“The Infinite Cannot Know The Finite”
I would have to condition the statement by saying ‘the infinite cannot know the finite at its own level of reality’ – in that, inasmuch as we give this mirage of Being called Life a provisional reality (not absolute reality), we, consciousness know it, as an expression of our own Being.
Ultimately reality cannot know non-reality, Being cannot know non-Being, however, within this one reality arises the objective universe, and eventually too the facets of human experience perceiving our objective realm – seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, touching, thinking, feeling – the collection of these objects arise within consciousness, are known by consciousness, are made of consciousness…and so from the perspective of consciousness it could be said that there is only consciousness, there are no objects, and the infinite (consciousness) cannot know the finite (anything other than consciousness).
However, we can only call consciousness infinite in relation to finite objects, and so it makes no sense to discount the borrowed reality that these finite objects owe to the one consciousness itself…in other words, if you’re going to call consciousness infinite, you really need to acknowledge the objects from which you’re referring to consciousness’ infinity, otherwise the statement makes no sense. In fact, if you say consciousness is infinite, you are implicitly acknowledging the existence of the finite from which you set the bar for your statement! We just have to say that the existence of the finite is wholly dependent upon the reality that perceives. The finite exists and it doesn’t exist – it exists as an expression of reality perceived by reality and made of reality – but it doesn’t exist as reality itself.
Therefore – ‘the infinite cannot know the finite at its own level of reality’. The absolute level of reality is object-free, but that’s not the only level of reality we experience. We cannot deny that we know life, that we know experience, if we do it’s one of those neo-advaita traps – we must acknowledge all levels of our Being.
We don’t know anything real of this life other than the reality that life borrows from consciousness; but know life we certainly do!
In R.S. terminology – Mary can’t deny that she knows Jane’s mind while she’s dreaming it, even though it is all made of Mary’s mind, ultimately.
Image source: Reddit.
the muse of being 