THE LIFE FORCE AND THE UNMANIFEST

I was astounded to find this quote today in the Ultimate Medicine, which are talks by Nisargadatta in the year before his death.  These are exactly words that describe my own experiences, but expressed in a different way. I will not quote the exact page because you need to read that book for yourself.  You can download it from wearesentience.com, but I highly recommend that you buy it.

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Without the vital breath, Ishwara, or God, has no soul; and without God (consciousness), the vital breath has no existence.  Whenever man limits his consciousness to body and mind, he is called Jiva.  Otherwise he is absolutely independent of these two, which are acting and reacting (according to the world).  Consciousness, which expresses itself in various shapes and forms, is all one; whether be an insect, a big bore, or a big man, there is no difference whatsoever.

Without the vital force, nobody can worship God.  Actually, it is the vital breath, the life force which is worshiping God.  And without God, there is no existence of the vital breath.  And without the vital breath there is no expression to God.  Without this vital force can there even be a reference to God?

When this life force seeks the consciousness as God itself, only then dawns the light of consciousness with which the life force works and achieves what it wants to achieve—that is, oneness with God.  Even if you take the life force as God itself, the result will be the same, because the working principle is the life force.  The consciousness is merely the witnessing process.

Consciousness and life force are two components, inextricably woven together, of one principle.  But consciousness is only the witnessing principle or the static aspect; the dynamic aspect or the working principle is the life force.  Once you consider the life force as God itself, then you raise the life force to a status enabling it, together with consciousness, to give you an understanding of the working of the whole principal.  But if you demote that life principle to mere self identification with the body, then the life principle is not given the status which enables it to unfold itself.  It depends entirely on you.  If I identify this life principle with my body, then I make it work according to the body.  But if I raise it to a godly status, then that life principle will unfold itself and give me the necessary spiritual knowledge.

This physical body, this apparatus, is generally regarded very highly.  But can the body, however good, however pure, be as pure as the life force?  If you make a friend of this life force—that is, if you identify yourself not with the body but with this life force—then will one need help from any other source; that is, from any source other than the Life force?  Is there anything more essential than this Life force?  If you have a choice by which you could have the life force or anything else, is there anything else you would give preference to over the life force?

Would you like to ask some questions?  Who is so authorized to ask the deepest questions?

It is that one who has made deep friendship with the life force and this consciousness, who realizes the importance of the life force to the extent he loves the life force as himself and not his identification with the body.  Someone who has this love that has not identified himself with the body, he has conquered everything, and only such a person is eligible to ask (the deepest spiritual) questions.

Union with this life force is in no way different from the love for the life force, the companionship with the life force; that is, this unity is love.  Life force, love and consciousness are all one in essence.

By all means use your body to work in your world but understand what it is.  The body is only an instrument to be used: you are not the body.  You are the everlasting, timeless, spaceless, principle which gives sentience to the body.  This is the most secret but the simplest principle as far as spiritual knowledge is concerned.

I will give you a specific instance.  In one who has understood the principle and is one with the life force, when this life force is ready to leave the body, what will be his reaction?  Apparently, that will be the moment of highest ecstasy.  Why is this?  Because what is manifest is now going to be unmanifest (Thus going totally beyond the pale of life, to that which observes and from whom everything emerges).

Your constant companion is this life force, without which nothing can happen.  When the  life force comes into contact with the consciousness, this combination assumes the status of the highest God.  For anyone who is identified himself not with the body, but with this life force, can there be any need for anything else from any source?