And Now, And Here-第61章

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as　man　goes　on　being　knowledgeable　of　many　things；　he　has　to　remain　equally　ignorant　of　many　others。

now；　for　example；　a　scientist　is　quite　a　knowledgeable　person；　but　if　he　is　a　chemist　he　will　know　nothing　about　physics；　if　he　is　a　mathematician　he　will　know　nothing　about　chemistry。

if　he　wants　to　know　a　great　deal　about　mathematics；　he　will　have　to　be　content　with　not　knowing　about　many　other　things。

he　will　have　to　make　this　choice。

if　you　want　to　be　an　expert　in　a　particular　field；　you　will　have　to　have　the　courage　to　remain　ignorant　about　many　other　things。

thats　why　mahavira　and　buddha　were　not　men　of　knowledge　in　this　sense。

they　did　not　have　any　specialized　knowledge；　they　were　not　experts　in　any　field。

hence；　on　the　one　hand　we　say　mahavira　was　omniscient；　but　the　fact　is　he　didnt　even　know　how　to　fix　a　puncture　in　a　bicycle　tire。

he　was　not　a　specialist。

one　who　needs　to　know　how　to　fix　a　puncture　in　a　bicycle　tire　will　have　to　keep　himself　from　knowing　about　many　other　things。

his　consciousness　will　have　to　bee　object…centered　and　allow　many　things　to　be　left　in　the　dark。

the　very　meaning　of　science　is　knowing　more　and　more　about　less　and　less。

as　the　amount　of　knowledge　grows；　the　area　of　knowledge　bees　more　and　more　narrow。

finally；　only　one　point　remains　to　be　known　and　the　rest　of　the　areas　are　filled　with　ignorance。

thats　the　reason　a　scientist　who　may　be　able　to　produce　a　hydrogen　bomb　can　be　easily　fooled　by　an　ordinary　shopkeeper　……　because　whatsoever　he　knows　is　in　such　a　limited　sphere　that　he　knows　nothing　about　the　rest。

about　the　rest　he　is　as　dull　as　a　villager；　even　worse。

a　villager　knows　about　a　good　many　things；　he　is　not　a　specialist。

thats　why　an　old…fashioned　man　knows　about　many　things　while　a　modern　man　does　not。

the　modern　man　has　had　to　make　a　choice。

in　order　to　know　a　lot　about　one　thing　he　has　had　to　give　up　knowing　about　many　other　things。

concentration　is　bound　to　end　up　like　this。

one　particular　object　will　gain　importance　while　all　remaining　objects　will　fall　into　neglect。

yet　another　result　of　concentration　is　that　the　more　an　object　grows　in　importance；　the　more　the　one　who　knows　about　it　bees　secondary。

a　scientist　knows　a　great　deal；　but　he　has　no　knowledge　of　the　knower；　of　the　knowing　element　within　himself。

he　bees　object…centered。

if　you　ask　him　about　an　object　he　will　explain　it　to　you；　but　if　you　ask　him　to　say　something　about　himself；　you　will　often　times　find　him　at　a　loss。

there　is　an　interesting　episode　in　the　life　of　edison；　who　made　a　thousand　discoveries。

perhaps　no　one　else　has　made　so　many　discoveries。

in　the　first　world　war；　when　rationing　was　introduced　in　america；　edison　had　to　bring　his　ration　card　to　the　shop　and　stand　in　the　queue　as　well。

when　his　name；　thomas　edison；　was　called　out；　he　looked　around　with　indifference；　as　if　someone　elses　name　was　being　called。

somebody　in　the　queue　happened　to　recognize　him。

he　came　up　to　him　and　said。

〃pardon　me；　i　have　seen　your　photograph　in　the　newspapers。

you　yourself　seem　to　be　edison。

〃　

edison　gave　a　start。

he　thanked　the　man　for　reminding　him　who　he　was。

he　said；　〃in　the　last　thirty　years　i　have　had　little　free　time　or　leisure　to　meet　myself。

〃　for　thirty　years　this　man　had　been　so　busy　in　his　laboratory　that　he　had　no　time　for　himself。

he　was　such　an　important　figure　that　in　thirty　years　no　one　had　ever　called　him　by　his　given　name。

obviously；　he　had　forgotten　it。

concentration　happens　when　the　arrow　of　consciousness　strikes　an　object　with　great　intensity。

with　that；　however；　the　entire　world；　including　ones　own　self；　falls　into　darkness。

in　the　ultimate　state　that　i　am　speaking　to　you　about　the　particular　object　will　have　vanished；　instead；　everything　will　be　illuminated；　including　yourself；　including　that　which　you　are。

it　will　be　an　unfocused　light。

instead　of　calling　it　light；　we　should　rather　call　it　luminosity。

light　and　luminosity　are　not　synonymous；　there　is　a　slight　distinction　between　the　two。

what　appears　with　the　sunrise　is　light；　but　when　the　night　is　past　and　the　sun　is　yet　to　rise；　what　then　appears　is　luminosity。

it　is　unfocused；　uncentered；　just　luminosity。

so；　god　is　just　luminosity　……　or；　luminosity　is　the　state　of　ultimate　awakening。

exactly　opposite　to　this　is　the　state　of　darkness　or　of　dreamless　sleep。

lets　put　it　this　way。

in　the　state　of　total　awareness　neither　the　subject　nor　the　object　remains。

what　remains　is　just　infinite　luminosity。

in　a　manner　of　speaking；　this　luminosity　is　a　state　of　knowing　all；　but　in　another　sense；　it　is　a　state　of　knowing　nothing　at　all。

it　is　all…knowing；　because　now　nothing　remains　that　falls　outside　the　radius　of　its　light。

and　it　knows　nothing；　because　now　there　is　nothing　left　which　needs　to　be　known。

if　one　attempts　to　know　something　in　particular；　many　other　things　will　obviously　be　left　unknown。

so　this　is　not　the　kind　of　knowledge　that　is　acquired　by　a　scientist；　it　is　knowledge　in　the　sense　a　poet　is　known　to　have　it。

the　second　mon　state　of　awareness　is　that　of　concentration；　where　you　know　about　one　thing　and　forget　about　all　the　rest；　including　yourself。

and　there　is　yet　another　state　which　es　before　this。

it　is　the　primary　state　in　which　you　know　neither　the　object　nor　yourself。

it　is　the　state　of　total　darkness。

neither　do　you　know　about　anything　……　it　is　not　even　concentration；　nor　do　you　know　about　everything　……　it　is　not　even　awareness。

nor　do　you　know　yourself。

the　knowing　is　still　in　the　embryo　state。

it　is　still　in　seed　form；　it　is　still　unmanifest；　hidden　in　the　roots。

so　there　is　sushupti；　the　state　of　dreamless　sleep；　and　there　is　the　state　of　total　awareness。

in　between　these　infinite　points　of　attention　we　oscillate。

when　you　are　aware　in　the　day；　the　pendulum　of　your　attention　swings　a　little　towards　awareness。

at　night；　when　you　are　asleep；　it　swings　towards　sushupti。

the　fact　is；　in　sleep　we　e　nearer　to　matter。

when　we　are　awake　we　e　closer　to　the　divine；　just　a　little　closer。

we　swing　towards　god。

should　we　continue　to　lean　towards　awareness　like　this；　should　this　journey　continue；　then　a　moment　es　when　even　in　sleep　you　are　not　really　pletely　asleep。

then　you　begin　to　remain　aware　even　in　your　sleep。

then　sleep　bees　merely　a　physical　relaxation；　not　a　state　of　spiritual　darkness。

then　you　sleep　and　also　remain　aware　of　the　fact　that　you　are　asleep。

you　turn　in　your　sleep　and　know　that　you　are　doing　so。

then　the　current　of　awareness　keeps　flowing　within。

the　reverse　happens　too。

for　example；　a　man　falls　into　a　a　or　bees　unconscious　or　gets　drunk。

in　all　these　cases　the　man　is　unaware　of　what　is　going　on　outside　or　inside　himself。

the　knower；　as　well　as　that　which　is　to　be　known；　are　both　lost；　lost　in　darkness。

similarly；　both　disappear　in　the　state　of　ultimate　consciousness　as　well；　but　they　disappear　in　infinite　light。

if　you　understand　what　i　am　saying；　then；　in　brief；　it　means　that　the　journey　of　attention　extends　from　total　sleep　to　total　awareness。

in　between；　it　is　divided　at　many　levels。

a　tree　knows　something　too。

for　a　long　time　we　had　no　knowledge　of　this　fact。

when　some　people　brought　this　to　our　attention　for　the　first　time；　it　seemed　as　if　they　were　talking　fiction；　what　they　said　sounded　like　a　story　from　the　puranas。

but　now；　even　scientists　are　providing　proof　that　a　tree　knows　as　well；　that　a　tree　listens　too。

the　bark　of　some　trees　also　has　eyes　……　not　like　ours　of　course；　but　nevertheless；　trees　have　the　ability　to　see；　to　listen；　to　experience。

recently；　i　was　reading　about　some　experiments　conducted　at　the　de　la　warr　laboratory　of　oxford　university。

through　scientific　means　they　have　brought　certain　astonishing　experiences　to　our　attention。

one　of　the　most　amazing　experiences　was　that　seeds　from　one　packet　were　divided　equally　and　sown　in　two　separate　flower　pots。

both　pots　were　given　equal　care　and　attention。

then　a　holy　man；　a　monk；　was　asked　to　pray　before　one　of　the　two　pots　so　its　seeds　should　sprout　early；　so　they　should　bear　flowers　and　fruit　and　attain　to　their　ultimate　potential。

the　same　prayer　was　not　made　before　the　second　pot。

to　everyones　great　surprise　the　seeds　in　the　other　pot　sprouted　very　late　in　spite　of　the　fact　that　all　arrangements　for　both　pots　were　the　same；　there　was　not　the　slightest　difference。

the　gardeners　were　neither　informed　of　the　difference　nor　given　any　instructions　to　treat　them　differently。

nevertheless；　the　pot　which　had　been　prayed　over　looked　very　distinguished。

the　seeds　in　it　grew　early；　bore　flowers　and　fruit　early。

all　its　seeds　sprouted；　while　all　the　seeds　of　the　other　pot　did　not。

whatever　seeds　grew　in　the　second　pot　took　the　normal　time；　their　growth　was　slower。

and　there　was　a　marked　difference　in　the　quality　of　flowers　and　fruit。

this　experiment　and　many　others　were　conducted　in　this　laboratory；　and　to　everyones　surprise　it　was　felt　that　plants　are　able　to　sense　prayer　too；　that　they　are　receptive　to　prayer　too。

an　even　more　surprising　experiment　took　place