James Swartz - The Real and the Apparently Real

http://www.shiningworld.com

The Essence of Vedanta

The Real

and the Apparently Real

Once You're qualified to inquire,

You're capable of gaining

the understanding

that is Enlightenment or liberation.

Every visible

mortal, perishable individual,

has an inner Core or

Essence which is

immortal, imperishable and

invisible.

This Core or Essence

is called

the Self.

It is what is Real.

Everything else,

the experiences in objects that present

themselves to You,

the inner Core,

is Apparently Real.

The Real and The Apparently Real

are connected,

in an interesting way.

How they relate

to each other

is explained by the following example.

You directly

experience a table.

It is visible, solid,

intangible and it has weight.

It seems quite obvious

but if you think about it

for a minute,

you realize that you're not

experiencing a table at all.

Why?

Because You're

actually experiencing only wood.

The wood is solid,

tangible and has weight,

not the table.

The table has no physicality,

no attributes.

It is a misconception to think

that You're experiencing a table.

The table exists in name only,

not in actuality.

The word table exists to identify wood,

in a particular form

but the name does not belong

to the wood.

It belongs to the mind,

that sees the wood

in the form of the table.

The table is only a thought

that depends upon the

experienced wood.

Wood is one,

but the possible names and forms of wood

are many.

The apparent table,

borrows its existence

from the wood,

the real substance,

it is not stand alone but depends upon the wood,

for its existence.

You,

limitless,

non-dual, ever-present,

ordinary Awareness-Consciousness,

are the wood

of everything that is experienced.

You are Existence Itself.

Every tangible and intangible

objects borrows its existence from You,

Limitless, Consciousness.

So, when You see an object

gross or subtle,

You should understand that your only seing

Existence-Consciousness.

Existence-Consciousness is You,

The Essence of Everything,

so all objects are just you.

And since you are Existence-Consciousness

you're free of every object

including the objects

nearest to you,

your body and your mind.

This understanding is variously

called Liberation,

Enlightenment or Freedom.

It is not an experience.

It is knowledge extracted

from experience

by inquiry.

If you think that Existence and Consciousness

are two different things,

try to separate one

from another... the other,

it's impossible.

They are two words that refer to You.

It is your direct experience

that you are only one being.

You always exist and

you're always conscious.

If this is true for everyone

then is the essence of everyone,

not an intrude incidental attribute

of some aspect of You, of your being,

like your body.

Therefore, there is only one

person here, not many.

Names and forms are many

but the Consciousness

in which they depend...

You...

is One!