Feb 2017

One Moment

Space, which contains the entire universe, is an illusion. To

see this illusion as a reality, it is necessary for the mind to
imagine the existence of time. Scientists agree with Albert
Einsteins conclusion that time and space are related. This
relationship is man-made. Space is an illusion and time is an
imagination. The imaginary time proves the existence of the
universe to the ignorant. The wise are not deceived by this
deception. They perceive the only reality, namely the present
moment.

When we say one moment we usually mean a short period

of time. This is not correct. A moment is timeless and eternal.
Eternal does not mean a very long time just as infinity does
not mean a very big number. Infinity means beyond numbers
and eternal means beyond time.

Let us understand what a moment is, through an example.

A one-hour long movie depicts a life-story. Typically the hero

is 8 years old and undergoes a lot of suffering. His parents are
killed by the villain. Then he grows up to be 28 years old, takes
revenge and kills the villain.

The 8 year old boy and the 28 year old adult are obviously
different actors. But we see both of them as one person
because we accept the fact that 20 years have passed in that
one hour. We experience sorrow when the boy is suffering
and we feel elated when he takes revenge. We are able to
give reality to fiction by fabricating time.

Similarly, the universe is a light and sound show. When we

observe the appearance of a bright white color on the horizon
we assume that the next day is born. We fabricate time.
Raja Subramaniyan joyfulliving@gmail.com
 Feb 2017

Minutes and Years

Assume that every three minutes of the movie depicts one

year of the life of the hero. And we are interrupted by a phone
call during the movie. If we talk for three minutes without
paying any attention to the movie, we would have missed the
life events of one year of the hero. Can we say our 3 minutes
is equal to 1 year of the hero? How long does the hero really
live? 1 hour or 20 years?

These are meaningless questions because 20 years is our

imagination and the world in which the hero lives (the movie)
is an illusion. Our imagined time gave the reality to the movie.

Similarly, the universe is a giant movie in which our own body-

mind complex is projected as one of the actors. In reality there
is no time. To make sense of what is happening around us,
early men invented time and passed on the concept to us.

We have mental images of us going to a theater, buying

popcorn, sitting in a chair, watching a movie and coming out
of the theater etc. We connect all these images and conclude
that we spent one hour.

All that ever is, is the ever changing present moment. We

assume doer-ship and claim I saw a movie by inventing the
non-existing one hour.

Present Moment

A moment could be compared to one frame of a picture

projected on the screen. Does a picture have time? When the
next picture is projected, the first picture does not exist
anymore. All that ever is, is just one static picture on the
screen. Similarly, there is just one present moment.
Raja Subramaniyan joyfulliving@gmail.com
 Feb 2017

When a series of pictures gets projected one after the other,

we perceive a movie and imagine the passage of time. Not
only are the 20 years our imagination, even the 1 hour is our
imagination.

Multiple moments are one continuous movement

The words one after the other may indicate presence of time.
But the moments in life are continuous. There is no starting
point or end point for a moment. It is similar to the reflection
seen on a crystal. Crystal by itself is colorless but multiple
colors and designs are seen on it. Similarly infinite ever-
changing moments make up life.

Every cell of our body gets completely destroyed every few

years is an imaginative explanation to convince ourselves
that we are the same person who is living many years. Just
as we believe that the young boy and the adult in the movie
are same person, we are certain that we were young some
time back and now we have grown up. In reality this is a light
and sound show. The entire universe appears, sustains and
disappears continuously, giving us an impression of a stable
world. Our body and mind are part of the illusion.

Observer is the observed

Suppose the movie is played without any audience, does the

time pass? Neither does the 8 year old boy grow into an adult
nor does the movie take one hour to run. Time exists only in
our minds.

The movie is made up of the screen, projector and the digital

images that is projected on the screen. However, in the giant
movie of life, the observer is the observed.

Raja Subramaniyan joyfulliving@gmail.com

 Feb 2017

When we watch the movie, we might get immersed into it and

feel the emotions of the 8 year old boy. But in the back of our
mind we are aware that we are watching a movie. This
awareness alone exists for real. The theater, projector,
screen, audience and the universe are all mere appearances
that get changed continuously. While living in the world like
the rest of the people, the wise are aware that the whole thing
is an illusion in the back of their minds.

Just as a crystal glass has a property of reflecting light,

Awareness which exists forever without any change, has a
property of projecting a light and sound show that includes our
body-mind complex. The present moment gives a snapshot of
what is observed. Just as the crystal glass and the reflection
are one and the same, the observer is the observed.

Present Moment is beyond the reach of mind

Mind can comprehend only an instance of a moment and not

the moment itself. Every moment can be compared to one
frame of picture projected on the screen. Our eyes cannot see
just one picture. They can only see a movie. Similarly, our
mind can never see the present moment.

The scientific research on CFF (Critical Flicker Frequency)

conclusively proves that since human beings can only see a
maximum of 60 frames per second, the world appears to us
in a certain way. To quote from an article on the web: Life
isnt a stream; its a movie. Like a projectionist stitching
together reels without audiences noticing, the brain collects
the frames of reality sent to it and weaves them into one
apparently seamless whole.

How long a bullet take to reach us? There is no absolute

answer. Since time is an imagined concept it will vary
Raja Subramaniyan joyfulliving@gmail.com
 Feb 2017

depending on our CFF. If we can observe the world with a flys

eye (250 CFF) we can see the bullets from a gun in Matrix
style.

Life is a series of moments. Each moment consists of a static

picture of the universe, which includes delayed thoughts in the
mind about the previous instances of the present moment.
The mind can only comprehend the current picture on the
screen, much later. Similarly, it can know the present
moment only after a while.

The ever changing projection (the universe) of the awareness

is imagined to be 14 billion years old by the mind, since it
cannot see the present moment.

A tennis commentator says A good shot after some delay of

the actual event. Even the player who hit the shot realizes that
it was a good shot not when it happens but only after it
happens. Actually, the moment does not have any shot or
even a ball. A moment consists of light and sound just as a
movie.

We are aware there is no 8 year old or 28 year old walking on

the screen. They are mere projections. Similarly, we are also
mere appearances. Mind cannot see the present moment just
as the 28 year old cannot see the picture on the screen.

Difficulty in understanding the illusion

We can easily comprehend that the movie is a mere light and

sound show because it feeds information to only two of our
five senses. But the illusion of life extends to all our five
senses. Any effort within the constraint of the five senses will
not lead us to the timeless moment.

Raja Subramaniyan joyfulliving@gmail.com

 Feb 2017

Therefore, only through the sixth sense, the understanding

can happen that we are part of the illusion that is sustained on
our eternal real self.

Conclusion

I am beyond time. I am eternal. Mind is part of the illusion.

Time is an imagination of the mind. I am the awareness that
sustains both the illusion and its imagination. With the use of
the imagined time, mind sees the illusion as real.

I am ever witnessing joy. But I am not interesting by myself.

The illusory universe is interesting. The universe is merely a
reflection of my essential nature, joy.

I am the present moment. The mind cannot answer the

question Who am I? The universe which includes the mind is
a light and sound show that is continuously projected in the
present moment.

The illusory world is sustained as real, through ignorance. The

inability of the mind to see the present moment is the
cornerstone of this ignorance.

Space cannot be divided. Similarly there is no gap between

changing moments. The continuous movement constitutes
the moment. The present moment evolves into understanding
or non-understanding in the minds. Just as the static pictures
on the screen evolve into winning and losing.

The moment is one without a second. Mind can only

comprehend multiple instances of this one moment. When
one sees this truth, Time, which is the villain in life is
eliminated. One does not wait for the future. The present
moment, which is all that ever is, is joyful.
Raja Subramaniyan joyfulliving@gmail.com