Thursday, May 23, 2013

Revealing Characteristics of Consciousness Itself

The following is the first article from the 'Revealing Characteristics of Consciousness Itself' series of articles published by the Saccidananda Society, Kolkata in 'Sri Sanai', its quarterly magazine. It has been electronically reproduced 'as-is' from the print version that appeared in the the Janmashtami 2004 (Volume XVIII, No. 3, September 2004) issue of Sri Sanai.  We hope the readers realize immense spiritual benefits on reading and contemplating upon the words of Sri Sri Babathakur.

The universe is dwelling place of mankind.  Here mankind is born, is brought up and asserts itself for its integral progress and development aspiring for its worldly prospect, comfort, happiness, personal purification, perfection and realization.  The more it asserts the more it finds something new, something unknown, something more interesting and thereby acquire some experience greater and greater than previous ones.  In this way new sorts of experience enrich it.  Such experience makes it more qualified and enlightens it with new light of understanding.
 
In life whatever we consider to be most dear and valuable is our personal experience, experience of some objective and some subjective dimensions.  In the initial stage, we are interested more in objective pursuits and understanding.
 
The truth that we first experience is that our objective experience inspires us so much that we are only involved and devoted in all respects to the objective pursuits of life and experience thereof.  It goes without saying that nothing is valid without experience.  Therefore whatever and however we think, do, enjoy, behave, transact, expect, and acquire, all are fully objective by nature.  For that the objective and visible world is solely responsible.  We in general feel that the relative existence of names and forms mainly serves the purpose of our worldly life and most of us cannot even think anything beyond that.  That is the characteristic of relative existence or objective nature of life.
 
We, the common people, begin our worldly life with the objective environment and its influence.  We think that life subsists on worldly object of diversified names and forms.  So long as we are engrossed with this objective view of life, we are bound to experience both the merits and demerits of the same.  Here the most pertinent point is that such experience compels us to prefer something agreeable and favourable and discard or avoid the opposites.  In this way, we develop the nature of liking and disliking and thereby become limited to some extent.  Here it is clear that objective experience of life being relative is not all perfect.  In such experience we lack perfection of objective understanding.  It cannot be denied that the objective experience, even of greater and better one is incomplete and insufficient to satisfy our inner and higher needs of life.  The aspiration of life cannot be limited to this or that and that or this, so and so.  That is why our unsatisfied nature tries to overcome such limitation and condition for which we are prone to think and try in a different outlook.  We enquire within ourselves if there is any agreeable solution.  Thereby we come in contact directly with our subjective fold of nature which is more subtle, finer, wider and dependable.  Thus we discover our subjective nature which is not only the source of objective one but also the support, guide and subject of the same.
 
The subjective nature of life is not so much limited and conditioned as the objective one.  Our subjective nature, when it is conscious of its own existence, never depends on the objective one but gets itself more aware about its subjective fold.  Subjective nature experiences both the objective and subjective ones separately and simultaneously as well.
 
When subjective nature is more conscious about itself, it is no more limited and conditioned by the objective one which was its first experience.  The subjective consciousness of life by virtue of its merits tries to overcome all sorts of demerits and it succeeds in such endeavour to some extent, though not fully.  It is true that subjective experience is wider than and superior to objective ones in all respects. Subjective experience of life controls and rules over the objective nature of life according to its efficiency, needs and understanding.  The subjective nature of life can acquire its highest limit but still it cannot experience its all perfect true nature and attain its realization.
 
Objective experience of life in its fullest and highest limit is subject to that of the subjective one.  Objective experience is twofold---the individual and the universal. The subjective one is also twofold----the individual and universal.  The former is subject to the latter and the latter is the ruler of the former.  Here we find that the subjective knowledge of life in its universal aspect is the creator, controller and ruler of the objective ones---individual and universal.  The subjective experience in its highest state is the super-subjective one which is the inner divine soul that sustains the previous two experiences—objective and subjective. The objective one pertains to outer nature of life, the subjective one to inner nature, while the super-subjective one is the central nature of life which is the inmost soul, i.e. the Lord of all.
 
Consciousness Itself which is the inmost Self is independent by nature called the Kutastha, the immutable Consciousness, the ever-witness of Itself and the rest. That is the permanent and eternal nature of life which is ever transcendental and beyond and is 'All Divine for All Time, as It Is.'
 
That is the Supreme Reality or the Ultimate Essence which is ever realized by itself as immortality, perfection and underlying truth of life.  This is the summum bonum of life-philosophy which begins with objective experience, passing  through subjective and super-subjective, and finally ends (culminates) to Witness Consciousness of inner-revealing characteristics appearing as 'All Divine for All Time, as It Is.'
 
Sri Sri Babathakur

to be continued............


 

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