The quality of reflected images depends on the perfection of the reflecting surface, as we can see in the case of water and a polished surface. Mirrors are inanimate and not self-sufficient, whereas consciousness is always pure and self-sufficient. It does not require an external object to create an image. Ordinary mirrors are subject to contamination by foreign dirt, whereas for consciousness there is nothing foreign, since it is always one and undivided. Therefore its reflection is unique. Created things are not self-luminous: they are illuminated by someone’s cognitive capacity. The cognition of things implies the presence of their images in our mind. They are only images. And therefore all Creation is an image. It is not self-radiant and, thus, it does not possess self-awareness, but becomes a fact when we perceive it. That is why I say that the universe is only an image in our consciousness. Consciousness shines despite the formation of an image within it. Although it is elusive and imperceptible, it is firmly established and does not waver. Just as images in a mirror do not exist separately from the mirror, so too the product of consciousness does not exist separately from it.
“Tripura Rahasya,” Chapter 11, “The Universe Is Nothing but Mind”
Various texts of Anuttara Tantra give the example of a mirror and a reflection. In this case, the mirror is our primordial essence — awareness. Some say that it can be described as “space-like.” Others emphasize its attributelessness, the absence of any qualities in it.
One could say that the surface of a mirror in itself possesses nothing. If all the objects standing before the mirror are removed, nothing will be reflected in it; there will be only emptiness. One could say that we can confirm the fact that a mirror is present only when objects are visible in it. Now imagine a mirror in which no objects are reflected. If you look into it, there will be only emptiness.
Nevertheless, the astonishing property of a mirror is that it possesses the capacity to reflect. It can constantly reflect any objects within itself; we can see in it the diversity of everything: people, landscapes, and so on. However, no matter how many objects the mirror reflects, it has no effect on it; it does not tire. Whether it reflects ten objects, or a billion, or a hundred billion; whether it reflects large objects or small ones; ugly and terrible ones or beautiful ones — it is not stained in any way, and its reflective capacity does not weaken.
This is an example of how the manifested manifestation of any energies does not obscure the primordial essence of the nature of Mind. Everything outwardly manifested is like images in a mirror. Images in a mirror are interesting because they seem to be visible and manifest in full, yet they are not real, since they are the product of the mirror and do not exist without the mirror. That is, the image itself is not independent; although it seems supposedly real, nevertheless it is nothing other than the play of the mirror’s optical properties.
This example is worth reflecting on deeply in order to realize that the Reality of which Dattatreya speaks in the “Tripura Rahasya” is the very same.
Recognizing the Mirror of Awareness
All the objects we see are nothing other than such images in a mirror. They do not exist in themselves, but are a manifestation of the mirror’s reflective capacity. This is not easy to understand, since objects seem to us to be self-existent, possessing independent being, while the mirror itself (awareness) is not noticeable at all. Nevertheless, the mirror begins to reveal itself when we make some progress in mindfulness.
The trouble with practically all beginning practitioners is that they constantly confuse the mirror and the reflections. Because of a lack of mindfulness, the reflections mislead them. But as soon as we become a little more mindful, we begin to recognize the mirror.
Once, scientists conducted an interesting experiment. They studied the behavior of a monkey. At one stage of the experiment, a mirror was placed in the room where it was. When the monkey saw the mirror, it became very excited. It thought that this was its rival and began to display signs of aggression. Then it realized that what it saw in the mirror was not real — it recognized this.
Something similar happens with practitioners as well. At first we are greatly excited by external objects; they make an indelible impression on our mind because we believe that objects are something self-sufficient and independent. As we discover the mirror, we understand that all objects, as it turns out, are manifested from the mirror—from the subtle essence of awareness.
And the whole point is whether you recognize this subtle essence of awareness or not. If you do not recognize it, it is as if you understand nothing about the world and life; but if you recognize it, you understand everything. The reflections themselves in the mirror are merely images; behind them there is no essence of their own, no substance of their own—they are simply a manifestation of the reflective capacity and energy of the mirror. In the same way, external energy is a manifestation of the mirror of the Absolute.
Practical Application of Understanding the Mirror and Reflections
This is not so much philosophy as instructions that should be accepted with deep understanding in order to live by them. How can they be accepted in order to live by them? Imagine the following example. Everything that happens in the world, and everything that surrounds us, is a manifestation of our own consciousness, of our thoughts. This means that the universe is not alienated from our consciousness, that we as the subject are included in the universe. And since we are included, this means that we are not powerless; we can influence it, we can change it.
Imagine: if you approach a mirror, you immediately see your image—this is how the laws of physics usually work in our world. But how does intention connected with consciousness work? To generate a thought or an intention is the same as approaching a mirror. And after some time, an image connected with your thoughts will appear in the mirror of awareness. What you thought about will manifest; only this will not happen as quickly as reflections appear on the surface of an ordinary mirror in the world of phenomena. This is approximately how the connection between external reality and consciousness works.
Everything visible to us is nothing other than our condensed subconscious and conscious images; that is, it is the reality that we ourselves have generated with our consciousness. Of course, as long as we do not control our consciousness, we generate images chaotically. Because of this, some souls fall into hells, others into the worlds of pretas, and still others into the worlds of humans. Since their inner consciousness is chaotic, they generate impure states of images into which they themselves fall and become entangled.
When we begin to control our consciousness, we try to generate right thinking, right vision, right bhava, right images, and someday they will certainly materialize. And then people say of a person: “He has attained liberation.” To put it even more simply, all our prayers and subtle desires come true; our thoughts manifest. Reality does not immediately adapt itself to our consciousness, but someday this inevitably happens.
Why do we say that one must practice pure vision? Because if you practice pure vision, over time you will certainly find yourself in it. But if you do not practice pure vision, then your impure karmic vision will also materialize, and you will again find yourself in various undesirable situations.
The Art of Sankalpa and the Materialization of Intentions
The art of sankalpa, or prakamya-siddhi, is connected precisely with understanding the principle of the mirror and reflection. For example, when we meditate on Aham Brahmasmi, we generate such a sankalpa so that it may come true someday. If you meditate on Aham Brahmasmi correctly, if you contemplate correctly, this sankalpa will someday manifest; your thoughts will certainly change you, and a transformation will occur. This will begin to manifest in your energy, outwardly, inwardly, in dreams—that is, you will truly begin to feel it.
It can be said that all conversations about the natural state are aimed at constantly directing our thinking toward the Absolute, so that we are attuned to the Absolute. When we manifest in this way, the image in the mirror will certainly change, everything will be restructured, and we will find ourselves in the real state of the Absolute.
Thus, reality is like a mirror reflecting ourselves. We are responsible for reality, because it is our consciousness that is reflected outward. Of course, all this does not happen very quickly: in the material world, the materialization of reality is delayed.
Having realized that reality changes under the influence of your thoughts, you receive the key to attaining liberation. The Upanishads say it this way:
“He who meditates on the luminous Brahman becomes the luminous Brahman. He who meditates on the infinite Brahman becomes the infinite Brahman.”
Reality becomes what you conceive it to be. Whatever thoughts you generate, such is the reality that unfolds before you. Of course, if you do not deliberately conceive anything, if you do not manifest any conscious intention, reality is formed on the basis of fragmentary samskaras from past lives.
Contemplation as a Way of Forming Reality
What does it mean to think about reality? From the point of view of Laya Yoga, thinking about reality does not mean engaging in some kind of analysis, although this is, of course, useful. Analysis at the very least indicates that you have clarity. But to think about reality is nothing other than to contemplate correctly. Why? Because the best way to think about reality is to abide in non-conceptual awareness, to directly perceive the Absolute, to attune yourself to it, and to try to manifest the Absolute in your body, in your surroundings, and in your thoughts.
If you contemplate correctly, in time this will certainly manifest in your life. If you practice divya-bhava (divine pride), meditate on Aham Brahmasmi, in time it will materialize in your life. And if it does not materialize, then obviously some mistakes are being made in contemplative practice.
If you meditate so that your body will always be strong, robust, healthy, and young, or if you want to attain the siddhis of longevity, in time such bhava changes you. If you meditate on some saint or siddha, and you make this a constant sankalpa, in time your physical body becomes similar to the one on whom you meditate, because what manifests in the external world is what we have in consciousness.
Someone may say: “It is not particularly noticeable that, when we bow to Dattatreya or to some siddha, we become like them.” The reason is that the mind does not immediately restructure reality. There is great inertia, slowness—this is called tamas. Nevertheless, it does happen, albeit slowly.
For example, Saint Teresa developed stigmata when she meditated on the crucified Christ: in the area of the hands and feet, where there were marks from the nails; in the area of the forehead, where there were marks from the crown of thorns; and in the area of the side, where a Roman soldier struck Christ with a spear. Many stigmatics, sincerely devoted to Christ and meditating on his image, developed holes in their hands and feet precisely in those places where the nails were driven during the crucifixion. That is, their mind materialized the idea of Christ’s suffering in their body; it manifested physically. This is an example of how consciousness manifests intention. In the same way, if you meditate on something and constantly concentrate on it, sooner or later it manifests in your life.
The Principle of the Materialization of Intentions
When we meditate on Brahman, we take the highest position, we adopt the highest sankalpa, because we are not especially interested in any smaller things. If you wanted to become rich, you would simply need to concentrate on it constantly. There are many books similar to the book “Think Like a Billionaire.” They say the following: if you want to become rich, simply generate the corresponding intention, and you will certainly become a billionaire, because everything depends precisely on your intention.
If a person generates such an intention and concentrates strongly on it, his habits begin to change, his surroundings change, and a different level of thinking appears. Gradually the goddess Lakshmi responds to him; that is, material shakti begins to send him Anugraha.
Why do I give the example of wealth? Simply because it is a more materialistic and understandable example, but the principle here is the same: you think about something, concentrate on it, transmit a certain bhava into the external space, and then a response appears from the external space. That is, the universal forces pay attention to you and begin to manifest in your life. When they enter your life sufficiently well, you move onto other lines of destiny, into that version of the universe where all of this is materialized. In other words, a layperson dreaming of wealth moves into the space of wealth, and thus his intention is embodied. A monk meditating on attaining siddhis attains them. A yogin meditating on Aham Brahmasmi truly experiences it.
Obstacles to the Materialization of Intentions
Why, then, does the materialization of our consciousness occur with such difficulty? Someone may say: “I have been concentrating on Aham Brahmasmi for four years, but so far I am still only a novice or a monk.” The reason is that global goals require very long concentration. If you concentrated on small goals, they would be realized within a month. But the more global the goal, the longer the period of its manifestation, since the materialization of this global goal will require radical changes, a transition into a very distant area, into an entirely different variable universe.
Another reason why the intention does not materialize immediately is weak concentration, that is, a scattered consciousness that is constantly distracted by many other goals. For example, if we meditate on Aham Brahmasmi for an hour, and then for eight hours on aham dehasmi (my relatives, my body, my attachments, my thoughts, my desires), then we, of course, have a very long path ahead. In other words, if we are constantly distracted, our intention of Aham Brahmasmi does not materialize.
And how do we overcome this? We try to bring the principle of Aham Brahmasmi into every action, every step, every moment, so that such meditation never ceases. Therefore, it is very important to observe where our consciousness is directed.
Examples of the Materialization of Intentions
When we meditate with concentration, the materialization of our sankalpa occurs with great force. One can give the following example. A certain nun, having heard a lecture in which it was said that one should go toward enlightenment like the horn of a rhinoceros, was greatly inspired by this image; she liked the rhinoceros. When she traveled to Nizhny Novgorod on matters of service, on the way she saw a rhinoceros on an advertising sign, then she came across a company called “Rhinoceros,” and later other rhinoceroses also appeared before her. That is, by the power of sankalpa, she shifted herself slightly into such a vision where the image she liked began to manifest.
Perhaps each of you has experienced something similar. If you have good concentration and set your mind on a certain thought, your sankalpa begins literally to bend space, to attract certain things that seem to come right into your hands. All circumstances arrange themselves in such a way that you seem to attract this to yourself out of nowhere.
Carl Jung, the famous Western psychologist, said that once he had a dream about some insect. He pondered for a long time what it could mean. Then a woman came to see him for a consultation, and on her hat was a brooch with exactly that beetle. When the woman left, such a beetle flew in through his small window. After that he went out into the street and saw an advertising image with a beetle on a passing car. That is, from all sides such energy was very strongly drawn to him. This is an example of how the materialization of an intention occurs when it accidentally sinks into our consciousness.
The Invocation of Absolute Consciousness
In the same way, in order to materialize absolute consciousness, we too must attract it. We must invoke this universal force, which would fill our life, surround every moment, every cell in the body and in the prana—everything around—with divine pride, pure vision, and brahma-aham-bhava. We must establish constant contact with this force so that it may move us onto other lines of life where everything is possible, where the gods continuously worship the Absolute while abiding in nondual consciousness, so that it may make us one of them.
