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Reference: Postulate Mechanics (PM)

Enlightenment lies in restoring awareness from identification back to knowingness. This depends on a power hidden deep within us. 

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The Power

The Vedic religions refer to this power as Brahman. The origins of the word BRAHMAN has the sense of “to swell, expand, grow, enlarge; to make firm, strong.” It indicates an active or manifest principle, yielding the sense of an expanding, sustaining power. In the Rigveda, brahman often refers to the potent word, hymn, or sacred formula—speech endowed with a mysterious, effective power in ritual. 

The Abrahamic religions refer to this power as God. The origins of the word GOD has the sense of “that which is invoked.” It indicates the mysterious and awe inspiring power called upon in prayer or sacrifice.

This power has been invoked since ancient times to help overcome human limitations, ignorance, and suffering. 

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Piercing the Veil

“Piercing the veil” signifies overcoming spiritual, mental, or physical barriers to directly experience this power deep within. Various methods have been used to invoke this power, such as,

(1) PRAYER AND DEVOTION: Here  a person praises God admitting faults and seeking forgiveness, showing gratitude for blessings, and asking for personal needs or intercession .

(2) STILLNESS AND MEDITATION: Here a person sits quietly observing thoughts without judgment and being present in the moment. He may concentrate on a single point, such as the breath or a word (mantra) to quiet the mind; or release tension by bringing awareness to different body parts; or focus on cultivating compassion and kindness toward oneself and others.

(3) FAITH IN THE ATONEMENT: Here a person repents his sins and strives to live in obedience to the Gospel. He submits his will to God, especially during trials, acknowledging them as opportunities for growth. He recognizes that return to God’s presence is possible only through the merits, mercy, and grace of the Messiah. And, he places complete trust in Christ’s ability to save, which brings peace and removes fear.

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Approach in Postulate Mechanics

In Postulate Mechanics, a person looks rather than thinks. He focuses on what does not make sense. He looks at it more and more closely until it starts to make sense. This is the mode of mindfulness. The person applies mindfulness to both misconception and anomalies.

Immediate restoration of awareness towards knowingness starts with the clearing of misconceptions. Most misconceptions have come about through interrupted observation, misunderstanding of language and suppression of anomalies. The discipline followed in Postulate Mechanics is,

1. Never go past something you do not understand.
2. Be there and confront.
3. Narrow down the target.

Therefore, when reading, a person must always look up the meaning of words that do not seem to fit in the sentence. Upon encountering a difficulty, he must not flinch and look away. He must follow the trail of what does not make sense, until it clarifies.

Enlightenment occurs as one approaches the resolution of all major misconceptions and anomalies.

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Considerations

The major concepts introduced in Chapter 6 are PRAYER, DEVOTION, STILLNESS, MEDITATION, FAITH and MINDFULNESS. These concepts are defined in Glossary: Postulate Mechanics.

1. The power to overcome human suffering lies deep within us.
2. Spiritual, mental, or physical barriers exist to accessing this power.
3. Various methods have been used to invoke this power.
4. Postulate mechanics explores the path of assimilating sensations.
5. This approach examines and clears misconceptions and anomalies.
6. The method used in this approach is mindfulness.

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Reference: Postulate Mechanics (PM)

Awareness is the ability to sense the substantiality of the universe. Sensations take the form of feelings, emotions, pain, perception, memories, experience, knowledge, etc. Sensations are identified and assimilated towards knowingness. Based on the degree of assimilation, there comes about a continuum of awareness from identification to knowingness.

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Identification

Identification is superficial awareness that is limited to labels and symbolisms. Therefore, identification is memory intensive and lacks absorption.

We know from our schooling that we enjoyed certain subjects, and got good grades on them without much effort. But there were other subjects that we had to memorize with great effort and regurgitate them in exams to get good grades. These latter subjects fell under the category of identification. We never got to know them fully.

A physicist, who has accepted the basic ideas from physics without questioning them, develops a materialistic viewpoint, and rejects spirituality. He no longer has the curiosity about the universe, which he had as a child. His awareness is tied to working with symbols. His awareness has become identified with current physics, such that he cannot think beyond it.

You meet people who never question their religion, but they even get upset when others question. Such people practice their religion only through rituals full of symbolism. They identify themselves as Jews, Christians, Muslims, Hindus, etc. They have never assimilated their religion fully. They become biased against all who, they think, disagrees with them. They themselves are not happy.

At the level of identification a person himself has become an identity. He is unable to look beyond labels and symbols. He acts mechanically.

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Knowingness

At the other end of the continuum of awareness is knowingness. Knowingness is deep and intuitive awareness that operates instantaneously. All substantiality disappears. One does not require memory because one simply knows.

A musician who has fully assimilated sounds from his musical instrument with his feel for music and emotions, plays that instrument effortlessly with great effect and creativity. His awareness of music has reached the level of knowingness.

A physicist, who learned all the fundamentals of physics, still questions anything about nature that he does not understand. Instead of rejecting he investigates. He is operating with knowingness.

A person who has achieved knowingness in life can see things as they are. He does not need to separate one religion from another. He sees the similarities among the. He investigates where differences exist. He is not attached to anything. He is carefree. He is said to be enlightened.

At the level of knowingness, a person is full of compassion for others, and he wants them to become enlightened and happy. He guides rather than preaches, for he knows that others must discover on their own.

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Considerations

The major concept introduced in Chapter 4 are SENSATION, IDENTIFICATION, IDENTITY, and KNOWINGNESS. These concepts are defined in Glossary: Postulate Mechanics.

1. Awareness is the ability to senses substantiality.
2. Awareness ranges from identification to knowingness.
3. Identification has the least assimilation.
4. Knowingness has the most assimilation.
5. Assimilation resolves lack of awareness.

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Reference: Postulate Mechanics (PM)

Here we look at the postulates that make up the ever present basis of the universe. These postulates are inherent to all parts of the universe. These postulates are the core of the universe, or self.

The Vedic religions describe these inherent postulates as “sat-chit-ananda”. 

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Sat-Chit-Ananda

Sat = Substantiality (substance)
Chit = Awareness (ability to sense)
Ananda = Oneness (assimilation)

The very basis of the universe is formed by these postulates. In other words, every bit of the universe is substantial. There is awareness that senses this substantiality. And then there is oneness that results from the assimilation of the sensations. In summary, here is a profound sense of knowingness, love, and beauty, where the observer and observed are in complete harmony. This awareness underlies thought as knowingness that all life is woven into a single, cohesive fabric. This is the Self.

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The Universe & Self

These three basic postulates form the core of the Universe, which is also the Self. The considerations proceeding from the Self bring about identities and phenomena.

Phenomena is that which is observed. Identities are those that observe and consider.

The subsequent considerations that tie phenomena and identities together are affinity, reality and communication. There is natural affinity that we feel towards one another. There is the natural reality of how the phenomena appears. And, there is the natural communication through perception and exchange of ideas.

The subsequent chapters look at these basic postulates and considerations more closely.

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Considerations

The major concepts introduced in Chapter 2 are SUBSTANTIALITY, AWARENESS, ONENESS, and SELF. These concepts are defined in Glossary: Postulate Mechanics.

1. At the core of the universe is Self.
2. The Self is made up of postulates.
3. These postulates are substantiality, awareness and oneness.
4. These postulates are inherent to the self and universe.
5. First considerations to form are phenomena and identities.
6. Next to form are affinity, reality and communication.

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