Hello and welcome to episode 92 of The Ask Sri Vishwanath Show. Today I want to talk about the knowledge that requires no other knowledge to be known.
Today’s question comes from Jack and Jack says “there are so many different types of knowledge. How do we choose? What is the best knowledge to have?”
Thanks for the question jack. We have spoken about this before and I would highly encourage you to watch episode 72 so you can have some further insight. That video talks about eligibility so I think you would find it helpful.
Reveal
In the Bhagavad gita Krishna says to Arjun “Now I shall reveal to you that knowledge knowing which no other knowledge needs to be known.” This is what the great sages meditate on. The greatest knowledge that requires no further knowledge or action. They came up with the knowledge of the consciousness and then they refined it further by saying this knowledge destroys duality. That is the greatest knowledge because when you destroy duality then there is only one thing left, the consciousness.
So we, the lakes and the mountains and the sun is like the universal consciousness that reflects on us all.
Vedanta
The greatest knowledge is called Vedanta(that which ends all seeking of knowledge) and it is also called Brahman. It is universal knowledge of the consciousness. This knowledge destroys all duality. It takes away all of our differences that are only on the surface and renders us all the same. When there is only the consciousness then nothing else needs to be known because the consciousness is everything. Also there will be no action needed because action is only needed in duality but never in the consciousness. All action ceases when there is only one.
When there are two, manifestations and emotions such as desire,jealousy, anger and hatred happen which require action but this does not happen when there is only one, the consciousness. So you can see why this knowledge is so powerful and so important.
This individual consciousness is called the jiva and it exists inside everyone. Vedanta, or Brahman is the universal knowledge of that consciousness. We are all a lake and when we look at the beautiful crystal clear water we see the jiva reflected back at us. The water only appears murky when we have desires and duality. Remember that all duality is an ignorant delusion and this delusion springs from duality. It’s a cycle.
The sage and his son
I want to share a story with you about a very powerful sage that lived in India. The sage had a son and in those days the sages sent their sons for ten years of training to know and experience Brahman. Some become sages and some go out into the world and do great things. It doesn’t really matter once they have the knowledge of Brahman. You don’t have to be a sage when you have that knowledge. You could be a cook, or a director or an author. It doesn’t matter. The only thing that matters is because of this knowledge you will do great work.
The sage could have taught his own son but he wanted him to experience the teacher student relationship. The greatest knowledge is passed on through this relationship.
After ten years the son came back and the father was so excited to see him. He asked him if he had learned about Brahman and the son assured him that yes he knew about God and the consciousness and all of that stuff. The father noticed a sense of pride as he was talking about it. He had the feeling that he had not experienced it completely. He asked his son a few more questions but the answers were not satisfactory.
His father still wanted to teach him the essence of it all. They went to a field and the sage picked up a seed. He gave the seed to his son and told him to break this tiny seed. He told him to crush it until there was nothing so the son did what he said. The father asked him what is inside the seed and the son told him there was nothing because he already crushed it. The father said that there must be something but the son said that no, there wasn’t.
The father then asked the son that if there was nothing in the seed then how could it grow into a big tree. Surely there must be something inside that cannot be seen.
Merged
The father moved on to the next experiment. He asked the son to bring him a bowl of water. He then told him to put salt in the water and bring it to him the next morning. The son brought the water to him the next morning.
“Now drink a portion of the water from the top of the vessel,. How does it taste?”
“It’s salty, father.”
“Now drink a portion of the water from the middle of the vessel, Aditya. How does it taste?”
“It’s also salty.”
“Now drink a portion of the water from the bottom of the vessel. How does it taste”
“Again, salty, father.”
At that point the father saw the son’s expression change and he knew that he now understood all that he had learned in the past ten years.
That salt had merged with the water. Now the sage said that he wanted the son to separate the salt from the water. He couldn’t do it. At this point the father knew that he fully understood that the knowledge of Brahman cannot be separated from anything in this world. Everything has this universal consciousness, from the tiniest ant to the tallest tree.
Remember we spoke before that everything has a nature so the tree is equal to the consciousness plus the nature of that tree. This consciousness can be either an angel or a devil and that is when duality sets in.
The lake
You can destroy this duality by drawing your nature inwards. When you take away the personality and the nature all that is left is the jiva, the consciousness. So we need to draw the gunas in and meditate on the consciousness.
We do this by imagining the sun and a serene lake. The lake is you and the reflection of the suns universal consciousness is inside of you in the form of Jiva. See the sun shining in the top of that serene lake. It is a beautiful sight. There are no thoughts on that surface. It is calm. It is then that you will know who you are. You are the jiva. You must know that sun. Let it seep into every inch of you. This reflection is called a Shakti. You are a manifestation of that wonderful reflection.
Tat Twam Asi
You are now the representation of Brahman. They appear human but they are a universal consciousness and they carry that majestic aura wherever they go. They remain serene no matter what. All that they do is for the good of the world and this is known as Tat Twam Asi. It means the universal consciousness and the individual consciousness have merged into one.
I want to leave you with these words. “Thee in me. I in you. I am thee”
I hope I answered your question. Remember you keep asking questions and I’ll keep answering them.