Peeling the illusionary onion

 A master sitting at the foot of a holy mountain was visited by a student. The student explained his desire to find the highest truth and the master pointed to a big onion and asked him to peel it. It was a magic onion though, no matter how many layers got removed, a smaller layer still presented itself. Eventually it dawned on the student that the onion was part of a virtual reality set, and it wasn’t real, and with it he awoke to the illusionary nature of reality itself. He found awareness, the “no-thing-ness” that is behind “every-thing” we see manifested.

 

Another student went to the other spiritual master who sits at the top of the mountain. He too presented the student the magic onion but instead of asking her to cut it, she simply asked her to reflect on it. After a deep meditation session, the seeker realized it was an illusionary onion not worth peeling, and with it she discovered awareness. The difference between the two teaching styles describes the difference between the Bhagavad and the Ashtavakra Gita, two of the greatest Indian spiritual treasures.

 

In the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna offers prince Arjuna several pathways to reach the beyond, meditation, right action, contemplation, devotion, though he only guarantees him that in the end freedom awaits but cannot tell him the how. This will always remain an act of Grace in the end as the seeker is illusionary just as the imaginary onion is in the above story. A seeker—no matter how devoted and driven—can never reach Oneness which is beyond personhood. The Ashtavakra Gita, on the other hand, can be summarized in one sentence: Awareness is—the personhood is illusionary!

 

So peel the imaginary onion, if you like, or listen to yet another non-duality talk reminding the non-existing “you” that the onion is imaginary. Either way, the satori moment of Oneness awaits today—often—so enjoy!

 

#spirituality #ashtavakragita #bhagavadgita #oneness