of water. Hence the direct contact is made only by the rim to the roughness of surface etc., The center of the wheel is not affected like the outer rim. Well, what is the connection of the above to the topic of the hub?

In life, we undergo many ups and down, sudden twists and turns which we never expect. The mind of the individual is like the outer rim, which undergoes all the pain and grief and some momentary joy also. But, the self or the soul is unaffected by the agitations of the mind. Why? The self has not contacted the outer world. Mind only is involved in the world and its idiosyncrasy. If i ask you, which position you will prefer, the center or the outer rim?

Nobody in the world desire for troubles. Every one wants to remain happy. Hence, most of us would prefer the center, where the external agitations do not touch. God is like this. He is the center of the Universe. Around him and because of him, the creation happened. But, he is simply untouched by all this. He is just a witness, unaffected witness and mute too. Yes, God do not react to all and sundry. Only a real devotee can cause flutter in the heart of God (These are only imaginary terms to represent God since he has no specific form like us). In fact all are his forms and all are in him, the entire cosmos containing all the matter and living beings are in Him. As i said in my earlier hub, He is the only existing entity and all else are rather imaginations or illusions or mere dream!

Everyone of us have experienced dreams. Some are sweet, some are harsh, some are fearful and some dreams wake us up due to extreme confusion! When you wake up, the first thing you realize is "Oh, it is only a dream and not real! Like this, every waking experience is also a dream only. One is a day dream and the other is a night dream. How can you prove that the waking state is real? It is only an imagination of the mind! During night, the mind itself create the dream. When the mind is capable of creating night dream, why not a day dream?

You assert that, I am actually seeing, hearing, touching and feeling and asserting the reality of the external world. How it can be false? Well, a nice question. Before answering, i will tell few more points. During dream, do you exist? You may say, "Yes, it is only I who experience the dream state. On waking up, you say that "I was dreaming". One more question. Did you exist during 'deep sleep state where there are no dreams? You can say "Yes, only after waking up from the sleep. In the deep sleep state, you were one with the Self and enjoyed the bliss, it confers. Hence at times we assert, I enjoyed an invigorating deep sleep! But during the deep sleep state, you can not express it and only after waking you can assert this. Hence the "I" is common to waking, dreaming and deep sleep state. The states are changing and hence they are not real. "I" is the only reality among the changing states.

The waking state is negated by dream state. During the period of dream, you thought that every thing is real until you wake up. Then you assert that the waking state alone is real. During deep sleep state, there is experience of bliss but it could only be expressed after waking up only. Hence how can you assert that one state is real and the other is false? The experience of all the states is only "I", the Self and not the mind. This "I" has no connection with the body or mind. It simply IS. It is like the pure white screen of the cinema hall wherein pictures are projected. The screen is unaffected by the fire, or water or bombs, the pictures depict. Before the screening, it was pure white, during the show also, it exists and after the show, it continues to remain so. As the screen is absolutely unaffected by the projection of various pictures, the SELF which is denoted by "I" is not affected. This is the fundamental theme of Advaita philosophy! Whatever the body undergoes, it never affects the Self. Only the mind is affected or agitated!

Now let us revert to the topic of the hub. What is duality? Creation is duality! When there is no creation, the Self alone existed. How? Before the cinema show, only the screen existed. The cinema show depended on the screen and not otherwise. Whether there is a show or not, the screen is not bothered since the screen do not depend on the cinema. In the like manner, the Self exists always irrespective of the creation! Hence, we have to focus or remain in the Self to escape from the revolutions of the rim! Hence, focus only on the Self and not on the kaleidoscopic world! Hence every one must escape from this duality by remaining in the Self!