Abhāsa - seeing the divine in all things

Manifestation as distinction, not separation

In Sanskrit, abhāsa (आभास) describes how all manifestations shine forth from the divine - like rays of light from the sun, or waves rising from the ocean. Each ray is distinct, each wave has its own form, yet none are separate from their source. This is differentiation without division.

In dual frameworks - whether in reductionist science or non-Tantric traditions - all things are understood as separate creations that must aspire to reach the divine. But in non-dual traditions, particularly Tantrik frames, everything is already and always of the divine. Each being can be seen as its own, yet remains an inextricable part of the whole.

This connects to what McGilchrist describes in his work on hemispheres: one of the great epistemological mistakes is mistaking distinction for separation. The process of creation is a matter of individuation - distinctive, unique beings emerging - but distinction is not division.

"no one has the slightest idea how consciousness could emerge from matter if matter were not conscious"
~ McGilchrist

Consciousness permeates all matter

This reframes how we might think about consciousness itself. Rather than consciousness being a pure product of separate matter - something that eventually emerges in the brain - what if consciousness (divine energy, life force) is already in everything?

Every atom, every molecule would then be inextricably connected to consciousness. As these atoms organize into increasingly complex forms - into cells, into nervous systems, into brains - they create more powerful expressions of consciousness. Not because consciousness is being created for the first time, but because consciousness is recognizing itself in new forms.

Through this lens, the brain might be consciousness, but the matter it consists of is also consciousness. Rather than "consciousness eventually creating consciousness in the brain," we see consciousness manifesting at different scales, in different forms - but never separate from its source.

I wonder: If consciousness on all levels relates to complexity emerging on the molecular level (PRIGOGINE-NICOLIS-1985).

Related marbles

• McGilchrist on distinction vs separation - explores how the left hemisphere mistakes distinction for division
• Ontological primitives - on values and purpose as the DNA of reality, irreducible essences
• How we tune into separation - examining how logic and abstraction pull us away from the living world
• Meaningful Sanskrit terms

#nonduality #consciousness #epistemology #manifestation