Sage Dattatreya
The sense of duality persists because there is the conviction of the purposefulness of the objective world. But such purposefulness and even durability is experienced even in dreams. The difference between dreams and the wakeful state lies in the fact that in the waking state the dream is determined to be false, whereas in the dream the waking state is not so determined. Therefore the waking state is universally taken to be real. But this is wrong. For do you not experience the same extent of permanency and purposefulness in dreams as in the wakeful state? Wakeful consciousness does not intervene in dreams nor does dream-consciousness intervene in the wakeful state, while the two factors - enduring nature and purposefulness - are common to both. Examine you past dreams and past waking experiences in the light of these facts and see for yourself.
Again, note the appearance of reality in magical phenomena and the seemingly purposeful actions of magical creations. Does reality rest on the slender basis of such appearances? The confusion is due to want of discrimination between the real and the unreal among ignorant folk. Ignorantly indeed do they say that the wakeful universe is real. Reality must endure forever and ever. Consciousness either 'is' or 'is not'. In the former case, it is obvious and in the latter it is implied, for the conception of its absence implies consciousness (Therefore consciousness cannot be established to be transitory. It is permanent and therefore real.)
Insentient matter is diverse in nature and its impermanency obvious. For, one object excludes all others. But can you conceive the absence of consciousness anywhere or at any time? If you say that there is no awareness in your sleep, tell me how you know that period or again how you know that you were not aware. If absolutely unaware, you would not now be able to say 'I was not aware'. How was this unawareness illumined for you? Therefore you cannot escape the conclusion that there must be consciousness even to know its unawareness also. So there is no moment when consciousness is not.
Again, note the appearance of reality in magical phenomena and the seemingly purposeful actions of magical creations. Does reality rest on the slender basis of such appearances? The confusion is due to want of discrimination between the real and the unreal among ignorant folk. Ignorantly indeed do they say that the wakeful universe is real. Reality must endure forever and ever. Consciousness either 'is' or 'is not'. In the former case, it is obvious and in the latter it is implied, for the conception of its absence implies consciousness (Therefore consciousness cannot be established to be transitory. It is permanent and therefore real.)
Insentient matter is diverse in nature and its impermanency obvious. For, one object excludes all others. But can you conceive the absence of consciousness anywhere or at any time? If you say that there is no awareness in your sleep, tell me how you know that period or again how you know that you were not aware. If absolutely unaware, you would not now be able to say 'I was not aware'. How was this unawareness illumined for you? Therefore you cannot escape the conclusion that there must be consciousness even to know its unawareness also. So there is no moment when consciousness is not.
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