What is Non-Duality?

Have you ever wondered what’s non-duality?

Anything that could put into words is not non-duality. That’s why it’s named in the negative, non-duality, saying what it is not (duality) rather than saying what it is. One can’t say what it is because it’s beyond the mind. Words are created by the mind; hence they can never explain it.

Whatever you can think of, point to, feel or know—that’s not it.

Whatever it is, it is not it. Non-duality is what is not. While various books have been written pointing at it (e.g., Beyond Shiva, Ashtavakra Gita, Ribhu Gita, Who Am I?, etc.), they never talk about it directly. They merely point at it.

How is it related to deep dreamless sleep?

Deep dreamless sleep is a state of the absence of everything, just like in every unconscious state. There is nothing. Yet it is the mind, after waking up, that calls it nothing. It’s not nothing. But it’s not anything either. It is beyond and unfathomable. How can that which is beyond time and unmanifested be expressed in time and manifestation? It can’t.

The best one could say is that it is the absolute primordial awareness of being, empty of everything and empty of nothing, yet full of everything and full of nothing.

Does this even make any sense to the mind? No. And that’s a good thing because if it made any sense, it would not be it.

With that being said, it makes perfect sense to the heart. But what is the heart anyway? Pure blissful silence. Not the normal silence, but the silence in which both noise and silence appear and disappear. Not the normal bliss, but the bliss in which both bliss and sorrow appear and disappear. Not the normal “pure,” but the pure in which both pure and impure appear and disappear.

Additionally, non-duality and duality are concepts of the mind.

Mind created no-mind. 

No-mind is a concept. 

There is no no-mind in no-mind. 

There is no-mind in mind.

This quote from Beyond Shiva expresses this truth beautifully. Replace “no-mind” with “non-duality” and “mind” with “duality,” and the same truth applies.

When we no longer have a distinction between non-duality and duality, between the ego and pure consciousness, between being enlightened or being ignorant, and we don’t even know that we have no distinction between those—that’s non-duality. It can never be known. It simply Is!

Many blessings,

SantataGamana.