Dr. Vijai S Shankar MD.PhD.
Published on www.academ-advaita.com
The Netherlands
28 December 2019
Adventure (1)
“Life”
What have you done since the morning? How the mind jumps in, doesn’t it? How quickly your mind will claim, I did this and that. But is it true? You come to a point wherein both reality and illusion are there in the same moment.
If reality is there in a moment, understand that the illusion too will be there at the same moment. They cannot be separated. Reality is there in the same moment where illusion is.
You are not yet aware of life. Man is not yet aware of life. You merely await life. Haven’t you recognised that your mind simply waits for life to happen? You are not aware that it is already the case. Life is already happening, meaning be aware that life is always happening.
The more alive you are to the moment in life is a sign that you are aware of life. If you are not aware of the moment, you will wait for life to happen. Always keep that in you. Then you will understand that the truth of the moment is paradoxical, meaning that both the reality and the illusion are always there in the same moment.
Man does not understand that the moment in life is paradoxical. Understand that man always believes the moment is logical. But the moment is logical, yet the truth will be paradoxical.
Truth of the moment is always paradoxical. Paradoxical means: it combines both reality and illusory in it. You cannot slip logic into it. Truth of the moment is paradoxical.
Understand that the moment reality is there, illusion also will be there. God is the reality. At the same time illusion must be there and the illusion is you. You do not realise that you are an illusory reflection of reality.
Understand your mind, that’s enough. Then you will know you are illusory.
You are convinced you are a real individual. There are no real individuals. It is just an illusion.
Individuality is present. Individuality means an illusory expression of an individual by the intelligence in life, which manifests this show of light and sound called life. Individuality means that is how life expresses itself at a particular point in place and time. Individuality is the illusory you - reality is there as well. Every moment this individuality is just perfect.
The individuality is a perfect product in every moment. No need for alteration, because reality is also there and reality is perfect in every moment. You are a finished product as you are in any moment, because you do not make yourself. The intelligence in life, which is the reality, manifests you. Reality is appearing as you in every moment.
The mind in the wise man, man or woman, knows the mind is perfect as it is in every moment.
The enlightened realise that life is an adventure to be lived.
Author: Dr. Vijai S. Shankar
© Copyright V.S. Shankar 2019
Editor’s Note:
Each one of us has been given an identity comprising a name and a date of birth. The name, date and location of birth are entered into a register which confirms the arrival of a new human being. Done and dusted, some may say. There will be no further such entries until death. Such is the individual for whom the pathway of life unfolds. Yet, this unfolding may gift the presence of a wise man or woman, who reveals, as in this article, that the individual, in every moment of his or her life, is an illusory expression of the intelligence of life. Thus, the illusion bears witness to the reality. Always live the moment in life; the moment is alive. It is your life; it is your adventure.
Julian Capper. UK
German Translator‘s Note:
The adventure of life can be experienced in different ways. It is not wise thoughts that make a wise person. Otherwise, anyone who has wise thoughts would be wise. However, there are many people who have wise thoughts but are not wise. For example, people who believe that God is omnipotent and that everything happens according to God's will (which is quite a wise thought, although expressed in a personalized way), but who are nevertheless firmly convinced in everyday life that they themselves do or do not do all kinds of things.
Wisdom is the quality of a deep understanding that all thoughts in the mind, whether conditioned or wise, are spontaneously perceived as illusory and not real at every moment. The individual no longer reacts to them as if the respective thought or feeling were real.
So anyone can have conditioned or wise thoughts at any moment, or have no thoughts at all. It all comes down to the depth of understanding of the thoughts, not to the nature of the thoughts. With wisdom shared in this article by Dr. Shankar, man is able to live the adventure of life unconditionally.
Marcus Stegmaier, Germany.