The very first book of Ramesh Balsekar that I read was Sin & Guilt. The message in a nutshell is that the “original sin,” according to his interpretation, is usurping the subjectivity of the pure subject.
The pure subject is the source that is simultaneously the cause and effect of everything known and unknown. The Maya or illusion is the movement (appearance) or consciousness. Therefore, the source is the pure potential and the consciousness is the actualization. But there are NOT two.
Identified with the movement there arises a sense of personal identification or “me.” Therefore, the “me” is the pseudo-subject that imagines itself to be separate from the rest. This imagined separation brings suffering and begins a never-ending chase of wholeness.
In search for wholeness, the pseudo-subject begins to acquire knowledge and learn religion, scriptures, philosophy, revolutionary ideas, poetry, and so on. But all that is happening is piling up of layers of knowledge to cover the void of ignorance, which is getting deeper by the very act of learning.
Armed with borrowed knowledge, the pseudo-subject begins to assert its righteousness on others. This is what you should do. That is the way it should be. I know what’s right for you. And so on. Have you heard the phrase, “I know you better than you know yourself?”
The pseudo-subject usurps the subjectivity of the pure subject and tells others what they should and should not do. When people agree, it creates pride and arrogance. And when they disagree it creates shame and guilt.
Both of the scenarios bring suffering. If I tell you what’s better for you, then I’m interfering in God’s work. I’m assuming myself to be the God. How eager we are to prove the other person “wrong” based on personal opinions. Notice that even while reading this how your analytical mind is juggling with thoughts.
Therefore, the real intelligence does not come from knowledge acquired externally. It comes from tapping into the internal wisdom which is ever-present. There is no sin other than the original sin – usurping the subjectivity of the pure subject.
