Na tat svabhasam drsyatvat
Yoga Sutras 4.19
The (mind-stuff) is not (self-luminous) because it is an object of perception by the Purusha.
Tat Tvam Asi
1 of 4 Mahavakyas, Chandogya Upanishad 6.8.7
You are That.
The Tao begot one.
Tao te Ching, verse 42
One begot two.
Two begot three.
And three begot the ten thousand things.
We’ve been traveling for some time in the small motorhome pictured above, touring the mountains and deserts of the southwestern USA. We could tell stories of cold and heat, snow and sunburn, floods and barren deserts, wide expanses and near-impassable narrow box canyons, solitude and crowds.
But what is the essence of all this? What did we learn?
We named the RV ‘Maya’, referring to the Sanskrit word. Maya can be understood in this context:
- There is a fundamental level of reality deeper or more real than that which is perceived by the 5 senses of the body. Let’s call this capital-r Real to differentiate it from the mundane sense or real referring to physical reality.
- That which is capital-r Real is that which is eternally unchanging, always true. Note that this can’t be anything in the physical material universe around us, for a variety of reasons:
- The material universe seems to have had a beginning (the ‘Big Bang’), and appears to be heading toward an end (black holes consolidating all matter or endless expansion and entropy-end-stage heat death).
- All material things are subject to change.
- Even the fundamental building blocks of atoms and elemental particles can change, appear, or disappear, according to the effects of fission, fusion, and anti-matter effects.
- There is a deeper, capital-r Real domain. It’s eternally unchanging, always true. In this domain we find:
- pervading, non-local awareness — the watcher, witness consciousness. In an individual this can be seen as not your thoughts but that which is aware of your thoughts. This non-local awareness is what is aware of the thoughts and sensations and emotions, and originates outside of the body and mind.
- The Origin/Source/Creator — this is timeless, since time is a phenomenon of the material universe. In it’s simplest sense it’s the Origin, the setting in which the Universe arose, in science terms the setting in which the Big Bang occurred. A teacher of mine calls it Nameless. It’s also been given names and titles and roles such as Source, Creator, God, Brahman, Tao.
- Unity — differentiation disappears. There isn’t a perception of here and there, you and me, this and that, now and then. All is one.
Maya, then, refers to an ‘illusion’ or ‘veil of ignorance’ in which we see and understand the material world around us as that which is real and fundamental. This ignorance keeps us away from a fuller understanding of the deeper level of reality. We have the ability to connect with and be aware of this deeper reality, but Maya keeps us distracted and the 5 senses keep our minds involved in the material world.
So the RV was named “Maya” with the understanding that travel would be fun for the body and mind, enjoyable experiences of the wide variety and differentiation in this world. But the model name of this RV is “Unity”, acknowledging the unchanging One amidst all this diversion and travel and variety.
Who are You?
Deep down you already know this lesson, as the following thought experiment demonstrates.
- Who are You?
- What is your Name?
- Is the core of who you are the same as it was many years ago?
- Are you now essentially the same (name) as you were then?
- Even though your body, knowledge, emotions, thoughts have changed since then, does the core of you remain?
Tat Tvam Asi.
You are That.