Map of a Human Being
The World
Maya
18,000 Universes
Creation as University (Soul)
Maya
Maya is a Sanskrit word referring to the nature of the creation. It is generally used here to mean illusion. This is one of those words important enough to become part of our vocabulary. It is how we perceive the world, not the world itself. Even science can now show us that the world of form is made up of many layers: the macro scale and deeper still, the atomic structure - atoms (tiny specs of energy) spinning around a nucleus of energy at the speed of light. I call this the electromagnetic fiction, because what we now see as a tree, a body, or a house, is really this atomic structure masquerading as forms. Add to that our perception of these forms seen through our karma (opinions, race, culture, class, prejudices, poverty, misunderstandings, wealth, desires, etc.,) and who could ever call that objective perception, or seeing the world as it really is? Objective perception has become for me, God's point of view.
Discussion:
I bought a rundown house in one of the poorer towns of southeastern Pennsylvania. I've since renovated it and for me it is a great place.
Now someone living in one of the wealthiest neighborhoods, just 20 miles away, would be depressed if they made some bad investments, lost their wealth and were forced to live in my house, even in its renovated state. This exact house located in their neighborhood would be many times its value, and so they would not feel so bad if it were over there. Now it is made of the same materials that many other houses are made of, which are just variations of mud! (It is also being constantly eaten by the same creatures!) Wood-mud, stone-mud, plastic-mud, marble-mud, there is no material on Earth that didn’t come from basically, mud! Can we even imagine that a God would have any value judgment of this kind? And yet some might even think that God was punishing them if they fell on hard times. Has God agreed to take care of our needs, our wants, or both, or neither?
It is true that many people in the world have received an immense bounty of material goods, and some have received little. Once these conditions happen to us we get used to them, and in fact equate them with life itself. But the materially wealthy person could be living a deluded life and the other could have divine wisdom. And of course, the materially wealthy person could also attain divine wisdom, while the materially deprived person could also be deluded. (The poor and the rich boast about their ‘exalted states!’) God does not play favorites, but what state of being is preferable to God, because that is ultimately preferable to us?
It is really hard to see through the world we are in, lift its veil, as it were. I remember reading Carlos Castenada years ago and in one of his books he talked about 'stopping the world.' I thought that was an interesting concept. Now, I realize, you cannot stop the world outside yourself, but to some extent you can stop it inside yourself. Fasting is one way of doing this. It stops our routine, sets an intention in us, often to the annoyance of the mind, presenting to us what we have gotten into since the last time we questioned our day. The fast of Ramadan goes for 30 days, eating and drinking only between sunset and sunrise. It is an annual fast, and it can act as a course correction. It shows us everything we have been up to for the year. That is if we are paying the right kind of attention.
The point of all this is to suggest that most of us have a hard time seeing things as they really are. I know it is favorable to have a nice house in a decent neighborhood, that is not the point, it is what all these worldly objects and situations do to our state of being that is the concern. Ultimately the pursuit and attainment of permanent happiness cannot be contingent on the mud of this world; but if we do connect it to that, that is the point at which we become subject to pleasure and suffering, praise and blame. This, I believe, is what has driven Western society to an obsessive life of acquisition. Had our religions, disciplines, philosophies, education, informed us sufficiently, we would have restrained this wild beast to some extent, using wisdom to guide our lives instead of economics. With all the factors of the 21st century coming upon us: global warming/climate change, water resources, peak oil, over-population, food distribution, etc., it is as if the natural world is telling us to assess our lives from a deeper perspective than an economics/acquisition position.
18,000 Universes
The statement, 18,000 universes, is a way of illustrating the vastness of creation. Nevertheless, Bawa Muhaiyaddeen insists that all these universes are compressed within a human being. The wisdom traditions illustrate that what is manifest outside is also inside us in a kind of shadow form. Because the Creator has also placed Itself inside every human life - every human life contains all of everything, including the faculty to experience this.
Creation as University (Soul)
In some traditions there is a way of looking at the natural creation so that it is understood as the ‘verses of the divine.’
Great teachers throughout time have used analogies from nature to share wisdom with their listeners. Within the flora and fauna positive and negative traits are demonstrated. Contemplating and internalizing these can hone our humanity.
Discussion:
In my 6 1/2 years with Bawa Muhaiyaddeen I heard him tell thousands of analogies that were applicable to our behavior using examples from the creation about us. And although many of these reflected the negative traits of animals, Bawa was in no way anti-animal. He often said their connection to God was direct, although limited. His point was that humans do not need to behave with animal qualities, that is the point, as humans we are expected to live with higher consciousness. In fact he said that if a person could do as much duty as a single cow, that person would be exalted.
One of the benefits of this teaching style was its indirectness. It allowed each listener to learn from the example according to their level of wisdom. In that way everyone received something. I did see one guy push Bawa once though, refusing to accept an answer to a question using an analogy. He wanted a ‘straight answer’ as he called it. Bawa told him that at this time it was all he had to offer, and the visitor got up and sat towards the back of the room. Personally I liked this style of teaching, but clearly it was not for everyone. I also see now that revealing the true nature of things can be quite frightening to some people. After all it is hoped that these insights will be applied to our lives. That is going to require changing. The psychology of change is a very delicate thing. The analogies help us to absorb the new awareness with the faculties we have right now at our own pace. That way, I believe, we are not going to get overwhelmed.
The book My Love You My Children: 101 Stories for Children of All Ages (Fellowship Press) contains this essential part of the core teachings. See Map bookstore. Or (Google books)
