Ivan Antić - Samadhi: Unity of Consciousness and Existence

Translated by

Milica Breber

Copyright: 2018. by Ivan Antic

All rights reserved.

ISBN-13: 978-1986066075

ISBN-10: 198606607X

Existence and the awareness of the existence constitute everything-that-is, and nothing at all is possible outside of this. In their base they are one, however, they get expressed as though they are separate, seemingly engaged in a relationship, in such a way that the relation between the consciousness and the existence both creates and enables a broad spectrum of the remainder, the entire nature, and all the cosmos. The relationship between the two is such that the entire nature, and all the cosmos exist as an aspiration to bring into awareness the entire existence in all its aspects and possibilities. Everything-that-is gets manifested as everything-that-can-be. Our mind is only a factor that, like prism, breaks the unique light of consciousness into the full spectrum of existence. Outside of our mind the existence and the consciousness are one.

The relation between the consciousness and the existence is at the base of everything, of all the phenomena, things and events, and this essence reflects its nature the most obviously in a human being and through the very human being. Consciousness and existence are differentiated the most in man, and for this reason, they are best united in full awareness and comprehension in the man. Therefore, one may draw the conclusion that the essence of man is to be the foundation of this relation between consciousness and existence, in order to implement and understand it, and to bear the full brunt of this effort. Man's essence is determined by its relation towards the existence, that is, towards the essence of the Being. Externally, this relationship is manifested as the progress of civilization, culture and technology. Within the man this connection between existence and consciousness is manifested most dominantly as the development of the language and thought, and eventually as self-knowing, god-knowing or the enlightenment.

Existence and consciousness are basically one and the same thing even though they are manifested as the opposite, one as the existence and the other as the awareness of the existence. Existence is conditioned by its own causality, whilst the consciousness is unconditioned. Existence is simply everything that exists in any way possible, and the consciousness is like the space enabling the existence of everything. This way consciousness is always above any form of existence and profoundly independent of everything, transcendental. Owing to this transcendental essence the consciousness enables the knowing of absolutely everything that exists. The fact that the consciousness surpasses existence makes the objective awareness of the existence possible. Consciousness is the very idea of knowing, the transcendence to its fullest. Possibility for the transcendence is the essence of consciousness.

Man is the link between the existence and the consciousness which enables the existence. He is the connecting factor. All other beings have the existence only, with more or less complexity, but it is always conditioned with its limitations, the entire nature functions owing to the spontaneous causality which does not need the awareness of itself. Only the man may have the objective awareness of the existence in all its shapes and possibilities, of the entire nature, and, therefore, the objective consciousness of himself. The symbolism of the cross best depicts the relationship of the existence and the consciousness. The horizontal line is the existence in time, and the vertical one is surpassing or the transcendence of such existence by means of vertical uplifting in the awareness and comprehending, and the surpassing of time and causality. It is a cross every man must carry in this world. In its essence, it is the differentiation of the consciousness, or better yet, the true distinction of what consciousness actually is. Finally, it can be said that the very differentiation of the consciousness and the existence constitute the consciousness and the existence.

The merging of consciousness and existence is nothing but comprehending the very existence, the foundation for mind and creativity. Every time we make something new, we connect the consciousness and the existence. That is how all the spiritual and material culture came into being, for civilization is the consequence of merging the consciousness and the existence in man.

Our mind acts based on perception, and perception is there for the purpose of finding out the true reality of things. We constantly attempt to crack open the true reality with everything we perceive, with everything that takes place around us, as well as within us. Finding out the facts of life is, actually, the act of connecting the consciousness with the existence.

Actually, the idea here is that a man can have the objective awareness of himself. It is lacking at birth. Man's development is predestined to uplift itself to an ever higher level of consciousness of the existence in all aspects; all the activities a man undertakes and all the experiences he goes through present the full spectrum of the potential states that he can encounter ranging from the sheer existence to the objective awareness of the existence. Some people are closer to the existence and farther from the consciousness, and for this reason they are more unconscious, while others are closer to the consciousness and farther from the blinding conditioning influence of the existence. Differences in the states of consciousness in people, the ratio between consciousness and existence, are the source of all the differences among people, all the dramatics of life, various characters and bringing forth the dynamics of the development of civilization. The more alert people are the more they are in harmony, understanding and love; the more unconscious they are the more they are conditioned by the natural causality, and undergoing the conflict with nature, the world and people around them.

Since man's essence is determined by the attitude of his consciousness towards the existence, man's essence is as transcendental as the essence of the consciousness. If it were not like this, it would not be able to merge the existence and the consciousness. Man connects and separates the existence and the consciousness. For the mere fact of being above both he can conceive both. He cannot have the experience of merging and unity of consciousness and existence without the prior experience of their separation. When a man is aware of not only the existence as such, and not only of the consciousness of the existence as such, but of himself as the key player that is the central figure in the relation between the consciousness and existence, then such a man is fully enlightened or realized in his transcendental essence.

One such teaching that best encapsulates the man's essence as previously described is the teaching of sankhya.

The only practice which based on the teaching of sankhya brings man to his essence, which merges the consciousness and the existence, is the teaching of Yoga Sutras. The term for joining consciousness with the existence here is samadhi . The Sanskrit word samadhi literally means joining together or focus. Patanjali defined samadhi as the unity of the subject and the object of perception, the consciousness of unity or the transcendental consciousness, which surpasses the division into subject-object.

A completely realized unity of the consciousness and the existence in man happens as samadhi.

We shall contribute here to this unity by describing it with all the details, as it happens both internally and externally of the man himself.