The Four Stages of Duality

 

“Shri Shankarro Chhapavale came alone for worship; on this Sri Baba asked, ‘You are alone today? Is your wife angry or what? If so, on whom; you or me? Anger is one of the means of effecting unity.’”

 

What causes a Perfect Master to speak? On many occasions Upasani Maharaj has said that if He were alone, i.e., not conscious of the world—of illusion—, He would not be seen to speak or act in any way. What would He need to say or do while experiencing Perfection in Perfection? The consciousness of others—of the world—of illusion—causes Him to speak—to act—actually, to appear to speak and act, while in Reality, He does nothing, for what is it for Him to do? This appearance of doing is prompted by the needs of others—of the world—of illusion—and is always motivated by Unconscious God’s lahar, i.e., whim, to know Himself.

 

“Husband and wife are two Jivas who are opposed to each other both from within and without. The union of these two means the union of the husbandhood and wifehood, i.e., the male and the female state, and with this union the object for which marriage is effected is achieved.”

 

An objective and impartial look at creation, as the average person sees it, cannot be divorced from duality. Everything seems to have its opposite, every stick has two ends, every state has two sides, etc. The human form consists of both the male and the female forms. Normally they seem to be attracted to each other—to seek completion in each other. What is the motivation? The motivation—the drive—is union with God. When all opposites are joined together, i.e., when duality merges in union, the final merging, i.e., union with God is effected.

 

“When two such opposites are joined together, then the pair of opposites in the form of ourself and God are seen to unite. One who has attained this state, whether a man or a woman, takes the whole world to be his abode, like Parameshvara (God as the Supreme being).”

 

Upasani details four stages of union that are achieved through the process of dissociation from opposites, from duality. The union of the male and the female duality constitutes an important stage. If a pendulum were envisioned swinging back and forth, the male and female forms are on either side. The pendulum swings back and forth over countless lifetimes, sometimes male and sometimes female, until identification with the two opposites ceases and the pendulum comes to rest.

 

But this pendulum is just one of countless pendulums that characterize gross consciousness and its projections in the gross world that is experienced by the vast number of souls in creation. This gross creation, with its universes and worlds, is that which science tries to understand and explain, and it is this gross creation which evolution and reincarnation finds itself mired in.

 

The male-female pendulum is just one of countless pendulums we see outside ourselves—like rich and poor, Christian and Jew, Hindu, and Muslim, healthy and sick, strong, and weak, smart, and dull, etc. Upasani Maharaj is telling us that all these gross dualities must be extinguished in unity—in oneness, and the key is love, the way is love, and the goal is love, but this love is not what we think it is, and the pendulums that comprise gross consciousness and the gross world are just one of the four stages that need to be crossed. Once all the dualities of creation are united, the next stage, the duality of external and internal, of me and you, i.e., the duality of the state of within and without the world needs to be united.

 

After the union of the male state and the female state, representing the union of dualities exhibited by and throughout the whole of gross creation, there still exists the duality of internal and external. In other words, there still is the sense that one exists in creation, but that creation itself is something other than oneself. I believe that when Upasani Maharaj speaks about the union of within and without the world, he is speaking about the shift of consciousness from gross consciousness to subtle consciousness—from the state of evolution and reincarnation to the state called involution wherein lie the subtle and mental worlds with their various planes and heavens. These worlds do not have a physical location outside of oneself. They are all inner states of consciousness.

The mental and the subtle worlds, consisting of six planes of consciousness and their heavens, and the gross world, consisting of all stars and planets, etc., and all forms and beings from stone to man, etc., can be said to encompass the Divine consciousness of the soul, as it were, like three bubbles. But how, since the soul and its consciousness are eternal and infinite, can it be encompassed by anything? So, when it is said that the soul and its consciousness is encompassed by three bubbles, this apparent encompassing must be false and is the result of gross consciousnesses’ attempt to explain and understand that which is beyond itself. [1]

 

Meher Baba explains that the sixth plane is the final plane of consciousness before union with God. In this state, one sees God everywhere and in everything and yet does not experience oneself as God. The experience of oneself as God is the Goal. There is no goal beyond this Goal. This union is the final stage that Upasani Maharaj is speaking about.

 

Upasani Maharaj then goes on to explain, “Thus there are three pairs of opposites; one, a man and a woman; two, man and God; three, within and without the world. Once the union of the first is effected, union of the other two become automatic in the course of time. When within and without the world the world are harmonized—united—then one is able to see the world anywhere, even in ‘(the) beyond the world (state)’ or ‘‘(the) beyond the world everywhere in the world (state).’”[2]

 

In other words, one is able to see everywhere and everything without any distinction between within and without, because if the external ceases to exist, then it follows the internal ceases to exist as well. One can only imagine what this state would be like, or as Kabir once said, “Until you experience it, it is not true.”

 

Upasani Maharaj once recounted the occasion when he woke up in Sai Baba’s body. (Sai Baba was the Perfect Master who precipitated Upasani Maharaj’s God Realization). He said that Sai Baba simultaneously woke up in his body. This was significant because Sai Baba had Muslim followers while Upasani Maharaj had Hindu followers. So, the Muslim followers actually were bowing down to a Hindu Master in their Master’s body while Upasani’s followers were actually bowing down to Sai Baba in his body. He went on to say that all this might seem quite strange because we are so attached and identified with gross forms, but, in fact, if we could see beyond the gross, we would observe how consciousness is constantly migrating among different gross forms in its journey to Realization.

 

“When you’ve seen beyond yourself then you may find,

Peace of mind is waiting there,

And the time will come when you see we're all one,

And life flows on within you and without you.” – George Harrison (Within You, Without You)

 

“In short, when two opposites are harmonized into one, one first experiences himself to be within and without the world, that he is born of the Infinite, and then, as everything disappears, he experiences himself to be nothing. This means that originally one was not conscious of one’s own existence, and then, having gone through these stages, he becomes conscious of it all. This peculiar cycle of experiences goes on coming into existence and disappearing.”- Upasani Maharaj

 

So, it all comes back to the three states of God, i.e., God in the state of deep sleep, God asleep, but in the dream state, and God in the fully awake state. Just as the average human experiences the cycle of deep sleep, dreams, awake state, dream, and deep sleep, etc., and just as the average human being must pass through the dream state from the deep sleep state to the awake state, and vice-versa, God too, must pass through the dream state on His journey from His deep sleep state to His fully awake I am God state. The dream state of God is what the average human being experiences as the ’awake state’ in creation.

 

This dream state of creation is diametrically opposed to the Unitarian state of God, and hence, is characterized by duality—opposites. When these opposites are harmonized—unified— within an individual consciousness, duality disappears and all of creation ceases to be for that consciousness, and what remains is God, the same original God that was before creation, but with one difference—the most important difference—In the original God state consciousness was only latent, while in the God state after creation, full, perfect consciousness is now manifested, i.e., God is now conscious of being God, “I am God!” Creation consciousness was the mechanism by which this consciousness was manifested and perfected. This was, is, and will be, the only real purpose of creation.

 

But how to emancipate oneself from all dualities—from creation consciousness? As G.I. Gurdjieff once put it, “It is like trying to jump over one’s own knees.” The harder one tries, the more enmeshed one becomes. But God is all merciful and eternally benevolent, He would not leave us without a way.  All religions, all the yogas, and all real spiritual teaching, have been provided to help us, but the most efficient and quickest path of all, is the Path of Love—love for God. But how to love God?

 

God in the Original Infinite God State is called impersonal God, “…without color, without form, and without attributes; unlimited and unfathomable, beyond imagination and conception...” – Meher Baba (Parvardigar Prayer)

 

But for most people, love of this impersonal God is very difficult because it is, well, impersonal, and so God also manifests as personal God in the human form of a Perfect Master or the Avatar, and through that form loves us, speaks with us, jokes with us, and becomes the Perfect recipient worthy of our love for Him.

For love, there must be a relationship, and so to love God in the most natural way, one must put oneself in a relationship with a personification of God, and the best way to do this is by winning the opportunity to be in the presence of and to serve a living Perfect Master or the Avatar. To win this fortune can take many lifetimes, or it could happen in a flash. But, in either case, God in the form of Infinite Intelligence is always working behind the scenes, directing the drama and guiding each and every step of the Way. All religions and teachings, with all their efforts and sacrifices and studies, in fact, all of life itself, are merely steps that lead to His door.

 

It really is quite a drama we are all caught up in. It is sometimes a comedy, sometimes a tragedy, sometimes heaven and sometimes hell, but in the end, Meher Baba has told us, it is always a mighty joke, because it is a drama that never was, is, or will be. It is a drama that took no time at all because time itself was just part of the drama—the illusion. But, until we reach the Goal, it is a drama that is for us, for the most part, totally incomprehensible.

 

Therefore, until then, until the end, we go on living our lives and experiencing the drama and not the Reality and acquiring more and more thirst for that Reality. This is perhaps the meaning of Rumi’s statement, “Cry out less for water, and cry out for thirst more!” For in the beginning, when life turns to God, it is always to make life better, to satisfy its desires, to quench it thirst, but for the one who has turned away from life’s hollow promises, but is not yet free of life’s clenches, the wayfarer—the seeker—the lover of God—realizes that the thirst itself is the reminder and the motivation to love God more and more, and so cries out less for water, and cry out for thirst more.

 

At this stage, the wayfarer—the seeker—the lover of God—still thirsts, but not for water, but for Wine, Divine Wine, and begins to sing a new song.

 

“For this Path of Love, so smooth at first account, but soon we saw how troubles pile, perplexities mount. Cupbearer ho, we pray relieve our soul, give us Wine for pity’s sake, pass round that bowl!” – Hafez

                                                                                                                                 ©Michael Kovitz 2023

 

 

 

 

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[1] For the full explanation and elucidation of the three worlds, please see the book, God Speaks, by Meher Baba

[2] I added this parenthesis as an attempt to make clear this sentence in the translation. Still, there remain more questions regarding the significance of these state…

Liberation Through Knowing the Mind

“Therefore, O Ananda, be ye lamps unto yourselves.

Be ye a refuge to yourselves.

Betake yourselves to no external refuge.

Hold fast to the Truth as a lamp.

Hold fast to the Truth as a refuge.

Look not for refuge to any one beside yourselves.” – The Buddha

“Why have you come, my son?”

“Guru, I have come to clear my mind of its confusion. When I wander for too long in Sangsara I become confused.”

“My son, the problem lies not in your mind, or in Sangsara, but in your identification with your mind. To know your mind, you must separate yourself from your mind.

Come, sit with me, watch your mind, and by watching your mind you can separate yourself from it, and by separating yourself from it, you can know it, and by knowing it, you can realize your true nature.

To know yourself—to know your mind—is to know The Mind, and to know The Mind is to experience Nirvana. ”

“Seek within thine own self-illuminated, self-originated mind whence, firstly, all such concepts arise, secondly, where they exist, and lastly, whither they vanish.

“This realization is likened to a crow which, although already in possession of a pond, flies off elsewhere to quench its thirst, and finding no other drinking-place returns to the one pond.

“Similarly, the radiance which emanates from the One Mind, by emanating from one’s own mind, emanates the mind.

“The One Mind, omniscient, vacuous, immaculate, eternally, the un-obscured Voidness, void of the quality as the sky, self-originated Wisdom, shining clearly, imperishable, is Itself the Thatness.” – The Tibetan Book of the Great Liberation, edited by Evan-Wentz

“Guru, when I am here in your presence, the excellence of your teachings reminds me that my  life in Sangsara is a dream, but then, when I leave here, my life again takes on the appearance of reality while you and your teachings takes on the appearance of a dream.”

“You are describing the state of duality, duality exists in the mind, but non-duality, at-one-ment, is the nature of the mind.”

“Nothing save mind is conceivable.

“Mind when uninhibited, conceives all that come into existence.

“That which comes into existence is like the wave of the ocean.

“The state of mind transcendent over all dualities brings Liberation.

“If the mind is not known, all practice of good and evil results in nothing more than Heaven, or Hell, or the ever revolving Wheel of Sangsara (births and deaths).

“As soon as one’s mind is known to be of the Wisdom of the Voidness, concepts like good and evil cease to exist.

“Even as in the empty sky there seems to be, but is not, a fountain of water, so in the Voidness there is neither good nor evil.

“When one’s mind is thus known in its nakedness, this Doctrine of Seeing the Mind Naked, this Self-Liberation, is seen to be exceedingly profound.

“Seek, therefore, thine own Wisdom within thee.

“It is the Vast Deep.” – ibid.

“What is the difference between the Sangsara and Nirvanana?”

“The difference is that between Ignorance and Wisdom.” – Ibid

“Guru, when I watch my mind I observe that there is automatic thinking, automatic feeling, and some kind of awareness that sees them both. It is very much like watching a movie. I sit in the theater and watch the images and hear the sounds of the story. I am moved to feel happiness and sadness. The more I watch and listen, the more engrossed I become until I lose all awareness of myself sitting in the theater.”

“Yes my son, it is as you say. But what is it?”

“Is it all Sangsara?”

“Wherever there is distinction, there is duality; wherever there is duality, there is Sangsara.”

“Mistake not, by not controlling one’s thoughts, one errs.

“By controlling and understanding the thought-process in one’s mind, emancipation is achieved automatically.

“In general, all things mentally perceived are concepts:

“The bodily forms in which the world of appearances is contained are also concepts of the mind.

“The quintessence of the six classes of beings is also a mental concept.

“The happiness of gods in heaven-worlds and of men is another mental concept.

“The three unhappy states of suffering, too, are concepts of the mind.

“Ignorance, miseries, and the Five Poisons are, likewise, mental concepts.

“Self-originated Divine Wisdom is also a concept of the mind.

“The full realization of the passing away into Nirvana is also a concept of the mind.

“Misfortune caused by demons and evil spirits is also a concept of the mind.

“Gods and good fortune are also concepts of the mind.

“Likewise, the various perfections are mental concepts.

“Unconscious one-pointedness is also a mental concept.

“The color of any objective thing is also a mental concept.

“The Qualityless and Formless is also a mental concept.

“The One and the Many in at-one-ment is also a mental concept.

“Existence and non-existence, as well as the the Non-Created, are concepts of the mind.” – Ibid

“Guru, it is all so clear when I look at things through your eyes.”

“My son, you must learn to see through  one eye—the One Eye of unity that opens when the two eyes of duality close. Eyes see only what is in the mind; they appear to look out when in fact they reflect what is within. When within and without disappear, then the One Eye opens.”

“There being in this yoga nothing objective upon which to meditate, how can one, without having ascertained the true nature of mind by meditation, assert that mind is created?” - Ibid

“Guru, when I look inside my mind I see three categories of uninvited thoughts—thoughts that attempt to figure things out, thoughts about things that need to be done, and thoughts about all nature of desires.”

“My son, is the content of your three categories ever in the present?”

“No Guru, they are always reflections of the past and projections of the future.”

“And what is always in the present?”

“My breath.”

“And yet, my son, the mind in its immaculate state knows no distinctions such as past, present, and future. That is why it is said, ‘There being in this yoga nothing objective upon which to meditate...’”

“And yet you counsel to know the mind?”

“There is an old Sanskrit saying, ‘When a problem comes to a man with a troubled mind, it is like carved into the stone, but when a problem comes to a happy mind, it is like written on the sand.’ It would be a mistake to not attempt to know the mind, yet it would also be a mistake to believe that one can know the mind with the mind, for, is it possible to jump over one’s own knees? Self-deception is heavy and leads one to the state of suffering; knowing that one is not-knowing is light and leads to the state of happiness—still, even these states are false, dualistic, and evaporate like dreams that never were, when the One Mind is known.”

“Guru, is that why the monks always seem to be happy, always laugh a lot—is it because they do not succumb to the urges of the false mind?”

“They are trained to watch and to act without attachment. They are trained to recognize the projections of all dualities as false.”

“The unenlightened externally see the externally-transitory dually. The various doctrines are seen in accordance with one’s mental concepts.

“As a thing is viewed, so it appears.

“To see things as a multiplicity, and so to cleave unto separateness, is to err.” – ibid

“When one seeks ones’ mind in its true state, it is found to be quite intelligible, although invisible.

“In its true state, mind is naked, immaculate; not made of anything, being of the Voidness;

“Clear, vacuous, without duality, transparent;

“Timeless, uncompounded, unimpeded, colorless;

“Not realizable as a separate thing, but as the unity of all things, yet not composed of them;

“Of one taste, and transcendent over differentiation.” – Ibid

“My son, observe that monk standing by the threshold of the temple; what is his principle physical trait?”

“Guru, do you mean his eyes?”

“What about his eyes?”

“They seem to be open very wide, almost protruding from his face.”

“And, what does that suggest to you?”

“It looks like he is very interested in everything.”

“My son, in the temple there is a large statue of the Buddha; have you ever noticed its eyes?”

“Guru, if my memory serves me right, the Buddha’s eyes are half open.”

“The Buddha is depicting the state of balance between the internal and the external. What is your experience?”

“When my eyes are closed I experience the thoughts of my mind. Sometimes I am the witness of those thoughts—like when I am practicing the technique of mindfulness; sometimes I am absorbed in those thoughts—when I lose the practice or when I am not practicing at all.”

“And when you open your eyes?”

“When I open my eyes, the outer takes over and I no longer see my thoughts. I respond to them, but they are invisible—my body acts according to their prompts.”

“And do you discriminate between thoughts and feelings?”

“Yes, I see them as two different things. Feelings seem to attach themselves to certain thoughts.”

“Which thoughts?”

“Thoughts that are important.”

“What makes some thoughts seem more important than others?”

“The thoughts that are concerned about health, wealth, and safety seem most important.”

“My son, are you not speaking of Sangsara?”

“Unless one knows or sees the natural state of things and recognizes the Light in the mind, release from Sangsara is unattainable.

“Unless one sees the Buddha in one’s mind, Nirvana is obscured.

“Although the Wisdom of Nirvana and the Ignorance of the Sangsara illusorily appear to be two things, they cannot be truly differentiated.

“It is an error to conceive them otherwise than as one.

“By not taking the mind to be naturally a duality, and allowing it, as the primordial consciousness, to abide in its own place, beings attain deliverance.

“The error of doing otherwise than this arises not from Ignorance in the mind itself, but from not having sought to know the Thatness…—from not having sought…—from not having sought…

“Seek within thine own self-illuminated, self-originated mind whence firstly, all such concepts arise, secondly, where they exist, and lastly where they vanish.” – Ibid

“The bad news is you’re falling through the air, nothing to hang on to, no parachute. The good news is there’s no ground.” – Chogyam Trungpa

“There being no duality, pluralism is untrue.

“Until duality is transcended and at-one-ment realized, Enlightenment cannot be attained.” – The Tibetan Book of the Great Liberation, Evans-Wentz

“So my son, many years ago I was invited to a talk by our most esteemed teacher, Chogyam Trungpa. The talk was supposed to be on the subject of meditation. I remember clearly when he walked into the room. It was some time after his automobile accident—he walked slowly with a noticeable limp and used a cane. There was a heaviness to his walked that exceeded his handicap and his size. It was like an elephant walking into the room. I could almost see the wooden floor bend under his footsteps.

“When he was seated before us he began to speak. He spoke about this and that, but never mentioned the word meditation. His voice seemed to come from a space outside of his body. He allowed us to ask questions and I remember a young man asking him about eating meat. The young man said he didn’t eat meat, but understood that Chogyam Trungpa did eat meat.

“Trungpa replied that he did eat meat because he enjoyed eating meat. He asked the young man why he didn’t eat meat. The young man answered that he couldn’t say why he didn’t eat meat—he had no philosophy about it, no feeling of right or wrong, spiritual or otherwise, he just did not want to eat meat.

“Trungpa replied to him, saying that his reason, or more appropriately, his lack of reasons for not eating meat, indicated that the young man was not eating meat for all the right reasons—that to not eat meat because one felt that doing so was spiritual, or good, would show attachment, and that attachment was bondage, and in bondage was heavy karma that keeps one bound in the suffering of Sangsara.

“After about an hour, Trungpa still had not even mentioned the word meditation or, in anyway, instruct us in meditation, and I began to realize that what was happening was that he was creating the state of meditation in the hall, and that he was playing the role of Enlightened mind in the process.”

“Guru, what did you learn from this experience?”

“Trungpa listened to all the questions and responded in an open and clear way. He was never impatient and never judged any question as being more or less appropriate, more or less spiritual. He appeared to remain impartial and involved. What I learned was that mind continues to work, thinking, figuring, deciding, asking questions… In meditation we should not become impatient with our thoughts and not attempt to drive them away. If a thought calls for a response we should respond to it as Trungpa did to us, in an open, clear, and non-judgmental way, involved but not attached. My son, that is what I learned.”

“All hail to the One Mind that embraces the whole Sangsara and Nirvana,

“That eternally is as it is, yet is unknown,

“That, although ever clear and ever existing, is not visible,

That, although radiant and unobscured, is not recognizable.” –  Ibid