Shaking The Maya Tree
If we were to shake a tree that was full of ripe oranges, we would–quite logically–expect to see oranges fall to the ground. Likewise, if we shook a tree that was loaded with ripe apples, we would witness the falling of apples. To expect something other than the fruit of each tree (perhaps coffee cups or lollipops) to fall would very soon result in our being labeled insane. With regard to the title of this article, I am going out on a limb by sharing that all that falls when the Maya (Sanskrit, loosely translated as illusion) Tree shakes must, in the absolute sense, be illusory in nature. The fruit of Maya is transient, changeful, and ultimately unreal. Some would appropriately call such dreaming.
To transition from the view (subscribed to by the vast majority of persons) that “reality” is only defined by what appears via our senses is not an easy task; and to be honest, only those rare beings who are, indeed, ripe with curiosity for Truth (captial T, as opposed to belief or opinion) will be willing to make the earnest effort to investigate the deeper nature of their Being. Until the dream of life turns challenging or outright nightmarish, it is highly unlikely that individuals will question the blind assumptions that have formed their commonly accepted definition of reality. To take a figurative step in the direction of Truth, it may help if you know the following:
When Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi (a realized sage) was questioned about the difference between Dream State and the Waking State (referred to as “reality” by the masses), he replied, “Waking is long and dream short; other than this there is no difference. Just as waking happenings seem real while awake, so do those in a dream while dreaming.”From The Law of Success by Paramahansa Yogananda: “Mind is the creator of everything.” You might think of this as the shaking of the Maya Tree. Please note that he stated everything is created by mind.Paraphrased from Vedanta, Voice of Freedom by Swami Vivekananda: Knowledge is the axe that severs the axle that joins the wheel of the Truth of our Being and the wheel of the body-mind perspective. Through knowledge of Truth we are liberated from the conditioned (and erroneous) beliefs that we are a person.Press here for link to “Life is a Dream” by Leo at actualized.org.From William Blake: “As man is, so he sees.”And finally, a photo passage from Open Secret by Wei Wu Wei:
What is the benefit of knowing this information? If your “life story” is ticking along fine, you’re almost certainly not reading this article. You’ll be apparently slaying dragons in the business world, or flying to your island home in your personal jet. If, however, you’re finding that your story has run full speed into a brick wall, it may help to know this: that what you have previously called HARD FAST REALITY is not, indeed, reality at all. It is the fruit of the Maya tree; which appears when the mind’s ability to perceive via the senses is functioning. The so-called real world (as we have assumed it to be) recedes from waking state to dream state (a more ephemeral dream world), and is totally absent in deep sleep, which is without objects, time, and space.
The real Self is That by which the apparent world is co-created and known. So what of “us” is real–for it certainly seems that we exist? Consciousness–independent of form. Please contemplate this: Can anything be known–an object, an event, even a person (including your own body-mind)–without the presence of Conscousness or a Knower? If you believe this possible, how could such ever be proven so? Is that not, in fact, like trying to know if the refrigerator light remains on when the door is closed? A tree in the forest that supposedly falls unwitnessed, neither exists, falls, or makes a sound; for such requires an observer to co-create the event and report its occurrence.
I, known in the apparent world as Art, am intuitively dictating this article to my representative form from the other side of the bridge of transition. Weird? Okay–define and label if you must; but to me what’s really strange is to blindly accept the assumption that we could ever be as finite and small as the name and form for which most persons settle. We are so much more. We are Divine Spirit, dreaming our character’s role of personhood. To know this now–while living–places one in the position of a jivanmukta (one who has attained liberation while living). If you’re tired of suffering the world of form, please come join me on the other side of the bridge. The view is beautiful–and eternal. You are not who you think you are–never have been. You can only be what you are in reality—Spirit.
Dare to dream (and care for one another).
With heartfelt regards,
Art
Copyright © – 2021 – R. Arthur Russell
P.S. Please share this article if you enjoyed it. If you’d like to view my latest book (This Taste of Flesh and Bones–released September 8, 2020), press here. May it help you in your spiritual journey.
“Thank You” & “Note to Publishers”
