A famous phrase in the Indic scriptures, “Neti, Neti, Neti,” means “Not this, not this, not this.” Whatever the mind perceives is nothing; it is just an appearance revealed by the five senses. Beyond that is who you are—that third eye which can perceive beyond what the senses reveal. You are not the body, mind, or soul—you, as the spirit, are beyond everything.
Reality means a state of observation as they are. We measure reality according to what we perceive through our mental conditioning, which is inaccurate as it changes from one person to another in time. Perceptual reality via our senses is what we individually construct through our mind, which response to external stimuli processed by our brain to create our personal experiences of the world.
We also have a scientific reality based on scientific experimentation and empirical evidence. At the subatomic level, Quantum Mechanics states that reality is an undivided wholeness, a quantum wave and particle duality of what we observe.
The non-dualistic philosophy professes no creator nor creation in the ultimate reality. Every formation appears through natural processes and is considered interconnected, being a part of a single, infinite, eternal source that is the final truth. There is no universe; all that is there is unconditional and unchanging ever-expanding power, which includes unlimited space and time Advaita Vedanta declares as “Brahman”.
Quantum physics today summarizes the same concept as energy, which is the power that enables growth and expansion. Both agree that reality is an undivided wholeness of the universe where everything temporarily exists. Hence, energy is the ability to vibrate at different frequencies, from which everything appears and disappears.
The Persona (meaning a false mask in Greek) creates reality for our minds to experience what we call the universe, along with what life is all about, while it exists under our observation. It exists in different perspectives because of what we perceive. Otherwise, it is NOT THIS in its actual reality; it is only an appearance provided by the supreme ability of energy, which we call awareness.
In the final truth or reality, there is no destiny or free will, no creation or destruction, no “me” or “mine,” no journey to achieve anything but only the presence of nothing in the nothingness of this universe, from which we appear to disappear confined within space and time. All that persists in this nothingness (Shunyata) is energy vibrating in different frequencies that stay forever.
The concept of nothing is not genuinely empty because the infinite space of nothing, which we call the universe, will always express and symbolize something in some kind of structure and activity in a sea of fluctuating waves and particles of energy. Hence, the ultimate truth of everything that we now know is all that exists is energy. The rest are Maya or illusions created by our minds.
Therefore, ‘who you are’ in actuality and authenticity is that supreme ability of energy, the spirit in that beingness going through human experiences. We refer to the same as Parabrahman (spiritual awareness), Parmeshwar(beyond god), Par-atma(beyond consciousness)—where “par” stands for beyond – the cause and effect of everything that appears to disappear, binding us to everything in Param-artha, which means the ultimate reality. And, ‘what you are’ is how you temporarily exist to appear in body, mind and an individualized soul in limited space and time.
Spiritual awareness is also a part of nothing because it is unaware of itself. It is that aware energy that spontaneously creates the intelligence in living creatures intuitively and instinctively from which you explore and discover all that you know and will know about the self and the universe in the future through your insight. This supreme energy ability is embedded in every living organism, and the highest intensity, signified by its suffix “-ness,” is in humans. The Indic scriptures to correlate the said provided four great sayings, “Mahavakyas,” elaborating:
- “Prajnanam Brahma” – Intelligence/ Pure Consciousness is Divine.
- “Ayam Atman Brahma” – The soul or pure consciousness is at par with that divine energy.
- “Tat Tvam Asi” – Thou Art That – you are that divine energy embedded in a human brain.
- “Aham Brahmasmi” – You are that aware, conscious energy from which everything emerges in your mind.
In ultimate truth or reality, universal aware energy is the supreme ability from which our conscious minds can experience our thoughts, deeds, and actions while we are alive. Enlightenment is to experience and realize there is no self to realize but selflessness—to understand you are that aware energy which vibrates cyclically to create, destroy and recreate in different formations, disorderly moving in entropy as given in The Second Law of Thermodynamics.
This includes everything energy creates from its interchangeable abilities, coming to a still in sub-zero temperature as explained by the Third Law of Thermodynamics, which we can see from the stalagmite of Lord Shiva in the temple of Amarnath, Kashmir in India.
You are not that observer in body and mind but the observation (aware energy), which can make your alert mind aware and, if the mind is attentive, conscious to experience super consciously via the soul to witness the inner and outer in non-duality. Meaning while witnessing the mind, there is no witness-er. There is only the presence of the witness (awareness) in pure consciousness.
Otherwise, consciously, the mind chooses relatively in thoughts one out of the two in duality to experience this or that of anything in everything that the mind perceives. Finally, in sub or lower consciousness, the mind functions in auto-mode through its memory from past awareness, projecting its thoughts into the future.
Therefore, when one asks, “Where has that ‘me’ come from?” it dissolves into awareness, revealing that the ‘me’ originates from totality as part of the ‘divine suggestion.’ Awareness generates consciousness, which, in turn, in dual thoughts, creates ego-consciousness. In the final truth, this very awareness will annihilate the ego through Self-enquiry.