*This post references the destruction operator as part of the three operating forces of nature: creation, maintenance, and destruction.
Often when the destruction operator comes, it can be challenging because things we love and hold dear are ripped away. But how did we not know that these things were blocking our evolution? Why can't we see it?
The concept of Maya
Simply put, this world is Maya. Maya has often been translated as "illusion," but a more accurate definition would be "appearance," specifically, "things are not as they appear."
For example, every day, we see the sun rise and set. It indeed is real, but things are not as they appear. The sun does not rise or set. We are spinning, giving credence to the rising and setting sun illusion. In the same respect, what we see in this world may not be what is happening. (Remember, all that is ever happening is evolution).
Knowing that our awareness of the nature of reality is limited by our human perception, the ensuing disintegration from the destruction operator may not make sense.
Yet it is still painful, causing discomfort and agitation through our nervous system.
But what if we reframed the way we looked at the destruction operator? We would start to see that he appears in areas of our life where we're gripping too tightly. (And by "he," I'm referring to Shiva, the Hindu Deity who is the personification of the Destruction Operator).
A peculiar phenomenon
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's teacher, Guru Dev, witnessed a peculiar phenomenon while he lived in silence in the forests of Northern India for 40 years. At the time, there was an underground market for selling monkeys. Poachers would come into the woods to trap, domesticate, and sell them as pets to wealthy families in the west.
The poachers trapped the monkeys by digging little holes in the ground and filling them with candy and sweets. They would then put a covering over the holes that had a small opening in the center, just big enough for the monkeys to fit their hands through. The monkeys would find the holes, stick their hands down, and grab a fistful of sweet treats. But the holes were not big enough for the monkeys to lift their hands out while their fists were full of goodies.
So what did the monkeys do? They stayed stuck, refusing to let go of their handful of sweets.
Had the monkeys let go, they would have easily been able to free themselves by squeezing their empty hands back up through the holes. But they wouldn't let go, and as a result, they were trapped and taken captive.
Guru Dev observed that a similar nature of grasping and clinging is present in humans, similarly leading to being caught in the storm of destruction.
And just like in the scenario with the monkeys, when we let go, we may not experience our preference, but we'll certainly miss the wrath of the destruction operator.
The illusion of separation
All attempts at grasping and clinging boil down to the same root - the illusion of separateness. I am this, and that thing over is that. I don't have that, but I want it; therefore, I am not complete/happy/fulfilled without it. This premise is the basis of all humankind's suffering - the illusion of duality.
In truth, all is One, but that Oneness has bifurcated into different forms and phenomena, making up what we now know to be the relative world - meaning I see, know, and understand you based on your relation to me.
But just as the sun doesn't rise and set, there is no separation between you and me. What we see is only an appearance and is not indicative of the true nature of reality.
So how does this apply to us as meditators?
When we touch upon the place of pure Being during our 20-minute twice daily practice, we come into contact with that One underlying field, the One existence from which the relative world has sprung.
When we transcend, we do not contact our own patch of bliss. It is literally the One underlying field itself. The place the great Rishis experienced in their most profound meditations is the same place that you and I experience when we meditate.
As we continue our practice day after day, year after year, this place of Being starts to homogenize with our individual selves. Only from here can we even begin to understand the true nature of reality, regardless of form or shape.
Opmerkingen