To adapt and innovate is to survive and evolve
DEEPAK RANADE29 December 2009, 12:00am ISTText Size:|Topics:speaking tree
spirituality
destiny
Belief
Belief in prefixed programmes or destiny provides us with back-end logic to arbitrarily occurring events. It absolves us of our contribution to To adapt and inovate is to survive and evolve
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failure or with having to deal with ‘effort to outcome’ incongruence.
Our evolution as humans has transported us from the jungles to the moon. It bears testimony to the human ability to analyse, strategise, adapt and progress. A belief in the preordained would be a discredit to evolution. It would discount phenomenal human endeavour which has always shone through the darkest clouds of despondence.
Has free will given us the power of adaptation? Adaptation is a dynamic process that delves into the deepest recesses of creativity. Overcoming adversity is what stimulates growth and development.
Failure lures the weak mind to succumb to fatalism and so one finds it convenient to give in to passive submission. Free will, if exercised, can empower. It provides us with the freedom to spread our wings; to endeavour to soar in the vast skies of achievement. To experience, to grow, to create. The indomitability of the human spirit has nurtured evolution and helped us overcome our limitations.
Facing situations squarely requires a realistic appraisal of the problem and assessing the entire spectrum of available options diligently. Assigning cosmic design or any form of inevitability to events would be defeatist. Evolution of the human brain has provided us with the power of intelligence and discrimination.
We can prevail over our hormones, instincts and beliefs. Free will is also a double-edged weapon that can breed fear and doubt. The flower never needed anyone to predict its ability to blossom. The hatchling is oblivious to any speculation of its taking flight.
The deterministic nature of a system does not make it predictable. This is what the chaos theory propounds. The `butterfly effect’ -- a very small variation in the initial starting conditions having a tremendous impact on the final outcome – makes any predictive pattern far less reliable. The butterfly effect makes a triviality such as which side one got off the bed cascade incomprehensibly to events far beyond the scope of any predictive system.
All predictive models are based on statistical analysis, and at best can quantify the probability of an event occurring. The quantum theory also predicts that any conceivable outcome, even of walking through a wall, has a probability of occurring. Till that event actually happens, the wave function of every conceivable event abounds. In the medical profession, too, statistics are at best deterministic. They give a general trend and are ineffective from a predictive standpoint in an individual case.
The desire to know and enforce specific outcomes stems from the ego. It assumes the ability to control the environment. Free will gives the freedom to alter and manipulate inputs. It does not empower us with any control over the outcomes. Having no knowledge of or control over the outcome is a pre-condition to expression of free will.
A prefixed scheme or destiny would render free will meaningless. All actions would be mere formality that has to precede the inevitable and foregone outcome. An act becomes meaningless only in retrospect once the outcome is known. Prospectively all action is meaningful.
Certainty shackles and stifles spontaneity. Uncertainty truly liberates. A limitless potential to unfold in limitless ways. It conceives the improbable. Achievements are preceded by dreams which thrive only in the realm of improbability and uncertainty.
The inability to control or predict outcomes makes free will thrive. Unpredictability emphasises the importance of action. It underlines the beauty of the journey rather than obsession about the destination.
The writer is a consultant neurosurgeon. Email: deepakranade@hotmail.com.
Blog: www.neuroconsciousness.blogspot.com
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Publication: Times Of India Delhi; Date: Nov 9, 2009; Section: Editorial; Page: 16
THE SPEAKING TREE
Liberation Is Freedom From The Finite
Deepak M Ranade
Form is a wave perceived by the ocean of consciousness in an attempt to understand its own formlessness. This duality is imagined and the sense of am-ness crystallises as a discrete entity that thrives on other forms or cognising entities to assert its own form. It seeks cognisance from other forms to recognise its own transient form. What is eternal is the formlessness that is the precursor of form.
Form is obsessed with tangibility. The sense organs are mere instruments to reinforce this belief in form as the true self. The form continues to believe it is a discrete independent entity. It has total conviction in these deceptive sensory modalities of perception.
Relativity is based on the fact that perception changes as the observer’s state changes. Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle also underlines the shortcomings of our sensory perceptive modalities, where the senses cannot determine the precise position and velocity of a particle simultaneously.
Sensory modalities can never fathom formlessness. Formlessness transcends the senses. When form has to decipher the formless it must first abandon the conviction of its own form. The brain has various centres which serve as destinations for perceptive inputs. It therefore has a strong discriminatory ability to separate the subject from the object. This discrimination is mediated via the sense organs and is the most powerful tool for effecting duality. Comprehension is totally a derivative of the sense organs.
There are many ‘silent areas’ in the brain whose exact function is not known. These areas could be mediating supra-sensory cognition, cognition that is not based on a subject-object dichotomy, cognition that uses itself to recognise itself. Awareness of the true self is beyond the mediation of conventional sensory modalities and the dichotomy of knower and knowledge. There is nothing like ignorance because ignorance also is a manifestation of awareness. Awareness itself manifests as knowledge or ignorance.
Consciousness exists as both personalised and impersonalised states. Impersonalised consciousness is supra-sensory. It just exists and does not need a cognitive entity as a medium to be aware of itself. It does not have any time space definitions because these are for the finite. The Infinite Unmanifest has the privilege of manifesting as the finite. But the finite has severe limitations in perceiving the Infinite. Its identity as a finite entity is based on amnesia of its infiniteness.
Creation is the dream of consciousness. There is no logic to this dream. Realisation is when consciousness awakes from its own dream. Till consciousness is in a dream state, illusion persists. The brain is a programme for effecting the dream of consciousness. Myriad forms of creation exist merely as functions of this cognitive programme.
Matter or form owes its existence to this programme of deception. This programme also has software that ensures total belief in the illusion that it creates. Any attempt to understand the self – as just a manifestation of the formless – is futile in the dream state. The entity that endeavours to do so is also part of that dream. Therefore, liberation is not of a person but from the person. Liberation is deliverance from the finite and its futile attempts to comprehend the infinite. It is when the infinite wakes up from the dream of being finite – cognition that can recognise itself as absolute and not resort to duality to assert itself.
The writer is a consultant neurosurgeon. E-mail: deepakranade@hotmail.com
THE SPEAKING TREE
Liberation Is Freedom From The Finite
Deepak M Ranade
Form is a wave perceived by the ocean of consciousness in an attempt to understand its own formlessness. This duality is imagined and the sense of am-ness crystallises as a discrete entity that thrives on other forms or cognising entities to assert its own form. It seeks cognisance from other forms to recognise its own transient form. What is eternal is the formlessness that is the precursor of form.
Form is obsessed with tangibility. The sense organs are mere instruments to reinforce this belief in form as the true self. The form continues to believe it is a discrete independent entity. It has total conviction in these deceptive sensory modalities of perception.
Relativity is based on the fact that perception changes as the observer’s state changes. Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle also underlines the shortcomings of our sensory perceptive modalities, where the senses cannot determine the precise position and velocity of a particle simultaneously.
Sensory modalities can never fathom formlessness. Formlessness transcends the senses. When form has to decipher the formless it must first abandon the conviction of its own form. The brain has various centres which serve as destinations for perceptive inputs. It therefore has a strong discriminatory ability to separate the subject from the object. This discrimination is mediated via the sense organs and is the most powerful tool for effecting duality. Comprehension is totally a derivative of the sense organs.
There are many ‘silent areas’ in the brain whose exact function is not known. These areas could be mediating supra-sensory cognition, cognition that is not based on a subject-object dichotomy, cognition that uses itself to recognise itself. Awareness of the true self is beyond the mediation of conventional sensory modalities and the dichotomy of knower and knowledge. There is nothing like ignorance because ignorance also is a manifestation of awareness. Awareness itself manifests as knowledge or ignorance.
Consciousness exists as both personalised and impersonalised states. Impersonalised consciousness is supra-sensory. It just exists and does not need a cognitive entity as a medium to be aware of itself. It does not have any time space definitions because these are for the finite. The Infinite Unmanifest has the privilege of manifesting as the finite. But the finite has severe limitations in perceiving the Infinite. Its identity as a finite entity is based on amnesia of its infiniteness.
Creation is the dream of consciousness. There is no logic to this dream. Realisation is when consciousness awakes from its own dream. Till consciousness is in a dream state, illusion persists. The brain is a programme for effecting the dream of consciousness. Myriad forms of creation exist merely as functions of this cognitive programme.
Matter or form owes its existence to this programme of deception. This programme also has software that ensures total belief in the illusion that it creates. Any attempt to understand the self – as just a manifestation of the formless – is futile in the dream state. The entity that endeavours to do so is also part of that dream. Therefore, liberation is not of a person but from the person. Liberation is deliverance from the finite and its futile attempts to comprehend the infinite. It is when the infinite wakes up from the dream of being finite – cognition that can recognise itself as absolute and not resort to duality to assert itself.
The writer is a consultant neurosurgeon. E-mail: deepakranade@hotmail.com
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Dont look too far for solutions
Don't Look Too Far For Solutions
Deepak Ranade16 October 2009, 12:01am IST
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Change is the inevitability of life. Our interpretation of change determines our attitude and approach to life. What is apparently beneficial is
accepted without any fuss. When it comes to accepting the inconvenient and the unpleasant, there begins conflict and resentment. However, the seemingly hopeless situations that are very painful to deal with are also instruments of change. ''What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the master calls a butterfly,'' wrote Richard Bach.
Every seemingly hopeless situation is pregnant with the potential to effect improvement. It's just that one usually looks at the problem in a way that's too upfront. That creates a myopic perspective in dealing with the problem.
Like Godel's theorem, which states that no part of a system can comprehend the system as long as it is an integral part of the system. As we distance ourselves from the problem, and have a bird's-eye perspective, we can begin to see the issue in another light. Anticipation of the problem always tends to magnify the event and imagine it to be much more frightful. Anticipation should prepare, not scare.
A rigid approach that expects things to happen in a specific way only makes matters worse. The ability to adapt is what can make things better. Rigidity limits available options. It severely handicaps creativity, which is considered the mother of solutions. Serendipity happens only because the mind is open and willing to look at the same thing differently.
An alternative viewpoint is critical to make the most of any given situation. The severest of problems have more often than not brought out the best from many individuals. Isn't it also said: "Necessity is the mother of invention"?
The process of strategising while solving a problem throws up many facets of ourselves that we never knew existed. Adversity has been a blessing often enough and ought to be respected rather than feared. Complications arise most often because we take things personally and too seriously. Surrender only destroys self-esteem. Fighting enhances it. The difference between the two is just a matter of attitude.
Helplessness is a state of the mind. Most successful businessmen and corporate executives are paid for their ability to keep cool in the most trying of circumstances. They probably begin where others stop trying. Fixing the blame is not what absolves one of failure. Fixing the problem is the only redemption.
Anger, fear, resentment and frustration only muddle neural networks. They are mere manifestations of the fight, flight or fright response. What is actually needed is a right, bright and trite response. This response can only be attained with a calm and controlled thought process. Knee-jerk responses are just reflexes without any form of cerebration. They are most often fruitless. A deliberate, conscious effort needs to be inculcated to programme a conditioned response.
A positive approach is a big help, as it tends to activate the right brain, the one that has great intuitive abilities. The most appropriate response to any problem would be whole-brained. That is with both the right and left hemispheres giving their inputs. The dominant half ^ the left brain in right-handed persons and right brain in left-handed persons ^ enables analysis, logic and assessment. It tends to be a fragmentary approach. The right has a more intuitive, subtle and holistic approach. A combined two-pronged approach is much more likely to bring out the best in adversity ^ and make it easier for the butterfly in you to take wing.
Deepak Ranade16 October 2009, 12:01am IST
Print Email Discuss Bookmark/Share Save Comment Text Size: |
Change is the inevitability of life. Our interpretation of change determines our attitude and approach to life. What is apparently beneficial is
accepted without any fuss. When it comes to accepting the inconvenient and the unpleasant, there begins conflict and resentment. However, the seemingly hopeless situations that are very painful to deal with are also instruments of change. ''What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the master calls a butterfly,'' wrote Richard Bach.
Every seemingly hopeless situation is pregnant with the potential to effect improvement. It's just that one usually looks at the problem in a way that's too upfront. That creates a myopic perspective in dealing with the problem.
Like Godel's theorem, which states that no part of a system can comprehend the system as long as it is an integral part of the system. As we distance ourselves from the problem, and have a bird's-eye perspective, we can begin to see the issue in another light. Anticipation of the problem always tends to magnify the event and imagine it to be much more frightful. Anticipation should prepare, not scare.
A rigid approach that expects things to happen in a specific way only makes matters worse. The ability to adapt is what can make things better. Rigidity limits available options. It severely handicaps creativity, which is considered the mother of solutions. Serendipity happens only because the mind is open and willing to look at the same thing differently.
An alternative viewpoint is critical to make the most of any given situation. The severest of problems have more often than not brought out the best from many individuals. Isn't it also said: "Necessity is the mother of invention"?
The process of strategising while solving a problem throws up many facets of ourselves that we never knew existed. Adversity has been a blessing often enough and ought to be respected rather than feared. Complications arise most often because we take things personally and too seriously. Surrender only destroys self-esteem. Fighting enhances it. The difference between the two is just a matter of attitude.
Helplessness is a state of the mind. Most successful businessmen and corporate executives are paid for their ability to keep cool in the most trying of circumstances. They probably begin where others stop trying. Fixing the blame is not what absolves one of failure. Fixing the problem is the only redemption.
Anger, fear, resentment and frustration only muddle neural networks. They are mere manifestations of the fight, flight or fright response. What is actually needed is a right, bright and trite response. This response can only be attained with a calm and controlled thought process. Knee-jerk responses are just reflexes without any form of cerebration. They are most often fruitless. A deliberate, conscious effort needs to be inculcated to programme a conditioned response.
A positive approach is a big help, as it tends to activate the right brain, the one that has great intuitive abilities. The most appropriate response to any problem would be whole-brained. That is with both the right and left hemispheres giving their inputs. The dominant half ^ the left brain in right-handed persons and right brain in left-handed persons ^ enables analysis, logic and assessment. It tends to be a fragmentary approach. The right has a more intuitive, subtle and holistic approach. A combined two-pronged approach is much more likely to bring out the best in adversity ^ and make it easier for the butterfly in you to take wing.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Speaking Tree
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In moving images we see what is not
DEEPAK RANADE5 August 2009, 12:00am IST
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What is vision? We are able to see objects and other externalities because of our visual perceptive apparatus that has the attribute called as
In moving images we see what is not
In moving images we see what is not (Getty Images)
persistence of vision.
A motion picture is made up of a series of still pictures. When each of these still picture is followed by another in less than a sixth of a second, the brain interprets the sequence as a continuum. And so we see the sequence of images as a motion picture without realizing that what we think we see is just an illusion., a perception.
The continuum is implied. The continuum is enabled by a programme of the neurological apparatus. And we are actually deceived by "virtual reality." Each individual and his constituents are all the while in a state of change. Even the skeletal system that we believe to be hard and which forms the infrastructure of the body is constantly being remodeled. Absorption and reformation of the bones are a continuous process. So, when we all are constantly being reformed as it were, the perception of our own continuity is a mere hallucination.
Change is the only certainty. We all are constantly changing and so is the environment. So any perceived continuity or seeming constancy is just an illusion of our perception. If we wake up to the fact that every aspect of existence is in a constant flux, then the question that automatically arises is "What is unchangeable, permanent and eternal?"
The constancy is in the perceiver; it is in the act of observing. All creation is comprised of three distinct entities: The perceiver, the perceived and the act of perception All are manifestations of the same universal consciousness. Saint Dyaneshwara refers to this trilogy as 'triputi'. The perceived is all the while in a state of flux and change. So the perceiver is the only constant in this apparent variable equation of creation. What is perceived all the while is changing.
Quantum Physics expounds that if the observer does not observe an event, then it never happened. Out of the infinite possibilities, when the observer observes an event, then, all the other waves of possible events are squashed. Till the observer observes, all events are in a state of being possible. All perception is centred on awareness. To any observer, the universe exists only till the observer exists. Once the observer ceases to exist, then from his perspective, the universe also ceases to exist.
When ancient scriptures comment on the illusory nature of all creation, they are alluding to is the impermanence and deception created by sensory perception. The continuum of existentialism is only a mirage. We are not the same entity at two discrete points in time. We as well as the environment is continuously changing and any continuity is just an illusion of the perceptive apparatus. In deep sleep, there is a period of non-perception of the outer world. On waking, this world reappears and the show goes on. Despite non-perception of the external world there does remain a certain am-ness, that is aware and says that I slept well. That awareness is the witness and the unchangeable and permanent entity, the immortal Atman.
In death, that personalized awareness again becomes impersonal awareness. In the state of realisation, the trilogy of perceived, perceiver and the act of perception, merges into unity, into the Paramatman.
The writer is a neurosurgeon.
Email: deepakranade@hotmail.com.
Advanced Search
In moving images we see what is not
DEEPAK RANADE5 August 2009, 12:00am IST
Print Email Discuss Bookmark/Share Save Comment Text Size: |
What is vision? We are able to see objects and other externalities because of our visual perceptive apparatus that has the attribute called as
In moving images we see what is not
In moving images we see what is not (Getty Images)
persistence of vision.
A motion picture is made up of a series of still pictures. When each of these still picture is followed by another in less than a sixth of a second, the brain interprets the sequence as a continuum. And so we see the sequence of images as a motion picture without realizing that what we think we see is just an illusion., a perception.
The continuum is implied. The continuum is enabled by a programme of the neurological apparatus. And we are actually deceived by "virtual reality." Each individual and his constituents are all the while in a state of change. Even the skeletal system that we believe to be hard and which forms the infrastructure of the body is constantly being remodeled. Absorption and reformation of the bones are a continuous process. So, when we all are constantly being reformed as it were, the perception of our own continuity is a mere hallucination.
Change is the only certainty. We all are constantly changing and so is the environment. So any perceived continuity or seeming constancy is just an illusion of our perception. If we wake up to the fact that every aspect of existence is in a constant flux, then the question that automatically arises is "What is unchangeable, permanent and eternal?"
The constancy is in the perceiver; it is in the act of observing. All creation is comprised of three distinct entities: The perceiver, the perceived and the act of perception All are manifestations of the same universal consciousness. Saint Dyaneshwara refers to this trilogy as 'triputi'. The perceived is all the while in a state of flux and change. So the perceiver is the only constant in this apparent variable equation of creation. What is perceived all the while is changing.
Quantum Physics expounds that if the observer does not observe an event, then it never happened. Out of the infinite possibilities, when the observer observes an event, then, all the other waves of possible events are squashed. Till the observer observes, all events are in a state of being possible. All perception is centred on awareness. To any observer, the universe exists only till the observer exists. Once the observer ceases to exist, then from his perspective, the universe also ceases to exist.
When ancient scriptures comment on the illusory nature of all creation, they are alluding to is the impermanence and deception created by sensory perception. The continuum of existentialism is only a mirage. We are not the same entity at two discrete points in time. We as well as the environment is continuously changing and any continuity is just an illusion of the perceptive apparatus. In deep sleep, there is a period of non-perception of the outer world. On waking, this world reappears and the show goes on. Despite non-perception of the external world there does remain a certain am-ness, that is aware and says that I slept well. That awareness is the witness and the unchangeable and permanent entity, the immortal Atman.
In death, that personalized awareness again becomes impersonal awareness. In the state of realisation, the trilogy of perceived, perceiver and the act of perception, merges into unity, into the Paramatman.
The writer is a neurosurgeon.
Email: deepakranade@hotmail.com.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Times of India
Speaking Tree
Exploring the nature of true realisation
28 Apr 2009, 0000 hrs IST, DEEPAK RANADE
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Whatever events unfold outwardly, there is a continuous passive act of observation of these events. This plain awareness is what animates the
Speaking tree
Exploring the nature of true realisation (Getty Images)
intellect, thoughts and every aspect of existence; it also gives rise to the illusory self, to the identification of each individual as a separate body form.
It also affirms this identity as the real self because the body is the most tangible proof of existence. We can touch, feel and react with this tangible instrument. The ego is addition of many layers of likes, dislikes, preferences and priorities to this mind-body form. The sense of separateness. Of being one of a kind. Of discreteness.
The more we endeavour to attain salvation, the sense of separateness only gets reinforced. All chemicals such as alcohol and drugs induce a state of disconnect. A fleeting disconnect with the surroundings. This disconnect is pleasurable as it blunts the sensibilities and makes the individual immune to any unpleasantness of daily living. But it also fortifies the sense of separateness. This feeling of disconnect and indifference is momentarily blissful. These chemicals are addictive because they give an illusory, fleeting glimpse of 'spiritual' experience similar to the state of realisation.
The so-called chemical disconnection is 'exclusive'. In the sense that it refurbishes the sense of separateness but isolates the individual. The state of realisation, however, is inclusive. This inclusive disconnection is an all-pervading sense of oneness, in which any connection is superfluous. Connection or disconnection is relevant only in duality or an illusion of duality. Once this illusion of duality vanishes, what remains is unity. An impersonal awareness.
Realisation shifts the identification of the self from the mind-body form to just plain awareness. Like a drop of the ocean. This drop, when separate from the ocean, will become acutely aware of its independent existence. The drop can see the ocean separately and this separateness gives not only itself, but also the vast ocean a separate identity as well.
When the drop merges in the ocean it does not destroy the physicality of the drop. The drop just merges and loses its separateness. It becomes one with the ocean. Till the point of impact, it still maintains its identity, but at the moment of impact, the drop seemingly disappears. That state of merger can thereafter not be perceived, because perception was of the drop. When the drop ceases to exist, who or what is there to perceive?
The disconnect that occurs by inclusion is everlasting, beyond any time-space considerations. Compassion for all life then becomes the effect rather than any imbibed virtue. The sense of unity is not even an experience because experience implies the existence of an experienced. And we all are conditioned to believe that realisation would mean probably seeing some divine light, or hearing some soulful music or a tremendous state of happiness and so on.
The merger automatically dissolves the ego. It also liberates one from all desires and lust for sensory gratification. The body will eventually live out its destiny, but there would be no sense of doer-ship. There would be just a residual observer who transcends even joy and sorrow. The unqualified awareness celebrates a sense of 'am-ness' unadulterated by expectations and longing.
The intangibility and dissolution of one's identity can scarcely be expressed by any means of communication. The final moment of oneness can be experienced only when all layers of misconception are peeled away and the real self is apperceived not as a separate identity but paradoxically the absence of any.
The writer is a consultant neurosurgeon. E-mail: deepakranade@hotmail.com
Speaking Tree
Exploring the nature of true realisation
28 Apr 2009, 0000 hrs IST, DEEPAK RANADE
Print Email Discuss Share Save Comment Text:
Whatever events unfold outwardly, there is a continuous passive act of observation of these events. This plain awareness is what animates the
Speaking tree
Exploring the nature of true realisation (Getty Images)
intellect, thoughts and every aspect of existence; it also gives rise to the illusory self, to the identification of each individual as a separate body form.
It also affirms this identity as the real self because the body is the most tangible proof of existence. We can touch, feel and react with this tangible instrument. The ego is addition of many layers of likes, dislikes, preferences and priorities to this mind-body form. The sense of separateness. Of being one of a kind. Of discreteness.
The more we endeavour to attain salvation, the sense of separateness only gets reinforced. All chemicals such as alcohol and drugs induce a state of disconnect. A fleeting disconnect with the surroundings. This disconnect is pleasurable as it blunts the sensibilities and makes the individual immune to any unpleasantness of daily living. But it also fortifies the sense of separateness. This feeling of disconnect and indifference is momentarily blissful. These chemicals are addictive because they give an illusory, fleeting glimpse of 'spiritual' experience similar to the state of realisation.
The so-called chemical disconnection is 'exclusive'. In the sense that it refurbishes the sense of separateness but isolates the individual. The state of realisation, however, is inclusive. This inclusive disconnection is an all-pervading sense of oneness, in which any connection is superfluous. Connection or disconnection is relevant only in duality or an illusion of duality. Once this illusion of duality vanishes, what remains is unity. An impersonal awareness.
Realisation shifts the identification of the self from the mind-body form to just plain awareness. Like a drop of the ocean. This drop, when separate from the ocean, will become acutely aware of its independent existence. The drop can see the ocean separately and this separateness gives not only itself, but also the vast ocean a separate identity as well.
When the drop merges in the ocean it does not destroy the physicality of the drop. The drop just merges and loses its separateness. It becomes one with the ocean. Till the point of impact, it still maintains its identity, but at the moment of impact, the drop seemingly disappears. That state of merger can thereafter not be perceived, because perception was of the drop. When the drop ceases to exist, who or what is there to perceive?
The disconnect that occurs by inclusion is everlasting, beyond any time-space considerations. Compassion for all life then becomes the effect rather than any imbibed virtue. The sense of unity is not even an experience because experience implies the existence of an experienced. And we all are conditioned to believe that realisation would mean probably seeing some divine light, or hearing some soulful music or a tremendous state of happiness and so on.
The merger automatically dissolves the ego. It also liberates one from all desires and lust for sensory gratification. The body will eventually live out its destiny, but there would be no sense of doer-ship. There would be just a residual observer who transcends even joy and sorrow. The unqualified awareness celebrates a sense of 'am-ness' unadulterated by expectations and longing.
The intangibility and dissolution of one's identity can scarcely be expressed by any means of communication. The final moment of oneness can be experienced only when all layers of misconception are peeled away and the real self is apperceived not as a separate identity but paradoxically the absence of any.
The writer is a consultant neurosurgeon. E-mail: deepakranade@hotmail.com
Monday, March 9, 2009
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