Avatar Meher Baba Center Southern California
in Concert with
The Oral History Archive Project

 

The Ward Parks God Speaks Session Script Materials

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God Speaks as the Master Exposition of Meher Baba’s Cosmology
The Weekend of October 18–19. “An Introduction to God Speaks.”
Session 1. “God Speaks in its Historical Contexts.”
Session 2. “Creation, Evolution, Reincarnation, and the Anatomy of Bondage”
Session 3. “The Involution of Consciousness”
Session 4. “The ‘Second Pass’ and Cosmic Architecture in God Speaks.”

The Weekend of October 25–26. “Special Topics: God Speaks brought into Interrelation with other Discourses, Particularly from the 1920s.”

Session 5. “Infinite Intelligence and an Integrated Cosmology of Meher Baba’s Teachings”
Session 6. “Meher Baba’s Creation Narrative”
Session 7. “On the Human Form”
Session 8. “The Ten States of God”

Session One. ““God Speaks in its Historical Contexts.”

I. Preview of the seminar
II. A brief history of Meher Baba’s “philosophical” discourse
III. A textual history of God Speaks through its various editions
IV. Introduction to the book and its parts
V. A history of the Divine Theme and its three “passes” in the organization of God Speaks
VI. Foundations: “Part 1” and the definition of terms

A Problem of Vocabulary

“Philosophy” leaves out “God”; and it suggests an approach to matters of ultimate Truth based on the intellect only.
“Cosmology” designates the cosmos only and leaves out God.
“Metaphysics” and “ontology” suffer from the same limitations as does the word “philosophy.”
“Explanations” contains no indication of subject matter. Meher Baba “explained” many things; to speak of His “explanations” points out the process of His discourse but not its topic.

My suggestion: the Sanskrit word “darshana.” Having as its root meaning “vision” or sight,” this word was used in classical Indian literature to designate the basic schools of Indian thought in their approach to matters of ultimate Truth.

“Literary” Activity in Early Meherabad

Discourses by Baba

“The Book” (13 July 1925 through November 1926)
In God’s Hand, 39 pages in Baba’s handwriting (1925)
Infinite Intelligence, based on the “Intelligence Notebooks” (probably March through July 1926)
“Tiffin Lectures,” talks to the mandali (April 1926 thru August 1927)
“Shree’s Explanation on Creation and the Universe,” talks to the Meher Ashram boys, December 1927 through January 1928
Meher Message (1929-31), a monthly magazine that carried articles by Meher Baba

By Others
“The Combined Diary” (1924-27)
Chanji’s Diaries
Ramjoo Abdulla, Sobs and Throbs 1929)
Ramjoo Abdulla, The Philosophy and
Teachings of Meher Baba (1933)
Herbert Davy, Philosophical Fragments (unpublished)

Meher Baba’s Literary Creations in the 1930s and 1940s

Early Messages to the West republishes Meher Baba’s classic six messages delivered during His Western
tour of 1932 as well as Questions and Answers and The Sayings of Shri Meher Baba. The section entitled “How It All Happened” compiles materials Meher Baba intended for a Hollywood film that never got produced at that time.
Meher Baba’s Discourses were originally published in the Meher Baba Journal (1938-42) and in the original five-volume set (1939-43).
The New Life Circulars (1949-52) were published and circulated among Meher Baba’s close lovers and disciples but were not made available to the general public during this period.

Meher Baba’s Literary Creations in the 1950s

God Speaks (1955)
God to Man and Man to God (1955), Charles Purdom’s edition of Meher Baba’s Discourses
Life at Its Best (1957), a collection of Baba’s message delivered during His 1956 tour to the West
Listen, Humanity (1957), which compiles in its second section discourses of Meher Baba as edited by Don Stevens
Beams from Meher Baba on the Spiritual Panorama (1958). Written up by Dr. C. D. Deshmukh, this book compiles responses to questions elicited by God Speaks
During the 1950s, particularly in the aftermath of His declaration of Avatarhood in 1953, Meher Baba delivered many of His greatest messages to humanity.

Meher Baba’s Dictations to Dr. Ghani (from Ira Deitrick, “The Story of God Speaks”)

In May 1947 Baba began dictating to Dr. Ghani what was to become God Speaks. Just prior to this, seemingly not by coincidence, Baba had Dr. Ghani read Hafiz’s ghazals to him, from late evening until 4 a.m., for twenty-one days. Ghani appeared to be progressing more slowly than Baba wished in turning the material Baba had dictated into a manuscript, for in February 1948 Baba dictated an agreement that he made Ghani sign before witnesses, promising to finish the book by the end of May 1948. Even this wasn’t sufficient to goad Ghani out of his “lazy ways” because by November 1948 Ghani had still not finished the book. Baba continued dictating additional points.

From Ira Deitrick, “The Story of God Speaks”

In 1952 at Myrtle Beach, during his interview with Murshida Ivy Duce and Francis Brabazon, Baba asked Murshida, “Did you see my chart, ‘The Ten States of God’? I dictated all the points to Dr. Ghani. He worked on it, and now I find half of it has not been included. Half has been just as I wanted. I have brought the manuscript here, and when I am free, I will go through the whole thing and make necessary changes. This book will be the first and last of its kind. Today I will show you just the chart on which it [the book] is based, and when it is ready, I might hand it over to you to publish.”

Meher Baba’s Comments on His Dictations to Dr. Ghani
(from Ira Deitrick, “The Story of God Speaks”)

In 1952 at Myrtle Beach, as stated earlier in this article, Baba referred to Ghani’s manuscript: “I dictated all the points to Dr. Ghani. He worked on it, and now I find half of it has not been included. Half has been just as I wanted. I have brought the manuscript here, and when I am free, I will go through the whole thing and make necessary changes.” By July 16, 1952 Baba had reviewed the manuscript and concluded, “Now I shall take this manuscript home and I shall have to write the whole book over again.” Baba began dictating the book again in August 1953.

On Dr. Ghani’s Role in the Original Dictation of God Speaks
(from Ira Deitrick, “The Story of God Speaks”)

It seems natural that Baba turned to Dr. Ghani to write the first manuscript because of who Ghani was, though he was not destined to complete the manuscript. Upon Ghani’s passing in 1951, Baba said, “Of the many things I had to renounce and to suffer in this New Life, the passing of Ghani is among the greatest. . . . But this sudden wrenching away of Ghani is a disaster for me. . . . To me, more than any of you, Ghani was unique; and of all the work that still remains to be done for me by others, there is much that could have been done for me by Ghani and no one else. That big head of his was truly a treasure-house in which wisdom and wit were blended to perfection. We were intimate friends since our earliest years, and no one knows better than I how courageous and how loyal and loving was his heart. To me, therefore, Ghani is irreplaceable, both as a friend and as a tool for my work.”

On Dr. Ghani’s Role in the Original Dictation of God Speaks (cont.)
(from Ira Deitrick, “The Story of God Speaks”)

The mandali felt grateful to Ghani because “over the years, much that Baba revealed on a mystical level is owed to Dr. Ghani Munsiff. It was because of Ghani that so many interesting explanations came from the Master. Whenever Ghani was eager to hear a discourse or explanation from Baba, he would say something in jest, or somewhat sarcastically, to goad Baba into giving a talk.” “Ghani would never miss the chance of availing himself of [Baba’s good] moods, and would lightly complain about something so that Baba would reveal some explanation about the inner path or God.” Baba reviewed Sufi gnosis with Ghani frequently over the years. Dr. Ghani wrote many articles on Sufi gnosis for the Meher Baba Journal. He also revised and enlarged Ramjoo Abdulla’s first pamphlet on Meher Baba’s gnosis, The Philosophy and Teachings of Shri Meher Baba compiled from his own dictation, for the Journal. He was the head of a group of Sufis in Poona. He was Baba’s Sufi. Baba also said of him that Ghani had grasped and assimilated the points in the Divine Theme chart so well that there was nothing left for Baba to explain. So it is not surprising that Baba turned to Ghani for the writing of God Speaks.

Meher Baba’s Dictation of God Speaks to Eruch Jessawala
(from Ira Deitrick, “The Story of God Speaks”)

In August 1953 in Dehra Dun, Baba began dictating God Speaks to Eruch Jessawalla. Eruch jotted down the points and wrote them out at night. The next day he read to Baba what he had written. Baba continued dictating points to Eruch in Mahableshwar in January 1954. Again Eruch jotted down the points, wrote them out and read them to Baba. Baba’s dictation to Eruch continued through June, in Satara. Eruch completed his writing work in July. Bhau Kalchuri was given the duty of organizing the material into chapters and get­ting the manuscript typed. A local typist was hired to type it, working eight hours a day. Bhau read the material to him as he typed, and the manuscript was finished in about a week.

Meher Baba gave the God Speaks manuscript to Lud Dimpfl in 1954
(from Ira Deitrick, “The Story of God Speaks”)

In September 1954, at the end of the Men’s Meeting, Lud Dimpfl was given the manuscript to present to Murshida Duce and Don Stevens to correct the grammar and punctuation and prepare for printing. The following letter accompanied the manuscript:

Meher Baba’s letter to Ivy Duce, August 1954
(from Ira Deitrick, “The Story of God Speaks”)

79-A Grafton
Camp Satara
August 1954

Dear Ivy,
This is to explain the enclosed manuscript for God Speaks — notes and articles on which Baba wishes you and Don Stevens to work in collaboration. As you will note, there are two separate packages. The file (marked No. 1) contains notes and articles dictated personally by Baba, taken down and worked on by Eruch. The packet (marked No. 2) is the incomplete manuscript of Dr. Ghani’s book (that he was working on years ago) and which was revised by Dr. Donkin (by Baba’s orders), the final typing suspended for want of clarification on many points which could only be done by Baba himself. This was indefinitely postponed by the coming of the New Life phase, during which Baba stopped answering any and all questions on spiritual subjects. Hence, manuscript No. 2 is far from final, was composed by Dr. Ghani on points and notes given by Baba, revised by Dr. Donkin, still has irrelevancies and discrepancies and also has many very good and interesting points.

Baba wishes you to take as main foundation for God Speaks manuscript No. 1, dictated personally by Baba. Leaving the sense in its entirety, He wants you and Don to make grammatical corrections, change the English of, alter the formation of any sentence or para you like, delete unnecessary repetitions, etc. etc. — in short, present Baba’s work in the best way you can. Take from manuscript No. 2 any point, article or chapter you like and think good. Correct any discrepancy you may come across in Sufi terminology in Ghani’s book (that you may wish to use). In short, take whatever you like from Ghani’s work to add to Baba’s manuscript No. 1, for the Book. Then send to Baba the revised manuscript (with any questions you may have). Baba will have it read out to Him, and will return the final to you for printing. You are allowed to write to Him in regard to the Book, and Baba will clarify any point that is doubtful or not clear.

His Love and Blessings to you, Don and Charmian

Meher Baba’s Comments on God Speaks at the 1955 Sahavas
(from Ira Deitrick, “The Story of God Speaks”)

At the series of sahavas for four language groups in India in 1955, Baba em­phasized the importance and unique nature of God Speaks. In his instructions to the attendees, Baba said, “I want you all to take particular note that I would feel happy if each one of you not only possessed but read and digested God Speaks from the first to the last page, as the last book of its kind by me. I will likewise be happy if those among you who can possibly do so will see that this work is translated and made available in as many languages as possible for those who cannot read and understand English.”37 “You will find God Speaks a very unique book. Never before have such things been disclosed by me. You will understand through your mind the why and wherefore of your being.”

First Intimations of a Second Edition
(from Ira Deitrick, “The Story of God Speaks”)

As early as 1956, Baba wrote Murshida Duce about suggestions for future editions of God Speaks. Among them was the following in a letter from Mani that February: “Now, one thing Baba wants you to do for future editions and that is to ADD at the END of the book His previous article ‘Existence Is Substance and Life Is Shadow.’ This should appear at the complete end of the Supplement, ‘sealing’ the book, as He put it.”

Meher Babas Work on a Second Edition in 1967
(from Ira Deitrick, “The Story of God Speaks”)

During his seclusion in 1967 Baba worked on additions and revisions for a second edition of God Speaks. In 1967 Murshida Duce wrote Baba, saying she would like to include a glossary of Sufi and Vedantic mystic terms in the second edition. Baba approved, and Lud Dimpfl worked on it. In the fall of 1967 at Guruprasad, “Baba was checking and correcting a glossary of God Speaks, which Lud Dimpfl had prepared. Bal Natu would read out every word and its meaning and, when required, Baba would correct a point.” Lud included a chart he had drawn lining up all the stages of the spiritual path and included it with the glossary when it was sent to Baba. In 1969 Eruch gave everything back to Lud with Baba’s corrections and informed Lud that Baba wanted both the chart and the glossary included in the next edition of God Speaks.

Eruch’s Letter on the Receipt of the Manuscript of the Second Edition
(from Ira Deitrick, “The Story of God Speaks”)

In 1969, at the Last Darshan, Eruch gave Murshida Duce all the corrections and suggestions from Baba for the second edition. On November 15, 1969, Eruch wrote, “Today I have posted you by registered air mail, bookpost, a file (File No. I – fair typed copy) of 121 pages plus charts of all Suggestions and Changes for the Second Edition of God Speaks. I shall post one more file, an extra one (File No. II, typed copy) after a day or two to ensure safe delivery. . . . The files (2 copies) I have sent now contain up-to-date suggestions and all necessary changes and corrections, plus Additions and corrected Glossary and Charts. Therefore to keep the old file would be useless and confusing; I have destroyed mine.”

GOD SPEAKS CHAPTERS

Contents
Preface to First Edition ix
Introduction to First Edition xiii
Introduction to Second Edition xxix
Part 1 States of Consciousness 1
Part 2 The Initial Urge and the Journey of Evolving
Consciousness 8
Part 3 Characteristics of the Different Kingdoms 28
Part 4 Reincarnation and the Impressionless
Equipoise of Consciousness 31
Part 5 The Planes 41
Part 6 Summary of States of Divine Consciousness 55
Part 7 The Sevenfold Veil 67
Part 8 The Beyond the Beyond State of God, the
First Urge and the Cycle of Evolution and
Involution of Consciousness 75
Part 9 The Ten States of God 159
Part 10 Conclusion 190
Contents of Supplement 191
Supplement 192
Epilogue 280
Glossary 281
Index 304

Contents of Supplement

1 Impressioned Consciousness 192
2 Practical Mysticism 193
3 The First Plane 202
4 The Second Plane 203
5 The Third Plane 203
6 The Stage Between the Third and Fourth Planes 203
7 Pilgrim of the Mental Sphere 205
8 The Sixth Plane 206
9 Gnosis of the Sixth Plane 207
10 The Seventh Plane 208
11 Different Types of Miracles 208
12 Kinds of Powers 215
13 Meditation 218
14 The Divine Theme by Meher Baba 220
15 The Five Spheres Described by Meher Baba 228
16 The Types of Conviction and of Knowledge 234
17 Paramatma Is Infinite and Everything 237
18 Five Spiritual Facts 237
19 Real Birth and Real Death 238
20 Fana and Fana-Fillah 239
21 The Sufi Conception of Fana and Baqa 240
22 Involution of Consciousness 242
23 Five Algebraic Definitions 242
24 The Four Types of Mukti or Liberation 243
25 A Summary of the Four Types of Mukti 245
26 Signs of Perfection 245
27 Hal and Muqam 248
28 Advent of the Avatar 249
29 Gnosis of the Seventh Plane 250
30 The Avatar and the Sadguru 251
31 Action and Inaction 252
32 Meher Baba on the Hierarchy 254
33 Advent of God as Avatar 257
34 Tauhid or the Unitary State of God 258
35 Maya 269
36 Meher Baba Says 270
37 The World of the Astral 275

Session Two. “Creation, Evolution, Reincarnation, and the Anatomy of Bondage”

Part A. Creation and Evolution
I. Meher Baba’s creation story and the initial urge
II. The scientific account of creation and evolution and its discontents
III. Evolution in Meher Baba’s account

Session Two. “Creation, Evolution, Reincarnation, and the Anatomy of Bondage”

Part B. Reincarnation
I. God Speaks, Part 4: “Reincarnation and the Impressionless Equipoise of Consciousness”
II. Sanskaras and their Representation in Discourses and Infinite Intelligence.
III. The Buddhist Account of Karma: Pratītyasamutpāda and the Twelve Nidānas
IV. Baba’s Discourses on Reincarnation.
V. Major Themes (Cosmic Justice; Free Will and Predestination)

The Initial Urge and the Journey of
Evolving Consciousness

Let us now think of one unconscious soul. In the beginning the soul had no impressions (sanskaras) and no consciousness. Therefore at this stage or in this state, the soul had no gross form or body, subtle body or mental body, because only the existence of gross, subtle and mental impressions (sanskaras)can give existence to gross, subtle and mental bodies, and only the existence of these bodies can make possible the existence of gross, subtle and mental worlds. Hence in the beginning the soul had no consciousness of gross, subtle and mental bodies and was also unconscious of its own self, and the soul then naturally had no experience of the gross, subtle and mental worlds and also had no experience of the Over-Soul (Paramatma).

This infinite, impressionless, unconscious tranquil state of the soul reverberated with an impulse which we call THE FIRST URGE (the first urge to know Itself). The first urge was latent in Paramatma. When we compare Paramatma to an infinite, unlimited ocean and when we say that Paramatma got the first urge, it could also be said in terms of comparison that the infinite, unlimited ocean got the first urge or THE WHIM. In the Infinite, both finite and infinite are included.

Now was this first urge infinite or finite, and was it at first finite and then infinite or vice versa?
The first urge was most finite, but this first urge was of the Infinite . This most finite first urge was of the infinite Ocean-Parmatma, and the manifestation of this latent most finite first urge of the Infinite was restricted to a most finite point in the infinite, unlimited Ocean. But as this most finite point of manifestation of the latent first urge, which was most finite too, was in the infinite, unlimited Ocean, this most finite point of manifestation of the first urge was also unlimited.

Through this most finite point of manifestation of the first urge (also most finite), the shadow of the Infinite (which shadow, when of Reality, is infinite) gradually appeared and went on expanding. This most finite point of manifestation of the latent first urge is called the “Om” Point or C reation Point and this point is unlimited. Simultaneously with reverberations of the first urge, the most gross first impression emerged, objectifying the soul as the most absolute opposite and most finite gross counterpart of the Infinite. Because of this most gross first impression of the first urge, the infinite Soul experienced for the first time. This first experience of the infinite Soul was that it (the Soul) experienced a contrariety in its identity with its infinite, impressionless, unconscious state. This experience of contrariety effected changeableness in the e t e rnal, indivisible stability of the infinite Soul, and spontaneously t h e re occurred a sort of eruption, disrupting the indivisible poise and the unconscious tranquility of the infinite Soul with a recoil or tremendous shock which impregnated the unconsciousness of the unconscious Soul with first consciousness of its apparent separateness from the indivisible state of Paramatma. But the Soul being inifinite, the first consciousness that it derived from the re - coil or shock of an absolutely opposite and most gross first imp ression of its apparent separateness was naturally and necessarily finite first consciousness. The sense to be conveyed is that the shadow of the Infinite seeped through or oozed out of the most finite point.

Baba on the Role of Sanskaras in His Teaching
(19th August 1926, from Chanji’s Diary 57: p. 182)

The basis for all of my explanations is sanskaras. Where, and in which religion, has this been so clearly and logically explained? Nowhere, except occasionally here and there in the Hindu Shastras, but even that is just a shadow of what I have explained to you.

Discourses Formation and Function of Sanskaras Pages Inserted here

The Formation and Function of Sanskaras

THERE are two aspects of human experience—the subjective and objective. On the one hand there are mental processes which constitute essential ingredients of human experience, and on the other hand there are things and objects to which they refer. The mental processes are partly dependent upon the immediately givenobjective situation, and partly dependent upon the functioning of accumulated sanskaras or impressions of previous experience. The human mind thus finds itself between a sea of past sanskaras on the one side and the whole extensive objective world on the other.

From the psychogenetic point of view, human actions are based upon the operation of the impressions stored in the mind through previous experience. Every thought, emotion and act is grounded in groups of impressions which, when considered objectively, are seen to be modifications of the mind-stuff of man. These impressions are deposits of previous experience and become the most important factors in determining the course of present and future experience.
The mind is constantly creating and gatheringwith the physical objects of this world such as the body, nature and other things, the mind is, so to say, externalised, and creates gross impressions. When it is busy with its own subjective mental processes (which are the expressions of already existing sanskaras), it creates subtle and mental impressions.
The question whether sanskaras come first or experience comes first is like the question whether the hen or the egg comes first. Both are conditions of each other and develop side by side. The problem of understanding the significance of human experience, therefore, turns round the problem of understanding the formation and function of sanskaras.

The sanskaras are of two types—natural and nonnatural— according to the manner in which they come into existence. The sanskaras which the soul gathers during the period of organic evolution are natural sanskaras. These sanskaras come into existence as the soul successively takes up and abandons the various sub-human forms, thus gradually passing from the apparently inanimate state of the stone or metal to the human state, where there is full development of consciousness. All the sanskaras which cluster round the soul before it attains the human form are the product of
natural evolution and are referred to as natural sanskaras. They should be carefully distinguished from the sanskaras cultivated by the soul after the attainment of the human form. The sanskaras which get attached to the soul during the human stage are cultivated under the moral freedom of consciousness with its accompanying responsibility of choice between good and bad, virtue and vice. They are referred to as non-natural sanskaras.

Though these post-human sanskaras are directly dependent upon the natural sanskaras,they are created under fundamentally different conditions of life, and are, in their origin, comparatively more recent than the natural sanskaras. This difference in length of the formative periods and in the conditions of formation is responsible for the difference in the degree of firmness of attachment of the natural and non-natural sanskaras to the soul. The non-natural sanskaras are not as difficult to eradicate as the natural sanskaras which have an ancient heritage and are therefore more firmly rooted. The obliteration of the natural sanskaras is practically impossible unless the neophyte is the recipient of the grace and the intervention of a Sadguru. As explained above, the non-natural sanskaras are dependent upon the natural sanskaras, and the natural sanskaras are a result of evolution.

The next important question is, "Why should manifested life in different stages of evolution emerge out of the Absolute Reality which is infinite?" The need for manifested life arises out of the impetus in the Absolute to become conscious of itself. The progressive manifestation of life through evolution is ultimately brought about by the will-to-be-conscious which is inherent in the Infinite. In order to understand creation in terms of thought, it is necessary to posit this will-to-be-conscious in the Absolute in an involved state prior to the act of manifestation. Although for the purposes of an intellectual explanation of creation the impetus in the Absolute has to be regarded as a will-to-be-conscious, to describe it as a sort of inherent desire is to falsify its true nature.

It is better described as a lahar or an impulse which is so inexplicable, spontaneous and sudden that to call it this or that is to have its reality undone. As all intellectual categories necessarily turn out to be inadequate for grasping the mystery of creation, the nearest approach to understanding its nature is not through intellectual concept, but through analogy. Just as a wave going across the surface of a still ocean calls forth into being a wild stir of innumerable bubbles, the lahar creates myriads of individual souls out of the indivisible infinity of the Oversoul. But the allabounding Absolute remains the substratum of all the individual souls. The individual souls are the creations of a sudden and spontaneous impulse and have, therefore, hardly any anticipation of their destined continuity of existence throughout the cyclic period until the final subsiding of the initial tremor. Within the undifferentiated being of the Absolute is born a mysterious point through which comes forth the variegated manyness of creation; and the vasty deep which, a fraction of a second before was icystill,
is astir with the life of innumerable frothy selves who secure their separateness in definite size and shape through self-limitation within the foamy surface of the ocean. All this is merely an analogy. It would be a mistake to imagine that some real change takes place in the Absolute when the lahar of the involved will-to-be-conscious makes itself effective by bringing into existence the world of manifestation. There can be no act of involution or evolution within the being of the Absolute, and nothing real can be born from the Absolute, as any real change is necessarily a negation of the Absolute. The change implied in the creation of the manifested world is notReality. It is only an apparent change. In one sense the act of manifestation must be regarded as a sort of expansion of the illimitable being of the Absolute, as through that act the Infinite which is without consciousness seeks to attain Its own consciousness. As this expansion of Reality is effected through its self-limitisation into various forms of life, the act of manifestation might with equal aptness be called the process of timeless contraction. Whether the act of manifestation is looked upon as a sort of expansion of Reality or as its "timeless contraction," it is preceded by an initial urge or movement which might, in terms of thought, be regarded as an inherent and involved desire to be conscious. The manifoldness of creation and the separateness of the individual souls exist only in imagination. The very existence of creation or of the world of manifestation is grounded in bhas or illusion, so that, in spite of the manifestation of numberless individual souls, the Oversoul remains the same without suffering any real expansion or contraction, increment or decrement.

Although the Oversoul undergoes no modification due to the bhas or illusion of individuation, there comes into existence its apparent differentiation into many individual souls. The most original bhas or illusion into which the Oversoul was allured synchronises with the first impression. It therefore marks the beginning of the formation of sanskaras. The formation of sanskaras starts in the most finite centre which becomes the first focus for the manifestation of the individuality of the soul. In the gross sphere this first focus of manifestation is represented by the tri-dimensional and inert stone which has the most rudimentaryand partial consciousness. This vague and undeveloped state of consciousness is hardly sufficient to illumine its own shape and form, and is hopelessly inadequate to fulfill the purpose of creation, which was to enable the Oversoul to know itself. Whatever little capacity for illumination consciousness has in the stone phase is ultimately derived from the Oversoul and not from the body of the stone. But consciousness is unable to enlarge its scope independently of the body of the stone, because the Oversoul first gets identified with consciousness and then through it to the stone form. Since all further development of consciousness is arrested by the body of the stone and its langour, evolution of the higher forms or vehicles of manifestation becomes indispensable.

The development of consciousness has to proceed side by side with the evolution of the body by which it is conditioned. Therefore the will-to-be-conscious, which is inherent in the vastness of the Oversoul, seeks by divine determination a progressive evolution of the vehicles of expression. Thus the Oversoul forges for itself a new vehicle of expression in the metal form in which consciousness becomes slightly more intensified. Even at this stage it is very rudimentary, and so it has to get transferred to still higher forms of vegetation and trees, in which there is an appreciable advance in the development of consciousness through the maintenance of the vital processes of growth, decay and reproduction. Emergence of a still more developed form of consciousness becomes possible when the Oversoul seeks manifestation through the instinctive life of insects, birds and animals who are fully aware of their bodies and their respective surroundings, and who develop a sense of self-protection and aim atestablishing mastery over their environment. In the higher animals, intellect or reasoning also appears to a certain extent, but its working is strictly limited by the play of their instincts, like the instinct of self-protection and the instinct for the care and preservation of the little ones. So, even in animals, consciousness has not had its full development, with the result that it is unable to serve the initial purpose of the Oversoul to have self-illumination. The Oversoul finally takes the human form in which consciousness attains its fullest development with complete awareness of the self and the environment. At this stage the capacity of reasoning has the widest range of activity and is unlimited in its scope. But, as the Oversoul gets identified through its consciousness with the gross body, consciousness does not serve the purpose of illuminating the nature of the Oversoul.

However, as consciousness has had its fullest development in the human form, there is in it a latent potentiality for Self-realisation, and the will-to-be-conscious with which evolution started becomes fructified in the Sadguru or Man-God who is the fairest flower of humanity. The Oversoul cannot attain self-knowledge through the ordinary consciousness of humanity because it is enveloped in a multitude of sanskaras or impressions. As consciousness passes from the apparently inanimate state of the stone or the metal, then to the vegetative life of the trees, then onwards to the instinctive state of insects, birds and animals, and finally to the full consciousness of the human state, it is continually creating new sanskaras and becoming enveloped in them. These natural sanskaras are increased even after attaining thehuman state, by the further creation of non-natural sanskaras through manifold experiences and multitudinous activities. Thus the acquisition of sanskaras is unceasingly going on during the process of evolution as well as during the later period of human
activities. This acquisition of sanskaras may be likened to the winding up of a piece of string around a stick, the string representing the sanskaras and the stick representing the mind of the individual soul. The winding up starts from the beginning of creation and persists through all the evolutionary stages and the human form and the wound string represents all the positive sanskaras—natural as well as non-natural. The fresh sanskaras which are constantly being created in human life are due to the multifarious objects and ideas with which consciousness finds itself confronted. These sanskaras bring about important transformations in the various states of consciousness. Impressions createdby beautiful objects have the potency of arousing in consciousness the innate capacity for appreciating and enjoying beauty. When one hears a good piece of music or sees a beautiful landscape, the impressions caught from these objects gives one a feeling of exaltation. In the same way, when one contacts the personality of a thinker, one may become interested in new avenues of thought and inspired with an enthusiasm utterly foreign to one's consciousness formerly.

Not only impressions of objects or persons, but also impressions of ideas and superstitions have great efficacy in determining the conditions of consciousness.The power of impressions of superstitions might be illustrated by means of a ghost story. Of the different realms of human thought there is perhaps none asabounding in superstitions as that connected with ghosts who, according to popular belief, are supposed to harrass and torture their victims in curious ways. Once upon a time, during the Moghul rule in India, a highly educated man, who was very sceptical of the stories about ghosts, made up his mind to verify them from personal experience. He had been warned against visiting a certain graveyard on the night of amavasya (the darkest night of the month), for it was reported to be the habitation of a very dreadful ghost who unfailingly made his appearance whenever an iron nail was hammered into the ground within the limits of the graveyard.
With a hammer in one hand and a nail in the other, he walked straight into the graveyard on the night of amavasya and chose a spot bare of grass in order to drive in a nail. The ground was dark, and his loosely hanging cloak was equally dark. When he sat on the ground and tried to hammer in the nail, an end of his cloak lay between the nail and the ground and was pinned down. He finished hammering and felt that he was successful with the experiment without encountering the ghost. But, as he tried to rise in order to depart from the spot, he felt a strong pull towards the ground and
he became panic-stricken. Owing to the operation of previous impressions, he could not think of anything except the ghost who, he thought, had caught him at last. The shock of the thought was so great that the poor man died of heart-failure. This story illustrates the tremendous power which sometimes resides in the impressions created by superstition.

The power and effect of impressions can hardly be overestimated. An impression is solidified might, and its inertness makes it immobile and durable. It canbecome so engraved upon the mind of man that despite his sincere desire and effort to eradicate it, it takes its own time and has a way of working itself into action directly or indirectly. The mind contains many heterogeneous sanskaras and, while seeking expression in consciousness, they often clash with each other. The clash of sanskaras is experienced in consciousness as a mental conflict. Experience is bound to be chaotic and enigmatic, full of oscillations, confusion and complex tangles until consciousness is freed from all sanskaras, good and bad. Experience can become truly harmonious and integral only when consciousness is emancipated from the impressions. Sanskaras can be classified according to essential differences in the nature of the spheres to which they refer. Referring to these different spheres of existence,they are found to be of three kinds:

(1) Gross sanskaras which enable the soul to experience the gross world through the gross medium, and compel it to identify itself with the gross body.

(2) Subtle sanskaras which enable the soul to experience the subtle world through the subtle medium, and compel the soul to identify itself with the subtle body.

(3) Mental sanskaras which enable the soul to experience the mental world through the mental medium, and compel it to identify itself with the mental body. The differences between the states of the individual souls are entirely due to the differences existing in the kinds of sanskaras with which their consciousness is loaded. Thus grossconscious souls experience only the gross world; subtle-conscious souls experience onlythe subtle world; and mental-conscious souls experience only the mental world. The qualitative diversity in the experience of these three types of souls is due to the difference in the nature of their sanskaras.

The Self-conscious souls are radically different from all the other souls, because they experience the Oversoul through the medium of the Self, whereas the other souls experience only their bodies and the corresponding worlds. This radical difference in the consciousness of Self-conscious souls and of other souls is due to the fact that, whereas the consciousness of most souls is conditioned by some kinds of sanskaras, the consciousness of Self-conscious souls is completely free from all sanskaras. It is only when consciousness is unobscured and unconditioned by any sanskaras that the initial will-to-be-conscious arrives at its final and real fruition, and the infinity and the indivisible unity of the Absolute is consciously realised. The problem of deconditioning the mind through the removal of sanskaras is therefore extremely important.

The First Desire as the First Sanskara
(Infinite Intelligence, p. 236)

Where do all these sanskaras come from in the first place? The first Desire, the first Word, was the first sanskara.

Charles Darwin's Tree of Life

Charles Darwin's Tree of Life

Charles Darwin's Tree of Life

Meher Baba on Darwin
(29th November 1926, at Lonavala)

Darwin, when he propounded the theory of evolution, based his intellectual convictions merely on science, scientific research, scientific knowledge. He never thought or even dreamt that God’s hand might be involved in the process!

On the Fine-tuning of the Universe

N, the ratio of the strengths of gravity to that of electromagnetism, is 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000. According to Rees, if it were smaller, only a small and short-lived universe could exist.

Epsilon (ε), the strength of the force binding nucleons into nuclei, is 0.07. If it were 0.06, only hydrogen could exist, and complex chemistry would be impossible. If it were 0.08, no hydrogen would exist, as all the hydrogen would have been fused shortly after the big bang.

Omega (Ω), also known as the Density parameter, is the relative importance of gravity and expansion energy in the Universe. If gravity were too strong compared with dark energy and the initial metric expansion, the universe would have collapsed before life could have evolved. On the other side, if gravity were too weak, no stars would have formed.

Lambda (λ) is the cosmological constant. It describes the ratio of the density of dark energy to the critical energy density of the universe, given certain reasonable assumptions such as positing that dark energy density is a constant. Lambda is around 0.7. This is so small that it has no significant effect on cosmic structures that are smaller than a billion light-years across. If it were extremely large, stars would not be able to form.

Q, the ratio of the gravitational energy required to pull a large galaxy apart to the energy equivalent of its mass, is around 1/100,000. If it is too small, no stars can form. If it is too large, no stars can survive because the universe is too violent, according to Rees.

D, the number of spatial dimensions in spacetime, is three. Rees claims that life could not exist if there were two or four.

N, the ratio of the strengths of gravity to that of electromagnetism, is 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000. According to Rees, if it were smaller, only a small and short-lived universe could exist.
Epsilon (ε), the strength of the force binding nucleons into nuclei, is 0.07. If it were 0.06, only hydrogen could exist, and complex chemistry would be impossible. If it were 0.08, no hydrogen would exist, as all the hydrogen would have been fused shortly after the big bang.

Omega (Ω), also known as the Density parameter, is the relative importance of gravity and expansion energy in the Universe. If gravity were too strong compared with dark energy and the initial metric expansion, the universe would have collapsed before life could have evolved. On the other side, if gravity were too weak, no stars would have formed.
Lambda (λ) is the cosmological constant. It describes the ratio of the density of dark energy to the critical energy density of the universe, given certain reasonable assumptions such as positing that dark energy density is a constant. Lambda is around 0.7. This is so small that it has no significant effect on cosmic structures that are smaller than a billion light-years across. If it were extremely large, stars would not be able to form.

Q, the ratio of the gravitational energy required to pull a large galaxy apart to the energy equivalent of its mass, is around 1/100,000. If it is too small, no stars can form. If it is too large, no stars can survive because the universe is too violent, according to Rees.

D, the number of spatial dimensions in spacetime, is three. Rees claims that life could not exist if there were two or four.

The Kingdoms of Evolution and their Characteristics

Stone and metal: inanimate; life and energy are dormant; recumbent position

Vegetable: half animate and half inanimate; stand erect, head down and feet up; dependent on others for erect position

Worm: includes worms, insects, amphibians, and reptiles; animate, with a tendency to crawl, never assuming erect posture; first invertebrate and then vertebrate; experiences struggle for life

Fish: immersed in water; animate and vertebrate; endowed with life and sensation, experiencing the struggle for existence; recumbent

Bird: associated with air and capable of flight; with aid of two legs, maintains an erect posture

Animal: expanded consciousness, with life and sensation; sometimes herbivorous and sometimes carnivorous; a tendency to look downward with dropping head

Human: full consciousness; asserts an upright posture

God Speaks The Initial Urge

It is thus that the infinite, indivisible, eternal soul (without form) which is eternally in the Over-Soul, while experiencing the most-finite gross impressions through its own most-finite consciousness, utilizes the most-finite gross medium of the first-most species of stone (“first-most” meaning the very, very first), and the soul is thus imperceptibly, though spontaneously, made to identify itself as stone. After ages and cycles the most-finite gross consciousness is gradually much more evolved in the soul by innumerable and varied experiences of the most-gross finite impressions through the identification of the soul with the first-most species of stone. Eventually, when a limit to having experiences is reached, the identification of the soul with the first-most species of stone is gradually dissociated and that stone-form is dropped.

The soul remains now for a period without any medium, though the most-finite consciousness which has been evolved remains together with the most-gross finite impressions of the most-first species of stone-form just shed. Thus the soul, now without any medium or form, is conscious of the most-finite impressions (sanskaras). But as long as consciousness is centred in impressions, the soul must necessarily experience those impressions. Therefore, in order to experience the impressions of the mostfirst species of stone-form dropped, the consciousness of the soul centered in the impressions of the dropped stone-form begins to associate with the most-next species of stone-form. The soul identifie s itself with this species of stone, and the consciousness of the soul begins to experience, through association with the new medium of the most-next species of stone-form, the impressions of the most-first species of stone-form.

The most important point to be understood here is that when the consciousness of the soul dissociates its identification fro m one form or medium and retains only the impressions of the form so dissociated, these impressions are experienced through another God Speaks appropriate medium when the consciousness of the soul associates with the next medium or form. But this next medium or form is always created and moulded of the consolidated impressions of the last species of form with which the soul associated and identifie d itself and which (impressions) were retained by the consciousness of the soul even when aissociated from the form.

Thus, innumerable diverse experiences of countless impre ssions experienced by the consciousness of the soul through diverse species of stone-forms, one after the other, lead to the greater evolution of consciousness of the soul. Ultimately a stage is reached after ages and cycles of experiences where the consciousness of the soul has a tendency to dissociate the soul even from the most-last species of stone-form; and, although the most-last species of stone-form is dissociated or dropped by the soul, the most-finite consciousness evolved thus far remains together with the most-finite gross impressions of the most-last species of stone - form dropped.

The soul, now without any medium or form, is conscious of the most - finite gross impressions (sanskaras) of the most-last species of stone - form. The soul must necessarily experience these impressions . Now, in order to experience the impressions of the most-last stone - form, the soul associates and identifies with another medium— the metal-form. This medium of metal-form is but the mould of the impressions of the most-last species of stone-form. In other words , the most-first species of metal-form is created and moulded of the most-last species of stone-form impressions. It is thus that the infinite, eternal soul without form, which is eternally in the Over-Soul, experiences through evolved consciousness the most-gross finite impressions of the most-last species of stone - form while associating and identifying itself with the mostfirst species of metal-form. There are diverse species of metal-form just as there are of stone form, and the consciousness of the soul utilizes these diverse innumerable species of metal-form as media through which to experience the diverse and innumerable impressions gathered. Thus the evolution of the consciousness of the soul gains and gathers momentum Initial Urge in proportion to the diverse and multiple experiences of varied and innumerable impressions, through different media or species of forms.

 

 

 

HOW IT ALL HAPPENED

There is nothing like creation in the true sense of the word. What we call creation is the manifestation of countless forms out of nothing. This nothing is really nothing, but it exists. It cannot be denied. But it is not beyond everything. Everything includes nothing, but nothing does not and never can mean everything. Before the creation manifested itself, there was literally and absolutely nothing save the Almighty, Who alone existed, but who was latently conscious, and so did not know Himself. Just as consciousness was latent in the Almighty, so this, which is called the creation, was also latent in Him. The difference between the latent and the manifested creation may be likened to that between a seed and a tree. A seed is a small particle, but if sown into proper soil and watered, it will give rise to a mighty, big tree. This means that the seed was a tree in the compact form before it was sown, and it simply manifested itself when it grew into a tree. But whether latent or manifested, whether "seed" or "tree," the creation is always nothing, as it has come out of nothing, and is made up of nothing. But the Almighty is everything, including nothing, which implies that God is but One without a second, and that the nothing is also there. The nothing is there, but the pity of it is that this nothing is felt as everything by humanity at large.

Imagine God, before the universe came into being, as the dead, still, infinite Ocean. Now just imagine a whiff of wind stirring the still waters of the Ocean. Because of this stirring, countless different waves and drops, wave-bubbles and drop-bubbles, showed themselves out of the unity of the infinite Ocean. The whiff of wind that set the still Ocean of God into motion was but a passing fancy (what we call lahar in vernacular) on the part of the Ocean Itself to know Itself. The motion of the Ocean synchronized with this passing fancy, so that as soon as the Ocean began rolling, it began creating, or creation began manifesting itself. To put the matter more plainly, God, prompted by a passing fancy, asked Himself,  "Who am I?'' No sooner did He thus ask Himself than He received a shock and no sooner did He receive a shock, than the creation that was latent, and lay in a dormant condition as the most finite and formless point in the unconscious — or latently conscious, but indivisible and infinite Paramatman — God, manifested itself in infinite forms.

The passing fancy was really a passing fancy, and not a premeditated act. The shock was simultaneous with the passing fancy and the creation synchronized with the shock; and along with the shock, the Paramatman became conscious. But He became conscious, not of Self but of the creation, because the manifestation of the creation and consciousness took place at one and the same time.

Suppose you close your eyes, and then, all of a sudden imagine you are tickled. As soon as you imagine that, at one and the same time, four different things will happen, viz: (1) you will feel that your body is being touched; (2) you will experience a mild shock; (3) you will open your eyes without any such intention, and (4) you will see something of the surroundings without the intention of seeing anything. Something like this happened when the creation manifested itself. Compare the first happening (your being touched) to the passing fancy of God; the second happening (experience of mild shock) to the shock which God received; the third happening (opening of eyes) to the consciousness which God experienced, and the fourth happening (that which you see) to the manifestation of creation. As the Paramatman uses His consciousness for knowing the creation,
The following diagram shows the above details at a glance:* it follows then that for Him to use it for knowing Himself the universe must disappear; or the seeing must remain, but that which is seen must vanish.

When you are in sound sleep, you are not only unconscious of your body and the universe, but also of your very existence. When you are in the dreaming state, you are conscious of your existence and you see various objects, dream creatures which do not really exist, but which you regard as real so long as your dream lusts. In the same way, creation exists and at the same time it does not exist.

By way of introduction, taking the Almighty as the Infinite Ocean, the following diagram should be considered one indivisible whole:

 

The portion A of the Ocean is still or motionless. That is God in the state which is beyond even superconsciousness. In this state, God, with latent consciousness, has been experiencing and sustaining infinite powers, eternal existence, unfathomable bliss and universal knowledge. But He neither knows Himself (as Infinite ocean), nor the universe (as nothing).

The portion B of the Ocean is in motion. There are countless, numberless drops, each having a bubble about it. Every drop is the Ocean Itself; but though, like the Ocean in portion A, it does not know that it is Ocean; still, it is conscious to the extent of knowing that it is only a drop surrounded by a bubble. God in this state is Jivatma or individual soul.

The third portion, C, stands for the same Ocean with drops, each of which is quite conscious of Self (as) Ocean. These drops are Krishna, Zoroaster, Moses, Jesus, Buddha, Mohamed*, Tukaram, Nanak, Kabir, Hafiz, Ramakrishna and such others. The drops in this portion of the Infinite Ocean are many; but every drop is one indivisible whole, and is completely conscious that it is Ocean and not a mere drop.

The point D in the diagram denotes the Creator. The same still Ocean when it began rolling, began creating, and thus became the Creator at the point D. In other words, the point D through which the creation manifests itself, is the Creator.

Consider Paramatman as Infinite Knowledge. As He is latently conscious, it follows that He neither knows Himself, nor, before the creation manifested itself, did He know the creation. This implies that knowledge is ignorant, i.e., ignorance

*In Volume 3 Number 1 page 35 of The Awakener Magazine The Philosophy and Teachings of Shri Meher Baba printed spelling of Mohamed as Mohomed.-webmaster 2006 is in Knowledge. When the creation manifested itself, He became conscious of it but not of Himself. That is to say Knowledge knows that it does not know. Now, where does this knowing of "not knowing" come from? From Knowledge, of course. And this goes to prove that "knowing" as well as "not knowing" (ignorance) is latent in Knowledge.

Just as there are "knowing" and "not knowing" in Knowledge, so there are movement and emptiness, prana and akasha, in the Ocean of Paramatman. And just as knowing brings the most finite ignorance out of the Infinite Knowledge, the movement brings out the most finite emptiness out of the Infinite Ocean, and so the prana and akasha, when the latently conscious Paramatman becomes conscious of the creation. To put the matter in a table of terms:
 
Movement = Universal Energy = Prana = Knowing = Everything is opposite to

Emptiness = Latent Universe = Akasha = Ignorance = Nothing
 
When the still Ocean begins rolling, movement and emptiness (between two waves) both of which always exist in It, are manifested simultaneously out of the Ocean Itself. When Knowledge knows, "knowing" and "not knowing" come out; and when Paramatman becomes conscious of the creation, prana and akasha manifest themselves. But side by side with the manifestation of these three pairs of opposites, which were one when they were latent in the one Paramatman, a clash between the opposites of each pair takes place; and the outcome of the clash is the manifestation of the universe. The clash denotes several happenings at one and the same time, including the following:
 
(1) The states of Energy = Prana, and Emptiness = Akasha, are manifested.
 
(2) The Akasha state remains one whole, but the Prana state becomes divided into seven parts which are formed at one and the same time.
 
(3) Out of the Prana state, the subtle world comes into being, and out of the Akasha state, the gross worlds (wave-bubbles) become manifested.
 
(4) The manifestations of the most finite drop-bubbles, say the electrons, take place.
 
(5) With the movement in the Ocean, innumerable waves, countless drops and numberless bubbles, together with foam, manifest themselves. Consider that each wave has a big bubble and each drop has a small bubble, viz., wave-bubbles and drop-bubbles. As the waves are not separate from the drops, both kinds of bubbles contain the indivisible Ocean Itself, i.e., the waves are in the Ocean and the drops are in the wave. Each wave, besides having its own bubble, has countless drops, each of which again has a bubble of its own. Each wave-bubble is a world in itself, and its drop-bubbles are numberless forms belonging to (such as) electrons, stones, metals, plants, trees, animals and human beings. But each drop is still the indivisible Ocean though it does not know it. Simultaneously with the movement in the Ocean, the Atman (Soul) comes to know that it does not know; and along with the clash referred to above, the Atman begins to know the universe, i.e., ignorance = nothingness, most finitely through the most finite first gross form, the electron.

The manifestation of the electron, the most finite gross form, or the first drop-bubble, is the beginning of the organic evolution that terminates in the human form. With the manifestation of this most finite drop-bubble, Atman, the drop, begins to know** the universe — nothingness most finitely. This experiencing of the universe by the Atman or soul through the electron is almost imperceptible and negligible; yet this minutest "knowing" or consciousness creates sanskaras — A'mal — Impressions, which cause the drop — Atman to leave the bubble — form. When the drop leaves the bubble, the sanskaras do not leave the Atman but remain about it, and again cause the Atman to take a bigger bubble or body. Through this second form, the Atman knows the universe more, as the angle of vision or the consciousness of knowing increases with the increase in the form. And with the increase in this consciousness, the sanskaras also increase and cause the drop to assume a yet bigger form when the second one falls off. And in this way, the evolution of drop-bubbles goes on for ages till, after countless changes of bubbles, the Atman gets the human form.
 
But the evolution is not of the drop (Atman) but of the bubble (body or form). The Atman remains the same Indivisible and Infinite Ocean from the beginning till the end of form evolution. But with the organic evolution, or advancement of the bubbles, the knowing or consciousness of ignorance — universe increases step by step. This consciousness on the part of the Atman is called chaitanya. This chaitanya becomes Jiv — individual in the human form. It is in the human form only that the Jivatman can realize the Paramatman, because with the Atman being infinite, the consciousness must also be infinite: and the consciousness is infinite only in the human form. Therefore the human form is the end of organic evolution.

The eight million four hundred thousands of bubbles or forms which the Atman is proverbially said to pass through are as*** the chief forms or the genera, each of which has its numberless species; and the Atman has to pass through all of them before it can incarnate in the human form. Yet, strictly speaking, there is only one form, viz., the human form, because, it is latent in all the previous forms including the electron. In other words, the different forms in the mineral, vegetable and animal kingdoms are nothing but the human form in its latent state which becomes completely manifested gradually as a human being in a human body.
The compact latent human form takes four straight turns and afterwards, one inverse turn (five turns in all) before it becomes completely manifested. In order to understand these five turns, we must glance at some of the species:
 

What Makes Reincarnation Inevitable?

Reincarnation is made necessary by —
the immortality of the soul, together with the persistence of karma.

Sankara’s Definition of Adhyāsa

“The apparent presentation to consciousness, by way of memory, of something previously observed
in some other thing.”

 

The Themes of Superimposing and Superimposition:

The Shankara's Brahmasutrabhasya Smanvaya Rreconsiliation

Superimpose

A sketch of:

"It being an established fact that the object and the subject, that are fit to be the contents of the concepts 'you ' and 'we' (respectively), and are by nature as contradictory as light and darkness, cannot logically have any identity, it follows that their attributes can have it still less. Accordingly, the superimposition of the object, referable through the concept 'you', and its attributes on the subject that is conscious by nature and is referable through the concept 'we' (should be impossible), and contrariwise the superimposition of the subject and its attributes on the object should be impossible. Nevertheless, owing to an absence of discrimination between these attributes, as also between substances, which are absolutely disparate, there continues a natural human behaviour based on self-identification in the form of 'I am this' or 'This is mine'. This behaviour has for its material cause an unreal nescience and man resorts to it by mixing up reality and unreality as a result of superimposing the things themselves or their attributes on each other."

The preamble goes on to explain the nature of superimposition. It says that this superimposition is of the nature ofavidya and that the ascertainment ofthe real entity after separating the superimposed thing from it is vidya. It points out that all forms of worldly and Vedic behaviour have as their ground this superimposition, and that such superimposition is common to both animals as well as learned people. The preamble ends with the note that the bhashya is begun in order to eradicate the source of evil and to facilitate the knowledge of Self. Nowhere in the preamble do we come across the statement that the world is false. The focus of the preamble is clearly the superimposition between the Self and non- Self and NOT the unreality of the world.

 

Superimpose One

A sketch of:

In summary, Shankara clarifies for us that the obstacle to enlightenment is a misconception on our part, which superimposes (mixes up) up the real and non-real, which drives an empirical view of the world as an apparent duality of subjects, objects, and means of knowing these objects. The misconception is innate to us, and tradition gives the technical name adhyAsa to this superimposition. Shankara further defines the avidyA in the Sruti as this adhyAsa. Once this avidyA is removed, what is left is vidyA or knowledge that is the experience of brahman, the Ultimate Reality. Therefore, shankara says, the purpose of the shastra is to reveal brahman by identifying and removing avidyA or misconceptions, so that brahman can shine of its own accord.

Superimpose Two

A sketch of:

The nature of bondage There are gradations in bondage. The main bondage is the connection of ignorance with the Atma, in the form of superimposition. Thereafter comes the superimposition of the subtle and the gross bodies. Then follows the superimposition of external objects. In superimposition thereis a substratum (adhishthana) and the superimposed (aaropya). Sri Sankara says that there is a blending of the real and the unreal (satyaanrte midhuneekrtya. So in bondage one part is real (Atma), and the other part is unreal (anaatma).

Superimpose Three

A sketch of:

Others, again, define superimposition as the error founded on the non-apprehension of the difference of that which is superimposed from that on which it is superimposed. Others again, define it as the fictitious assumption of attributes contrary to the nature of that thing on which something else is superimposed. But all these definitions agree in so far as they represent superimposition as the apparent presentation of the attributes of one thing in another thing. And therewith agrees also the popular view which is exemplified by expressions such as the following: 'Mother-of-pearl appears like silver,' 'The moon although one only appears as if she were double.' But how is it possible that on the interior Self which itself is not an object there should be superimposed objects and their attributes?

 

On the Fundamental Importance of Sanskaras
(Infinite Intelligence, p. 248)

Sanskaras: the root cause.
Summing up, then: the false thinking of the Infinite Mind, the unlimited Mind's limit, the existence of false egoism, the Mind's thinking the imagination (realizaing the universe) - all of this is due to sanskaras. As are the sanskaras, so is the subtle body; and as is the subtle body, so is the gross body. In the sameway, sanskaras determine experience. Thus, as are the sanskaras, so are the experiences of the uinverse.