One of my favourite philosophies.
The following lines are taken from Nirvana Shatakam by Adi Shankara. It attempts to describe the nature of God. If God exists, what will be his/her/it’s attributes. This also addresses the question of ‘What lies beyond all this reality?’
This uses the concept of nothingness and eternal bliss to answer such questions.
This should not be confused with nihilism.
“I am not the mind, the intellect, the ego or the memory,
I am not the ears, the skin, the nose or the eyes,
I am not space, not earth, not fire, water or wind,
I am the form of consciousness and bliss,
I am the eternal Shiva.
I am not the breath, nor the five elements,
I am not matter, nor the 5 sheaths of consciousness
Nor am I the speech, the hands, or the feet,
I am the form of consciousness and bliss,
I am the eternal Shiva.
There is no like or dislike in me, no greed or delusion,
I know not pride or jealousy,
I have no duty, no desire for wealth, lust or liberation,
I am the form of consciousness and bliss,
I am the eternal Shiva.
No virtue or vice, no pleasure or pain,
I need no mantras, no pilgrimage, no scriptures or rituals,
I am not the experienced, nor the experience itself,
I am the form of consciousness and bliss,
I am the eternal Shiva.
I have no fear of death, no caste or creed,
I have no father, no mother, for I was never born,
I am not a relative, nor a friend, nor a teacher nor a student,
I am the form of consciousness and bliss,
I am the eternal Shiva.
I am devoid of duality, my form is formlessness,
I exist everywhere, pervading all senses,
I am neither attached, neither free nor captive,
I am the form of consciousness and bliss,
I am the eternal Shiva.”
– Adi Shankara
Personally, I have never realized ‘True Nothingness’ and ‘Eternal Bliss’.
Is that possible? Even if you have broken the shackles of reality, when you think you have attained nothingness or eternal bliss, your thoughts still exist.
Sometime ago, a friend of mine pulled me into the debate of whether thoughts create the thinker or the thinker creates thoughts. The result was inconclusive.
When a life exists, it manifests in a body. The mind inside the body creates thoughts, and the thoughts in turn give an identity to the body and surroundings. It doesn’t matter what creates what. As long as there are thoughts spread out as waves, there is no true nothingness.
To me, the one who has attained true nothingness and eternal bliss will no longer be in contact with any life form.
Neither he/she will be aware of their existence as a life form.
Sources :
1. http://www.sankaracharya.org/nirvana_shatkam.php
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atma_Shatkam
Image Source :
Pradeep Punniyakotti 