Being – the Oneness

In the earlier blog “Human Being” we saw Burt Harding’s view of human being as a mix of human and Being; Being, the real Self and human, the ego self associated with a particular body. This Being is defined in several ways by Burt. One of them is Oneness, which Isavasya Upanishad speaks of as Ekatvam (एकत्वम्). What it means is Being is the only real one and It only is and It is all the human beings individually including you and all things collectively including the universe and beyond. But by Itself It is no thing because It cannot be defined directly as concept or an object, but can only be referred to in paradoxes or indirectly with reference to something else. Whatever word by which It is referred to whether it is Oneness, Brahman, Consciousness etc., the words are only pointers to the one formless, nameless, indescribable, eternal, infinite Truth/Reality.

Scientifically speaking It is the unified field of infinite energy, with infinite intelligence, encompassing and transcending all the energy fields of the Universe and beyond and it is holographic.  Being holographic in every bit there is the prototype of the whole.  Every bit contains the miniature of the whole. Human, universe and Being are like the wave, ocean and water. Waves are of various sizes and exist for different durations, but they all rise and fall in the ocean that appears comparatively vast and eternal, but both waves and ocean are pervaded by water only, and water is the essence of waves and ocean. This we can reword as the oneness of waves with each other and with the ocean and all of their oneness with water.

The person who has realized internally the Oneness, as one’s Self, is a spiritually wise person who is called jnani (ज्ञानिः), dheera (धीरः) panditha (पण्डितः) etc., in the Upanishads and Bhagavat Gita. The realized person is one who not only has this knowledge but lives it at all times and in all places.  To such a person the knowledge does not desert him at any time, more so in crisis or when challenged.  And only to this realized person there is no sense of separation, no fear, no anger, no sorrow, no jealousy, no hatred, no depression, but the fulfilled sense of complete peace and total bliss born of this sense of Oneness, always, as  pointed out in verses 6 and 7 of Isavasyopanishad, which was quoted in the blog “Human Being”. 

A person may wonder how one can have the awareness of oneness of all, all the time and still function in the world as any transaction is possible only if you recognize some other thing or some other person beside yourself!  Yes, all transactions in the world require something more than one person and the basis of all external transactions is me and the other. The spiritually realized person recognises the otherness in action, while remembering the Oneness in all in the mind and applies the knowledge of oneness of all and Oneness in all, in his reactions to events and persons. So criticism does not provoke him to counter-criticism or some such similar action nor complaints ruffle him. Because he sees Oneness in other selves as well, he rather looks upon his critics with compassion rather than anger. Since he does not take offence by any action or remark, forgiveness comes naturally to him; in fact he feels there is nothing to forgive.  Let me illustrate it with an incident from the life of Sant Ekanath. 

Sant Ekanath was a great devotee of Lord Panduranga of Pandharpur.  He lived in a place called Paithan in Maharashtra. One day among a group of people who were gambling one called another a cheat and a quarrel started.  As the quarrel heated up with more name-callings and abuses and a fight was about to break out, one onlooker intervened and asked them not to get angry and fight among themselves. Then one of the gamblers shouted back saying that he is no Ekanath to stay calm and not to get angry.  Then the talk turned on Ekanath, and one of them wagered that he will bet the entire money he had then with him that he would make Ekanath get angry.  The bet was accepted and the next day he waited for Ekanath and as he was returning from river Godavari after bath, spat upon him. Ekanath looked at him calmly, returned to the river, had his bath once again and came back. The person waited for him to return and spat on him a second time. Ekanath did not speak a word, turned back, bathed again and returned. This routine of being spat upon and taking bath was going on for some time, when the person got tired and next time he confronted Ekanath and asked “I spat upon you and made you take bath so many times.  Why you are just accepting it and not getting angry with me even once?”  Ekanath replied “I am taking bath to clean my body before performing Puja.  If I were to get angry, my mind also would become dirty.  While water can clean my body no amount of water can clean my mind.  So I cannot afford to get angry”.  The person was moved and pleaded for forgiveness.  Ekanath told him “What is there to forgive?  I should really thank you for providing me an opportunity to bathe in the holy river so many times today which I have never done before”.  The person fell at his feet and from that day became a changed man and joined Ekanath in his satsanghs.

To forgive is human, but not to see the offence in the first place and so feel there is nothing to forgive is divine. And that is what a spiritually wise man is. This point is another one frequently made by Burt Harding in his satsanghs, quoting “A course in Miracles”

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