Today my father says to me in conversation "there is no self without others"... In agreement, I say conversely "there is no other without the self". The former philosophic view is Buddhist, the latter isVedanta. The Higher Self or 'Atman' is an experience of connection, of no identification as a separate self or ego living in isolation. Though solitary, the Self is common to All Beings and is All-Inclusive... not just with other humans, but animals, nature and Mother Earth Herself.
It is necessary to see this from the perspective of Ultimate Source, beyond dualistic human consciousness of "I and Thou".... that Whole which is greater than the sum of parts and includes both "subject and object". Enlightened Vedantin Master Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj says "I Am That", meaning the subjective Consciousness "I Am" is that very screen upon which this illusion, this human play, and all its individual dramas are made manifest and become actual (for a moment in time). The world exists because I exist, and yet this is not a doctrine of separation because the same Truth applies to All... All of Us are Creator, Projector and Witness of Universal Energy, Light and Consciousness made manifest via Physical Body, Mother Nature and Planet Earth; and all of us with unique individual expressions, authentic creative abilities and something deeply personal, original to offer others. The key is to remember the reverse, that I don't exist apart from Others, from the Earth, Universe and Life Itself.
The Love, Freedom and Happiness that one gives to another is possible only when it's coming from that Individual who has given to his/her self first. If you have nothing for yourself you have nothing to give. If you don't love yourself then surely you cannot love any other! To sacrifice your self-interest for society at large, for your employer, or even for a relationship is not only to deny oneself happiness but to indirectly expect the same selfless sacrifice from others. With this philosophy, no one is happy and all of us martyrs are left with only with morbid ideas of self sacrifice, suffering and a torturous crucifixion on the Cross.
To be solitary and standing alone, being true to your Self (your True Nature: Peaceful Open Awareness, Boundless Energy, Wisdom & Love), is in the most positive sense not to be isolated, to openly include other people and general surroundings, to connect and merge with All of Life... and never leaving your "Center of Being, that which is limitless and without circumference".
Ultimately, the interdependent relationship of "self and other" in a dualistic reality experience is transcended and it could be said that neither truly exists... there is only What Is, the One All Pervading Truth of Spirit Life that makes All of This a Reality.. This Reality we call Here and Now, Existence or Beingness.
In Deep Inner Connection,
JD Zenie
It is necessary to see this from the perspective of Ultimate Source, beyond dualistic human consciousness of "I and Thou".... that Whole which is greater than the sum of parts and includes both "subject and object". Enlightened Vedantin Master Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj says "I Am That", meaning the subjective Consciousness "I Am" is that very screen upon which this illusion, this human play, and all its individual dramas are made manifest and become actual (for a moment in time). The world exists because I exist, and yet this is not a doctrine of separation because the same Truth applies to All... All of Us are Creator, Projector and Witness of Universal Energy, Light and Consciousness made manifest via Physical Body, Mother Nature and Planet Earth; and all of us with unique individual expressions, authentic creative abilities and something deeply personal, original to offer others. The key is to remember the reverse, that I don't exist apart from Others, from the Earth, Universe and Life Itself.
The Love, Freedom and Happiness that one gives to another is possible only when it's coming from that Individual who has given to his/her self first. If you have nothing for yourself you have nothing to give. If you don't love yourself then surely you cannot love any other! To sacrifice your self-interest for society at large, for your employer, or even for a relationship is not only to deny oneself happiness but to indirectly expect the same selfless sacrifice from others. With this philosophy, no one is happy and all of us martyrs are left with only with morbid ideas of self sacrifice, suffering and a torturous crucifixion on the Cross.
To be solitary and standing alone, being true to your Self (your True Nature: Peaceful Open Awareness, Boundless Energy, Wisdom & Love), is in the most positive sense not to be isolated, to openly include other people and general surroundings, to connect and merge with All of Life... and never leaving your "Center of Being, that which is limitless and without circumference".
Ultimately, the interdependent relationship of "self and other" in a dualistic reality experience is transcended and it could be said that neither truly exists... there is only What Is, the One All Pervading Truth of Spirit Life that makes All of This a Reality.. This Reality we call Here and Now, Existence or Beingness.
In Deep Inner Connection,
JD Zenie
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