Cosmic Inversion

There are many mysteries in the universe but the biggest mystery is the connection between the Cosmic Mind and the human mind. Full realization of this connection will lead to a new phase in human development.

Interaction between the objective reality and the human mind is mysterious. Thousands of philosophers have debated this for thousands of years. We are still talking about it in the “age of science”. Why? Because understanding the consequences of this interaction is critical for the development of humanity. We have to explore it.

The connection and its implied interaction can be described as “inversion”.  I think that the human mind is an inverted form of the Cosmic Mind. I will explain what I mean by “inversion” in the following sections.

What is Cosmic Mind?

I am fond of saying that all exists in the infinite ocean of love and bliss (Absolute Unqualified Consciousness which is known as Nirguna Brahma in Sanskrit). When infinite consciousness is transformed into infinite life we refer to it as Saguna Brahma (Qualified Consciousness). Brahma is a philosophical term to refer to the inseparable totality of infinite consciousness and life.

Cosmic Mind is a philosophical term to refer to the “causal” aspects of the Qualified Consciousness. Mind is a mechanism for causal expression. This projection (causal expression) is necessary for the unfolding of life. The mind is a mechanism for causal expression because mind is the ordering principle. A portion of the mind is called the “causal mind” because this is the layer that orders and organizes life. The “causal mind” is always active in the life of a human being. During waking, dreaming and dreamless sleep the “causal mind” is active. The long sleep in the causal mind is called death because without an active “causal mind” life is not possible.

Cosmic Mind organizes the Cosmic Life which is Saguna Brahma. Entire creation is a thought in the Cosmic Mind. Some people describe it as a dream. It does not matter what words we use, what is important to know is that nothing exists outside of the Cosmic Mind. Physical reality is a mental projection of the Cosmic Mind. All manifestation is internal to the Cosmic Mind but we perceive these cosmic thought vibrations as real particles, as real worlds, and as real beings. This is the meaning of “relative truth”. Universe is a relative truth.

Sages who have achieved merger with the Cosmic Mind have been telling us that the “causal” layer of the human mind is the same as the “causal” layer of the Cosmic Mind. If true, this means that our minds are connected at a higher level. This explains why many people come up with the same ideas simultaneously. Infinite wisdom of the Cosmic Mind is available to all. In fact, all ideas come from the Cosmic Mind. Ego claims ownership for the ideas but that’s delusion. Wisdom is given to those who seek wisdom sincerely. The joy of discovery is the reward for the ego, but clearly, ideas do not come from the ego. All ideas come from the Cosmic Mind.

If all ideas come from the Cosmic Mind why do we have conflicting ideologies, religions, metaphysical theories and scientific theories? All I can say is that Cosmic Life is a play. In Sanskrit this concept is known as Liila (Cosmic Drama). Cosmic Life evolves in its myriad ways, conflicts and clashes.

Don’t forget that Cosmic Mind creates not just the ideas but all the physical, mental and spiritual realms. Cosmic Mind is the Creator aspect of the Divinity.

Internal and External?

What is external to us is internal to the Cosmic Mind. What is internal to us is also internal to the Cosmic Mind. This sounds like a paradox but it is not. The concept of “external” arises when there is a boundary. In our case the boundary is the ego.

Macrocosm and Microcosm according to Tantra Yoga

The starting point of my argument regarding the “inversion” of the Cosmic Mind is the classification of the koshas (layers of the mind) and lokas (realms of the Cosmos) according to Tantra Yoga as explained by Shrii Shrii Anandamurti.

Full discussion of the terms mentioned in the tables above is beyond the scope of this article. I recommend Shrii Shrii Anandamurti’s book titled “Idea and Ideaology” [1] for details. My point, here, is that these tables clearly indicate an inversion. It seems to me that the Microcosm is an inversion of the Macrocosm.

Reversion the Spiritual Journey

There is a parallel description of the layers in the Tantra tradition in terms of chakras. The 5 chakras (Muladhara, Svadhisthana, Manipura, Anahata, Vishuddha) of the human body are related/connected to the 5 koshas. The special centers Ajina and Sahasrara are not chakras, per se, but they are related/connected to the Cosmic Mind, and the Cosmic Consciousness, respectively. This is a huge subject and I don’t have the experiential knowledge of any of this but my function here is to point out the conceptual consistency of the messages from the sages of all cultures and religions. Yogis, Tantrics, Buddhists, Sufis, Christian mystics, Kabbalah mystics all talk about the same concepts. Their descriptions are very similar. I am trying to unify these descriptions and expressing it with the “inversion” concept.

It seems to me that the “inversion” is followed by the “reversion”. I describe the spiritual journey as reversion to Self, the true identity. Spiritual journey has also been described as “ascension”, “kundalini rising”, “merger in the higher mind”, “dissolving ego” by other traditions.

Becoming Integral Part of the Cosmic Mind

My intuition tells me that the Cosmic Mind and the unit minds exist for each other. Cosmic Mind has to exist to nurture the life of the unit minds. The unit minds have to exist to ensure the maximization of the expression of the Cosmic Consciousness.

As humanity develops and expands and reflects the Cosmic Consciousness more and more, humans will be integral parts of the Cosmic Mind. They will be more like angels. We live in the Cosmic Mind but we are not yet integral part of it. Integral part means being an organ of an organism. We are more like free floating molecules. These molecules will cohere and form bigger molecules and organisms some day. This is how we will become integral parts of the Cosmic Mind.

No metaphor is good enough but…

How is it possible that the singular Cosmic Mind is inverted in so many human minds? There are billions of human beings on this planet, and only God knows how many billions live in other star systems and galaxies. So, the inversion metaphor may not be appealing to some people. This may be the reason why the metaphor of reflection is used in Sufism and other traditions. Shrii Shrii Anandamurti also used the “ray” metaphor to explain the connection, saying that human beings are like rays emanating from the Supreme Consciousness.

In Turkish there is a saying “Teşbihde hata olmaz”. Originally, it meant “be careful with metaphors” but as a quirk of the Turkish grammar, in time, this phrase acquired a completely different meaning. These days people use it to defend their poor analogies. The reason I bring this up is that I grew up in a culture that outwardly despises metaphors even though the entire culture revolves around them. Being a product of that culture, I cannot comprehend anything without using metaphors.

No metaphor is good enough to describe the Reality but we can still use metaphors as long as they inspire us and help with comprehension. The “inversion” metaphor inspires me. Regardless of the metaphor, the truth is that we are all connected.

Let me conclude with the words of my beloved teacher Shrii Shrii Anandamurti

“The world is moving rapidly from physicality to intellectuality. A day is sure to come when this intellectuality will be transformed into spirituality. Just as the intellectual age is fast approaching, the spiritual age will also come in the very near future.” [2]

[1] Shrii Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar, “Idea and Ideology”, Ananda Marga Publications, ISBN 81-7252-001-8

[2] Shrii Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar, “Plexi and Microvita”, 10-12 January 1989, published in “Yoga Psychology”, Ananda Marga Publications