Welcome,
Advaita or Non-Duality, is not a religion. Advaita is a Sanskrit word which means 'Not Two'. It is the proper understanding that all existence is fundamentally a unity of One. The true realisation of which reveals lasting happiness and peace.
What is Non-Duality?
Advaita or Non-Duality is a knowledge, it is the understanding that comes through the realisation that the entirety of existence itself is a singularity.The realisation of non-duality is the truth that is our fundamental guide to lasting happiness.
Non-duality does not mean alone. Nonduality means all is one. Nondual means to be complete. Duality, the seeing of ‘another’ can be to feel incomplete. Duality can lead to feelings of loneliness, even in a crowd. The dual mind causes ego to become self-serving. Non-Duality allows for there to be trillions of transient life forms in the universe, but there is only one eternal existence of Consciousness, within which all lives are 'experienced'.
Why does the Non-Duality of existence need to be realised?
All of the problems faced by humankind arise through forms of fear. Fear arises through the sensing of separation and division in society. The seeing of ‘another’ is at the root of all fear. Fear seeks control and gain over those ‘others’. Love becomes restricted to personal circles.Can Non-Duality be explained logically?
All our senses report a separate physical world to our mind or brain. Therefore, our brain wants to deny that existence could be Non-Dual. Thought, arising from our brain alone, cannot get to the fact we and all things are all One. In Sanskrit this seeing of ‘other’ and separation is described as being caused by Maya, which means a form of conscious delusion or illusion, a form of dreaming.We will reveal the truth of Non-Duality through the use of logic, scriptures, science and philosophy. The Hindu Upanishads are prominent here only because our teachers came from that tradition.
The need for caution
Discovering higher truths is every intelligent beings desire and part of our life journey. But, we also need to be aware of our personal emotions. All of us develop our own beliefs and understanding as we learn. But, new insights to our long held comfortable beliefs can be profoundly disturbing and might equate to losing one’s faith. Deep anxiety comes with challenges to our beliefs. We need to be prepared for this.
Non-duality does not challenge one's spirituality or God. In fact, Non-Duality, once realised, gives more proof of divine existence, that is stronger than belief alone. This is what we profoundly believe.
The logical process that reveals the truth of Non-Duality.
The process of logic that reveals the truth of Non-Duality starts from a purely Hypothetical state, difficult to imagine, because it never was real. But, those that do not question Duality imagine that there once was a 'time' of non-existence. Nevertheless, let us imagine such a state of non-existence as being possible. true nothingness anywhere. Such a state could never have been. But, the impossibility of there ever being such a state of non-existence is part of the very logic that supports non-duality. So, please contemplate as you read, and enjoy.
The logic revealing Non-Duality is uncomplicated, but it is deep and profound.
This logic process takes only a few words. But, each word needs to be properly understood. Once the singularity of existence is realised many other truths become apparent.
First, we need to start by contemplating nothing in existence, not even existence itself. According to Wikipedia :-
“Nothing, no-thing, or no thing, is the complete absence of anything; The opposite of everything, or its complement”.
Now, there has never been such a state as we shall see, but the contemplation of 'nothing' begins our logic process. This state of absolute non-existence, nothing, does not mean emptiness or a vacuum. In non-existence there would be no empty, empty would not exist. Vacuum would not exist, either the word, meaning or state.
Nothing comes from nothing.
This state of non-existence could not have a future, because in non-existence, a future couldn’t exist. So, here we are properly understanding non-existence. Understanding this fact is essential. We can now introduce the statement that ‘nothing can come from nothing’. This is reasonable, actually irrefutable. If there were ever to have been nothing in the past, then, there must be nothing now.
Now we have "All This."
Now, literally today, we can pick up a grain of sand, or a flower. Immediately, because of this very existence, we must accept that there could never have been a state of non-existence. The flower proves it! Existence could not have come from no existence. This is of the greatest importance but hard for us to grasp and understand. This existence has always existed, it has always been. There never has been a beginning, a true birth of all 'this', therefore there can be no ending. This existence is timeless and eternal. It follows, nothing new comes into existence and all that has existed, still exists now and can never go out of existence.
Absolute knowledge is Absolute consciousness
It follows, this eternal existence is a unity without beginning, unborn and without cause. With this knowledge the absoluteness and the singularity of existence comes into evidence. Being timeless and one only there can be no accident and no coincidence. All that 'is' can only be this way because it is supported by the timeless knowledge that enabled it. Being unchanging and timeless this knowledge must be absolute. Absolute knowledge as existence is absolute all-knowing consciousness.Consciousness is being aware, or knowing.
Within this existence of Absolute Consciousness. One without a second. Unborn. Eternal. There could not be an atom or photon or a sparrow that is not eternally consciously known.Further conclusions from the reality of Non-Duality.
The totality of existence is now. What we regard as past present and future must all exist now. Existence without beginning, all possibilities regarding all events for all time have to have existed timelessly. Time does not exist in immortal reality.
The realising of Non-Duality, Advaita, leads to the further realising of truth.
Although we experience a flow of events, cause and effect, all experience can occur in consciousness only. Dreams take place in consciousness. One can experience a lifetime in a dream seemingly lasting seconds.Due to the timelessness of existence there could be no process of learning, no increase or decrease in knowledge. Knowledge or information is an absolute of existence. Therefore knowing is absolute. Absolute knowing forms consciousness perfectly, absolutely. All of this is without movement, without change. This absolute is immutable therefore immortal. existence is now. No 'other' can come into existence and nothing that exists, can go out of existence.
Kenneth Jaques.
