Being What Is Sensed

Being What Is Sensed

The enigma that you’re trying to fathom is one of the fundamental paradoxes of Advaita. It is, in a sense, counter-intuitive; so—as they say—it cannot be approached by the logic of the mind, alone. One must begin with the recognition that the definition of the Absolute is that it is all-inclusive.

Therefore, by its nature, it is the observer, the observing and the observed. For the sake of linguistic communication, we break it up into categories based on their seeminglydifferent appearances: subject/verb/object; “I” (That) “love” (That) “you” (That). “All that is,” is taking the form of “I,” the form of “loving,” and the form of “you.” Leo, then, is presenting you with some examples of this phenomena, though (you will notice) it is a very subtle point. For instance, his example where “knowing” is the activity. “You”—as the Absolute—cannot know of anything which is not (also) the Absolute. So, when “you” are aware of the Absolute, it is only the Absolute being aware of itself. This is why the “illusory me” (as you put it) does not know that there “is no ‘me’.” What does know that there is no ‘me’ (because what we consider to be the ‘me’ is actually the Absolute) is no longer imagined to be the ‘me’ (because the ‘me’ dissolves into the Absolute, when its recognized that the Absolute is the essence of all that is). So, the ‘me’ does not have an “experience” of knowing the Absolute. It is only when the ‘me’ is realized to be the Absolute that the Absolute will then be known.

You need to contemplate this conundrum, so that this fundamental aspect of non-duality is thoroughly clear in present awareness. It cannot, otherwise, be presented in a linear-logical manner. Let go of the idea that yours (or any “other”) is a separate form—and see what develops.