When Ramana Maharshi was asked, “How are we supposed to treat others?” he responded, “There are no others.”
The Rig Veda says, “Truth is One, the wise call It by many names.”
The Yajur Veda says, “He pervades all.”
When we live in the experience of separateness, of individuality and division, we dwell in misperception. Though we may grasp the truth of Oneness intellectually with the mind, on a day-to-day level, most of us remain caught in the illusion of duality. And in duality, fear arises. We see life through a veil of illusion, and the world appears as ‘other’—something apart from us, outside of us. This is the root of suffering: mistaking the unreal for the real, forgetting the unity that underlies all things.
There is only one Consciousness, one Power—God. God has become all that exists, within Himself. We are That. That Consciousness, that Power, is our true Self. Our awareness is God’s awareness. Our energy is God’s Shakti. The consciousness in an animal is God’s consciousness. The subtle awareness in a plant is God. Even the sleeping consciousness of a rock is God. All substance, all life, all Being—God. There is no other. There is but One Consciousness, infinite and indivisible. This is the direct experience of Brahman Consciousness: “Thou art That.”
As the Atharva Veda declares: “He who dwells in all beings, who is within all beings, whom all beings do not know.” When we awaken to Brahman Consciousness, we no longer just believe—we know. We experience that Brahman is One, without a second. And in that knowing, we recognize: All is That.
And in that knowing, we recognize: All is That.
When we see another person, we are seeing God. When we speak to another, we are speaking to God. How we behave toward another is how we behave toward God. This is the importance of kindness and compassion, of not killing animals, and of protecting the earth. It is all God. What we do to another person, to an animal, to the earth, is what we do to ourselves because Brahman is one without a second. How we view ourselves is our view of God because there is no other.
This experience and understanding of Oneness reveal why knowing the Self is so essential. The Self is God—pure, all-pervasive, Absolute bliss consciousness. All that exists is That. Grasping this intellectually marks a step forward in our spiritual evolution, but true transformation arises only through direct experience. It is only in this lived realization that duality—and the fear it brings—dissolves. Then, do we awaken to and abide in the state of Oneness. This is why we meditate. This is realization, enlightenment, remembrance, illumination, revelation and recognition.
Blessings,
