Light is Pure Awareness

[dwai]

What is Light? That which illuminates. 

 

What illuminates? Awareness. 

 

Awareness is Light. Awareness is not consciousness. Consciousness is reflected awareness. Pure empty Consciousness is Awareness.

 

Consciousness (of things) is like the moon, reflecting the light of the sun. Awareness is like the sun.

 

Feel free to discuss  

[Bud Jetsun]

With an awareness like the sun expanding and radiating to distant galaxies, would discovery of the 'shadowed' perimeter not yet reached approach infinite?

 

Unlimited Love,

-Bud

[dwai]

1 minute ago, Bud Jetsun said:

With an awareness like the sun expanding and radiating to distant galaxies, would discovery of the 'shadowed' perimeter not yet reached approach infinite?

 

Unlimited Love,

-Bud

The sun was only an analogy. There is only light. Darkness is just an appearance due to reflections of light...

[dwai]

23 minutes ago, voidisyinyang said:

—Ramana Maharshi

Quote

Just as ‘light’ is used as a metaphor referring to awareness or consciousness, ‘shining’ is used as a metaphor referring to being aware, and ‘shining’, ‘illumining’ and ‘illuminating’ are used as metaphors referring to being experienced by awareness. In this connection a term that was often used by Bhagavan is svayamprakāśa, which means ‘self-shining’ or ‘self-luminous’, and which therefore implies being self-aware. The only thing that is truly self-shining is the pure self-awareness that we actually are, because though our mind seems to be self-shining, it is not actually so, since its self-awareness is only an impure and finite reflection of our original self-awareness, which is both pure and infinite. In other words, our mind is not self-shining because it shines not by any light originating from it but only by means of the light of pure self-awareness, of which it is just a poor and inadequate reflection.

It boils down to the “adhikara” of the people who Ramana Maharshi was speaking to. 

 

If you were at the level of understanding Self as pure witness then it is that. If you don’t need that anymore, you can advance further with awareness as the lightless light that makes everything appear and known and unknown — via reflected light and shadows  

 

Edited March 27, 2018 by dwai

[silent thunder]

what does light illumine?

 

does it illumine itself?

 

does a knife cut itself?

 

can teeth bite themselves?

 

what does light illumine?

[dwai]

7 minutes ago, silent thunder said:

what does light illumine?

 

The property  of the awareness is to illuminate. In this manifestation, the first thing that is knowledge is that “I am”. This is the reflected light. Everything else follows this. 

7 minutes ago, silent thunder said:

 

does it illumine itself?

Only as reflected light of I am.

 

 

[silent thunder]

then what is the absence of light?

 

is there an absence of light?

 

can there be an absence of light?

[dwai]

1 hour ago, silent thunder said:

then what is the absence of light?

 

is there an absence of light?

 

can there be an absence of light?

Absence of light is in reflected awareness, where darkness and light interplay. But really there is no absence at all. Because can awareness be aware of its absence? 

 

To know there is no awareness takes awareness. If that is the case, what is that absence? This happens in reflected awareness only. 

[Boundlesscostfairy]

The perfect self is the color of yoke.. hence egg, or soul..

 

These are the same thing..

 

Somehow out of the yoke it tried to project itself.. but it wanted to receive something new, something other than itself.. and there for the first beams of ain sof.. or never (b)ending light was cast directly from the soul..and the Adam Kadmon left his yoke to discover the universe. Noting that lack of light was outer space and black.. and that any true body would have a relation to light!

[Marblehead]

Yes, light is equal to awareness.  Light is Chi manifested.

 

"I saw the light" is an expression of awareness.

 

 

[3bob]

all things are woven from light, and the first and primary heaven is of an ocean light but even such light is not enough.

[Marblehead]

23 minutes ago, Kar3n said:

Drew, you are spamming this thread, please stop.

Yeah, even I noticed that.

 

[Nungali]

20 hours ago, dwai said:

What is Light? That which illuminates. 

 

What illuminates? Awareness. 

 

There is a name for this type of 'philosophy'  , cant remember it at the moment ;   one makes a  specific  definition of a thing  then re-defines that definition to another thing and then  the claim is that both are equivalent .

 

A = B ,   B = C ,  so there fore  A must = C  , looks good on paper in symbols .

 

 

 

20 hours ago, dwai said:

 

Awareness is Light. Awareness is not consciousness. Consciousness is reflected awareness. Pure empty Consciousness is Awareness.

 

For me , light is an  active expanding process, in all directions (unless 'shielded' in certain ways ) .    Awareness is an expanding (ie, 'going out from' me )  receptive process ....    a 'reaching out' , a 'drawing into' ,  process.   It is usually shielded in many ways, mostly so we dont get overwhelmed  by signals , or due to  'atrophy' .

 

Cultivating  'spherical awareness'   ( of things all around one - directly above and below as well )   in  limitless extension   tends to dissolve the concept of separation between one and their environment .

 

20 hours ago, dwai said:

 

Consciousness (of things) is like the moon, reflecting the light of the sun. Awareness is like the sun.

 

Feel free to discuss  

 

Awareness is like the Moon ,  receiving the energies ,    consciousness is solar , a spark, a sun, an atom,  a 'point of radiation '; 

 

 

 

" I am the flame that burns in every heart of man, and in the core of every star. "

 

 

 

 

[Nungali]

18 hours ago, voidisyinyang said:

Ramana Maharshi:

People want to see the Self as something. They desire to see it as a blazing light, etc. But how could that be? The Self is not light, not darkness, not any observed thing.

 

I see the Maharishi has taken to use large and ever  increasing in size fonts ,  red colours and now yellow highlighting to make his point .     

 

I would have thought he would be more 'laid back' than that ?

[Nungali]

18 hours ago, silent thunder said:

then what is the absence of light?

 

is there an absence of light?

can there be absence of light?

 

Yes  ..... when you move 'down scale'  there is a relative absence of light ;

 

Light ;      bright .......... <  > ........   dim . 

 

Total absence of light ?      Dont know     

[Nungali]

13 hours ago, voidisyinyang said:

Ramana Maharshi:

D. : So then the mind is the mirror.

Ramana Maharshi 

D. : But I do not see it. 
Ramana Maharshi 

 

 

 

Dude ...  your fonts be so big , they dont even fit on the  page !  

 

Its like    shouting so hard no one can understand you .

[Nungali]

5 hours ago, Marblehead said:

Yeah, even I noticed that.

 

 

It does   bring some colour   to the thread  .....          

 

 

[Lost in Translation]

It warms my heart to see people so happy. I am glad for you.

Edited March 27, 2018 by Lost in Translation
Added pretty colors and huge fonts

[Nungali]

[dwai]

1 hour ago, Nungali said:

 

There is a name for this type of 'philosophy'  , cant remember it at the moment ;   one makes a  specific  definition of a thing  then re-defines that definition to another thing and then  the claim is that both are equivalent .

 

A = B ,   B = C ,  so there fore  A must = C  , looks good on paper in symbols .

 

 

 

 

For me , light is an  active expanding process, in all directions (unless 'shielded' in certain ways ) .    Awareness is an expanding (ie, 'going out from' me )  receptive process ....    a 'reaching out' , a 'drawing into' ,  process.   It is usually shielded in many ways, mostly so we dont get overwhelmed  by signals , or due to  'atrophy' .

 

Cultivating  'spherical awareness'   ( of things all around one - directly above and below as well )   in  limitless extension   tends to dissolve the concept of separation between one and their environment .

 

 

Awareness is like the Moon ,  receiving the energies ,    consciousness is solar , a spark, a sun, an atom,  a 'point of radiation '; 

 

 

 

" I am the flame that burns in every heart of man, and in the core of every star. "

 

 

 

 

So you’ve just inverted the two words in their usage.  

I prefer the words as I use them — awareness - whose reflected aspect is consciousness. 

 

Or, we could say - awareness is pure objectless consciousness. Reflected awareness is consciousness with objects. 

 

Edited March 27, 2018 by dwai

[Nungali]

Oh yeah  .....   I actually just about reversed  the terms  ...   you should read my definitions of  ''soul' and  'God'      

 

I am always 'inventing'  new usages  .    

 

For me 'awareness'  has no special 'spiritual connotations' , its about being aware of what is around you and how to interpret that  . Or being aware of a process, like psychological drives and conditionings . 

[Michael Sternbach]

21 hours ago, dwai said:

The sun was only an analogy. There is only light. Darkness is just an appearance due to reflections of light...

 

Darkness is the absence of light.

[Marblehead]

Therefore light is the absence of dark.

 

[Bindi]

23 hours ago, dwai said:

What is Light? That which illuminates. 

 

What illuminates? Awareness. 

 

Awareness is Light. Awareness is not consciousness. Consciousness is reflected awareness. Pure empty Consciousness is Awareness.

 

Consciousness (of things) is like the moon, reflecting the light of the sun. Awareness is like the sun.

 

Feel free to discuss  

 

In the Gheranda Samhitā (Verses 28-30) it is written:

 

“The Sun is in the navel and the moon in the head. The nectar that comes from the moon is consumed by the sun, and the life force is gradually used up in this way.”

 

Spoiler

 

Here the moon stands for the Bindu Chakra and the sun for the Manipūra Chakra. Because the nectar from the Bindu Chakra is constantly being destroyed in the fire of the Manipūra Chakra our body is susceptible to illness and continues to deteriorate with advancing age.

 

the most outstanding effect of the Bindu Chakra is the production of AMRITA, the nectar of immortality.

 

...The moon is the symbol of Lord Shiva... May the light of Shiva fill our consciousness. 

https://www.chakras.net/energy-centers/bindu

 

To find the Bindu takes a great deal of effort and patience, after having purified the mind. While it takes great effort, it also takes great surrender. In the inner field of the subtler aspects of mind, a circle, space, pit, hole or tunnel will eventually be experienced (it doesn't matter what you call it). Eventually, the Bindu is encountered beyond that. It is approximately like the stories we hear from time to time of some person having a near-death-experience, and seeing light at the end of a tunnel. The tunnel entrance is at the chakra, the tunnel is called Brahma Nadi, and the point of light is Bindu(Recall that Bindu means point or dot, and has been likened to a mustard seed). Note that in the stories about seeing light at the end of a tunnel, the witness has not yet gone up the tunnel, merged into the point, or transcended it. It can be a bit frustrating to read about encountering the Bindu, but not be able to do it at this very moment. Until it comes, it is common to sit there in the dark, not only not finding the Bindu, but not even finding a circle or tunnel. Patience and practice are the keys, as exasperating at it may be.

http://www.swamij.com/bindu.htm

 

... With the awakening of the Bindu Chakra the Pineal Gland, which is connected to this centre, becomes active. This gland emits a hormone that has a “fountain of youth” influence on both body and mind. This is why the Rishis gave it the name “Amrita”, nectar of immortality. The more active the Bindu Chakra becomes, the more plentifully this precious Amrita flows. It is said in the ancient scriptures that just one concentrated drop is sufficient to make new shoots grow on a piece of dry wood, and bring the deceased back to life.

https://www.chakras.net/energy-centers/bindu

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Michael Sternbach]

54 minutes ago, Marblehead said:

Therefore light is the absence of dark.

 

 

When you let light fall into a dark room, the darkness is gone.

 

But can you let darkness fall into a lit room?