Nonduality Explained, by James TraverseWhat is Non Duality?Non duality is the
English rendering of the Sanskrit term Advaita of
Advaita Vedanta. Advaita means without duality; Dvaita
means duality and the prefix 'A' at the
beginning of Advaita means without. Vedanta
literally means end of the vedas; veda means knowledge
and anta means end. The vedas are a huge body
of Sanskrit knowledge texts from ancient India.
Advaita Vedanta is the oldest extant sub-school of
Vedanta, which is one of six classic Indian
philosophies regarding the true nature of being.
Non-duality also
refers to the approach of other eastern wisdom
traditions such as Yoga, which means union, and Buddhism
where the term Advaya signifies the non duality
of conventional and ultimate truth. In modern
western terms nonduality, non-duality, is also known
as nondualism, and the most common definition is
that it means not-two or non-separation.
Can you give an example of Nonduality?Nonduality, like
spirituality, is experiential in nature. A good
example of Nonduality is Awareness and
Consciousness. Many people use these terms
interchangeably, yet a distinction can be made that
is both helpful for their use and the understanding
on Nonduality.
Nondual Awareness is
the homeground of Consciousness. Consciousness is the
expression of Awareness.
The primal experience
of being is the
experience of being aware. This is what sages like Sri
Nisargadatta Maharaj spoke of as 'I am' and it is also
what the Biblical expression 'I am that I am' means.
In Kashmir Shaivism Nondual Awareness is spoken of as
having the quality of spanda, which means
vibration.This is illustrated in the image on the left
above - note that it is not moving and yet it appears
to shimmer. This represents the potential motion of
awareness.
You can test that
this is true by asking the question, "Am I aware?" and
then taking note of how you answer it. Notice that you
do not have to go anywhere to answer this question as
it is self-evident that you are aware [note that this
is not the same as being aware of being aware
described below]. This is what the Biblical direction
'be still and know' means.
Consciousness is the
motion of Awareness. Motion is energy, it is called
prana in yoga and chi or ki in other wisdom
traditions. The whirlpool image on the right above
depicts motion in an ordered form.
You can test whether
Consciousness is the motion of Awareness by asking a
question like, "What was your paternal grandmother's
maiden name?" and then taking note of how you answer
it. Notice that in order to answer this question that
there is motion as you search memory for the answer.
This experience illustrates that Consciousness as the
motion of Awareness means being aware of something
[this includes being aware of being aware, because in
this case it is necessary to objectify the experience
of being aware and that objectification is motion].
Sages like Sri Ramana Maharshi and Jean Klein used
this approach by directing you to ask the question,
"Who am I?" and not accepting a mentally generated
answer, which exhausts the motion generated by the
question and thereby you rest and take your stand as
Primal Awareness [Primal Awareness is the
experiential, non-verbal answer to the question "Who
Am I?"].
In this light
Awareness and Consciousness are not-two.
Duality ExplainedThe true nature of being is prior to, includes, and transcends duality. Ultimately it is not possible to speak about the true nature of being, yet we objectify it to be able to point to it. In general this means stating what the true nature of being is not and then attempting to directly point to it with names like Nondual Awareness, while understanding that this naming is for functional purposes [for example to say that Awareness is prior to Consciousness is ultimately a mis-statement, because temporal and spatial term do not apply to the true nature of being, by whatever name it is called]. It is the nature of a
mistake to end once it is clearly seen. In the case
of Non Duality the mistake is
deriving identity via the content and activity of
the mind, which causes the duality of 'me' and
'not-me' [separation as subject and object] that
veils the true nature of being. Clearly seeing this
is insight that unveils the true nature of being and
there is mental functioning without duality.
In the image above the
background space represents Nondual Awareness. The
whirling waves represent appearances [like
whirlpools in a river], which is Consciousness as
the expression-motion, of the true nature of being.
The mistake is to identify with appearances. The
solution is to see the mistake such that it ends,
which unveils the true nature of being.
You refer to wisdom traditions like Advaita Vedanta, Yoga, Buddhism and Kashmir Shaivism are there other pointers to what Nonduality, Nondualism or Spirituality is in these traditions?You mean is
Nonduality explained in these traditions. Yes. In fact
there are too many pointers to list here, yet I will
share a couple.
The invocation of the
Isha Upanishad is one pointer [the Upanishads are
spoken of as a summary of the vedas; the knowledge of
the vedas is said to be so vast that it would take
lifetimes to properly study them].
Here is the
invocation of the Isha Upanishad followed by my
translation and commentary.
Om Purnamadah Purnamidam Purnat Purnamudachyate Purnasya Purnamadaya Purnameva Vashishyate Om shanti, shanti, shanti Om, That is the whole, This is the whole; from That whole, This whole comes; yet That whole is not diminished in any way, the whole remains whole. Om. Peace! Peace! Peace! or
Om, Awareness is the
whole, Consciousness is the whole;
from Awareness,
Consciousness comes;
yet Awareness is not
diminished in any way,
Awareness remains whole.
Om. Peace! Peace! Peace!
What is
being described here is what scientists call a
hologram, which they describe by saying, "all of it is
in every bit of it". It is clear from the text that
the wholes named 'That' and 'This' are not-two. [note
that although all of the image is represented is
smaller and smaller pieces of a hologram that some
resolution is lost, yet in this invocation it is clear
that the 'whole remains whole'][it is also helpful to
note that when one candle lights another the first
candle is not diminished in any way].
Another example
is the Om symbol.
The Omkara that is
believed to be the most ancient depiction of Om
clearly illustrates motion. The dot, called a bindu,
and sem-circle at the top of the image represents
apparent separation [actual separation would be
represented by the dot being completely enclosed in a
circle]. The wavy lines at the bottom, which look like
a flowing river, and the three levels of waves above
them represent degrees of motion. The background space
represents the stillness out of which motion arises.
This ancient image is said by many to represent mother
nature, the divine feminine energy [the womb of
creation], which is seen as a pregnant woman giving
birth.
The Sanskrit word for
sound is Nada, which has the root Nad and that means to
flow. The Sanskrit Nada Brahma is rendered in
English as the world is sound. This
corresponds to the Biblical creation story that begins
with the words "In the beginning was the word..."
These images
illustrate that just as Consciousness arises out of
Primal Awareness as its expression, the universe
arises out of the silent space of Primal Being as its
expression [in this case Primal Being is a verb not a
noun]. In this way Silence and Sound are not-two. This
is pointed to in the statement of Avalokitesvara in
the Heart Sutra that says
"Form is Emptiness and Emptiness is Form" and
all of the Buddhists teachings on Sunyata [the
closest English rendering of Sunyata is Full Solid
Emptiness].
 Om as it is depicted today Today Om is
represented as the image above. It is said to be the
primal sound and its wave nature is more clearly
emphasized in this version. The dot and semi-circle
continue to represent apparent separation and the
three waves represent the Great Triad, which can be
interpreted as Waking Consciousness, Dream
Consciousness, Dreamless Consciousness or Deep Sleep,
and other trinities.
The more ancient Om
symbol has wavy lines at the bottom that look like a
flowing river and when you consider the nature of
waves it is evident that there is no such thing as
half of a wave. In other words it is the nature of a
wave to wave, which means that it consists of
opposites as ebb and flow, rise and fall, etc. A
flowing wave folding back and harmoniously interfering
with itself is called a standing or stationary wave by
scientists. Although the wave appears to be standing
still its substance is motion, like the whirlpool
shown above that is sustained by flow, which is also
its substance.
"Curving back on
my own nature I create, again and again, all this
multitude of beings under the regime of Nature."
~ Bhagavad Gita Chapter 9 verse 8
In this light waves
are motion, which is energy, that is functioning in a
pattern, and, energy functioning in a pattern is what
modern science calls matter. Modern scientists
also say, "everything vibrates" and "at the core of
all matter is energy", and, Albert Einstein not only
stated that matter and energy are not-two, he
quantified the relationship with his famous equation E
= mc2
I understand that your background is in yoga, how is Non Duality and spirituality approached in yoga practice?Yoga is a Sanskrit
word that means union. There are many forms
of yoga and they all involve an understanding of
nonduality in one way or another. One pointer is the
definition of Yoga given in the first four sutras of
Patanjali's Yoga Sutras.
Here are the first
four yoga sutras followed by my translation and
commentary.
Sutra 1.1 atha
yoga nuasanam
Now Yoga
Sutra 1.2 yogas
citta vrtti nirodhah
Yoga is the cessation
of deriving identity via the whirl of the thinking
mind
Sutra 1.3 tada
drastuh svarupe vasthanam
then true being
abides in its own nature
Sutra 1.4 vrtti
sarupyam itaratra
at other times being
assumes the waveforms of the mental fluctuations
In paragraph form
this reads:
Now Yoga. Yoga is the cessation
of deriving identity via the whirling of the
thinking mind, then true being abides in its own
nature. At other times being assumes the waveforms
of the mental fluctuations.
A way to understand
the nondual nature of Yoga is to explore these sutras
in reverse order such that you begin with being that
has assumed the waveforms of mental fluctuations.
Sutra 1.4 points to the global cultural conditioning
of deriving one's identity via the content and
activity of the mind. This mental activity is a way of
seeing as an understanding that is like a veil or
cloud that obscures the true nature of being.
Like all so called things the substance of
this understanding is Consciousness as the motion of
the thinking mind and the form that appears is what is
called the ego.
The practice of yoga
is a means to clearly see this situation whereby the
very seeing of the situation is the ending of it. Then
true being is unveiled. The cessation of deriving
identity via the content and activity of the mind is
spoken of in other sutras as the distinction of seeing
with the mind and seeing through the mind. Seeing
with the mind means seeing that is filtered by memory
and knowledge; seeing through the mind is clarity or
insight that flowers when there is the right turning
of the mind.
There is a parallel
here to the Buddha's teaching of the Four Noble
Truths: 1) there is suffering [the Buddha's
term for suffering is dukkha]; 2) suffering
has a cause; 3) the cause of suffering is the wrong
turning of the mind; 4) there is a solution to
suffering and that is the Noble Eightfold path [the
first step of the Noble Eightfold path is Right
Understanding, which can be described as the right
turning of the mind, the other seven are derivatives
of this].
The Buddha gave an
analogy to help folks understand suffering, dukkha,
its cause, and the means to end it as follows: You are
riding in a vehicle that has an axle that does not fit
properly into the centre hub of a wheel [at the time
of the Buddha the vehicle would have been a cart or a
chariot]. In this case you will suffer a bumpy
ride as compared to the experience of a smooth ride in
a vehicle that has an axle that fits properly in the
wheel's hub.
The suffering of the
bumpy ride is what the Buddha called the wrong turning
of the mind and what the Yoga Sutras speak of as
seeing with the mind. The right turning of the mind
means that there can be mental activity, a smooth
ride, as Sound that does not break Silence, which is
insight that is experienced with the cessation of
deriving identity via the content and activity of the
mind. Then Yoga is Now.
Another nondual pointer is the Bhagavad Gita's definition of Yoga as skill in action."One
who sees inaction in action, and action
in inaction, is a yogi; she/he is in
the transcendental position [perspective], although
engaged in all sorts of activities"
~ Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 4 Verse 18.
Singing and music are
examples of sound that doesn't break silence; dance
and play are movements that don't disturb stillness;
art and architecture are examples of objects that do
not displace space. Action in these examples is yoga
as skill in action, which is the action of the
right turning of the mind. In other words, these are
examples of non-separation of seeing and doing as seeing
is doing; there is doing yet no doer.
I can relate some
personal experience that helps show that Nonduality
and Yoga are the same as the experience of
non-separation.
 Utthita Trikonasana - James Traverse I studied Iyengar
Yoga for some 15 years and was one of just 40 people
worldwide to qualify for the last 3 week intensive
study that B K S Iyengar himself would lead in his
home studio in Pune, India, before stepping back
somewhat and letting his daughter, Geeta, do more of
the teaching. I am not sharing this to brag, rather it
is point out that all the participants of this
intensive were advanced practitioners of the Iyengar
Method of Yoga and therefore aware of his teaching
style.
On the second day of
the intensive I was doing the pose pictured above,
Utthita Trikonasana, and Mr Iyengar was observing me.
He didn't say anything to me about my alignment or
technical detail as they were correct, yet he was not
impressed with how I performed the asana, because he
could see that I was in my head. He promptly hit me on
the top of my head, just above my forehead [it
was not a forceful blow, yet it was more than a mere
tap], and said "Drop your brain!"
This kind of thing
happen a couple of more times during the first week
until I got it and understood the yoga of this
approach. Once I understood Mr Iyengar never did
anything like that to me again [note some folks are
uncomfortable with the fact that Mr Iyengar hit folks
as I just described; my experience is that the rap on
the head he gave me was very precise, like a surgeon's
scalpel that removed something that was strugglesome
and hindering my understanding - this experience
happened more that 30 years ago; I moved on to study
other yoga approaches, Mr Iyengar's teaching has
stayed with me throughout and I am grateful].
Still another
pointer that is tremendously helpful, because of
its experiential nature, is the practice of Yoga
Nidra. Get
Nonduality via Yoga Nidra here
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