Experience and Knowledge

[Ganesh Deivashikamani]

Pranams

I would like to answer to one portion of ur question
Particularly regarding the Experience?
Everyday when we sleep we are one with the Atman that is at our true
real state.
Since layer of ignorance('I' being identfied with body and its
desires) is covering we are not aware of that state. But we do say
that 'I had a sound sleep'(no disturbance,no dreams)and enjoyed a
bliss immediately afer waking up etc.

This is called a 'Brahma Sukha'-The bliss of dreamless sleep;
and 'Vasana Sukha'-The remembrance of the above for a few minutes
immediately after waking.

That the Bliss of deep sleep is 'Brahmananda', is the statement of
scriptures. That some persons take elaborate care to provide
themselves with downy beds to sleep on,is that fact which supports it.
That in that state,all sense of right and wrong,of man or woman,of in
or out is totally lost as at the time of the embrace of the
beloved,is the experience which confirms it. So it is
'Brahmananda',sure and certain.

The next obvious question that arise in your mind will be
"In that case,why should any one lose hold of that non-dual Bliss of
Brahman and come out of it?"

Well 'The person is drawn out by the forces of his past karma.
the man who has just  wakened from deep sleep,does not immediately
lose the happiness of sleep for hes does not bestir himself at once
nor forget the happiness. This short interval of peace which is
neither sleep nor waking,is the Blis of  remembrance. The moment your
mind rest on the desires this bliss is lost and you are engulfed by
worldly thoughts.


Now what is the difference between Experienced person and an ordinary
man.
When any human being realizes,or go through this Universal
Consciousness his life is changed forever
There are many examples for this. say Ramana Maharishi.
But most of us still continue to live in ignorance(not having
realized the Brahman).Knowing and realising a thing are entirely
different,you assert your knowing only by realising it yourself.
And these are difficult to express and explain.(please dont take this
as an excuse !!)
And drugs only gives you false bliss? which is only a false illusion
and is conditional because everytime one has to take it to go through
some 'Experince' whereas for a True REalised soul it is its natural
state . And is not depend on anything..
I would also like to suggest you to read about the life of
 'Sadha Siva Brahmendra' a Great Yogi and a Jivan Mukta.

regds
Ganesh
>From: Parisi & Watson <niche at AMERITECH.NET>
>Reply-To: niche at ameritech.net
>To: ADVAITA-L at LISTS.ADVAITA-VEDANTA.ORG
>Subject: Experience and Knowledge
>Date: Sun, 25 Apr 1999 15:36:34 -0500
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>
>I'm confused about the relationship between experience and knowledge,
>especially when the experience is of a 'mystical' nature. We commonly
>say that reason and discrimination can take us only up to a certain
>point, and after that one must experience the truth directly. But
does
>experience always deliver certain knowledge in a way that is beyond
>question or interpretation?
>
>If it does, then how do we account for the other schools of Indian
>thought that are in opposition to Advaita Vedanta? Dvaita Vedanta
comes
>particularly to mind, but I'm sure others could mention many more
>examples. Do we say that the founders and followers of these other
>schools never experienced nirvikalpa samadhi (I hope I have the term
>right), or that they did, but they misunderstood and misinterpreted
it?
>The former seems to be potentially presumptuous, and the latter opens
>the door to questioning all interpretations, including the one of
>non-duality.
>
>Sometimes it seems to me, as one who definitely never has experienced
>samadhi or any other 'exotic' state such as bliss and so forth, that
a
>great deal of importance is laid upon feelings and impressions. "I
felt
>blissful and infinite, that I was everything and everything was me."
>Does the fact that I feel infinite mean that in fact I am, or could
this
>intepretation possibly be mistaken? Are these 'peak' experiences of
>bliss and oneness really glimpses of the inner truth of existence, or
>are they merely induced anomalies? How can we be sure?
>
>There are many people out there making very dubious claims on the
basis
>of their experiences and the interpretations they have chosen for
them.
>Near death experiences and out of body experiences, for example.
>Particularly the former can be very powerful and can transform the
lives
>of those who have them. But there is a large amount of convincing
>evidence that in fact these experiences are not at all what they
>imagine, and that they tell us nothing about what, if anything, lies
>beyond physical death. We also know that certain drugs can induce
what
>seems to the individual involved to be a mystical experience of
oneness
>with a cosmos of bliss. These drug experiences are typically (but not
>always) transitory, since they are not preceded by years of study and
>disciplined practice. But could they not at least move us to wonder
>whether it is valid and legitimate to base so much on an experience?
>
>I'm pouring out a lot of negative seeming questions at once, but
please
>bear in mind that if I didn't find Advaita Vedanta at least
plausible, I
>wouldn't be here. But I have to deal with these issues in order to
move
>forward. Someone issued the invitation to "ask all the questions you
>want," and I am now doing so. Please accept my assurances that my
>motivation is only a sincere and careful search for the truth.
>
>Robert.


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