Location: Sweden
Hello Francis, My question is short and concise: When consciousness leaves and the body dies, only the Absolute prevails. If the destiny of a jnani and a normal individual is the same - why enlightenment? If the idea of reincarnation is false, what is the use? Then there literally is no liberation in enlightenment; there is liberation in death. Thank you, /Pontus
Dear Pontus,
You say “When consciousness leaves and the body dies, only the Absolute prevails.” What do you mean and how do you know this? I assume that you mean that “there is liberation in death”. This would be logically true if the existence of the body was the cause of ignorance. Death would induce liberation in this case. But death doesn’t imply liberation, nor does liberation imply death. These are assumptions you made. Both death and liberation are mutually independent choices made by the Absolute. However the letting go of the body in death presents an opportunity for the realization of our true self.
The destiny of a jnani or of an ignorant is only a movie projected onto the screen of consciousness, and enlightenment or reincarnation seen as events happening to the main character in the movie are part of the screenplay. The questions “why enlightenment?” or “what is the use of the idea of reincarnation” can be asked from the vantage point of the movie or from the vantage point of reality. The question “Why did Othello kill his wife?” can be answered on two levels: “because he was jealous and betrayed by Iago” would be a possible answer on the level of the play and “because Shakespeare needed to write a new play to pay for his living expenses” could be the answer on the level of reality. Any answer on the level of the movie will be as illusory as the movie itself. On the level of reality, reality itself is the answer. There are no questions. We are the eternal living answer in which all questions dissolve.
Confusion arises when we mix these two levels, for instance when we try to reach a conclusion regarding enlightenment, which is the direct experience of the Absolute, based on observations made on the phenomenal level (the death of physical bodies).
Love,
Francis.
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