Yeah. I am an 60 year old Indian. So, there would be a remote possibility of me knowing Billie Eilish or responding about her here. But there is a reason I was strongly drawn to this very young artist.
The Upanishads, commonly referred to as Vedānta (meaning the highest purpose of the Vedas), are ancient Sanskrit texts of spiritual teaching of Hinduism. Upanishads deal with meditation, philosophy, and spiritual knowledge.
The concepts of ultimate reality (Brahman) and Ātman (soul, self) and their being one and the same are the central ideas in all of the Upanishads and the teaching "Know that you are the Ātman" is their focus. Upanishads direct our attention to the ‘Fourth state’ (
Turiya) that actually is the non-dual seer running through the three states of waking, dreaming, and sleeping as the ultimate reality, which is of the nature of Truth-Consciousness-Bliss.
In many Upanishads, the preceptor is seen to draw attention of the student to “Where do you go when you sleep?” or “Whence the I arises when you wake up?” in order to point to the aforementioned ‘Fourth’ — the
Turiya as the source of the cognising subject itself. The Turiya is unknown to the outgoing mind-senses that function only in scenario of duality. When the mind-senses are drawn in, in the non-dual consciousness (as in deep sleep or in samadhi), the effect is as if we lose consciousness since there is no more any contrast-duality that can be cognised. It is akin to pure unobstructed light appearing as dark.
So, when I came across Billie Eilish’s debut album
When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go, I was not only mildly surprised but also curious to know whether Billie or her brother Finneas O’Connel had any inkling of the implications for the very deep question they were raising.
When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? - Wikipedia
The album’s songs are said to explore themes of modern youth, drug addiction, heartbreak, suicide, and mental health, with lyrical sensibilities of humor and horror. Eilish has reportedly said that the album was inspired in part by lucid dreaming and night terrors, which are reflected on the cover photo. Rolling Stone magazine introduces the album
“Rarely has teenage wasteland been rendered so darkly as on the 17-year-old singer’s debut album.”
Following is beginning of the song “Bury a friend”, which can be said to be the theme running through the album.
What do you want from me? Why don't you run from me?
What are you wondering? What do you know?
Why aren't you scared of me? Why do you care for me?
When we all fall asleep, where do we go?
Regarding the song and the album, Billie shared the following in an interview:
When we made “bury a friend,” the whole album clicked in my head. I immediately knew what it was going to be about, what the visuals were going to be, and everything in terms of how I wanted it to be perceived. It inspired what the album is about. “bury a friend” is literally from the perspective of the monster under my bed. If you put yourself in that mindset, what is this creature doing or feeling? I also confess that I’m this monster, because I’m my own worst enemy. I might be the monster under your bed, too.
These are deep mature words for an eighteen year old and they confirm my view that mental age is more often than not equal to physical bodily age. Nevertheless, this disclosure of Billie seems to indicate that she has no inkling yet of the peaceful ‘Fourth’ as the seer of the monster-ego, as taught in Vedanta.
But again, the main question
When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go and the other questions noted above may not remain in vain for the singer and her fans. I salute this young singer and wish her well
...
