MAYA AND MIND

There is no duality in Reality. All modification is illusory. Multiplicity is an illusion.

Maya projects multiplicity. Maya creates division, division between the individual soul and the Supreme Soul.

Maya is a tremendous, delusive power of God. Maya is the material stuff of this world. Maya is the source of the physical universe. This world of names and forms is a false show kept up by the jugglery of Maya.

Just as a stick burning at one end, when waved round quickly, produces an illusion of a circle of fire, Alata Chakra, so is it with the multiplicity of the world. Maya deludes us. Maya havocs through the mind. The things that we perceive all around us are only mind in form or substance.

The world is a product of the mind. The whole world is an expansion of the mind. The entire universe arises and exists in the mind.

Nothing of the world is outside the mind. Earth, mountains, and rivers-all are fragments of the mind, appearing as it were to exist outside.

The world does not exist by itself. It is not seen without the aid of the mind. It disappears when the mind ceases to function.

It is imagination alone that assumes the forms of time, space, and motion. Space and time have no independent status apart from Brahman or the Self, which is Awareness.

There is no space without time, and there is no time without space. Space and time go together. Space and time are interdependent. They are unreal.

Time and space are mental creations. Time and space are mental projections, as unreal as dreams. However real they may seem to be, they are not ultimately real. Timeless, spaceless Brahman is the only Reality.

Brahman alone is. It is Brahman alone that shines as the world of variegated objects, like waves differentiating the water into many kinds of foam, bubbles, etc. Brahman appears as the world when cognized through the mind and the senses.

MATTER AND SPIRIT

This whole universe is the body of God. This entire world is God or Virat Svarupa. This world is not a world of dead matter, but a living Presence. This world is a manifestation of the Spirit. The fundamental error of all ages is the belief that the spiritual world and the material are separate. Spirit and matter are neither different nor separable.

Matter is Spirit cognized through the senses. Matter is spirit in manifestation. Matter is Spirit in motion. Matter is power of the Lord. Matter is a dynamic aspect of the static Lord. The world is an expression of Brahman, the Absolute.

This world is a shadow of Brahman. It is an overflow of the bliss of Brahman. It is an emanation of God. It is a manifestation of God. It is a reflection of God. The world is charged with the splendour, glory, and grandeur of God.

God is the one light that shines in various forms. He is the one voice that speaks in various languages. He is the one life that thrills through every atom in the universe.

God fills everywhere. God is equally and fully contained in all things.

The world is a play of God. God, the warp and the woof, is blended with the world.

As there is no difference between gold and ornaments, so there is no difference between God and the universe. God is the relisher. He Himself is the relish.

The world is not different from God. God is within and without everything. There is no place where God is not. Everything is God, and there is nothing but God.

IS THE WORLD UNREAL?

In reality, there is no world. It is a mere appearance, like the snake in the rope. All names and forms are unreal like the shadow, like water in the mirage, blueness in the sky.

The unreality of the world is the truth in the ultimate analysis. But, in relative existence, one cannot deny it. It is quite real from the empirical standpoint.

This world is not absolutely unreal, because you experience it, you feel it. It is not absolutely real also, because it vanishes when you attain wisdom.

This world is unreal: for whom? and when? For a liberated sage alone, this world is unreal. It is a solid reality for a worldly man. When you wake up alone, the dream becomes unreal. When you are dreaming, the dream is quite real to you.

This world is unreal. But in what sense? Is it as unreal as the horn of a hare or a barren woman’s son or the lotus in the sky? No. It is not as much solid or reality as Brahman is. When compared with Brahman, It is unreal. It Is mere appearance.

Creation is the appearance of the Lord, who is one, as many. Atman, who is one and immutable by nature, seems to have assumed innumerable forms. Brahman or the Absolute, manifests itself as the universe through forms.

THE RIDDLE OF EVIL

This world is God’s revelation of Himself. His bliss or joy assumes all these forms.

All life is alike. The universal heart beats in the minutest life. The Lord breathes in all life.

Just as one thread penetrates all flowers in a garland, so also, one Self penetrates all these living beings. Behold this one Self in all. Serve all. Love all. Be kind to all. Give up the idea of diversity.

The world is neither good nor bad. The mind creates good and evil. Thinking makes it so.

To the good, the world is full of good; but to the bad, the world is full of evil.

The evil is not in the world. It is in the mind. Man sees only the reflection of his mind. If you become perfect, the world will appear good.

Behold the Lord always, in everything. You will see no evil. You will see good everywhere. You will find peace.

UNITY OF EXISTENCE

One Soul abides in all. There is one humanity. There is one brotherhood. There is one Atmahood. None is high. None is low. All are equal. Vain are the distinctions. Man-made barriers should be ruthlessly broken down. Then alone there will be peace in this world.

There is only one caste, the caste of humanity. There is only one religion, the religion of love. There is only one commandment, the commandment of truthfulness. There is only one law, the law of cause and effect. There is only one God, the omnipresent, omnipotent, omniscient Lord. There is only one language, the language of the heart or the language of silence.

All life is one. The world is one home. All are members of one human family. All creation is an organic whole. No man is independent of that whole. Man makes himself miserable by separating himself from others. Separation is death. Unity is eternal life. Cultivate cosmic love. Include all. Embrace all. Recognise the worth of others. Destroy all barriers, racial, religious and natural prejudices that separate man from man. Recognise the non-dual principles, the immortal essence within all creatures. Protect animals. Let all life be sacred. Then this world will be a paradise of beauty, a heaven of peace and tranquillity.

When one Atman dwells in all living beings, then why do you hate others? Why do you sneer and frown at others? Why do you use harsh words? Why do you try to rule and domineer over others? Why do you exploit others? Why are you intolerant? Is this not the height of your folly? In this not sheer ignorance?

Learn to live as members of a single family. Champion the ideal of one humanity. Live in peace in one world. All are children of God. The whole world is one family of God. Feel this. Realise this. Be happy.

Behold the One-in-all and all-in-One. Feel: “I am the all” and “I am in all”. Feel: “All bodies are mine. The whole world is my body, my sweet home”. Feel: “I work in all hands. I eat in all mouths”. Feel: “I am the immortal Self in all”. Repeat these formulae mentally several times daily. Repeat Om mentally and feel the oneness of life or the unity of consciousness when you play football or tennis, when you drink and eat, when you talk and sing, when you sit and walk, when you bathe and dress, when you write a letter, when you do work in the office, when you answer calls of nature. Spiritualise every movement, action, thought, and feeling. Transmute them into Yoga.