| Everyday Experiences Point To Oneness Of Being |
| Written by Ryan Austin | |
| Wednesday, 08 September 2010 | |
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The oneness of all is what the deepest spiritual teachings are trying to point out. Here is where all the other things are based, according to their teachings. Everything is a part of and make the consciousness as one as pointed by the ancient eastern traditions of Advaita or Nonduality.
The oneness of all is what the deepest spiritual teachings are trying to point out. Here is where all the other things are based, according to their teachings. Everything is a part of and make the consciousness as one as pointed by the ancient eastern traditions of Advaita or Nonduality. Often the question arises, "If it is all one thing, why don't I experience it that way?" This is confusing oneness for the appearance of sameness. Things can appear different without being separate. Just look at your hand for a moment. Your fingers are all different from each other, but are they separate? They all arise from the same hand. Similarly, the objects, animals, plants and people in the world are all definitely different in their appearance and functioning. But they are all connected at their source-they come from the same source. The one beingness that is behind all life has an infinite number of different expressions that we experience as different objects. To continue with the hand analogy, your fingers are all made of the same substance. They are made up of similar tissues, cells, atoms, and at the deepest level, subatomic particles. Similarly, when your experience of reality becomes more subtle, you discover that everything is just different expressions of one field of being. You are probably wondering how the subtle oneness can be applied to what you are experiencing right now. Do you think this oneness or nonduality is possible? Yes it is. If you will try to explore the oneness in your experiences at the moment, you will eventually discover that oneness is actually related to everything that is happening to you right now. And since oneness is taught to be as a fundamental quality of each and everything that exists on earth, even in simple things and happenings you have to experience in life involves oneness. As an experiment, just notice your fingers and the palm of your hand. Can you say where one starts and the other ends, or are they one thing? To take this further, where does your hand stop and your forearm begin? Can you experience the oneness of your hand and your forearm? If these are not separate, then what about other parts of your body? Are your feet and your ears really one even though they are so different? Now notice if there really is a separation between your thoughts and your head. Where does your head stop and something else called thought begin? What about feelings or desires? Are they really separate from you or your body? You may also notice the sensations that you have such as the sounds you hear, the sensations you feel from touching, and the things and happenings you see around you. If you can see things around you, can you say where the eye begins and the seeing stop? If you hear the sounds, can you say where the sound starts and the ear stops? Have you thought that your ears, the sounds, and your hearing can be one thing? Yes, they may be different from each other but in purpose and function, they are one thing. Notice the sound and hearing. Can you say where the source of the sound start and stop? When you hear a bird singing outside your window, can you say where the bird stops and the sound of its song begins? Perhaps you realized now that they are one thing. Now that you say that the song and the bird are one thing, then you as the hearer of the song and the audience of the bird could also be one thing with the bird. For a long time, the ultimate truth of "Advaita", or known as the oneness of being, was thought of as something not really realizable or part of reality. But although this fact is hard to understand, yet all things that we experience in this life, ordinary things or special ones, are all a part of the Advaita or oneness. The Article Author: More about the author: As a well known spiritual teacher in the Advaita satsang tradition, Nirmala offers a unique vision and a gentle, compassionate approach to spiritual awakening and opening your heart. Several free spiritual ebooks, including a wonderful book of spiritual poetry written from the heart, are available on his website at www.endless-satsang.com. |
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