| Non-duality |
[Mar. 29th, 2005|08:33 pm] |
| [ | current mind-set |
| |  contemplative | ] |
What is non-duality?
In order to gain an understanding of non-duality, perhaps we should first explore duality. What is duality? Dual means ‘of or having to do with two’. It is interesting that the root meaning ‘two’ connotes badness. The Greek prefix ‘dys’ and the Latin ‘dis’ are both derived from ‘duo’. We have words like ‘dubious’ and ‘doubt’ and to doubt is to be double minded.
Behold but One in all things; it is the second that leads you astray. –Kabir
This insight into the nature of ‘good’ and ‘evil’ is not confined exclusively to the Saint, but is recognized obscurely by every human being who knows language. For language is often wiser, not merely than the vulgar, but even than the wisest who speak it. It sometimes locks up truths. Truths which were once well known, but have been forgotten.
Now that I am done plagiarizing bits of pages 10 and 11 of Aldous Huxley’s Perennial Philosophy my own essay can begin. Again, what is Non-Duality?
Non-duality would be union. Words like Religion and Yoga indicate this, as Yoga means ‘to yoke’ and religion means ‘to bind’. I like to think of non-duality as a multifaceted gem; there are many surfaces that can be explored, and depending on what angle you look at it from, the light seems to shine most brilliantly from certain facets, so now I will explore how I see non-duality, one facet at a time.
The most common perception of non-duality seems to be the idea that a person who understands and comprehends it would exclaim ‘All is one! All one or none!’ (sorry I couldn’t resist with the Dr.Bronner’s) as in everything being equal, and anything indicating otherwise is merely an illusion. I would have to say that for the most part this is a bogus perception, although I will say that there is a type of ‘ultimate reality’ in which ‘non-duality- is indeed ‘no-thing’. Some people see this as being a dangerous side effect of mysticism in which the aspirant that believes in it should literally collapse into a nihilistic state of non existence, we could only wish that for these people this would actually happen swiftly and painlessly, but we are not going to hold our breath. The fact of the matter is there is a form of non-duality that is indeed no thing in which one transcends the ego completely and they do not reincarnate. This is non-duality as it is commonly taught in the Sutras. The sutras being for all, this level of attainment is attainable by all, and according to some, is the only level of attainment for a Pashu nature being living in the Kali Yuga.
The Kali Yuga being the age of Iron, the structure of spiritual realization has crumbled and all that is left is the decaying feet of clay. Kali Yuga also depicted as a cow standing on one leg, the legs of the three prior world ages have collapsed. Understanding of the Yugas, and the concept of involution and the degeneracy that is prevalent in this modern age where everything is covered in dross, material, and anything of a spiritual nature is difficult to discern because it is so cloaked in dross… well, understanding this is important in order to understand non-duality, especially if you want to understand it from the Tantric perspective, rather than the Sutra perspective that leads to realization of ‘no self’ and the material plane is transcended altogether.
The Tantrics see an apparent conundrum in the false dichotomy created by the notion of ‘non-duality’ and ‘physical existence’ being viewed as two separate things. It becomes apparent in that statement with the words ‘two and different’ placing non-duality and physical existence’ in direct opposition with each other, so while one can transcend cyclic existence, one’s transcendence into ‘no-thing’ does not blot out the physical world for the rest of us. They might be at the final destination of ultimate reality, but to think all will dissolve with them is absurd. In fact, this is where the notion of Nirvana and Sangsara being one and the same resonates with so many aspirants. This is where we realize that the notion of a liberated being existing in physical form may not be common, but is possible. The question is, who can attain this? How? Some say that only the remnants from the Yugas prior to Kali can attain this. That The Viras, from the silver and bronze ages, could aspire to this while the Divyas, which could be likened to Bodhisattvas, are already there, and only here to assist Pashu nature beings in transcendence.
With this observation, it would make sense that only a Pashu nature being would be caught up in things like perpetuating egalitarianism and be partial to a democracy, (more appropriately termed oligarchy by Aleister Crowley) while the remnants of the otherwise extinguished ‘spiritual races’ would favor things like Aristocracy. For the Pashu is not predispositioned to master the material plane, they really do not want to do the work involved, and most importantly, they don’t understand non-duality on any level, or any of it’s many facets because they can’t see past the dross that the All in All is cloaked in. They fool themselves into thinking we are all equal as a birthright. If this indeed were the case, the notion of varying levels of attainment and working to master the astral plane would be redundant. The notion of another being able to reach levels of attainment while still employing techniques that require the ability to differentiate object from subject; the use of the intellect, a function of the ego; employing the ego as a means to the end rather than seeking to simply transcend it altogether from the get go, well, it can be bothersome to people who would rather pull everything down to their level of understanding rather than bring themselves up. They want their cake and eat it too. They want the easy route that leads to ‘no thing’ but they want to claim mastery over the material plane simultaneously. They argue that pointing out the work involved with mastering the material plane and intellectualizing it means a person is caught up in duality, when more appropriately, when properly understood, non-duality in it’s truest form, when you take all of the many facets of the one gem, encompasses things like language and thought and transcends them at the same time. This is the difference between non-duality for a person who can only hope to achieve the nihilistic collapse of ego into no thing; may their transcendence be swift and painless, and a person who has the ability to be a true magician, a true master, a demigod, capable of convincing the universe to conform with his will. |
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