Chapter 6: Understanding Dualities and Striking a Balance
Dialogue: The Anatomy of the Polarities between Seeking Wisdom and Wisdom Speaking
SW: What is duality?
WS: In its simplest terms, duality is the realm of extremes, they are pair of opposites. It is the invisible net strung across the court of human experience - like strong likes and dislikes, hot and cold, masculine and feminine, or the North Pole and the South Pole. It consists of things that are distinctly apart.
Duality is a ball game over which Earth is balancing. Duality operates at its extremes on Earth and mildly on some of the higher-dimensional planets. When energy is bit more balanced, it finds its way to a higher dimension; as such, staying at extremes is a uniquely earthly trait.
Inner growth requires balancing this duality, minimizing the gap between the two polarities, and eventually leading to a net-neutral, complete balance.
SW: Why must we strike a balance in duality? What purpose does it serve to become neutral?
WS: By achieving net-neutrality, the heavy density of judgment—such as strong likes and dislikes—and resistance melts away. Energy that is perfectly balanced becomes weightless. And what is weightless can no longer be held down by Earth's gravitational duality; it naturally finds its way to the higher dimensions. You balance the game not to destroy it, but to graduate from it.
Let’s reflect on one of the most enduring polarities known to humankind: masculine and feminine traits. We often joke about the old cliché "Men are from Mars, women are from Venus," but it captures how deeply we view these concepts as opposite poles. Historically, society has trapped both sexes in these extremes. Men were expected to embody absolute toughness, dominance, and heroism, while women were funneled into pure relationship-building, high emotionality, and compliance. The problem isn't the existence of these traits, but the ignorance that insists we can only belong to one side. Moving past this ignorance requires recognizing that these traits are not mutually exclusive identities, but complementary capacities within us all. True balance requires integrating both, rather than enforcing an endless, artificial list of comparisons.
Before this text explains this subject in detail, it is expected that the reader is a matured soul who understands a fundamental truth: every male has a mix of both masculine and feminine traits, and every female likewise possesses a mix of both. Individuals with a higher concentration of feminine traits are referred to as having dominant Feminine Energy, and vice versa for those with dominant Masculine traits.
This has nothing to do with being biologically male or female. A woman can be born with dominant masculine energy, and a man can be born with dominant feminine energy. Associating these traits strictly with biological sex is not accurate; as such, our focus here will remain on dominant feminine energy and dominant masculine energy, regardless of whether the individual is a man or a woman.
SW: That’s interesting. Why was this created anyway?
WS: Good question! If you contemplate this distinction, you will realize it was designed to make finding the way back an intentional journey. When Reality began to reflect upon itself, it wanted to make the game more interesting and the exit more challenging. Reality is ultimately you, who wanted to construct a maze that was tough to exit.
As such, this ironic game was invented to bifurcate creation into male and female. They are complete opposites, yet they inherently long to belong together; it is very much like playing with fire. Only the ones who learn to balance it can enjoy the dance with the fire; the others get burnt.
Following Hindu cosmology here, creation began with the unmanifest, which then expressed itself as the trinity: Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva. However, structural duality truly began when Shiva manifested Himself into Shiv and Shakti. That is when the real game of creation became fascinating.
From a Western philosophical standpoint, one can view Shiv and Shakti as the ultimate Twin Souls. In this game of creation, it is only when an individual balances their inner masculine and feminine traits that they can merge back with the Absolute.
SW: How do we balance these dualities? How do we arrive at that net-neutral state?
WS: Picture a triangle. The left side represents the Masculine, and the right side represents the Feminine. The goal is to eventually ascend after experiencing exactly what you were meant to experience.
In the diagram above, 'Masculine' and 'Feminine' at the extreme ends are used purely for representation and to explain the logic. They simply represent polar extremes here; in their place, you can substitute any other duality, such as hot and cold, light and dark, etc.
Mastering the Spectrum Between Extremes - here is how you begin:
• Tone down your likes and dislikes: Begin loosening your grip on rigid preferences.
• Identify your dominant energy trait: Honestly assess whether you operate with dominant masculine or feminine energy. To reiterate: a woman can have dominant masculine traits, and a man can have dominant feminine traits. It is highly recommended to study this topic separately to identify your natural traits to the best of your capability. Whether you possess dominant masculine or feminine energy does not matter, the goal is to tone down the extremes. Try to bring yourself closer to a neutral energy that believes in inner peace, acceptance as a mechanism and unconditional love. Shift away from low-frequency elements like anger, greed, pride, and apathy, and move steadily toward an energy of acceptance and unconditional love, as outlined in the levels of consciousness.
Considering another example based on climate as how people react to extremes - people in the East often prefer winter over the scorching heat of summer, whereas people in the West may cherish summer over winter. Some people totally dislike summer, and others dislike winter. The goal is to transcend these polarities so that external conditions—like heat or cold—no longer disturb your inner peace.
• Acknowledge without ego: No one gets accolades for their starting point; objective self-recognition simply helps you tread the path faster. Reading Dr. David R. Hawkins’ book, Transcending the Levels of Consciousness: The Stairway to Enlightenment, can certainly help you honestly transcend low-frequency elements and understand your true spiritual starting point.
• Understand and balance the polarities: After establishing this foundational understanding, your next step is to examine the extremes energies. You must identify where you fall on that spectrum and balance those forces based on what authentically fits you. This is a vital side-step on the spiritual path: true transcendence is simply not possible without actively resolving these dualities (pair of opposites).
Moving Beyond the Basics: The Advanced Practice of Neutrality
WS: It is important to note that the previous explanation and path are primarily for beginners. Those who are already operating at the 4D and 5D levels must remain incredibly watchful of their day-to-day modus operandi.
You must continuously tone down your likes and dislikes. You must keep toning down until the ego itself vanishes entirely; therefore, continue this practice as deeply as possible.
Acceptance is the ultimate key—it unlocks every single barrier.
As long as there is anything, whether tiny or monumental, that still hurts/impacts your inner peace or calm, it means you must continue to tone down and work on your dualities. Nothing can ever hurt your real, authentic Self. If you feel oscillation at this point, it is only because your mind-constructed ego is being threatened.
Keep working on yourself, and keep toning down the extremes until you find yourself perfectly centered—like a seesaw in absolute balance.
The ECG Analogy: From the Turbulence of Life (Samsara) to the Ocean of Bliss!
In medicine, we look at an ECG monitor and believe that spikes and oscillations mean a person is alive. However, from a spiritual perspective, those same spikes represent the constant fluctuations that disrupt your inner peace. True liberation—becoming a Jivanmukta (one who is liberated while alive)—begins when these oscillations finally cease, giving way to an ocean of absolute bliss.
Understanding the Spectrum of Consciousness
• The Spikes (Samsara): The highs and lows on the monitor represent the dualities of life, our strong likes and dislikes. The more attachments and aversions you have, the more turbulent your "ocean of life" becomes.
• The Straight Line (The Absolute): If your ultimate spiritual goal is the Absolute, your objective is to quiet the ECG of the mind. A straight line here doesn't mean death; it signifies perfect equanimity. The Core Truth: Fewer likes and dislikes mean fewer dualities, which translates to less turbulence in your consciousness. Ultimately, the choice is yours. It all depends on your goal: do you wish to keep riding the stormy waves of Samsara, or do you choose to flatten the line and dissolve into the ocean of bliss?
SW: How much does one need to tone down these preferences, and how will I know when to stop?
WS: This will be explained in depth as part of the spiritual journey in a forthcoming chapter. For now, simply focus on bridging the gap between your likes and dislikes. Your goal is to reach a state where whatever comes your way is met with the bliss of total acceptance, rather than the friction of preference.
Practical Examples of Equanimity
1. Dissolving the Dualities of Nature
If you deeply love the winter but detest the summer, your inner peace is at the mercy of the weather. True spiritual progress means working on yourself until the peak of a freezing winter day and the scorching heat of a summer afternoon has absolutely no impact on your inner state or temperament. You remain entirely unchanged.
2. Rising Above Chaos
Consider a common daily frustration: unnecessary traffic noise. In a country like India, honking is continuous and often entirely pointless. Initially, you might get irritated and throw a nasty look at every driver who honks.
Spirituality is the vehicle that detaches you from this chaos. Imagine standing physically at a congested, chaotic intersection in Kashi (Benaras). Instead of getting sucked into the frustration, you step into pure awareness - physically, you are on the street; spiritually, you are observing the scene as a witness from high above in the clouds. The noise cannot touch you, because you are anchored solely in the essence of your own inner peace.
The Ultimate Goal: This unwavering equanimity - where you observe the world without being shaken by it—is the state of true bliss, and that answers the second part of your question. You should continue to tread this path until there are no longer any oscillations in your mind, until you have transcended all pairs of opposites, and all likes and dislikes are fully dissolved.