Study Notes
PARAGRAPH 9 Contd..,
The realisation “I am That” is true, but we cannot safely proceed on it unless we realise also that all is That; our self-existence is a fact, but we must also be aware of other selves, of the same Self in other beings and of That which exceeds both own-self and other-self. The Infinite is one in a multiplicity and its action is only seizable by a supreme Reason which regards all and acts as a one-awareness that observes itself in difference and respects its own differences, so that each thing and each being has its form of essential being and its form of dynamic nature, svarupa, svadharma, and all are respected in the total working.
EXPLANATION
The realisation “I am That (Brahman)” is true. But we should also realise that all is That. Our self-existence is a fact. But the Self in others is also a fact. We must be aware of both. And we must be also aware of That which exceeds both own-self and other-self.
We find multiplicity in this manifested world. Yet the Infinite is one in a multiplicity. The action of the Infinite is only seizable by supreme Reason. This supreme Reason regards all and acts as a one-awareness. It observes itself in difference and respects its own differences. Here each thing and each being has its form of essential being, svarupa; each thing and each being has its form of dynamic nature, svadharma. All are respected in the total working.
The knowledge and action of the Infinite is one in an unbound variability: it would be from the point of view of the infinite Truth equally an error to insist either on a sameness of action in all circumstances or on a diversity of action without any unifying truth and harmony behind the diversity. In our own principle of conduct, if we sought to act in this greater Truth, it would be equally an error to insist on our self alone or to insist on other selves alone; it is the Self of all on which we have to found a unity of action and a total, infinitely plastic yet harmonious diversity of action; for that is the nature of the working of the Infinite.
EXPLANATION
The Infinite manifests itself in multiplicity and yet it is one. When there is multiplicity there must also be variability. Each form, each action in the universe varies from the other. This variation is also infinite, i.e. unbound. Therefore the knowledge and action of the Infinite is one in an unbound variability.
We cannot insist on sameness of action in all circumstances. Nor can we insist on diversity of action without any unifying truth and harmony behind the diversity. Both would be an error from the point of view of the infinite Truth.
In our own principle of conduct, it would be an error to insist on our selves alone or to insist on other selves alone if we sought to act in this greater Truth. A unity of action should be founded on the Self of all. Such an action must be infinitely plastic and yet a harmonious diversity of action. Because that is the nature of the working of the Infinite.
PARAGRAPH 10
If we look from this view-point of a larger more plastic reason, taking account of the logic of the Infinite, at the difficulties which meet our intelligence when it tries to conceive the absolute and omnipresent Reality, we shall see that the whole difficulty is verbal and conceptual and not real. Our intelligence looks at its concept of the Absolute and sees that it must be indeterminable and at the same time it sees a world of determinations which emanates from the Absolute and exists in it,—for it can emanate from nowhere else and can exist nowhere else; it is further baffled by the affirmation, also hardly disputable on the premisses, that all these determinates are nothing else than this very indeterminable Absolute.
EXPLANATION
When we try to conceive the absolute and omnipresent Reality with our intelligence we meet with difficulties. But if we look from the point of view of a larger more plastic reason taking into account the logic of the Infinite we will realise that the whole difficulty arises because of the words by which we describe the Reality and the conceptions based on our intellect. These difficulties are not real.
Our intelligence looks at its concept of the Absolute and sees that it must be indeterminable. At the same time it sees a world of determinations which emanates from the Absolute and exists in it. Because all the determinations must emanate from the Absolute only and exist in it only and nowhere else.
Also our intelligence is baffled by the affirmation that all these cosmic determinates (creations) are nothing else than this very indeterminable Absolute.
But the contradiction disappears when we understand that the indeterminability is not in its true sense negative, not an imposition of incapacity on the Infinite, but positive, a freedom within itself from limitation by its own determinations and necessarily a freedom from all external determination by anything not itself, since there is no real possibility of such a not-self coming into existence. The Infinite is illimitably free, free to determine itself infinitely, free from all restraining effect of its own creations.
EXPLANATION
The contradiction between Indeterminable and the cosmic determinates disappears once we understand that indeterminability is not in its true sense negative. It is not an imposition of incapacity on the Infinite. But it is positive.
The term indeterminability denotes a freedom within itself from limitation by its own determinations. It must also necessarily be a freedom from all external determination, that is, by anything other than itself. Because there is no possibility of anything other than the omnipresent Reality coming into existence. The Infinite is illimitably free. It is free from the limitations of its own creations.
In fact the Infinite does not create, it manifests what is in itself, in its own essence of reality; it is itself that essence of all reality and all realities are powers of that one Reality. The Absolute neither creates nor is created,—in the current sense of making or being made; we can speak of creation only in the sense of the Being becoming in form and movement what it already is in substance and status. Yet we have to emphasise its indeterminability in that special and positive sense, not as a negation but as an indispensable condition of its free infinite self-determination, because without that the Reality would be a fixed eternal determinate or else an indeterminate fixed and bound to a sum of possibilities of determination inherent within it.
EXPLANATION
The fact is that the Infinite does not create. It manifests what is in itself, like a plant coming out of a seed. It manifests what is in its own essence of reality. It is itself that essence of all reality. All realities are powers of that one Reality.
The Absolute neither creates nor is created. Here there is no ‘making’ or being ‘made’. We can take it as creation only in a sense of the Being becoming in form and movement. It becomes what it already is in substance and status.
Yet we have to emphasise its indeterminability in that special and positive sense. We do it not as a negation but as an indispensable condition of its free infinite self-determination.
Because without that indeterminability the Reality would be a fixed eternal determinate. Or else it would be an indeterminate fixed and bound to a sum of possibilities of determinations inherent within it.
Its freedom from all limitation, from any binding by its own creation cannot be itself turned into a limitation, an absolute incapacity, a denial of all freedom of self-determination; it is this that would be a contradiction, it would be an attempt to define and limit by negation the infinite and illimitable.
EXPLANATION
We say that the Absolute is free from all limitations. We also say that It cannot be bound by its own creation. Can we turn this aspect itself into a limitation? Can we call it an absolute incapacity? We cannot. Is it a denial of all freedom of self-determination? If that is so, then it would be a contradiction. It would be an attempt to define and limit by negation the infinite and illimitable. By our very process of rejecting ‘this is not That’, neti neti we are in fact limiting the illimitable.
Into the central fact of the two sides of the nature of the Absolute, the essential and the self-creative or dynamic, no real contradiction enters; it is only a pure infinite essence that can formulate itself in infinite ways. One statement is complementary to the other, there is no mutual cancellation, no incompatibility; it is only the dual statement of a single inescapable fact by human reason in human language.
EXPLANATION
There are two sides of the nature of the Absolute. One is the essential side. The other is the self-creative or dynamic side. This is the central fact into which no real contradiction enters. The essential is the pure infinite essence which can only formulate itself in infinite ways.
The statement of the essential side and the statement of the dynamic side of the Divine Reality are complementary to each other. There is no mutual cancellation, no incompatibility.
But what the human reason does is, it makes the dual statement of a single inescapable fact in human language. This creates the contradiction between the two sides.