The Way of being

A minimal edition to give prominence to the main truth of the way.
Definition, proof, elaboration, and sources are minimal.

Visit the home page for other editions.

Anil Mitra, Copyright © First Edition – 2002
This Version – June 3, 2026

Home

Contents

The Way of Being

The power of ‘being’ as it is used here is uncommitted neutrality. It allows commitment, truth, and well-being to emerge in process rather than to be forced at the outset. Thus, the opening phrase, ‘Being is existence’, says just that reality is what it is. While the use of ‘being’ elsewhere, particularly in existentialist thought, is associated with depth and inexpressibility, the present use does not exclude depth; rather, it contains it. That is, the depth is within the present use of ‘being’ rather than of it.

Being

Being is existence, a being is an existent (plural: beings).

The universe is all being(s).

A cosmos is a causal domain.

A law is a pattern in a cosmos.

Laws are beings.

The void is the being that contains no beings.

There are no laws of the void.

Possibility

If a concept cannot be realized because of its form, e.g., a person that is blue eyed and not blue eyed, it is impossible in the sense of logical impossibility.

If its form alone does not disallow realization, it is possible in the sense of logical possibility.

If a logically possible being (one whose conception is logically possible) cannot be realized in a world because its form is incompatible with the form of that world, it is impossible in the world. To be possible in a world, it is necessary that the being shall be logically possible.

Therefore, logical possibility is the greatest possibility.

If from the void, a (logically) possible being did not emerge, that would be a law of the void.

All possibilities emerge from the void.

Limitless being

The universe is the realization of the greatest possibility (this is named the fundamental principle of being: fp). Therefore,

1. The cause of the universe over time, space, and more is—can be seen to be—necessity.

2. The void is associated with every being. The void—and thus every being—is universal creator and annihilator.

3. The universe has identity; the universe and its identity are limitless in that any all consistent (logical) conceptions are realized.

4. The universe and its identity are limitless in variety, extension, duration, peakings and dissolutions, which cycle limitlessly, without circularity.

5. Cosmoses are limitless in number and variety. Every cosmos is an atom, every atom a cosmos.

6. The space of logics is limitless. The universe is larger than limited beings can imagine (but we can also imagine that even if we cannot effectively specify it). The universe imagines itself—a simple statement that hides the complexity of the universe.

7. It is effective to give the peakings and their process the name of ‘God’ or ‘Brahman’; all beings are part of that process; in the present sense we are—part—of Brahman.

8. All beings realize the possibilities above, for otherwise the universe would not be the realization of the same. That one being realizes this does not exclude another being from the same realization because all beings merge in the peakings.

9. If we do not see or realize the greatest possibility in a lifetime, it is because a cosmos and, particularly, a life within a cosmos is a limited set of events.

10. Birth and death are real but not absolute. The duration between death and birth is as-if an instant.

11. Though it might seem that we are isolated points in a vast cosmos, that is effectively not the case because all time and space collapse in the void which connects us all as one.

12. Realization of the ultimate is given.

13. However, there are effective pathways to the ultimate. It is a value to engage in such pathways.

14. The pathways are negotiated; attention is given to pleasure in the path and to pain via a combination of acceptance, sharing, and therapy.

Dynamics

The dynamic of being as being is logic.

Though fp implies that cosmoses form in a single step, saltation is rare. The main dynamic of the emergence and formation of cosmoses is (i) emergence of transients from the void (ii) selection of those transients that are near symmetry and therefore of extended duration (iii) from transients, repetition of the transient – selection process. Laws (‘physics’) emerge with symmetry.

Beings that have experientiality – are experiential – must emerge. Experientiality must extend to the root in primitive form and beyond our form. There is thus a hierarchy from primitive to peak form.

The dynamics of our world are those of (i) the physical world (ii) form and formation within the world giving rise to complexity, life, and beings, e.g., animal including human, with an elevated level of experientiality – of feeling, intelligence, and knowing.

The way of being

The aim of Way of Being is shared discovery and realization of the ultimate in, for, and from the immediate—our ordinary and everyday lives.

It is a synthesis of ideas and intentional action toward that aim.

In the author’s life, the way has been and remains in evolution.

The pathways below, elaborated elsewhere, remain in transition.

The aim is to synthesize a range of threads into a program that emphasizes: (i) ideas and action (ii) the individual and the group may use but do not follow a predefined program (iii) the synthesis may incorporate elements from ancient through modern traditions (iv) leaders are conduits, not authorities (v) pathways are co‑negotiated by individuals, groups, and leaders (vi) pleasure in the way (vii) pain and suffering approached by mutual aid, therapy, and efficient acceptance in service of and inspired by realization.

Pathways

Intelligent pathways to the ultimate involve:

1. Experimentation with personal ‘evolution’.

2. Sharing and negotiating. There may be leaders, but they are conduits, not authorities. To realize is for the individual.

3. Beginning in the world and are equal dedication to the world as to the ultimate (a necessity because the world and the ultimate are identical in a ‘space’ that transcends the space-time-being of the world).

4. Attention to pleasure, especially in the path; attention to pain by sharing, the fortunate helping the less fortunate, by appropriate therapy, and by accepting difficulty for the sake of realization.

5. It is recognized that realization in this lifetime is possible but rare.

6. Attention to ‘dimensions’ of being, elaborated:

a. The universal level of being as experiential being, whose only constraint is possibility. This is a goal – the goal that inspires.

b. Knowledge that all being is connected across the void—e.g., from death to birth.

c. The dimensions of our world, (i) the physical level, knowledge of is useful in transformation; (ii) the biological level, knowledge of which can be transformative; (iii) the social dimension and community, which provide a source of meaning and support; it includes economics, politics, education and research, technology, especially technologies of space and intelligence (e.g., logic, mathematics, and computational intelligence), and spiritual search; (iv) spiritual search is exemplified in aspects of but not limited to the religions; (iv) experientiality as the place where real change occurs.

d. Unition, a western style word for yoga as an evolution of the original conception of yoga as it emerged in South Asia, as a practice of experientiality regarding all aspects of our being – as noted above. The Way already has elements from western philosophy and Advaita Vedanta from the east. It may incorporate aspects of Yoga and of Buddhism, e.g., the eightfold path as a discipline of clarity, in perception, intention, conduct, and attention so that the mind steadies, and awareness stabilizes, offering support of the movement toward the ultimate. Similarly, in Christian mysticism salvation is inner transformation, experience of, and union with peak being. I have explored the tradition of Beyul, from Tibetan Buddhism, of discovery of being – individual and universal – via immersion in remote nature and intend to incorporate what I have found.

7. Routines and plans that address these elements of a path and to safety, security, community, especially ‘work’, ‘relationships’ and, early in life, preparation – education – for the same. Routines are, e.g., daily, weekly, monthly, yearly, multi-yearly. Plans are for the entire future. However, we select (i) the most effective planning periods that are at least roughly optimal to realization (ii) planning and routine ought not to be rigid but (a) modifiable (b) not excessive but a balance between performance and routine (c) be ever open to creative and critical impulse.