Posted on: 24 Jun 2017
Note: This article is meant for intellectuals only
Shri Lakshman asked: Padamanamaskarams to Swami!! I put forth my humble question to you.
This is in light of the statement made by Jesus, when the unimaginable God was leaving him, he exclaimed, “Why are you leaving me God”.
In a Human Incarnation, is the soul aware of the unimaginable God at all times? Then in deep sleep is there an existence of a witness or (soul) and the witnessed (unimaginable God)?
At the lotus feet of Sri Dattaswami
Regards, Lakshman
Swami replied: Awareness of unimaginable God does not mean knowledge of the nature of unimaginable God. Here, awareness means awareness of the existence of unimaginable God. The Veda says that only awareness of existence of unimaginable God is possible (asteetyeva…). Such knowledge is possible by inference. Such knowledge is not a mere theoretical knowledge based on theoretical assumptions. It is ratified by the unimaginable events called as miracles. Hence, it is based on practical experience. The word ‘practical’ indicates the happening of unimaginable events from which you can infer the existence of unimaginable God. This happens only when the unimaginable God really enters and exists in a selected human being like Shankara, who crossed the bolted doors of house of Mandana Mishra whereas His disciples stood outside the bolted doors. In Shankara, the unimaginable God exists before whom this world (bolted doors) is unreal and hence the mediated unimaginable God is as good as the non-mediated unimaginable God. If the unimaginable God alone crosses the bolted doors, it is not useful for the human beings to understand the concept. The unimaginable God by His unimaginable power made the body of Shankara also as unimaginable God (perfect identity) so that this event became possible. In deep sleep of ordinary human being or human incarnation, the relative awareness of the human being disappears since nervous system needs rest. The materialized human being needs rest to maintain the health of nervous system. In human being, since there is no God, the disappeared relative awareness (seer) can’t be aware of God due to its own absence. Same is the case with human incarnation also in deep sleep. The human being-component in human incarnation is as good as the ordinary human being and hence, needs rest for good health. By the will of God, the relative awareness of human being can exist to be aware of God in deep sleep. But, God does not permit this to protect the outermost medium. The external cover containing letter inside must be also protected. The external cover is human being-component, the inner letter is Datta and the knowledge of writing on the letter is unimaginable God. Hence, in the deep sleep of human incarnation, the awareness of God for the human being-component does not exist. In the awaken state of human being, though the receiver (relative awareness of human being and let the receiver mean relative awareness only everywhere) exists, awareness of God does not exist due to the absence of God in human being. In the deep sleep of human incarnation and human being, situation is same as far as the receiver is concerned and the only difference is that God exists in human incarnation and God does not exist in human being. In the awaken state of human incarnation, the receiver exists and is aware of God existing along with it. But, in human incarnation, sometimes God is dissolved in the receiver of human being and in such situation, the receiver became God and hence the receiver does not exist separately to identify God. In such time, the words coming out of the throat of human incarnation are directly from God and here, the receiver of human being does not exist separately to be aware of God. It is the will of God to get separated from the receiver of human being or to identify with the receiver totally. If God remains always totally identified with the receiver, the receiver may get ego at least after leaving the body. If God gets identified with the receiver even after death also, there is no chance of separation of God from the receiver. If God is sure that ego is totally absent in the human being-component, God continues to remain in total identification with the receiver as in the case of Rama and Krishna. In the case of Parashurama, God separated from the receiver since ego existed in him. For such human being components, God gives experience of His separate existence in order to protect the devoted human being-components from ego. When Jesus told that He is the truth and light, the receiver is in total identity with God. When Jesus told that God is leaving Him, God separated from Him. This does not mean that Jesus had ego. To clarify this concept clearly to the devotees, such demonstration was performed. In the case of Parashurama, the ego was expressed clearly and hence, he could not recognize even Rama, the human incarnation present before his eyes.
In the case of any human incarnation, the unimaginable God enters through the first divine energetic form called as Datta or Father of heaven or Holy Spirit. Hence, you can find three types of awareness in human incarnation:-
1) Unimaginable God or unimaginable awareness dissolved in the relative awareness of Datta (unimaginable awareness means unimaginable God because we are taking the word ‘awareness’ not as a process of knowing but as the working element performing the process. In the case of human beings, the working element is inert energy and the work is awareness).
2) Relative awareness of first energetic form in which unimaginable God exists through total identity (Here, the relative awareness of Datta is not having states of dream or deep sleep).
3) The relative awareness of human being-component having awaken, dream and deep sleep states (this relative awareness has states of dream and deep sleep as the case of ordinary human being, in which God exists separately).
Every human being has two types of awareness:-
1) General consciousness, which is active in the awaken state grasping worldly knowledge containing all ideas both strong and weak.
2) Sub-consciousness called as samskara or vasana containing very strong qualities gained from several past births and also present birth. In the awaken state, both these types of awareness may be contradicting or reinforcing with each other. If both types are either good or bad, reinforcement takes place. If one is good and other is bad, clash or contradiction takes place. Whichever is strong, that succeeds in implementation of decision in action.
I saw a cinema in which the hero behaves as very soft person on some occasions and as very cruel rowdy on some other occasions. When he is submitted to court, the judge asks for an opinion from the medical experts, who say that it is the case of a split personality in which the same human being behaves in different ways and hence, the hero should not be punished. I agree with the conclusion of those experts but differ in the analysis. If it is the case of just a theoretical domain, their analysis is also correct. As per their analysis, the hero should feel as a cruel rowdy but in practice the hero cannot act as a cruel rowdy with such force of extra energy. The practical aspect contradicts the concept of split personality. The hero is actually possessed by the ghost of a cruel rowdy. The ghost contains not only its specific awareness but also extra energy, which is characteristic of its outer energetic form. The hero is possessed by that ghost so that the hero not only feels like a rowdy but also efficiently acts as a rowdy. The analysis of scientists neglected this practical aspect. Split personality should not mean mere split of the same personality but also shall mean addition of a new personality from the external atmosphere. It is not one becoming two halves but it is one becoming two. I give the following incidents to support this:-
1) The sister of My grandmother was possessed by a ghost, which was a Vedic scholar. She was so much uneducated that she can’t even sign. When the ghost is expressed, she starts reciting the entire Veda with correct accents! On another times, she can’t repeat even a single word. Hence, recitation of the Veda is the practical aspect supporting that a new personality (ghost) is added. In other times, the ghost exists in her but in a separated state, which is not grasped by the receiver even in the awaken state.
2) When I was a boy of 8 years, I composed a Sanskrit epic called as Uttara Naishadham, which was not understood even by great scholars of our village. My father doubted that I was possessed by a ghost (scholar) and performed several worships to drive away that ghost. He came to this opinion based on seeing the above mentioned sister of My grandmother. Unlike the above example, I was constantly aware of Datta in Me and hence, I was possessing that scholastic ability in all the times by which I wrote about 100 books in Sanskrit by the age of 16th year. My case differs from the above case since I was aware of Datta existing in Me throughout My life. Datta existed in Me even when I was present in My mother’s womb, but, I was not aware of Datta at that time. This was inferred by the constant dreams of temples of all religions throughout her pregnancy. The human being-component is not aware of Datta in deep sleep or in dream also. Constant awareness of God is not essential for continuous existence of God. But, if God wishes, the child in the womb can get awareness of God as in the case of Prahlada. God uses His omnipotence only whenever it is required. In general, the child in the womb has sub-consciousness only and not the general consciousness.
3) In order to protect Me from ego, Datta got separated from Me sometimes so that I will not become Parashurama. The following incidents prove this (you may consider Me as Parashurama or Jesus depending on your wish):-
a) Sometimes, the questions sent by devotees to Me are so powerful that no human brain can give convincing answer. I open the questions only when I start dictating the answers. Datta dictates the answers through My throat spontaneously and I don’t take even a fraction of second to think about the answer. When the dictation was over, Datta gets separated from My awareness so that I also enjoy as anyone of you. If the speaker is not separated, I can never enjoy the answer. I have to be always the sugar to be swallowed by the devoted ants only!
b) Sometimes, deserving devotees ask Me boons, which are scientifically impossible and can never happen. But, Datta grants them through My throat and I don’t feel any place of impossibility because the receiver is in total identity with Datta during the time of granting those boons. But, after some time, Datta separates from the receiver and My relative awareness (receiver) vibrates with fear because such boons can never materialize! But, I realize the truth at once and feel that I should not fear since the omnipotent Datta has granted those boons. In fact, every time those impossible boons happened and these miracles stand for practical aspect of ‘double personality’, which is more correct word than ‘split personality’.
4) When the energetic form of Datta (visualized by Me) got dissolved in Me, the temperature of My body evolving heat continuously throughout the night was a practical experience. Such experience proves the addition of extra inert energy from outside to the inert energy of My body. This again proves the practical aspect of the double personality of human incarnation rather than the split personality of an ordinary human being.
Shankara spoke the case of human incarnation extended to every human being for the sake of the then existing external atmosphere of atheists. He also explained the deep sleep of human incarnation (or a human being for the sake of atheists) in two phases:-
1) The phase of total ignorance establishing the clear absence of disappeared receiver or relative awareness of the human being, and
2) The existence of God witnessing Himself and the entire creation.
He never said that the receiver is aware of God in the deep sleep, in which case total ignorance is not true since the receiver is aware of God. God may be aware of Himself. This relative awareness was absent in deep sleep since it is not aware of anything else and also not aware of itself. After the deep sleep, the receiver is appearing, who is aware of the external limited world and is also aware of itself (in the meditation). If the receiver received himself (soul) or God, such experience should continue in the awaken state. In such case, the receiver was aware in the deep sleep and hence, the nervous system must have been functioning in the deep sleep also. If this is true, due to lack of rest to nervous system, every human being would have become mad after a few years from birth! After the deep sleep, the appearing receiver is aware of the happiness of the rest of the nervous system and based on this experience, he is inferring that he slept well. This knowledge is not during the deep sleep and hence, it is not deductive knowledge (Pratyaksham). It is only inductive knowledge (Anumaanam). When you are seeing a pot, during the entire time of seeing the pot, you are feeling continuously that you are seeing the pot. Such perceptional knowledge is not in the deep sleep. Even in the human incarnation, the disappeared relative awareness is neither aware of itself nor aware of the separated God. This is for the sake of the health of nervous system present in the human body.
God makes the human being-component of the human incarnation also as an ordinary human being in dream and deep sleep for the point of partial or total (respectively) rest of materialized nervous system in the human body. Even in the dream state, the subconscious state (which also contains strong ideas of general consciousness) becomes active and God gets separated. The mother of Krishna was telling the story of Rama to Krishna so that Krishna can enter into sleep. When the story came up to the point that Ravana stole Sita, immediately Krishna awoke, crying, asking Lakshmana to give the bow for fight (sometimes, the dream state reverts back into awaken state due to strong ideas). This cry of Krishna was from the subconscious state obtained from His previous birth as Rama only. The receiver of human being-component can be aware of the existence of unimaginable God in any state if God wishes so. This is exceptional and whatever I spoke above is general. In the Amaatra state or Praajna state, God is aware of Himself and creation and the disappeared receiver has no existence at all. Recognition of the existence of unimaginable God by the receiver in the awaken state is not the above two states since God does not exist in the human being in any state.
If you say that God is omnipresent and hence exists in human beings also, it is not correct. When you say that dissolved sugar exists in the entire water, sharp analysis shows that molecules of sugar and molecules of water separately exist. The molecules of sugar are not present in the molecules of water. You need not doubt that in such case, omnipresence of God is wrong. Omnipresence of unimaginable God is possible due to His unimaginable power even if God does not physically exist everywhere. Space is omnipresent by the logic that it physically exists everywhere. God is beyond logic and hence, is unimaginable. Even a King sitting in his palace gets information from every part of the city through the power of his system of secret agents and this serves as a rough simile (since king depends on agents). The Veda says that this is not God (neti) and this means that something, which is not God, is present in the eyes of the soul. All the spiritual knowledge is for the sake of soul and not for the sake of God! If God exists in everything, finally nothing should exist other than God (for the eyes of soul) since God exists in everything! I have explained this point at length in explaining the first hymn (Ishavasyam) of the first Upanishat.