Dr. Vijai S Shankar MD.PhD.
Published on www.academy-advaita.com
The Netherlands
9th April 2016
What is Oneness
“Revelation”
The understanding of oneness is more abstract than clear. Clarity that oneness is all there is has not yet happened to man. The enlightened have nevertheless declared that oneness is all there is. The spiritualists talk about oneness but have not brought clarity to what oneness is.
It is difficult for man to accept oneness because logic and reason do not support oneness, but indicate that separateness is present everywhere. Separateness is more obvious than oneness, and separateness is difficult to be denied as well. It is difficult to deny separateness, because the five senses that man has indicate separateness rather than oneness.
The mind relies on five senses and believes in separateness. He accepts oneness as a matter of spirituality. But man’s behaviour in daily life is based on separation and does not indicate oneness
So, how could man understand oneness with clarity is the question? If logic, reason and the five senses that indicate separateness are understood deeply, it would point to the fact that separateness is actually oneness.
Logic and reason accept that time and space exist together and not separately. If they did exist separately neither time nor space would exist, and this is accepted by logic and reason.
Now, the five senses are known to man because of opposites; for example, good and bad or hot and cold. Now, opposites require time and space to exist. This implies that opposites exist together and not separately, because time and space exist together and not separately.
If opposites existed together it would mean the words good and bad should be one word ‘goodbad’ and not two words ‘good’ and ‘bad’. Life, however, has not evolved words such as ‘goodbad’, ‘hotcold’. Life has evolved opposites separately so that daily conversation is possible.
Life has evolved the word ‘goodbad’ as separate words ‘good’ and ‘bad’. This causes the deception of separateness, while opposites in fact are one and not separate.
Everything that is known by man is known because of opposites. Now, opposites are known by words, and a word is energy as everything in life is energy. Energy is one and not separate from other forms of energy. A single word for all energies together cannot be described, whereas a single word for opposites can be described, for example ‘goodbad’. Life has neither evolved a single word to describe opposites nor a single word to describe all energies.
Therefore, a deep understanding of logic, reason and senses points to the fact that life is oneness, and this understanding brings clarity to oneness in life, which is a revelation or enlightenment.
Author: Dr. Vijai S. Shankar
© Copyright V. S. Shankar 2016
Editor’s Note:
Reason and logic are faculties available to every human being. Education is regarded as an important opportunity for developing these which, along with the senses, act as essential guides in life. No one would deny that this is so. Such is the precision and beauty of life that has gifted man so adequately to live a full and respected life. Nevertheless, the concept of separateness or separate entities that marks your understanding and mine and regards opposites as a real feature in life, however valid that understanding, is resolved by the deep understanding of the wise, as expressed in this article.
Julian Capper, UK.
German Translator‘s Note:
What Dr. Shankar explains here about the oneness of life is an unsolvable puzzle to the mind. On the one hand, the mind is capable, if given, of recognizing the limits of its separateness based on language logic, but on the other hand, this is not a workable way to function, because the conditioned mind is defined by words and not by their absence. Words are inherently dual, that is, they create separateness, albeit illusory. The understanding that separateness is illusory, as this article describes, therefore cannot be applied in everyday life where the categories of subject and object prevail. When the understanding of oneness happens, the enlightened mind is no longer defined by the content of words that come and go as an illusion of oneness, but is empty even as sounds are passing by as words. Then it reveals itself that subject and object are not real, but that everything is oneness reflecting a singular movement. This results in unconditional presentness in every moment.
Marcus Stegmaier, Germany.