Stardust : Part 2

 

Stardust : Part 2

“ To Emily: You returned your borrowed stardust to the universe much too soon.”

This quote is going to stay with me for a long time.

It has added a layer to my understanding of Reality. 

The scientific community looks for answers through matter and physical phenomena. The religious community tries to understand from point of the spirit. Until now I felt a disconnect between the two views, yet knew in my heart that there has to be a bridge that must piece these together. 

While working in the kitchen this morning my mind was ruminating over my experiences with the spirit. I have tasted what is referred to as a state of being. It has been a fleeting experience but surely reproducible. Parbhanikar Maharaj has very beautifully described in his talks on the ninth chapter of the Dnyaaneshwari that this experience is easily interrupted by Maya, just like a tall branch of a tree stays within reach as long as you hold it down with your hand but goes back up as soon as you release it. Similar has been my experience with the pure state of being. It lasts while you focus on it. Then you drift back to body identity.

When you imagine yourself as composed of stardust you are coming “down” to the level of matter( from the level of pure consciousness). 

That moment something flashed in my mind. I live on the top floor of a building with five floors.The elevator in the building starts from ground level and reaches maximum up to the fifth floor. That’s the extent one can reach within the limits of matter. The ground level is akin to believing one is the physical body. Slightly higher up are levels of believing one is the mind or intellect. Fifth floor is like understanding you are composed of stardust from the universe.

 Above my apartment is a terrace. The elevator does not take me to the terrace. I have to use different means ( stairs) to get there. That’s how the experience of the pure being or consciousness or awareness is. 

Intellect can fathom the beginning of the universe. But beyond that it proves ineffective. 

To understand that we are using some borrowed stardust as we live is great realization. It brings a sense of unity with the entire universe. It also brings a sense of humility and dispassion.

But that’s the penultimate stage of reality. The ultimate stage is to separate the stardust from our being. 

That’s really the hierarchy of understanding who we are.