Nirvana-Samsara

   The sole observer of the perfect phase is the source of all existence, but he himself has no source, for he is the cause of all causes. The cause of all causes is truth. Despite his majestic nature, by the power of his inconceivable energy in the form of a youth, he attracts all living things to himself; and the nature of the almighty, inherent in that eternal form, is distinguished by all-encompassing harmony and beauty. Absolute truth, immortal superconsciousness, and infinite bliss reach their full saturation and depth in him. His form as a youth is the focus of truth, superconsciousness, and joy. And although his boundless spiritual feelings and qualities differ from one another, by his inconceivable power they are perfectly united and manifest in a single spiritual form. The formless, infinitely all-encompassing radiance of superconsciousness—Brahman, emanating from the Absolute—Bhagavan—is the all-pervading Supersoul—Paramatma.
   Surrounded by myriad petals, the infinite expanse of the spiritual world is the lotus of the Absolute. The core of the sacred lotus, its central part, is the abode of the cause of all causes. It is ruled by the husband-lord and his consort, who heeds his instructions. The core of the lotus corresponds to the sacred six-pointed symbol—the universal principle of infinite creation, called klim in Sanskrit. It is from this symbol that the sacred syllable "Om" emanates and enters. The core of the lotus represents the center of existence. In the core of the Absolute's existence, the "positive pole," uniting with its consort as the Guru of all Gurus, the "negative pole," delights her, and from their union emerges a dual embryo of infinite bliss, opposite in sign to its parents, called Rama. Expanding, the dual embryo of Rama, the energy of bliss, separates its parents and becomes a new union—the second stage of union, where the Absolute appears as the cowherd Govinda, and his consort, among the multitude of His beloveds. The second stage of the unified being of the perfect phase is called Goloka. The beloveds of the Absolute are the enlightened teachers of all times and all living beings. The Absolute, in the guise of the cowherd Govinda, indulges in His pastimes with His beloveds in the perfect phase of being, just as He does in the imperfect phase. Govinda is the lord of cows, the master of cowherds and cowherdesses, the lord of sacred Goloka, the second stage, where everyone cares for the cows—the loving feelings of selfless love. The cowherds and cowherdesses, called gopas and gopis, are the teachers of truth for all times and all living beings. The boundless energy of Rama's bliss, the first stage of klim, the union of the Absolute and His consort, is constantly expanding. The boundless aspect of Rama's spiritual energy is twofold: It encompasses three parts of the infinite spiritual world, called trip;davibh;ti, and one part of the infinite material world, called ekapadavibh;ti. One quarter of the total domain of the One Observer is the imperfect phase of existence—the infinite material world, represented in the cosmology of our mind, intellect, and imaginary self by three spheres: the formless sphere, the sphere of form, and the sphere of sensory perception. Spiritual infinity accounts for three-quarters of the splendor of the Absolute, a realm where there is no sorrow, death, or fear. The spiritual world, called pr;vyoma, is beyond the sphere of the formless mind, the sphere of form intelligence, and the sphere of sensory perception of the imaginary self, surrounded by the radiance of superconsciousness, in all its glory and beauty.
   At the third stage of the union of the cowherd Govinda and his beloved Gopis, the dual embryo of Narayana appears, the lord of all living beings, both enlightened teachers and those in need of instruction, the highest stage of transcendental development. His abode, Shvetadvipa, the "pure island," is the outskirts of the lotus of Goloka, the second stage of unified existence. He always enjoys in the spiritual realm, untouched by his material energy. The spiritual energy of the perfect phase, Rama, is reflected in the one-fourth of the imperfect phase as the illusory energy Maya. Rama's blissful energy manifests wondrous pastimes, called lila in Sanskrit, in both the spiritual and material worlds. It should be noted that everything takes place in the reality of trip;davibh;ti, while the illusory "reflected image" of ekapadavibh;ti, despite its many contradictions, does not truly exist. Embodied living beings, as part of the Superbeing of the imperfect phase, who constitute the marginal energy of the Single Observer, can also participate in these games. What does this mean? Embodied living beings are beings privileged to occupy responsible positions in the imperfect phase for a certain period of time, in accordance with their transcendental level in relation to N;r;ya;a. Examples include the creator Brahm;, the guardian of the law, Manu, or the composition of the celestial government of the 33 gods of heaven. The positions themselves represent that very vertical ladder of transcendental growth, the apex of which is the Superbeing Narayana, who functions on one side as the pole of the perfect phase, as the unity of all souls, and on the other side as the imperfect phase, as a multitude of living beings, collectively representing the Superbeing moving toward perfection. We are all part of this Superbeing. Each rung of the transcendental ladder is called Janardana. Each rung of Janardana is the deity of our heart, the rung above it is our mentor, and the rung below it is the energy of our action, our deeds, the support of our divinity.
   The illusory energy of Maya, the shadow of Rama's blissful energy, resides on the opposite bank of the river of dispassion, which serves as the protective shell of the spiritual world. The path of crossing the river of dispassion, or crossing from one bank to the other, is called nirvana. The river of dispassion is the radiance of Superconsciousness.
   People driven by love for Truth attain the highest transcendental level of liberation of consciousness—the Supreme Teacher, the Lord of all living beings, who governs the spiritual realm, Narayana. But only those beloved of the Absolute become inhabitants of the lotus of Goloka, where they are assigned various positions according to their heart's inclination to serve the truth.
   The Supreme Teacher, Narayana, is the "vertical path" of the transcendental development of beings—the stage of individual consciousness's ascent to the highest level—Superconsciousness. The "vertical path" is the divine steps of the transcendental ladder of living beings in the lotus of the heart. It is a function; in a general sense, it is the work, role, or duty of someone in the system of the universe; an activity, purpose, the role of an object in the system, the work performed by an organ, or a position. A living being perfects itself to the state of merging with the deity, rising from step to step, achieving the fusion of its deity and the Supreme Teacher. Each transcendental step represents three jewels: essence, nature, and energy. Essence is expressed as view, nature as reflection, energy as a clear vision of the nature of essence. Having reached the highest step, where essence, nature, and energy merge; the observer, the observed, and time dissolve in the One Observer, a living being acquires a soul and enters the spiritual world, becoming its inhabitant. Thus, the unfolding radiance of the Superconsciousness, at the moment of cessation of breathing during death, represents the protective shell of the spiritual world, called nirvana. In essence, all three parts of the spiritual world are unified for understanding, but we have separated them for description. The spiritual world is the center of the pulsation of existence, where the end becomes the beginning, and the beginning the end. This is why the Absolute Spiritual World cannot be described with our usual concepts; it can only be seen, or more accurately, felt, as bliss. Love is that very bliss; love is those very steps of Narayana's transcendental ladder, constantly repeating the same