In most cases, people just identify as being a person and their personality. If you ask someone, 'who are you?', they'll tell you I'm Mr. So and so, and this is my job, my age, my nationality, and so on. Or it used to be that way. Now it's more a case of what gender do you identify as, or what race, or what medical condition, or mental state, or which victimized group you belong to. And all that's fine, except that it's temporary at best and a total illusion.
But all of us are identifying with our bodies and our minds, our thoughts and emotions, and how they currently are, or how we wish they were. But recently I was reading chapter 16 of the Gita, and a word popped up in verse 4 - abhimanah. Chapter 16 is called The Divine and the Demonic, and starts by giving the characteristics of the divine personalities, followed by those of the demonic.
Verse 3 states: dambho-darpo'bhimanas ca - Pride, arrogance and abhimanah - generally translated as conceit. However, in this particular translation (By Aksharananddas Swami), he equated it with 'Dehabhimanah', which specifically means identifying (abhimana) AS the material body (deha).
You see, the most fundamental teaching in Sanatana Dharma, or 'Hindu' thought, or Vedanta, is that we are NOT this body. We are Spirit, or Consciousness, or Divinity itself. To identify with and as this material body and personality is an illusion, albeit an extremely common one.
But this brings up the question, who or what is doing the identifying? Who is it that is identifying as this body and personality? Who is identifying as a man or woman, democrat or republican, as a Hindu, a Christian, a Buddhist, an atheist, a spiritual but not religious-ist, and any of the other billions of concepts?
For now, and for simplicity sake, we'll just say it's the real You - the indwelling soul, the Spirit, the Aware One. In some Vedic traditions, we, the Spirit Soul, is temporarily housed in this material machine; while in other Vedic traditions, the entire creation, including this apparent body, is simply an appearance, arising within the Infinite Consciousness that we are a part of. But in no case, are we actually this body, and to identify with it is a conceit or even (accoding to Swami Aksharananddas) a demonic mentality. I know that sounds horrible, but often in the scrptures it's kind of a black or white situation - you're either on the spiritual (divine) plane or you're not! You're in the material illusion.
So from the standpoint of we are Divine Presence, the idea of fighting over what KIND of illusionary body you are, seems a bit ludicrous. It's like children fighting over which side they get to play in Cowboys and Indians - which yes, I understand is totally politically incorrect these days, so like cops and robbers, good guys and bad guys, or democrats and republicans. 🤣
Such is the way of our 'traditions' these days, or lack of any traditions. In nearly all cultures, East and West, there was an initiation point somewhere, usually in early teenage life. Often called a "second birth", that signifies that you are moving from a material (childish) conception of who you are to a more mature, spiritual perspective. This is an important rite of passage which we don't seem to have in the West anymore. Very often, it even included changing one's name, or ones wardrobe, to more concretize the fact that you were giving up your old name and the whole persona that it represented, and taking on (identifying with) a new Spiritual Persona.
But, as I said, we ALL tend to do it - to identify AS something, because imagine if you didn't! Imagine that you did NOT identify as all of your memories of who you are - your entire history from childhood - all your concepts of what is good versus bad, or even all your dreams of who you wish you were? What if you simply stayed as the one, the 'thing', the Awareness that was doing the identifying? Who is that?
The difficulty with identifying as something, is that everyone else is also identifying as something very different. Now in a culture where everyone 'believed' the same thing, it's not a problem. If everyone is a Hindu, great. If you're all Catholics, great. If you're all Muslem, great. If you're all democrats, great. But we're NOT! We are as diverse as you can get, and even though people love to claim that "diversity is our strangth", it appears to be a source of a LOT of fighting and even violence. Perhaps this is why the powers that be seem to be working toward a one-world, one-idea, government for all.
But diversity is also natural. In Bhagavad GIta, Krsna talks about how the three modes of nature - Goodness, passion, and ignorance - effect everything and everyone. He speaks of four types of 'Varnas' or groups within society - Brahmanas, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, and Sudras - each with different temperatments and tastes. And you can never forget that there are males and females (and whatever else there may actually be), as well as numerous species of animals, birds, sea life, vegetation - a whole Cosmos of diverse creatures! But those are the Identities! Who or what is behind or within each of those creatures which is identifying with a species? That is the primary question....
And as I've quoted many times from Ashtavakra Gita (1.4) "If you seperate yourself from the body, and simply rest in the shelter of Awareness - Even now, in this moment, you will be happy, peaceful and free from bondage."
So let's not worry so much about WHAT you identify with, but Who are YOU prior to identifying?
deep love
Aja
_____________________________
हरे कृष्ण हरे कृष्ण कृष्ण कृष्ण हरे हरे
हरे राम हरे राम राम राम हरे हरे
Comments
Post a Comment