Mind & Happiness 134
The 2nd question that Sri Sivaprakasam Pillai asked Sri Ramana was “What is the nature of [such] Knowledge ?”, to which Sri Ramana replied either “The nature of Knowledge is sat-cit-ānanda” or more probably just “saccidānanda“. The compound word sat-cit-ānanda (which is actually fused into one word, saccidānanda), is a well-known philosophical term, which is of Sanskrit origin, but which is widely understood & frequently used in Tamil & all other Indian languages. It is a term used to describe the Nature of the Absolute Reality, & though it is composed of 3 words, it is not intended to imply that the Absolute Reality is composed of 3 distinct elements, but only that the single Non-Dual Nature of the One Absolute Reality can be described in 3 different ways.
The word sat basically means “Existence” or “existing“, but by extension also means “That which really is“, “Reality“, “Truth“, “Essence“, “Real“, “True“, “Good“, “Right“, or “that which is Real, True, Good or Right“.
The word cit means “”Consciousness””, from a verbal root meaning “to know“, “to be conscious of”, “to perceive“, “to observe“, “to attend to” or “to be attentive“. And the word ānanda means “Happiness“, “Joy“, or “Bliss“.
Thus saccidānanda, or as it is more commonly spelled in Roman script, sat-citānanda, means “Existence-Consciousness-Bliss”, that is, Existence which is both Consciousness & Bliss, or Consciousness which is both Existence & Bliss, or Bliss which is both Existence & Consciousness. True Existence & true Consciousness are not 2 different things. If Consciousness were not the essential nature of Existence, Existence would have to depend upon some Consciousness other than itself in order to be known. Hence it would not be Absolute Existence, but only relative Existence – Existence that existed only in the view of some other existing Consciousness.
If we postulate that there is an Absolute Existence that is not conscious of its own “existence” & that exists even though it is not known either by itself or by any Consciousness other than itself, such an Existence would be a mere supposition or Imagination – an Existence that exists only in our own Mind – & hence it would not be real Existence.
We have no valid reason to suppose that any such “unknown” Existence exists. The term “Existence” has a valid meaning only if it is applied to something that is known to exist & not if it is applied to something whose existence is merely imaginary. Therefore true & Absolute Existence must always be conscious of its own Existence. Hence Consciousness must be its very Nature.
The above themes & 2500 pages more are freely available as perused or downloaded PDF’s, the sole occupants of a Public Microsoft Skydrive “Public Folder” accessible through www.jpstiga.com
Different blogs (but with graphics) are available on:
http://www.blogger.com as “Being-as-Consciousness, Non-Duality – new & final version” with link:
“There is no Creation, no Destruction, no Bondage, no longing to be freed from Bondage, no striving for Liberation, nor anyone who has attained Liberation. Know that this to be Ultimate Truth.”
– the “no creation” school of Gaudapada, Shankara, Ramana, Nome – Ajata Vada
for very succinct summary of the teaching & practice, see: www.ajatavada.com/
[A brief note of explanation – this Blog is entitled “Non-Duality & Science”, & so the more Science oriented pages (from what I like to think of as a “comic book”) have been posted there, while other chapters have been posted in the other Blog noted below. Science is a mental discipline that attracts some worthy admirers & participators. Some of these, too few, are good prospects for the ancient teaching introduced here in many ways. Otherwise certain Science topics like the Anthropic Principle, reinforce the general Theism which is a good idea in this materialistic age. A few other topics in Science, such as the Copenhagen II – Max Born – Von Neumann – Wigner model of Quantum Mechanics, are worthy entries to the extent that they introduce Consciousness into the physical Sciences. All that aside, the real topic here is the pinnacle as Advaita Vedanta, Non-Duality – that pinnacle being Ajata Vada, No–Creation. The great Teachers of the same include Sri Shankara & Sri Ramana Maharshi. Both would support Theism in general & adaptations of Vedanta, such as Vishishtadvaita Vedanta – Qualified Non-Duality, for those not making headway in Ajata Vada, their present course of growth might be better served with a temporary involvement in Qualified Non-Duality. The scientist who perhaps best expresses the influence of Qualified Non-Duality in Science, for instance, would be the quintessential “New–Age” Quantum Physicist, Amit Goswami. And so to that source, & the Quantum Activism he currently advocates [with a 1–course degree program], along with more than a half-dozen good books & former participation in the controversial What the Bleep movie, to him I extend enthusiastic endorsement, for that Qualified Non-Duality described in the context of Science. I do not stand so much “with him”, as much as nearby saluting his good work. Again, as here, a goal is inserting Consciousness into Science & “saving the World.”]
also: Most of this material will be long searchable via “John Stiga” etc, on the “Wayback Machine” Internet Archive.
Also related to these topics, there are now 8 Kindle books on “Amazon.com”, reference-able by the author “John Stiga”, each indicated as non–copyrighted, public–domain, & priced at the minimum $0.99 each.