Non-Duality 101

Non-duality is the experience of reality as one cosmic whole, of which you yourself are a manifestation. There is, then, no more duality between you and the world around you. In philosophical terms, there is no longer a duality between subject and object, i.e. between observer and observed. As an observer of the world you are an inseparable part of the whole. Your consciousness of reality – in the form of everything you see, smell, taste, feel, think – is the consciousness that reality has of itself. Reality experiences itself through everything that sentient beings like us experience. What we do in the world is what reality does with itself.

The purpose of non-dualistic forms of spirituality – such as Vedanta, Buddhism, Daoism, and Tantra – is to see non-duality as the ultimate truth, through both rational thought and immediate intuition obtained through spiritual practice (yoga , meditation), in order to achieve a state of permanent Enlightenment and Liberation of Suffering. Non-dual insight frees us from the illusion that we are isolated beings, separated from each other and from an indifferent outer world, in which we have to struggle to maintain and assert ourselves. According to non-dualistic forms of spirituality, this illusion is the source of all suffering. 

Selfishness, greed, indifference, exploitation, feelings of inferiority, hatred, abuse, violence... All these thoughts, feelings and behavioral patterns originate in the single idea that I – as this person, with this body and this mind – have an entirely separated existence, separated from the other people around me, from nature, from the universe, from the whole. As soon as it is recognized that this separation is no more than an illusion, all these negative thoughts, feelings and behaviors lose their driving force. There is, then, a liberation of suffering. When the illusion of the separate ego falls away, all its petty ambitions, worries, fears and unfulfilled desires fall away too. What remains is a deep peace of mind, a serene bliss and a deep sense of loving unitywith everything and everyone.

In Eastern spirituality, this enlightening aspect of non-duality is often illustrated through the comparison of the human mind with a mountain lake that reflects the sky and clouds above it. Normally the water of the lake is restless, as the ever-changing winds of our thoughts and emotions cause smaller or bigger waves, creating a distorted reflection in the water. In that case, the lake is not a true mirror of what is above. But with the experience of non-duality, the water calms down, as the storm of thoughts and emotions settles. As the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad puts it: "Like clear water becomes the seer who sees non-duality." (4.3.32) Finally, the lake becomes as smooth as a mirror and faithfully reflects the blue sky above it, with the shining sun at its center – the source of all energy and life, the creative essence of the universe, which you now realize to be your deepest Self.

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