Dr. Vijai S Shankar MD.PhD.
Published on www.academy-advaita.com
The Netherlands
4 March 2018
Here and Now (2)
“Eternal Moment”
Every man and woman is very sure that they can speak what they wish to speak in the moment which is ‘here and now’. To every human being it is taken for granted that it is possible.
The enlightened have, however, proclaimed that man is not the speaker. So how could man or woman understand that man is not the speaker is the question?
Now, every moment is ‘here and now’. Therefore, the present is the moment ‘here and now’ where man or woman can speak what they wish to speak. Also, in between the moment ‘here and now’ and the past moment is also a moment ‘here and now’.
Similarly, in between the moment ‘here and now’ and the future next moment is also a moment ‘here and now’. This signifies that the moment ‘here and now’ is eternal and a division between moments is not an actuality.
The eternal moment is a mystery and so too the moment that is not actual. Now science, as knowledge, informs that the smallest unit of numerical time is one zepto second, which is one trillionth of a trillionth of a second.
Firstly, within this duration of time nothing could be spoken, but yet man and woman are convinced that they can speak what they wish in the moment ‘here and now’. And it is obvious that they can speak.
Secondly, if the smallest unit of time could be added to make the next moment, then too to speak a spoken word in the here and now would not be possible because, to speak, a certain duration of time is needed.
If the time needed to speak were to happen, nothing could ever be spoken in the here and now, as speaking happens in different durations of time from minimum to maximum.
But yet speaking does happen in the moment of different duration of time from minimum to maximum. Actual speaking does not happen in the moment here and now because, in the time duration present within the moment, only an incomplete movement and an incomplete letter is present.
Also, a movement of an individual’s lips in a moment is not separate from the movement present in any moment in that particular individual. This signifies that an individual’s life is a singular movement.
The intelligence in life projects an auditory illusion of spoken word in the moment here and now, while all there is in any moment here and now is a minimal, incomplete movement of lips and an incomplete letter in an alphabet as sound.
The enlightened have rightly proclaimed that daily life is a singular movement which includes the movement of the lips. This signifies that speaking is an optical and auditory illusion of sound.
Author: Dr. Vijai S. Shankar
© Copyright V. S. Shankar 2018
Editor’s Note:
In the ‘here and now’, otherwise recognized as the present moment by human intelligence, the needs of the living and the non-living may be served with precision and care. The use of speech to indicate what is appropriate is the most common currency amongst those with this faculty. The mind of man has become conditioned to assume that he or she has been granted control not only of the act of speaking, but also of its content. Reflection upon the words of the wise, as in this article, reveals that this is not so.
Julian Capper, UK.
German Translator’s Note:
Only humans talk about what is not here and now but should be here now. The barrier to contentment is the “should” and “should-not”. Expectations could not be eradicated, however understood deeply. If it happens, as in this article by Dr. Shankar, “Here and Now 2”, man and woman live without any conditions and expectations. Contentment is present when through understanding the running after happiness stops.
Marcus Stegmaier, Germany.