ADVAITA SIMPLIFIED – Part IV: No Physicality / Solidity In The Objects Of The World
Advaita Simplified
In progressively ascending order of Difficulty* for mind to understand
(* – Difficulty implies that some effort is needed in re-orientating the habitual pattern of the mind to a new worldview)
Step 17: There is no physicality / solidity to the objects arising in Step 16. They are unreal.
The multiplicity of objects seen through the senses is interpreted to be the world by the mind.
Ignoring the fact that what is seen as world is an image only, we ascribe solidity and reality to it. Though our body is also a part of and within that one whole image of the world, we begin to believe that there is a separate gross physical body ‘here’ and we claim it to be as ‘mine’ (ours). We consider whatever is left out as ‘not mine.’
The tree that you see out there through your window or the apple on the table or even your own body is an imaginary projection (an image) produced by the mind. In reality, there is no solid ‘thing’ there.
Experiment 1: Apple out there: (The following material is adopted from “Consciousness is All” by Peter Dziuban, a Non-dualist teacher: http://www.consciousnessisall.com/PDF/CIACh13.pdf p: 130-131).
Quote:
How does the “mind” know anything about that apple — or even claim an apple is there in the first place?
The sensing “mind” experiences a specific visual sensation, which also could be called an appearance, or a mental image of the apple. That particular visual sensation of red color and roundish shape is one way the mind differentiates an apple from other items, such as a book or a hand. Simultaneously with this visual sensation, the mind experiences a particular tactile sensation of the apple; there is a feeling of weight and texture when holding it. Also simultaneously, there may be a sense of sound associated with an apple, such as crunching when a bite is taken. There also is a sensation of taste, and a scent.
Each of the five senses contributes its particular “aspect” of the apple to the mind. As a result of all the sensations it experiences, the mind instantly says to itself, “An apple is here.”
Now look again.
The entire and only basis on which the mind would say an apple is present, is by way of the senses. Absolutely everything the mind would know about the apple is thanks to a visual sensation, a sensation of touch or feel, a sound, a taste and smell. The mind’s entire “evidence” is sensations.
Really stop a moment. Ask yourself what the apple itself consists of, apart from those five sensations.
When you try to think of what an apple is, entirely apart from those five sensations — what happens?
You can’t think of anything.
And why can’t you think of anything besides the sensations?
Because there isn’t anything.
There are only the sensations!
There are not the sensations of an apple and an apple! Sensations are the entire and only “substance.” There is no apple that is a standalone physical object “out there,” with its own substance, in addition to the sensations experienced by the mind. The “apple” would be entirely mental — consisting one hundred percent of sensations only.
Go ahead. First take away those five sensations. Then see if you still can come up with an “apple.” Poof! The “apple” is non-existent. The “apple” as a separate, solid object didn’t go anywhere. It never was out there as a separate object in the first place!
The mind’s experiencing of sensations results in what is called an apple, but never is there a separate item “out there.” All there would be is a series of images, feelings, tastes, sounds and smells — experienced entirely by the mind.
There is nothing else there.”
Unquote.
Metaphor 1: Deep Sleep: No sensory information is fed to the brain by the five senses during deep sleep. The mind too is quieted without any projections of objects. Under these circumstances, the entire world that has been existing thus far disappears totally. In the absence of the sensory inputs, you do not even know you have a body or that your body is sleeping on a couch.
Metaphor 2: Under Anesthesia: When general anesthesia is given for carrying out a major surgery, all our senses are effectively put to sleep like in Deep Sleep. (Strictly speaking, though, neurophysiologically Deep Sleep and Anesthesia follow different mechanisms in the brain). In the absence of sensory inputs, we are not even aware of a physical body existing for us. We are not concerned even if it is being cut, parts of the organs are excised etc.
Experiment 2: Image in a mirror: Go to your Backyard or open Balcony with a hand-held mirror. Look in the mirror the reflected open spaces, trees, hills or buildings or what-have-you. Try to touch the objects in the reflected image. Can you? What are the dimensions (size) of the hill or the building you see in the mirror? If it is really huge, how did it fit into the small mirror in your hand? Does it have any weight, texture? Is the reflected mountain or the building a solid thing? Can the water reflected in a mirror wet the floor? The reflection you see in a mirror is called a “virtual image.” It has no reality. The reflected virtual images do not have any solidity or physicality to them. The world is also such a virtual image! And remember that the body-mind is within the reflected image and not outside of it. [You may ask, if the world I see is a reflection, what is the real object and where is the mirror reflecting the object. Genuine questions but then go back to Step # 14. We shall, however, take them up again a little later.]
Video: Have you seen the Part I of the PBS Nova series on “The Fabric of Cosmos” aired last year? Towards the end of the episode, Dr. Brian Greene refers to the newly emerging concept of Physicists. He says that the 3-D world we live in may after all be an illusion. It could be a holographic projection from the 2-D information stored on the surface of the universe. What is that 2-D surface? [Could it be the cortical layer in your brain with all the stored info (vasana-s) in the neurons projecting your own bubble universe – just a thought?]
Link to the Video: The Fabric of Cosmos: What is Space? http://video.pbs.org/video/2163057527#
(To Continue: Part V: Origination of Pain and Suffering)
