Written by Mathew Naismith
I had another interesting anecdote
presented to me by Sreeram Manoj Kumara seen below; I also inserted my reply to
this anecdote.
"If I advice "be a witness"
I am still in duality.
If I say "I am that" even if it
implies duality
"I" just has to fade away."
I had
to ponder on this. I thought I would give a western perspective on this.
1/ Observer
- A state of consciousness that only observes void of participation. This state
can be related to, if you like, a consciousness of God's/Goddesses in
observation only.
2/ Observer
observing one's participation - A state of consciousness that observes it's own
participation. This state can be related to a consciousness of wisdom/awareness
in observation and participation.
3/ Participator
- A state of consciousness that only participates void of observation. This
state can be related to a consciousness of ignorance/unawareness in
participation only.
In
observation only, the "I" does not exist, egoless.
In
observation of one's own participation, the "I" fades away as if it
never existed, ego.
In
participation only, the "I" not only exists but also is everything.
In this case, all perceptions are based on the "I", a controlling
ego.
___________________________
The following goes into this a lot deeper,
if you are not into deep thoughtfulness, it is advisable you stop here,
however, the following explains the anecdote of Sreeram's in a more in-depth
way.
We could say that being a witness is being
an observer, however, a witness is not usually in relation to observation of
oneself, the witness refers to the observation of other people and/or our
immediate environment. Observing your own participation isn't being a witness
especially in conjunction with "If I advice" as "If I
advice" relates to a wrong or right, good or bad. As soon as we become the
advice, we become the participator that create wrong and rights.
If I say "I am that", in the west
this is often in reference to the ego, however, the observer says I am that,
meaning, I am all of that I observe, there is no ego present within this
observation as all is observed as one. When I observe myself, only in relation
to myself, I observe all of what is but if I observe other peoepl and/or my environment,
I am only participating even in observation. In this case, observation actually
becomes a witness as opposed to an observer. Remember, witness is in reference
to a participator dually, observation refers to the observer non-dually.
When you learn to observe yourself, you
observe all of what is. When you observe all else in advice, usually other than
yourself, you observe as a witness therefore become the participator.
So where does science fit within this as
science is all about being the observer?
Good science, so to speak, is about being
able to observe yourself at one time but at other times witnessing your
environment other than yourself. Bad science on the other hand is about only
being a witness, a participator, of the environment void of being able to,
truthfully, observe oneself. Science fits within both the observer observing
one's participation and participator
categories as my reply to Sreeram shows; this of course depends on the kind of
science applications used.
Science is incapable of being an observer
without being a witness to what science observes, this like a true state of
spiritual oneness is unable to be a witness while in observation, even when in
duality. Once one is able to observe oneself as all of what is, void of separation,
even in duality, one is able to observe oneself as if it is of everything, not a
separate entirety to everything. What makes science what it is, is its
inability to be just an observer void of being also a witness at the same time.
It's like what makes human consciousness human. What makes human consciousness
human is it's limitations, science is the same within it's own limitations of
being unable to just observe void of participation/witnessing.
At no time is our own participation not
being observed, in actuality, it is this observation that creates what we
participate in. Basically, everything we experience is being created through
observation. You could say that your higher self is observing your own or it's
own participation, in doing so, creates what is being experienced.
This is difficult to accept because we
often separate the observer from what the participator experiences. We are
conditioned to perceive primarily through the perspectives of time, space and
matter, this means we are unable to comprehend that the observer and the
participator coexists in the present only. Only the participator will perceive
that for there to be a participator, an observation has to be made first to
create the experiences a participator experiences. Take away the perception of
time, space and matter, what you have left is a perception void of a past and
future, this is of course why time travel is possible.
Observation and participation
simultaneously occur outside the perceptions of time, space and matter. Once we
free ourselves of these perceptions, we begin to realise who we truly are,
simultaneously all of what is as a whole and at the same time individualistic
in nature. We are not one or the other but all of what is be it duality or
non-duality.
