Study Notes
PARAGRAPH 4
An absolute, eternal and infinite Self-existence, Self-awareness, Self-delight of being that secretly supports and pervades the universe even while it is also beyond it, is, then, the first truth of spiritual experience. But this truth of being has at once an impersonal and a personal aspect; it is not only Existence, it is the one Being absolute, eternal and infinite. As there are three fundamental aspects in which we meet this Reality,— Self, Conscious Being or Spirit and God, the Divine Being, or to use the Indian terms, the absolute and omnipresent Reality, Brahman, manifest to us as Atman, Purusha, Ishwara,—so too its power of Consciousness appears to us in three aspects: it is the self-force of that consciousness conceptively creative of all things, Maya; it is Prakriti, Nature or Force made dynamically executive, working out all things under the witnessing eye of the Conscious Being, the Self or Spirit; it is the conscious Power of the Divine Being, Shakti, which is both conceptively creative and dynamically executive of all the divine workings.
EXPLANATION
It is an absolute, eternal and infinite Self-existence, Self-awareness, Self-delight of being that secretly supports and pervades the universe. At the same time It is beyond the universe. This is the first truth of spiritual experience.
This truth of being has at once an impersonal and a personal aspect. There are three fundamental aspects in which we meet this Reality: Self, Conscious Being or Spirit and God, the Divine Being. In Indian terms this Omnipresent Reality manifest to us as Atman, Purusha and Ishwara.
Also its power of Consciousness appears to us in three aspects. It is the self-force of that consciousness that conceptually creates all things. This self-force is Maya. It is Prakriti, Nature or Force which is made dynamically executive. It works out everything under the witnessing eye of the Conscious Being, the Self or Spirit. It is the conscious Power of the Divine Being, Shakti; it is both conceptually creative and dynamically executive.
These three aspects and their powers base and comprise the whole of existence and all Nature and, taken together as a single whole, they reconcile the apparent disparateness and incompatibility of the supracosmic Transcendence, the cosmic universality and the separativeness of our individual existence; the Absolute, cosmic Nature and ourselves are linked in oneness by this triune aspect of the one Reality. For taken by itself the existence of the Absolute, the Supreme Brahman, would be a contradiction of the relative universe and our own real existence would be incompatible with its sole incommunicable Reality.
EXPLANATION
These three aspects and their powers comprise the whole of existence. If we take it as a single whole the apparent difference and incompatibility of the supracosmic Transcendence, the cosmic universality and the separativeness of our individual existence (Transcendent, cosmic and Individual) are reconciled. The Absolute, cosmic Nature and Individual are linked in oneness by this triune aspect of the one Reality. Taken alone, the Absolute, the Supreme Brahman would be a contradiction to the universe; our individual existence would be incompatible with its sole incommunicable Reality.
But the Brahman is at the same time omnipresent in all relativities; it is the Absolute independent of all relatives, the Absolute basing all relatives, the Absolute governing, pervading, constituting all relatives; there is nothing that is not the omnipresent Reality. In observing the triple aspect and the triple power we come to see how this is possible.
EXPLANATION
Brahman is omnipresent in all relativities. Yet, It is the Absolute independent of all relatives. All relatives are based on this Absolute. It governs, pervades, and constitutes all relatives. There is nothing in the universe that is not the omnipresent Reality. We come to see how this truth is possible by observing the triple aspect and the triple power of the Reality.
PARAGRAPH 5
If we look at this picture of the Self-Existence and its works as a unitary unlimited whole of vision, it stands together and imposes itself by its convincing totality: but to the analysis of the logical intellect it offers an abundance of difficulties, such as all attempts to erect a logical system out of a perception of an illimitable Existence must necessarily create; for any such endeavour must either effect consistency by an arbitrary sectioning of the complex truth of things or else by its comprehensiveness become logically untenable.
EXPLANATION
Looked at as a holistic, unlimited, unitary vision, the picture of Self-Existence presents itself with a convincing totality. But when we approach it with logical intellect we are faced with a lot of difficulties. All attempts to erect a logical system out of a perception of an illimitable Existence must necessarily create difficulties.
Because any such attempt must either effect consistency by an arbitrary (without any rationale) divisioning of the complex truth of things. Or else by its comprehensiveness the consistency becomes logically not maintainable. In other words any attempt to divide the Truth into parts in order to suit our mental logic would always present an incomplete picture.
For we see that the Indeterminable determines itself as infinite and finite, the Immutable admits a constant mutability and endless differences, the One becomes an innumerable multitude, the Impersonal creates or supports personality, is itself a Person; the Self has a nature and is yet other than its nature; Being turns into becoming and yet it is always itself and other than its becomings; the Universal individualises itself and the Individual universalises himself; Brahman is at once void of qualities and capable of infinite qualities, the Lord and Doer of works, yet a non-doer and a silent witness of the workings of Nature.
EXPLANATION
We see that the Indeterminable is also capable of determination. It determines itself both as infinite and finite. The immutable permits mutability and differences. The One becomes an innumerable many. The Impersonal is itself a Person and supports personality. The Self has a nature and is yet other than its nature; it is silent and inactive and yet it is dynamic (both Akshara & Kshara). Being turns into becoming and yet it is beyond all its becomings. The Universal becomes the individual; the Individual universalises himself. Brahman is without any qualities, Nirguna; at the same time It is capable of infinite qualities, Saguna. The Lord and Doer of works; yet the Lord is a silent witness of the workings of Nature (Purusha as a silent witness to the workings of Prakriti).
If we look carefully at these workings of Nature, once we put aside the veil of familiarity and our unthinking acquiescence in the process of things as natural because so they always happen, we discover that all she does in whole or in parts is a miracle, an act of some incomprehensible magic. The being of the Self-existence and the world that has appeared in it are, each of them and both together, a suprarational mystery.
EXPLANATION
How do we observe the workings of Nature? We become familiar with all Her workings. We accept whatever happens in nature as natural phenomena. If we remove this veil of familiarity and our natural acceptance we will discover that all Nature does in whole or in parts is a miracle. We will realise that it is an act of some incomprehensible magic. Both the Self-existence (Sat) and the world that has appeared in it are each of them and both together a suprarational mystery.
There seems to us to be a reason in things because the processes of the physical finite are consistent to our view and their law determinable, but this reason in things, when closely examined, seems to stumble at every moment against the irrational or infrarational and the suprarational: the consistency, the determinability of process seems to lessen rather than increase as we pass from matter to life and from life to mentality; if the finite consents to some extent to look as if it were rational, the infinitesimal refuses to be bound by the same laws and the infinite is unseizable.
EXPLANATION
The workings of the material nature may appear to us conforming to a reason. It appears so because we are dealing with the physical finite. They are consistent to our view and their law is determinable.
When we closely examine the reason in things, sometimes they are irrational; sometimes they are infrarational (below the realm of reasoning like the acts of Nature); sometimes they are suprarational (beyond our reasoning like all the supra-physical, occult phenomena).
At the level of matter we find the process more consistent and determinable. As we move from matter to life and from life to mentality the consistency and determinability become less and less prominent. The finite things seem to conform to our mental reasoning. But the infinitesimal refuses to be bound by the same laws of reason. The infinite cannot be seized by our reason.
As for the action of the universe and its significance, it escapes us altogether; if Self, God or Spirit there be, his dealings with the world and us are incomprehensible, offer no clue that we can follow. God and Nature and even ourselves move in a mysterious way which is only partially and at points intelligible, but as a whole escapes our comprehension. All the works of Maya look like the production of a suprarational magical Power which arranges things according to its wisdom or its phantasy, but a wisdom which is not ours and a phantasy which baffles our imagination.
EXPLANATION
The action of the universe and its significance escapes our human reason. If we can conceive of a Self, God or Spirit his dealings with the world and us are beyond all human comprehension. It offers no clue that we can follow.
God and Nature and even we, the human beings, move in a mysterious way. It is understandable only partially and that too at points. But as a whole it escapes our comprehension.
All the works of Maya look like the production of a suprarational magical power. This power arranges things according to its wisdom or its fantasy (fictitious imagination). Its wisdom is different from human wisdom. Its fantasy baffles our imagination.
The Spirit that manifests things or manifests itself in them so obscurely, looks to our reason like a Magician and his power or Maya a creative magic: but magic can create illusions or it can create astounding realities, and we find it difficult to decide which of these suprarational processes faces us in this universe.
EXPLANATION
The Spirit manifests things; or it manifests itself in them so obscurely (not clearly). Therefore, it looks to our reason like a Magician and his power or Maya a creative magic. The magic can create illusions. At the same time it can create astounding realities. Both are beyond our reason. We find it difficult to decide which of these faces us in this universe.
TERMS EXPLAINED
Sat, Chit, Ananda – The Reality in its Truth aspect reveals itself as absolute self-existence, self-awareness, self-delight
Self-existence – This further reveals itself in manifestation in three statuses:
1. Self or Atman
2. Conscious Being or the Purusha or Spirit
3. God, the Divine Being, Ishwara
Self – Reality as Self supports all forms and movements.
Conscious Being or – It is the Reality that constitutes the
Purusha or Spirit the individuality
God, the Divine Being, – It is the Reality that constitutes the Universe
Ishwara
Brahman – It is the Reality turned towards manifestation
The Absolute – It is the Reality in itself, the Supreme Brahman
Maya – Corresponding to Atman, the power is Maya – the conceptually creative power
Prakriti – Corresponding to Purusha or Spirit, the power
that is dynamically executive
Shakti – Corresponding to Ishwara, God, the Divine
Being the power becomes Shakti. It has the
character of both Maya and Prakriti