Call me a crank if you like. Not an issue.
But there is something that I have felt for ages that I have never
written down, but I will do it now.
First I need to write a (very) brief primer on the Hindu view of the
universe and creation.
Fundamentally, the entire universe, and creation itself is nothingness.
No light. No dark. No sound. No feeling. No time. No up. No down. No
nothing. Significantly, no joy or sorrow. This pure nothingness is also
equated with pure, bliss, ananda or transcendental happiness.
What the heck, one might justifiably ask, are all these things that I
can see, touch, feel, smell and hear?
The explanation is that within this nothingness there can arise
perturbations, movement or "vibration" that create areas of contrast.
These areas of contrast manifest as what can be detected about the
universe. "God" (called "Ishvara") is the entity who can see, hear,
feel and know everything in this universe and understand how nothingness
can transform to somethingness and vice versa. God is everything, the
entire universe, also pure bliss, ananda, joy.
Humans are unable to detect ("hear" is the conventional term used) most
things in the universe. For humans the entire universe is constructed
out of what we can detect from five senses. What cannot be sensed does
not exist. In short humans cannot ordinarily sense what "God" senses and
cannot, without using some special means experience "God" and the bliss
of that simply by means of their five senses.
Humans tend to fill up their senses in search of happiness. They fill up
with tastes, smells and (material) things that please, but, the story
goes, this is no good. The senses only fool one into imagining that
happiness or eternal peace lie via the senses. In fact the opposite is
correct; one needs to give up what pleases the five senses en route to
being able to sense all those extra sensations that one must sense to
experience pure bliss and feel the universe as God does.
If a Yogi (or Yogini) who has figured all this out needs to initiate
someone into such knowledge, he (or she) would probably say that you
can see whatever there is to see, hear whatever there is to hear and
possess everything you want, but you can't see God until you realize
that its your senses and your attachment to what please them that are
letting you down.
So where is all this going?
If that Yogi, or Yogini had to sing (or select on YouTube), one song
that said that the senses are not good enough to get to God, the song
that would fit the bill is "And your bird can sing" by the you know
whos.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iC6D2N4nylg
The mysterious lyrics have a dozen interpretations and I'm guessing that
mine is as good as any other, maybe better. Here are the lyrics:
You tell me that you've got everything you want
And your bird can sing
But you don't get me, you don't get me
You say you've seen seven wonders and your bird is green
But you can't see me, you can't see me
When your prized possessions start to weigh you down
Look in my direction, I'll be round, I'll be round
When your bird is broken will it bring you down
You may be awoken, I'll be round, I'll be round
You tell me that you've heard every sound there is
And your bird can swing
But you can't hear me, you can't hear me
PS. Of course, reading the lyrics can't hold a candle to actually
listening to the original. The best part is that beautiful lead guitar
by Harrison made exquisite by fact that the lead is followed note for
note by McCartney on bass. It's now a ring tone on my phone.
PPS: This song was composed in 1966, while the Beatles met Maharishi
Mahesh Yogi in 1967 so it's unlikely that there are any inputs from the
Maharishi.
shiv
