On Oneness - why can't we accept it -Part 3

No matter how many examples are given, no matter in how many different ways this Truth is repeated over and over again by different Masters from times immemorial, we still can't accept that we are one -WE ALL ARE ONE, encompassing the entire universe. Even after exhaustive inquiry into the nature of things, we may come to intellectually understand that we are one, but since we lack experiential understanding, we struggle to accept this.

Listed below are some thoughts on this struggle. What are the practical difficulties that we face in bringing about this acceptance?

The God and the Devil:

Most of us are convinced that there is only one God. However, our religions talk about the eternal struggle between good and evil and how God, who is all good, fights and conquers the demons / rakshasa / satan etc, who is evil incarnate. So automatically, there comes this mental image (at least I had this for a long time, thanks to all the pauranic movies and serials that I saw). God is a separate entity riding His vehicle of choice, weilding exotic weapons and rushing in to fight the evil rakshasa who is wrecking havoc all around. As always, God triumphs and everyone sings His praise while He smiles benevolently and dispenses blessings. There are also beliefs about how the Satan is always lurking around, tempting us to commit sins, thereby condemning us to eternal hell / damnation and only by worshiping God can we escape from Satan's evil ways. 

Having grown up with these kind of beliefs, it is but natural to see God as all that is good, and all that is bad / evil as not God. But, if there can be only one creator, then isn't obvious that it is the same creator who has created both good and evil? If we think of rakhsas and satans as not God, then there must exist another creator who has created them -which is completely oxymoronic.

The God and Devil in our daily lives:

Let us extend the concept of good and evil in our everyday lives. We come across good and bad in equal measure. That is the nature of this creation. For every kind hearted soul we meet, we also meet a mean hearted one. For every selfless person, we see a selfish one. Rapists, serial killers, terrorists, maniacs, murderers -they all are a part of our world too.

While it is so very easy to embrace the good as a part of us, we can never bring ourselves to even think about the evil ones - let alone think of them as a part of us. It is so easy to look at the beautiful nature and feel one with it, but look at the dirty sewage -can we ever feel one with it?

Why look outside, let us look within us. We are proud of our intelligence, beauty, fitness, perseverance, knowledge, kindness, fairness etc. But how do we feel about our selfishness, our laziness, our meanness, our greed, jealousy, hatred and so on? We are a mix of all that is good and bad. 

God and devil live within us as us. This life is nothing but a choice of what we choose to experience -the divine in us or the devil in us. Some choose divine, some lean towards the devil -but it is the same supreme power that has created both the divine and devil.

Relative nature of creation Vs Absolute nature of Creator:

This is a world of relatives. We can know good, only with relation to bad. We can know light, only in relation to darkness, we can know big only with relation to small and so on. Our body, mind and intellect -the instruments with which we perceive this world is equipped to perceive, understand and function only in terms of relatives.

In fact, we divide the whole world into 2 categories -that which we like and that which we dislike. Right and wrong is an extension of this concept only. Leaving aside the law of the land, for everyone, the concept of right and wrong is different and it is mostly based on what he likes and dislikes.

But the Creator is absolute. It is from Her that both good and bad has come, and hence She is above and beyond all dualities. We cannot experience the Absolute with instruments that we have to live in the world of relative.

Mind -The cause of struggle:

Therefore, we can conclude without doubt that it is our mind, roaming in the realm of relatives, judging and labeling everything that it encounters, is the one that is preventing us from truly experiencing this oneness. 

With this mind of ours, we so strongly exist as a separate entity -"Me" and "Not Me". "Mine" and "Not Mine". The mind confines the definition of our self as only this body. But here is the cool part -we are capable of extending this identity of our self. Don't we think also think as my family, my caste, my religion, my country?

Even in this extended identification, we still see the difference. Your religion and my religion, your country and my country and so on. But imagine, if only we can think of everyone as my family -yes, even the worst of the murderers -then how will our lives be? How will this world be? Stay tuned for the next posts on this series of Oneness, where we can reflect on the implications of embracing this idea and living it in our daily lives.

P.s: Here and here is the link for part 1 and 2 of this series.