Photo by Vernon Barnes
“This is ‘nivartadvam.’ Whatever we experience, transcend it until there is nothing more to transcend. Then transcend that nothingness and be active again. Transcend dynamism, then transcend silence. Then, when silence and dynamism are co-existing, transcend that. Go beyond CC, then go beyond GC, and UC, until we are beyond all states.”
– Maharishi Mahesh Yogi
CC: Cosmic Consciousness or Self Realization
GC: God Consciousness
UC: Unity Consciousness
Beyond Unity is Brahman, which is beyond all states (or stages) of consciousness as it is beyond consciousness.
And beyond Brahman is ParaBrahman or pure Divinity.
And each of these is brought down into the life, into activity, to live fully.
Davidya
Last Updated on December 12, 2024 by Davidya
Beautiful picture. What this man did for the world is beyond comprehension.
Agreed, Kjetil. The picture is from the period where I met him. Saw him a few months after this again.
This is a man who worked 20+ hours a day for 50 years to help change the tide. Over 10 million people learned to transcend through his efforts. He distilled the Vedic wisdom for Western ears – few have had his depth of understanding. He cognized the structure of the Veda. And he offered everything back to his teacher. He finally stopped when he saw that many were awakening at last. Many of those have moved deeper, confirming his insights.
Maybe I can obtain CC in this life.
Hi Carl
Well, the trick is, you don’t obtain it. CC is waking up from being a me. It’s waking up to who we already are, underneath the mind’s ideas of it. That shift is managed by grace, when it’s the best time for the whole, so we have no control over the when.
However, spiritual practices and grounding in the world help us prepare the ground so that when grace happens, the opening can be sustained.
Many long-term meditators are quite ripe. However, they rarely shift on their own. Usually, grace comes in the form of a catalyst – often someone awake we resonate with. The awakeness in them stirs the awakeness in ourselves. Pop! So we can increase our “opportunities” by spending time around the awake, in whatever form that’s available to you.
Hi David, thank you for all your inspiring posts, it is very dear to my heart to see this beautiful picture of Maharishi
🙏
Another article on this topic:
https://davidya.ca/2018/11/04/to-retire/
Thank you David, I read the second article and it defenitely rings a bell, I will follow the sound of that bell
Silence is golden!
Seriously, as some have discussed recently, this quote from Maharishi points to the evolution of his description of Brahman. In the early days, if he talked about it at all, it was as if to say that “Brahman Consciousness” was the fullest value in the sub-stages of Unity Consciousness. Later, his characterization evolved to “beyond all states” as quoted above. Now we know, by direct experience, that Brahman is beyond even Unity Consciousness. Even the word “beyond” is inadequate, as I’m sure Maharishi realized, but it’s the best we can do with the available vocabulary.
Silence is alive! 🙂
Right. And Maharishi was aware of the full range, bringing it out gradually as it was unfolding for people. ParaBrahman didn’t really start showing up until a decade ago.
But the 7 stages model comes from sage Vasishtha, who we know also described group practice of yogic flying, % of a population meditating, and other such things that Maharishi developed.
And agreed. Some teachers avoid talking about Brahman beforehand as it doesn’t sound good to a mind. Heck, I had someone tell me that waking up sounded sad. 😇
“And he offered everything back to his teacher.”
When asked if Christ would return, I am told that Maharishi said, “He already has.”
Hey TO
Knowing the context of this is useful. When teachers speak, often they’re speaking to the audience at large. However, with Q&A’s, sometimes they’re speaking to the specific person.
In a broader sense, he never left. Similarly, the sages of the tradition that are named in the guru puja are also always present. They are alive in cosmic memory. Christ is alive in cosmic form.