Duality (Skt. द्वैत Dvaita) is the perception of reality as consisting of separate, opposing, or polarized entities. On the path of knowledge, duality is recognized as a fundamental illusion created by the dividing mechanism of the mind.

The Origin of Duality

• Binary Vibrations: The ultimate nature of existence is emptiness. Out of this potential, the simplest possible change arises as a binary, two-state change — a wave or vibration. Since the building blocks of all experiences are binary vibrations, duality (opposites like light/dark, pleasure/pain, true/false) is built into the very fabric of the mind's perception.

• The Primary Division: The mind's most fundamental act of duality is dividing the single, nondual existence into the Experience (the seen) and the Experiencer (the seer).

• Concept of "I" and "Not-I": The mind creates a boundary around the body and identity, designating it as "me" and everything outside of it as the "world."

The Reality of Non-Duality

• Oneness: In reality, the seen and the seer are one, not two. All divisions and separations are merely ideas, thoughts, and constructs of the mind. All of these divisions are happening within the single, non-dual conscious Presence.

• Transcendence: The concepts of true and false, good and bad, or subject and object do not apply to Existence itself. By quietening the mind's conceptual activity, the illusion of duality collapses, revealing the natural state of oneness.

See also

Oneness, brahman, vibration, experiencer, experience, illusion, mind.