A NET OF JEWELS Meditations (Nisargadatta] Digest Number 1073)

November 23, 2003

From godrealized-

1 .

The universe is uncaused, like a net of jewels in which each is

only the reflection of all the others in a fantastic interrelated

harmony without end.

Comments by godrealized:

The universal system of God, the omnipotent creator is not as

complex as it seems. Our indulgence in day-to-day activities

keeps us out of the harmony from within. If we truly try to

understand the cosmic system created by God ... we shall not only

be able to comprehend the true meaning of what life is all about

but also be able to tread into the domains of sages and Saints.

To understand what is universe let me give an example-

Many bacteria live in our body. They are born within this body

and also die here. Our body is their universe. Their structure is

so minute that for these micro organisms our body is nothing less

then a universe. They grow here ... they have families ... a full

community of them organised as better as we are yet they do not

affect our working ... nor we get affected by this un harmful

bacteria. Viruses do affect us but most un harmful bacteria helps

us in maintaining the resistance of our body. We cannot live

without them.

The fermentation which occurs while preparation of curd is due to

this un harmful bacteria. Exactly the same way the bacteria lives

is within us never knowing what is the purpose of their life ...

why they were created ... we also come unto this Mother Earth

without a control in our hand. We are born not wilfully and die

unknown ... yet the cosmic system of God works perfectly.

Everything in his system is so co-ordinated and logical that

nothing ever fails.

Everyone knows that the universe does not seem to have a boundary

.... when we are not permitted to look beyond (as we are limited

by our senses and the mind) ... why the curiosity ... better term

it as " the universe has no boundary " . It solves all the

problems. No further queries ... we feel satisfied!

If the universe does not seem to have a boundary ... the next

question which arises within us is ... is this all for real ...

Hinduism has termed this as " Maya " meaning ignorance " . The

reason being if there is a creator at all then who created the

creator and if no one is the creator of the universe than it can

be safely stated that the universe is uncaused. It exists since

the beginning of time ... we human beings not given the powers to

understand beyond yet, every human being has been given the power

to attain salvation (moksha) in this very life and become one

with God, the creator.

To read more on the subject and related topics, click here-

http://www.godrealized.com/

2

Self-Realization is effortless. What you are trying to find is

what you already are.

Comments by godrealized:

Before we can discuss anything related to self-realisation, we

need to understand the meaning of the same. Self-realisation is

all about regaining the real self ... our true inner nature. When

our body is devoid of any karma ... it tends to become absolutely

pure ... that is achieve the stage of pure consciousness! This is

only possible by controlling our senses, then the mind ... this

results in burning out all the dross from the pure consciousness

known as soul ( the Atman within). The body having purified

becomes a realised soul ... in the past about hundred and fifty

years only two persons have realised God within this life ...

they are Ramakrishna Paramhansa and Maharishi Ramanna.

Having regained its original pristine glory ... there is nothing

else for the pure Atman to achieve on this earthly plain and it

returns to its original abode, the house of God known in Hinduism

as Baikunth.

Every human being needs to make effort so that our soul (the

Atman within) could get purified. This can be explained by the

example of an ore. Let us take a lump of iron ore weighing

hundred kilograms. Presuming it contains one KG of pure iron then

as a human being unless we separate the iron from the 99%

engulfing impurities we cannot expect to realise God. One KG of

pure iron has always existed in the lump of ore, yet it cannot on

its own purify the impurities. Every human being needs to perform

karma to do away with the impurities within. This is the prime

purpose of every being why we are here in this world. The logic

is absolutely clear.

Our soul (the Atman within) cannot on its own get purified ... it

definitely needs a body and in the process is born a living being

be it a long journey of 8.4 million manifestations ... a really

long journey indeed. Starting from the stage of amobae (a single

cell formation) ... the first manifestation in the cosmic journey

and right up to the stage of a human being ... the highest stage

of manifestation ... only as a human being can one realise God.

3

Enlightenment is total emptiness of mind. There is nothing you

can do to get it. Any effort you make can only be an obstruction

to it.

Comments by godrealized:

Enlightenment encompasses a very broader meaning. The mind can

never be empty. It is only when we gain control over the senses

and subsequently mind (the source of all activity within our

brain) does this body experience a feeling of absolute calmness

.... no vague thoughts disturbing us (thoughts keep flowing to us

in abundance every moment of our life ... without us having any

control over the source). By practising meditation the moment we

are able to seize the flow of unstoppable thoughts we experience

what is known as the stage of absolute bliss termed in Hinduism

as " Ananda " . Here we must never confuse Ananda with external

happiness. Both are extremely different.

And why do the thoughts keep flowing to us ... because we are a

human being something different from an animal ... we have the

power to think wisely and take decisions. Most animals are devoid

of this fundamental right of every human being. Only through the

process of thoughts can the Almighty God and all self realised

Atman's can be contacted by us (not vice versa). There is no

other medium of communication between the two. While praying what

we do is nothing but trying to establish a contact with the

creator through the medium of thoughts.

Enlightenment on the other part is a stage when the karma ceases

to exist for a particular Atman (soul) and having reached the

stage of absolute purity ... all that is available to the Atman

is nothing but pure wisdom. This stage of gaining the complete

wisdom contained in the cosmos is termed as Enlightenment, " the

knower of all " that is to be known in the cosmos. Beyond that

there is nothing to be known. One becomes Enlightenment ...

having seen the sun in its entirety there is nothing more to know

beyond ... the candlelight, the power of a lamp ... all lose

their remaining the moment we have a darshan of God, the Almighty

creator.

Lord Mahavira, Gautam Buddha, Jesus Christ and prophet Mohammed

.... all gained enlightenment. They reached the source of all

wisdom. Having accomplished the goal of their life ... they

practised preaching the same until they attained salvation

(Moksha). Every enlightened being in Hinduism is termed as having

gained kaivalya jnana ... a stage where one is not able to

recognise anything other than jnana ... the stage of absolute

purity and wisdom ... there is nothing else but jnana (kaivalya

means nothing else ... only wisdom).

5

If you but cease from useless conceptualizing, you will be what

you are and what you have always been.

Comments by godrealized:

Everything contained in the cosmic system of God is logical ...

the concept that we don't need to conceptualise is at fault. We

do need to meditate and come at the right conclusion. Every

religion is full of Scriptures which lays bare all wisdom

contained in the cosmos yet, most of us are unable to understand

the same unless it is rightfully explained to us by a spiritual

teacher. Everyone tries to get firsthand experience ... only then

is one able to grasp the inner truths.

When I was about 11 years of age, I had a very strong inkling

that I needed to talk to God in person. Whenever I was taken to a

temple ... I could not just believe in the existence of God in

those statues kept in the temple even if my mother said so. Every

mother is trusted by the child next to God. I needed a logical

explanation. I searched for a spiritual guru all over the country

.... could not get one ... in despair I raised my hands and begged

God to show me the path. The determination and patience had no

limits ... one cannot achieve any measurable success in life

without persistent practice and patience. This is the foremost

requirement of every goal we are trying to achieve. Ultimately,

God himself (the inner voice from within) guided me on the right

path and unless logically convinced I never agreed to the

concept. We do need to think and think wisely and arrive at the

right logical conclusion in everything we do or think of doing.

Nothing is to be taken as criticism ... to understand and come to

a logical conclusion and achieve our goal of life is what needs

nothing else but healthy criticism. Definitely, a refined way of

putting a slap on a buddy and saying, " you are right " .

6

Seeing truly is not merely a change in the direction of seeing,

but a change it its very center, in which the seer himself

disappears.

Comments by godrealized:

Whenever we see a Glass half full of water we get two ideas ...

first, the glass is half empty (we live in a materialistic world

.... we are not concerned about what we have but more worried

about what we don't have). The other way is seeing it half full.

Every normal human being normally perceives ... rather sees

everything from the first angle ... it is only when we start

scaling the higher reaches of lateral inbuilt consciousness by

the process of meditation ... are we able to comprehend the

absolute truth as we are able to now perceive both sides of the

coin.

Having reached this stage ... every sage has nothing more to

learn. One has learnt the basic technique of conceptualising and

grasping the inner meaning of everything said or done. This is

the stage when people say " the seer himself disappears " .

Ever watched a small bubble of water merging with a bigger bubble

.... the identity of the smaller one is lost ... but in the case

of the seer, the physical existence remains because every soul

(the Atman within) has an independent identity and one soul does

not contact the other after full purification is achieved. The

need for the same vanishes. Only until we perceive the garb of

our body do we require to talk to another body. Souls never

correspond ... purified souls can only correspond with the super

soul, God the Almighty creator. This is achieved by the process

of shruti jnana. More on shruti can be found at-

http://www.godrealized.com/glossary/Sruti.html

10

The only ultimate understanding is that nothing is, not even he

who understands.

Comments by godrealized:

When one reaches the stage of kaivalya jnana ... one does not

even perceive his own body ... one realises the ultimate truth

that there is nothing else but God, the Almighty creator. He is

the karta of all ... the doer of all. It is he in whom the whole

universe resides. There is nothing apart from him. Once all souls

(the Atman within) get purified the purpose of existence ceases

and the whole universe collapses back to its original position

.... half the size of a thumb ... again to start a new cosmos with

a big bang. The process how the cosmos is created is unique in

itself. In Hinduism cosmos is termed as brahmaand. More on

brahmaand available here-

http://www.godrealized.com/glossary/Brahmaand.html

14

For enlightenment to happen the perceiver must turn right around

and wake up to the fact that he is face to face with his own

nature - that HE IS IT. The spiritual seeker ultimately finds

that he was already at the destination, that he himself IS what

he had been seeking and he was in fact already home.

Comments by godrealized:

Unless one removes the dross completely, the perceiver cannot

comprehend one's own nature. We need to remove the 99% impurities

by performing the right karma absolving ourselves of all the sins

committed in this or earlier lives. Only then shall one KG of

pure iron regain its original form. One KG of iron did exist in

the hundred KG of iron ore lump from the beginning but it could

not have perceived its true self unless all the scattered

particles comprising one KG were combined together by the process

of mining (karma for human beings).

The process of purification has been made by God the Almighty

creator ... a long one indeed! A total cosmic journey of 8.4

million manifestations is not a short journey by any scale yet

all living beings perform this journey as per the dictates of the

Lord. We have absolutely no control over our birth and death. We

come from the unknown and vanish into the unknown. The period in

between is spent by the soul remaining in heaven or hell. Every

soul in order to purify itself has to take a body like we have on

Mother Earth. Only as a human being can one achieve salvation

(moksha). Only then can we expect to reach our real home ... the

house of God (Baikunth in Hinduism).

If you need to travel to Asia from USA ... there are different

paths one can choose ... one is via Japan ... the other via

Europe. Choose any religion or Dharma ... all paths lead to the

same destination. You definitely have to perform your karma,

remove the dross to complete the journey. No wonder, all souls

are scattered all over the cosmos yet, every soul is is connected

to the Almighty God through a series of transmitters and

receivers. Everyone living on Mother Earth connects to the

Almighty through the core of sun which acts as a perfect

receiving and transmitting station. Every soul on Mother Earth

cannot escape or communicate without the help of the centre of

all energy provided on Mother Earth ... that is the sun.

Does this mean there may be many more solar systems and planets

where we can find living beings all over the cosmos. Yes, it is a

fact yet all souls (atmans) within a solar system are prohibited

to contact other living forms in different solar systems. Only

after one reaches the state of enlightenment can a soul (Atman)

travel all over the cosmos. Until then, that one KG of iron

remains embedded along with 99% impurities always hoping that the

manifested body would expedite the cosmic journey. Yet, we human

beings run after materialistic pursuits all the time not

realising the cosmic truth that the sole purpose of every soul

(the Atman within) is but to realise our true self, the inner

nature and become one with God, the Almighty creator.

17

Concepts can at best only serve to negate one another, as one

thorn is used to remove another, and then be thrown away. Only in

deep silence do we leave concepts behind. Words and language deal

only with concepts, and cannot approach Reality.

Comments by godrealized:

We can always look at things from various angles. It is possible

that all versions are correct. Let me give an example. A man

walking on the street was approached by a child who called him

Dad. Another ran towards him calling him Uncle. Yet another

called him grandfather. All were correct. All three had different

relationships with the concerned person. Concepts which stands

true for innate objects (those without life in them) may not

necessarily be found to be true in cases of living beings. The

thoughts of a human being cannot be discarded by another because

for him they carry no meaning. Mutual exchange of thoughts is

very necessary on the spiritual scale.

Here I will narrate an example which shall make it clear how

important it is to have fruitful discussions with our brothers

and sisters of other religions.

If I need to go from New Delhi to Bombay and if I have no means

but the will is strong then none can stop me from proceeding

towards my goal. And I start barefoot on the long journey totally

unaware of how long the distance maybe. I need to see God within

this life. I do not know what my next manifestation would be.

Whatever is to be done I need to do within this life frame of 70

to 80 years. Having travelled for quite some time on foot, I saw

a horse-drawn cart proceeding towards my goal. The man driving

the cart was a Muslim living in my village. I was a devout Hindu.

This friend of mine who followed the teachings of prophet

Mohammed had a vacant seat in this cart. He asked me to jump into

the cart as he was going along the way I wanted to go. I saw no

harm in accompanying my Muslim friend.

The journey was long ... we started chatting on various matters

related to the religion of each other. Many of my doubts got

cleared. I was extremely happy as I had been looking forward to

answers to some yet unsolved queries which my friend unknowingly

bestowed upon me. As my and neared his destination I got down and

again started proceeding towards my goal on foot. My destination

was nowhere in sight. Neither I had any inkling how long is the

journey. I only knew that I was on the last leg of my

manifestation as a human being and to complete the cosmic journey

I need to avail whatever resources I could gather.

Having gone a few kilometres I felt tired and sat down by the

roadside. In the meanwhile a person known to me, a driver by

profession was proceeding towards my goal on his truck. It was my

sheer luck that he noticed me by the roadside due to a road

blockade ahead. He was a christian by faith and a hard worker

indeed. He was extremely popular among the village folks due to

his pleasing personality. Seeing my rundown face he compelled me

to take the onward journey in his truck as he was also proceeding

towards my goal.

On the way we again started chatting about religious matters. He

definitely could throw light on some queries which had been

disturbing me for quite some time. A long time after we parted. I

was lucky to have learnt some passages from the Bible. Had I been

a fundamentalist I may have been deprived of the vast area of

knowledge one can gather information from. One needs to keep an

open attitude towards one and all to be able to learn those

nuggets of wisdom which brings us nearer to our goal.

Life proceeds on ... we shall meet many in our journey of life

who maybe having a different perspective of life. Still, there is

always a chance to learn something from the other. Those who

outright reject other religions and faiths only prolong their

journey towards the ultimate goal ... liberation of the soul (the

Atman within) from the journey of various manifestations ... the

circle of life and death for ever and always. I followed this

path and was successful. Bless the Almighty!

Yes! We do need tranquillity sometimes ... we need to meditate in

surroundings where only nature exists. Only then can we

contemplate on the inner truths. But, interaction with other

members of various communities is a must. It all helps in

logically coming to the right answer.

18

Between pure Awareness and Awareness reflected as consciousness

there is a gap which the mind cannot cross. The reflection of the

sun in a drop of dew is not the sun itself.

Comments by godrealized:

Between pure awareness and awareness lies the mind of a human

being. Thousands of thoughts cross our mind every minute. We

practically have no control over them. They keep flashing round

the clock every minute of our life. If we take control of our

senses and subsequently establish a control over mind which means

that we are able to control the flow of thoughts then we

experience what we mean by pure awareness ... a feeling of

absolute calm pervades over us and we experience absolute bliss

(Ananda in Hinduism).

It is quite ... must say very difficult to control all the five

senses in entirety and the moment this happens, establishing a

control over flow of thoughts is easier. Nothing is un

achievable. We only need patience and persistence to achieve this

ultimate goal of our life. In this state of absolute samadhi

(Nirvikalpa samadhi) does one experience the presence of God, the

Almighty creator. It is a wonderful feeling which cannot be

described in words. Coming face to face with the Almighty creator

is something all saints and sages aspire for.

More on Nirvikalpa samadhi (the state of absolute nothingness)

can be read at-

http://www.godrealized.com/glossary/Nirvikalpa-Samadhi.html

22

Ceasing to conceptualize means ceasing to perceive objectively,

which means perceiving non-objectively. It is to see the universe

without choice or judgement and without getting into

subject-object relationship. What happens then? Nothing, except

that you are what you were before you were born: everything.

Comments by godrealized:

The chicken came first or the egg ... is a mystery one can only

solve by studying the true reality of life ... knowing the truth

about our real self, our Atman (the soul within). Once we are

able to distinguish our body from the soul ... conceptualising

becomes transparent. All our doubts vanish as we are able to

perceive that truths in its entirety.

The day we are able to realise the true self ... the concept that

the body is not part of our soul (the Atman within) and it is the

soul itself which has taken the body and not vice versa ... this

stage can only be achieved when we have suppressed our ego and

the feeling of I within us no more exists.

If we are to really search for the absolute truth we must study

the Bhagavad Gita... this sacred document forms the core of all

humanity. This document is not the domain of only Hindus ...

everyone can gain the wisdom contained in 700 shlokas (versus).

It is the beginning and the end of all that is worth knowing in

the whole cosmos ... it is the nectar elixir of the total wisdom

contained in the cosmos. There is nothing beyond this. Lord

Krishna who imparted the teachings contained in Bhagavad Gita

came about 1500 years before Bhagwan Mahavira. After about 77

years came Gautama Buddha. After about 400 years hence came Jesus

Christ and within 200 years came prophet Mohammed. The teachings

of all convey the same ... interpretations by the spiritual heads

can be different depending upon the intellect of a person.

Sometimes it gets distorted leading to fights amongst followers

of various religions and sects.

Absolute truth always remain the same ... it is true even now ...

it was true thousands of years before and it shall be true

thousands of years hence. In every cosmic cycle the absolute

truth remains the same.

24

When the apparent but illusory identity called a person has

disappeared into the awareness of total potentiality that it is

and has always been, this is called enlightenment.

Comments by godrealized:

The feeling of I exists because of the body taken by our soul

(the Atman within). The moment we are able to transcend this

mortal feeling and realise the absolute truth that our soul (the

Atman within) is the only true essence of life ... we attain the

stage of enlightenment. At this stage there is nothing more to

know. All dross having removed from the body ... the soul (the

Atman within) gains its real self. Enlightenment is not an

awareness ... it is a stage in life which is achieved with great

patience, practice and meditation.

Whenever the duality vanishes ... what remains is only our soul

(the Atman within). Ignorance having removed we are able to

perceive that truth in its entirety.

25

Manifestation may adopt any number of forms but the substratum of

all the myriad forms is Consciousness, without which there cannot

be anything whatsoever.

Comments by godrealized:

Every life started as an amobae (single cell formation) ... the

first manifested stage in the cosmic cycle subsequently we climb

higher and become a tree ... sometimes later we evolve into an

animal and finally we are born a human being ... the highest

stage of manifestation by our soul (the Atman within). Only as a

human being can we achieve salvation (moksha). Absolute pure

consciousness is what we call our soul (the Atman within).

All the forms and the bodies are taken by our soul (the Atman

within) enabling it to purify in the process. Only after full

purification has been achieved does one achieve the stage of

enlightenment.

28

Nothing can have any meaning, or even any existence, except in

terms of something else.

Comments by godrealized:

Everything in the world is relative. If there is pain ... we feel

happiness also. It would have not been possible for us to

recognise happiness if there was no pain. We have fire and water.

We recognise fire in terms of water. Water in itself is a

tremendous source of energy. All hydroelectric projects derive

electricity from this water which energises our working. Without

water none can sustain. Likewise everything in the cosmos is

interrelated because there is no duality. We perceive duality

because we have senses and a mind. The moment we overcome this

duality ... this relativity which we experience as a human being

vanishes. What remains is only pure consciousness ... our soul

(the Atman within)

29

The man of wisdom is devoid of ego even though he may appear to

use it. His vacant or fasting mind is neither doing anything nor

not doing anything. He is outside of volition, neither this nor

that. He is everything and nothing.

Comments by godrealized:

Every person on the path to self-realisation tends to live a life

devoid of any misunderstanding ... always delving himself in

thoughts of a spiritual nature. While proceeding on this path it

is as if God asks us, " what you want, my dear child! " . If we

divert our attention and seek worldly pleasures then we can have

them in plenty. But, if we desire the ultimate goal of life ...

self-realisation, which can only happen when we come face-to-face

with God ... we definitely need to control our senses and the

mind.

Ramakrishna Paramhansa realised this goal in is very life. He

realised God and still carried on with his worldly duties ...

this was only to retain his body. If we remove the last stain of

impurity from our body then our soul (the Atman within) would

immediately leave the body and as a person one would become dead.

To the ignorant who is much below the mental level of the

spiritual teacher ... one who can never fathom the depths of

wisdom which a true spiritual aspirant has reached ... To him all

live on the earthly plane and assesses others based on the level

of his own ego. To think of someone devoid of ego is

incomprehensible to him. We do not accept anything the concept of

which is not clear to us. We are rather not concerned with the

wisdom of the other but we always try to live in igloos of our

own making.

Here I shall narrate some occurrences recorded in history in

Hinduism-

Sage Vishwamitra fell from grace in spite of the severe

austerities practised by him ... he desired bodily pleasures and

forgot about his real motive and goal. His contemporary Sage

Vashisth continued on the path and attained his goal never

diverting himself from the main target. Although Sage Vishwamitra

considered himself a step higher than Sage Vashisth but he could

not adopt it in practice and fell from grace.

30

Your doubts will never be totally destroyed until perception has

gone beyond mere phenomenality, and such perception is not a

matter of will but of Grace.

Comments by godrealized:

While proceeding on the path of pure spirituality ... one must

always remember that it is the logistics which counts in

furthering our goal of life. The dialogues of Plato were based on

logistical discussions and conclusions which ultimately led all

to the right conclusion. If we try to remove all the clutter from

our thinking process than we can definitely concentrate our

thoughts absolutely on the spiritual pursuits of life.

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A NET OF JEWELS Meditations (Nisargadatta] Digest Number 1073)

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