Thursday, November 25, 2010

IMPORTANCE OF A TEACHER

key words to understand in this post
Jnanam means self-knowledge
Ajnanam means lack of self-knowledge, or self-ignorance
A jnani is someone who has self-knowledge
An ajnani is someone who does not have self-knowledge
The Upanishads are those scriptures which contain the words used in the teachings of Advaita/Vedanta, which teachings are aimed at helping the student to acquire self-knowledge.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
What keeps occurring to me over and over again is the importance of having an actual living teacher with whom one can clear one’s doubts.
As ajnanis we see everything through the lens of ajnanam, and because of ajnanam, we do not have any other way of seeing until someone who no longer sees things in that way is able to help us out. Just trying to decipher the words of the scriptures on our own is not enough to get us out of the problem we are in, because knowing nothing other than ajnanam, we will interpret the words through that lens alone.
If we read a verse and begin with a misinterpretation of the meaning of the words, then we can read any number of verses after that, and interpret the words a way that mirrors our misunderstanding.
Here is a quote from my teacher from a Vedanta class, which, because I felt it was so important when I heard it, I transcribed verbatim for my own mananam (reflection).
"In logical syllogisms, if what was is called, the pratigna, the initial statement, is false, and one does not know that, like a bouncing ball of logical steps, one will logically come up with very valid conclusions based upon the false initial statement. If that initialstatement is wrong, one's conclusion can be correct in reference to the initial statement, but it is totally incorrect in reference to what is."
Thus, if we read some important words in the scriptures, and we misunderstand what those words mean, then we can very easily go on and find other places in the scriptures where we will misconstrue the meaning of similar words based on our original incorrect understanding. What we come up with might seem logical according to our original (and incorrect) interpretation, but it will not be true according to the actual intended meaning of the words.
The teachings of Advaita/Vedanta are meant to be unfolded by a person who is an authority on the meaning of the words used in teaching. The authority needs to be in the form of a living person to whom one can ask questions and with whom one can clear doubts, because the topic itself is a difficult one, and because ajnanam is so thoroughly woven into our view, we are most likely to go astray on our own.
Having direct access to and sraddha (confidence) in such a person, is paramount to the understanding of the teachings, and is why it is said that self-knowledge is passed from guru to disciple.
Without a guru we will have the words, but we will not have the key to unlock their intended meaning. Thus there should be an actual living person in whom one has confidence, and who can properly interpret the, often confusing and apparently contradictory, words of the scriptures and Shankara's commentaries on same.
Without direct access to such a person it seems to me that the gain of clarity is not possible, and we may go round and round in circles of misunderstanding, which will lead us only into blind alleys.
Dhanya's BlogThe Importance of Having a Teacher to Explain the Words of the Upanisads - On 11/8/2010 4:27:59 PM By Dhanya
Some key words to understand in this post
Jnanam means self-knowledge
Ajnanam means lack of self-knowledge, or self-ignorance
A jnani is someone who has self-knowledge
An ajnani is someone who does not have self-knowledge
The Upanishads are those scriptures which contain the words used in the teachings of Advaita/Vedanta, which teachings are aimed at helping the student to acquire self-knowledge.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
What keeps occurring to me over and over again is the importance of having an actual living teacher with whom one can clear one’s doubts.
As ajnanis we see everything through the lens of ajnanam, and because of ajnanam, we do not have any other way of seeing until someone who no longer sees things in that way is able to help us out. Just trying to decipher the words of the scriptures on our own is not enough to get us out of the problem we are in, because knowing nothing other than ajnanam, we will interpret the words through that lens alone.
If we read a verse and begin with a misinterpretation of the meaning of the words, then we can read any number of verses after that, and interpret the words a way that mirrors our misunderstanding.
Here is a quote from my teacher from a Vedanta class, which, because I felt it was so important when I heard it, I transcribed verbatim for my own mananam (reflection).
"In logical syllogisms, if what was is called, the pratigna, the initial statement, is false, and one does not know that, like a bouncing ball of logical steps, one will logically come up with very valid conclusions based upon the false initial statement. If that initialstatement is wrong, one's conclusion can be correct in reference to the initial statement, but it is totally incorrect in reference to what is."
Thus, if we read some important words in the scriptures, and we misunderstand what those words mean, then we can very easily go on and find other places in the scriptures where we will misconstrue the meaning of similar words based on our original incorrect understanding. What we come up with might seem logical according to our original (and incorrect) interpretation, but it will not be true according to the actual intended meaning of the words.
The teachings of Advaita/Vedanta are meant to be unfolded by a person who is an authority on the meaning of the words used in teaching. The authority needs to be in the form of a living person to whom one can ask questions and with whom one can clear doubts, because the topic itself is a difficult one, and because ajnanam is so thoroughly woven into our view, we are most likely to go astray on our own.
Having direct access to and sraddha (confidence) in such a person, is paramount to the understanding of the teachings, and is why it is said that self-knowledge is passed from guru to disciple.
Without a guru we will have the words, but we will not have the key to unlock their intended meaning. Thus there should be an actual living person in whom one has confidence, and who can properly interpret the, often confusing and apparently contradictory, words of the scriptures and Shankara's commentaries on same.
Without direct access to such a person it seems to me that the gain of clarity is not possible, and we may go round and round in circles of misunderstanding, which will lead us only into blind alleys.
Dhanya's BlogThe Importance of Having a Teacher to Explain the Words of the Upanisads - On 11/8/2010 4:27:59 PM By Dhanya
Some key words to understand in this post
Jnanam means self-knowledge
Ajnanam means lack of self-knowledge, or self-ignorance
A jnani is someone who has self-knowledge
An ajnani is someone who does not have self-knowledge
The Upanishads are those scriptures which contain the words used in the teachings of Advaita/Vedanta, which teachings are aimed at helping the student to acquire self-knowledge.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
What keeps occurring to me over and over again is the importance of having an actual living teacher with whom one can clear one’s doubts.
As ajnanis we see everything through the lens of ajnanam, and because of ajnanam, we do not have any other way of seeing until someone who no longer sees things in that way is able to help us out. Just trying to decipher the words of the scriptures on our own is not enough to get us out of the problem we are in, because knowing nothing other than ajnanam, we will interpret the words through that lens alone.
If we read a verse and begin with a misinterpretation of the meaning of the words, then we can read any number of verses after that, and interpret the words a way that mirrors our misunderstanding.
Here is a quote from my teacher from a Vedanta class, which, because I felt it was so important when I heard it, I transcribed verbatim for my own mananam (reflection).
"In logical syllogisms, if what was is called, the pratigna, the initial statement, is false, and one does not know that, like a bouncing ball of logical steps, one will logically come up with very valid conclusions based upon the false initial statement. If that initialstatement is wrong, one's conclusion can be correct in reference to the initial statement, but it is totally incorrect in reference to what is."
Thus, if we read some important words in the scriptures, and we misunderstand what those words mean, then we can very easily go on and find other places in the scriptures where we will misconstrue the meaning of similar words based on our original incorrect understanding. What we come up with might seem logical according to our original (and incorrect) interpretation, but it will not be true according to the actual intended meaning of the words.
The teachings of Advaita/Vedanta are meant to be unfolded by a person who is an authority on the meaning of the words used in teaching. The authority needs to be in the form of a living person to whom one can ask questions and with whom one can clear doubts, because the topic itself is a difficult one, and because ajnanam is so thoroughly woven into our view, we are most likely to go astray on our own.
Having direct access to and sraddha (confidence) in such a person, is paramount to the understanding of the teachings, and is why it is said that self-knowledge is passed from guru to disciple.
Without a guru we will have the words, but we will not have the key to unlock their intended meaning. Thus there should be an actual living person in whom one has confidence, and who can properly interpret the, often confusing and apparently contradictory, words of the scriptures and Shankara's commentaries on same.
Without direct access to such a person it seems to me that the gain of clarity is not possible, and we may go round and round in circles of misunderstanding, which will lead us only into blind alleys.
Dhanya's BlogThe Importance of Having a Teacher to Explain the Words of the Upanisads - On 11/8/2010 4:27:59 PM By Dhanya
Some key words to understand in this post
Jnanam means self-knowledge
Ajnanam means lack of self-knowledge, or self-ignorance
A jnani is someone who has self-knowledge
An ajnani is someone who does not have self-knowledge
The Upanishads are those scriptures which contain the words used in the teachings of Advaita/Vedanta, which teachings are aimed at helping the student to acquire self-knowledge.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
What keeps occurring to me over and over again is the importance of having an actual living teacher with whom one can clear one’s doubts.
As ajnanis we see everything through the lens of ajnanam, and because of ajnanam, we do not have any other way of seeing until someone who no longer sees things in that way is able to help us out. Just trying to decipher the words of the scriptures on our own is not enough to get us out of the problem we are in, because knowing nothing other than ajnanam, we will interpret the words through that lens alone.
If we read a verse and begin with a misinterpretation of the meaning of the words, then we can read any number of verses after that, and interpret the words a way that mirrors our misunderstanding.
Here is a quote from my teacher from a Vedanta class, which, because I felt it was so important when I heard it, I transcribed verbatim for my own mananam (reflection).
"In logical syllogisms, if what was is called, the pratigna, the initial statement, is false, and one does not know that, like a bouncing ball of logical steps, one will logically come up with very valid conclusions based upon the false initial statement. If that initialstatement is wrong, one's conclusion can be correct in reference to the initial statement, but it is totally incorrect in reference to what is."
Thus, if we read some important words in the scriptures, and we misunderstand what those words mean, then we can very easily go on and find other places in the scriptures where we will misconstrue the meaning of similar words based on our original incorrect understanding. What we come up with might seem logical according to our original (and incorrect) interpretation, but it will not be true according to the actual intended meaning of the words.
The teachings of Advaita/Vedanta are meant to be unfolded by a person who is an authority on the meaning of the words used in teaching. The authority needs to be in the form of a living person to whom one can ask questions and with whom one can clear doubts, because the topic itself is a difficult one, and because ajnanam is so thoroughly woven into our view, we are most likely to go astray on our own.
Having direct access to and sraddha (confidence) in such a person, is paramount to the understanding of the teachings, and is why it is said that self-knowledge is passed from guru to disciple.
Without a guru we will have the words, but we will not have the key to unlock their intended meaning. Thus there should be an actual living person in whom one has confidence, and who can properly interpret the, often confusing and apparently contradictory, words of the scriptures and Shankara's commentaries on same.
Without direct access to such a person it seems to me that the gain of clarity is not possible, and we may go round and round in circles of misunderstanding, which will lead us only into blind alleys.
Dhanya's BlogThe Importance of Having a Teacher to Explain the Words of the Upanisads - On 11/8/2010 4:27:59 PM By Dhanya
Some key words to understand in this post
Jnanam means self-knowledge
Ajnanam means lack of self-knowledge, or self-ignorance
A jnani is someone who has self-knowledge
An ajnani is someone who does not have self-knowledge
The Upanishads are those scriptures which contain the words used in the teachings of Advaita/Vedanta, which teachings are aimed at helping the student to acquire self-knowledge.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
What keeps occurring to me over and over again is the importance of having an actual living teacher with whom one can clear one’s doubts.
As ajnanis we see everything through the lens of ajnanam, and because of ajnanam, we do not have any other way of seeing until someone who no longer sees things in that way is able to help us out. Just trying to decipher the words of the scriptures on our own is not enough to get us out of the problem we are in, because knowing nothing other than ajnanam, we will interpret the words through that lens alone.
If we read a verse and begin with a misinterpretation of the meaning of the words, then we can read any number of verses after that, and interpret the words a way that mirrors our misunderstanding.
Here is a quote from my teacher from a Vedanta class, which, because I felt it was so important when I heard it, I transcribed verbatim for my own mananam (reflection).
"In logical syllogisms, if what was is called, the pratigna, the initial statement, is false, and one does not know that, like a bouncing ball of logical steps, one will logically come up with very valid conclusions based upon the false initial statement. If that initialstatement is wrong, one's conclusion can be correct in reference to the initial statement, but it is totally incorrect in reference to what is."
Thus, if we read some important words in the scriptures, and we misunderstand what those words mean, then we can very easily go on and find other places in the scriptures where we will misconstrue the meaning of similar words based on our original incorrect understanding. What we come up with might seem logical according to our original (and incorrect) interpretation, but it will not be true according to the actual intended meaning of the words.
The teachings of Advaita/Vedanta are meant to be unfolded by a person who is an authority on the meaning of the words used in teaching. The authority needs to be in the form of a living person to whom one can ask questions and with whom one can clear doubts, because the topic itself is a difficult one, and because ajnanam is so thoroughly woven into our view, we are most likely to go astray on our own.
Having direct access to and sraddha (confidence) in such a person, is paramount to the understanding of the teachings, and is why it is said that self-knowledge is passed from guru to disciple.
Without a guru we will have the words, but we will not have the key to unlock their intended meaning. Thus there should be an actual living person in whom one has confidence, and who can properly interpret the, often confusing and apparently contradictory, words of the scriptures and Shankara's commentaries on same.
Without direct access to such a person it seems to me that the gain of clarity is not possible, and we may go round and round in circles of misunderstanding, which will lead us only into blind alleys.
Dhanya's BlogThe Importance of Having a Teacher to Explain the Words of the Upanisads - On 11/8/2010 4:27:59 PM By Dhanya
Some key words to understand in this post
Jnanam means self-knowledge
Ajnanam means lack of self-knowledge, or self-ignorance
A jnani is someone who has self-knowledge
An ajnani is someone who does not have self-knowledge
The Upanishads are those scriptures which contain the words used in the teachings of Advaita/Vedanta, which teachings are aimed at helping the student to acquire self-knowledge.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
What keeps occurring to me over and over again is the importance of having an actual living teacher with whom one can clear one’s doubts.
As ajnanis we see everything through the lens of ajnanam, and because of ajnanam, we do not have any other way of seeing until someone who no longer sees things in that way is able to help us out. Just trying to decipher the words of the scriptures on our own is not enough to get us out of the problem we are in, because knowing nothing other than ajnanam, we will interpret the words through that lens alone.
If we read a verse and begin with a misinterpretation of the meaning of the words, then we can read any number of verses after that, and interpret the words a way that mirrors our misunderstanding.
Here is a quote from my teacher from a Vedanta class, which, because I felt it was so important when I heard it, I transcribed verbatim for my own mananam (reflection).
"In logical syllogisms, if what was is called, the pratigna, the initial statement, is false, and one does not know that, like a bouncing ball of logical steps, one will logically come up with very valid conclusions based upon the false initial statement. If that initialstatement is wrong, one's conclusion can be correct in reference to the initial statement, but it is totally incorrect in reference to what is."
Thus, if we read some important words in the scriptures, and we misunderstand what those words mean, then we can very easily go on and find other places in the scriptures where we will misconstrue the meaning of similar words based on our original incorrect understanding. What we come up with might seem logical according to our original (and incorrect) interpretation, but it will not be true according to the actual intended meaning of the words.
The teachings of Advaita/Vedanta are meant to be unfolded by a person who is an authority on the meaning of the words used in teaching. The authority needs to be in the form of a living person to whom one can ask questions and with whom one can clear doubts, because the topic itself is a difficult one, and because ajnanam is so thoroughly woven into our view, we are most likely to go astray on our own.
Having direct access to and sraddha (confidence) in such a person, is paramount to the understanding of the teachings, and is why it is said that self-knowledge is passed from guru to disciple.
Without a guru we will have the words, but we will not have the key to unlock their intended meaning. Thus there should be an actual living person in whom one has confidence, and who can properly interpret the, often confusing and apparently contradictory, words of the scriptures and Shankara's commentaries on same.
Without direct access to such a person it seems to me that the gain of clarity is not possible, and we may go round and round in circles of misunderstanding, which will lead us only into blind alleys.

Monday, November 22, 2010

REAL & MITHYA ... WATER & WAVE

 Take the point of view of a wave: it may accept that it is water, but it still sees itself as different from the vast ocean. But from the point of view of water, all waves are encompassed and so is the whole ocean. All waves arise out of water, are pervaded totally by water and resolve back into water. Water is the same truth of every wave and is thus the truth of the ocean. Similarly, if we consider pUrNam adaH and pUrNam idam from the point of view of idam and adaH, there is an apparent problem because they both exclude the other and are therefore not complete. But if we start from the limitless pUrNam, then everything is included. The seeming differences between idam (the world) and adaH (I) are swallowed up by pUrNam.

Friday, November 19, 2010

POEM - ONENESS

   One of the great resources readily available for ideas is from visionary poets who can see world with the advaitic perspective.  I couldn't resist posting this vision of Nonduality by Kavi Yogi Maharishi Shuddhananda Bharati:

" Trees are many; the grove is one
Branches are many; tree is one
Shores are many; sea is one
Limbs are many; body is one
Bodies many; Self is one
Stars are many; Sky is one
Flowers are many; honey is one
Pages are many; book is one
Thoughts are many; Thinker is one
Tastes are many; taster is one
Actors are many; the drama is one
Nations are many; World is one
Religions are many; Truth is one
The wise are many; Wisdom is one
Beings are many; Breath is one
Classes are many; College is one
Find out this One behind the many
Then life shall enjoy peaceful harmony"

—Yogi Shuddhananda Bharati

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE

Part I Part VIII


Another problem is the confusion of self-knowledge with experience. People say I have studied Vedanta and now I want to experience it. Is it an experience or is it knowledge? Let us understand this difference. It is not ‘knowledge of’ something nor is it an ‘experience of’ something. The experiences that we know are time bound. There is an experiencer, something experienced and the act of experiencing – this is called a triad or tripuTi in Sanskrit. All experiences have a beginning and therefore have an end. Anything that has beginning has to have an end and that is the law.



Now let us a ask question - Is there any time that I do not experience Brahman? If Brahman is infinite and eternal, I have to ‘experience’ Brahman all the time and everywhere. The problem that I have is that, although I experience Brahman all the time, I fail to recognize it. In fact, Vedanta says every thing that I experience is nothing but Brahman only, but I take it as ‘this’ or ‘that’. Not knowing what Brahman is, I take whatever I experience as other than Brahman and therefore I set out to experience Brahman. Do I have knowledge of Brahman? If I understand Brahman intellectually by studying Vedanta, I have only conceptualized Brahman. Whatever is conceptualized is not Brahman – that is exactly the teaching of Vedanta.



Forget about Brahman. Do I know myself? Not many will ask that question, since everybody takes for granted he know about himself – that is evident when he tries to introduce himself to others. But if one examines carefully, he is not introducing himself but what he thinks about himself. Vedanta says you are not what you think you are - you are sat chit Ananda or existence-consciousness-bliss. How can I know I am sat chit Ananda? Vedanta says it is not something to be known but something to understand.



Let us give a simple example: Suppose I am sitting in a pitch dark room and I cannot see anything. I am unaware of the existence of any object, since it is pitch dark. If some one calls me from outside and asks me if I am there in that dark room – what should be my answer? I cannot say ‘I do not see anything here; it is pitch dark. Therefore I do not know if I am here or not’. Should I say ‘I believe I am here’? Or should I say, ‘I can hear you, therefore I must be hear somewhere’? How do I know, or what is the means of knowledge (pramANa) for me to know, that I am there and I am conscious? Do I have to see myself (perception) to know myself? Do I have to experience myself to know myself? Is it a belief that I am there because the scriptures say that I am there?



No means of knowledge is required to know that I am there or that I am a conscious entity. I am a self-evident and self-conscious entity, which Vedanta calls aprameya. (prameya is a thing to be known, or an object for a ‘pramANa’; aprameya means I am not an object for any pramANa.) In fact all pramANa-s, including Veda pramANa are validated by me since I am there and I am a conscious entity able to validate them. A Self-existent and self-conscious entity need not be known or experienced. Or should I say ‘I cannot be known or experienced either, since whatever can be known or experienced is an object or inert entity’? Vedanta says it is different from ‘knowledge of’ or ‘experience of’.



The problem is that I, the self-existent self-conscious entity that I am, take myself as something other than myself. There is an error involved in the operations or transactions. The error is called ‘adhyAsa’ or superimposed error – wherein a self-existent self-conscious entity, I, take myself as an inert or unconscious entity, this (‘this’ being the body-mind-intellect complex). The solution therefore is to know myself as myself by rejecting all notions about myself such as ‘I am this or that’. It is therefore not a ‘knowledge of’ in the sense of an objective knowledge but knowledge of ‘I am that I am’ and not ‘I am this or that’. It is a peculiar knowledge in which the knower-known-knowing triad is not there but all converge to one, which we can refer to as pure knowledge without any attributes.



So it is neither knowledge nor experience that we are familiar with – it is self-knowledge or recognition of who we are by discarding who we are not. In the pitch dark room example there is another interesting point to note about my true nature. If I say it is pitch dark and therefore I cannot see anything there, this means that there is no illumination of the objects to reveal the objects that are there. Hence, the existence of any object cannot be ascertained unless it is illumined. The objects may be there or may not be there – there is an inherent uncertainty about their existence or non-existence until they are illuminated and seen. Up to now, it is commonsense.



Now let us ask another interesting question. How do I know it is dark? Of course, I can see that it is dark and, in fact, it is so dark that I cannot see anything else. But what illumines the darkness in order for me to see that it is dark, when I cannot see anything else? Suppose I shine a light to see the darkness, would I see darkness then? The external light that is needed to illumine all objects cannot illumine darkness. An external light is opposite to external darkness. But there is another light that illumines darkness too, in the light of which I know it is dark. That other light, which illumines darkness, is not opposite to darkness. The light that illumines the darkness is my own light of consciousness, which is not opposite to the darkness outside like the outside light.



In fact, I am the light of all lights that illumines not only the darkness but even the lights outside too. I can see any thing or any object including the sun, the moon and all the lights, etc, as well as the darkness too in the light of illuminating consciousness that I am. I am the consciousness because of which I am conscious of all the objects – even all the thoughts, including my notions that ‘I am this’ or ‘I am that’ etc. Everything else shines (gets illuminated) after me. What light illumines me so that I can see myself? The fact of the matter is that I do not need a light to see the light. That is what is called self-luminous. I am the light of consciousness that illumines everything else and I do not need another light to illumine me. That is the reason why I know I am there and I know I am conscious even in the pitch dark room, when there is no external light to illumine me.



Hence Vedanta says ‘I am a self-luminous entity’ (svayam jyoti) and I am light of all lights (yotir jyoti). These are the words that take us beyond their meaning for a contemplative student to see myself as myself.

Friday, November 5, 2010

ESSAY BY AJA

Aja, Wednesday, April 28, 2010 12:40 AM Text Size :





Not who you think you are; not your name; not your gender; and certainly not your beliefs, concepts or convictions, but who are YOU? As children, or even teens, we may ask ourselves this question. But soon we are told who we are. We are indoctrinated into a field of isolation by having our Who-ness defined and categorized. We forget the Who we are as it is clouded by misconceptions, desires, ideas, mythologies, and individuality. But who is it that rests prior to all ideas, all thoughts, prior even to the senses?







Within your mind, you may have so many thoughts. They run through your mind, seemingly appearing out of nowhere to tell you what you think and what to believe. But where do they come from. Are you really thinking or are you being thought? All of these thoughts simply arise in the mind and we hear them, see them, are aware of them. But who is aware of them? If within your mind you create a picture, an image of something, anything, such as a tree, a cat, a house - that image appears within the mind, but who is seeing that image? That hearer of thoughts, that seer of images - that is You. It is the Witness, the Consciousness, the Pure Awareness. You are NOT beliefs. And nearly everything you believe you are is a belief, a concept.







All of your ideas about the nature of the world, your likes and dislikes, who you are, what God is, what political or religious system is best, what life is meant for, why your life is a success or a failure - all of these are ideas. They are not and never have been who you are. They are sheets of colored gel laid upon the light of pure consciousness. They make you believe that you are happy or sad, good or bad, fortunate or unfortunate. But you are never any of these things. Who You are is Free. Who You are is Absolute. Who You are is a drop of the consciousness that is the Infinite Consciousness of all existence or what some might call God. Yes, you are That which alone exists, from which everything arises, and into which everything returns. But you focus on the flotsam and jetsam that float on the surface of the ocean, rather than recognizing you are the ocean itself.







Perhaps you even seek to know the truth, to end suffering and realize Enlightenment. Enlightenment is another concept. It is the opposite of bondage or unenlightened and exists in the realm of duality, of opposites, in the land of the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil. They are names only that we have created to manage within an unknown territory. That's fine, but you are not the territory. You are You, and that has never been bound and will never be enlightened. It always is as it is, pure consciousness.







Right Now! In this moment, Where are You? Not where your body is or even where you are within your body. But that consciousness, that awareness, that witness which is experiencing these words, thoughts and images arising in your mind. Where is that witness? That is you. Where are You? If you really search, without concepts, you will not find it. Who is searching? The seeker is seeking itself! How absurd! But you are convinced that you are not you and therefore seeking something else somewhere else. But the real you is not locatable in space and time.







All you can say is "I am Here". But that 'here' has no location. It is only a knowing that there is existence happening somewhere in a 'here-ness' that is no (or all) space. When you speak of "I", who are you referring to? "I am unhappy" "I am confused" "I am a seeker of Truth" None of these is true. They are identifications with ideas, feelings and concepts, but they are not who you are. It would be better to say: "I am awareness and unhappiness is arising within that awareness." "I am awareness and am identifying with confusion that is arising within the mind within that awareness." "I am awareness and am identifying with a belief that I am not already perfect and looking for something else that may arise somewhere else that will make my mind perfect" Right Now! In this moment...







Let go of all beliefs. Separate yourself from your Body/Mind and rest as Pure Awareness. Don't try to stop your mind. Don't try and do anything. It is all the trying and searching and sweating yourself into a frenzy that makes you unhappy. Let go of all of it. Rest in Pure Awareness, right now, in this moment, and confusion is gone, sorrow is gone, bondage is gone, fear is gone, limitation is gone. Yes, the mind may say something. Thoughts may arise. But you are not the thoughts. You are not the feelings. You are Pure Awareness. You are free from all concepts. Are you looking for spiritual experiences? You are not the experiences. Experiences are phenomena.







Phenomena come and go, but you are always the witness to all experiences and all phenomena. Do you want to see God. The experience of seeing God may come and go but you are always the witness to all experiences and phenomena. That Witness state, that Absolute Pure Consciousness is itself non-different from whatever you might conceive of as God. Do not underestimate this. Do not evaluate it at all. Give up all evaluation, all judgement, all intellectualizing and reside in the peace of who you are.







Are you seeking Awakening? As long as you are seeking you will never find. You cannot be a seeker and a finder at the same time. You must give up your seeking. You must give up your striving. You must give up all that which is the very nature of your mind and intellect. What is prior to that. It is only Pure Consciousness without an object. It cannot be known or grasped for it is the Knower, the Knowing. Let go of all concepts and simply rest in that. Who you think you are is concepts. It is your personal mythology in which you are the Hero/ine.







But that is a story based on a supposed individual that doesn't exist, like a reflection in the mirror. It is an appearance only. A case of mistaken identity. Don't be fooled any longer. It is like watching a movie and thinking that you are the main star. But it is just light on a screen that gives an appearance of people and personalities. Recognize the projector, which is the pure light of consciousness itself. Only then can you be content and free from all of your desires and anxieties (which are also only an illusion). Right Now! In this moment, Realize...







All of this is one thing only. It is the light of consciousness playing in infinite variety. In India, they call this Lila, the play of God. God is one without a second. That means that there isn't anything after God (Brahman, the Divine, Spiritual Source - names don't matter). It's not that no one is as good as God or as powerful as God, or second runner up to God. There isn't anything except God. How could there be? All life comes from Life. All existence comes from Existence. Everything or anything that is, comes from what IS. So whatever you are seeing, feeling, thinking, experiencing...whatever is seeing, feeling, thinking, experiencing...and the acts themselves of seeing, feeling, thinking or experiencing...







All of that is the One, the Divine, the Sacred Source, God. Just as you can see that everything on the Earth is simply earth or transformed earth - the hills, the valleys, the mountains, the trees, the flowers, the animals and the people - so see the All that is seemingly transformed into multifarious forms. What is that All? It cannot be named. It is beyond all names and all concepts. It is emptiness and absolute fullness.







It is the beginning, the middle and the end. You can name it whatever you like, but you run the risk of limiting it in your mind and creating a conception to fit your needs. Then you will have put it into the tiny box of your mind in an attempt to grasp what is ungraspable. Do not try to use names and forms but dive into that which is unknowable. Slip gently into the abyss which is beyond the mind's tiny grasp. Many call it God. And God is as good a name as any other, but you must give up all your concepts of 'God' in order to realize that. Whatever concepts you have about God, Goddess, Christ, Buddha, Brahman, Emptiness, Fullness, must be given up, in this moment, to fully recognize the Truth. For how can you experience what is true if you are holding on to your own expectations of Reality.







First let go of your own knowing, and then dive deeply into the abyss of unknowing. Right Now! In this moment, Know that all is Perfect Everything is perfect exactly as it is in this moment. There is nothing that needs to be changed, nothing to be healed, for everything is exactly as it should be. how could anything be different? Do you doubt that Divinity is taking place in the All One Thing in this very moment? Psychics, healers, classes, seminars, gurus, masters, will not make You or the moment any more perfect.







So stop seeking. Be the Perfection that You already are. You are Perfection personified. You are Peace personified. You are Love personified. There is nothing to add or subtract. When you recognize that you are Absolute Consciousness, you will see that there is nothing else. There is no good and no bad, and that everyone and everything is a manifestation of That. It is all Absolute Consciousness, perfectly manifesting itself in the great drama of cosmic creation.







Whatever arises is simply more of that. Thoughts, emotions, feelings are all part of that. Experience them without judgement, without desire to maintain them or an aversion to them. See with the eye of equality that all is That. In the beginning, it may not seem easy. There may be frustration, confusion, and helplessness. But recognize that these things are simply arising. They are not You. You are the Witness of these arisings. Simply inquire into Who You are, and with anything that arises, do not identify.







Simply come back to the inquiry of Who is witnessing this experience. Even if there is extreme bliss, who is experiencing it? If there is powerful energy arising, who is experiencing it? If there are visions of sublime Deities, who is experiencing it. Bliss may come and go, energy may come and go, visions may come and go, but You are always here, right now, in this moment, eternally. That is what is permanent. That is what is real. All else is phenomenal and changing. Rest in That and you are eternally free. Right Now! In This Moment!

Thursday, November 4, 2010

A METAPHOR FOR ENLIGHTENMENT

.A metaphor for enlightenment


.This time, a highly educational Mulla Nasrudin story...

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.Mulla was crossing a street in his village when a man approached him saying, `Do you know that your wife is being unfaithful to you?'
Mulla quickly replied, `That's impossible. My wife would never be unfaithful to me.'
The man answered, `I can prove it to you. At midnight tonight she has a rendezvous with her lover under the fig tree at the edge of the village.'
Mulla was very upset and, anticipating a duel with his wife's lover, went to buy a pistol.
All day he practiced and thought about the fight and at eleven in the evening, he went to the fig tree in a terrific state of mind.
He climbed into the tree and, being a very passionate man, leapt from branch to branch in a frenzy of jealousy and anger. He pictured his wife in her lover's arms and practiced from every angle the blow he would deliver to his rival.
At ten minutes to twelve he listened carefully but could not yet hear anything. At five to twelve he was in a state of unbearable agitation and expectation. At three minutes to twelve there was still no sound of them and every nerve in his body was on edge. At twelve o'clock he was unmoving as a tiger about to pounce on its prey. But still nothing happened under the tree.
Then he was suddenly struck in all his being by a tremendous insight: `I'm not married!'

..........

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Monday, November 1, 2010

ADVAITA POEM

                            





           These two: one universe.




                                   In unity there is little to behold;

                                 So She, the mother of abundance,

                                   Brought forth the world as play.



                                   He takes the role of Witness

                                      out of love of watching Her.

                             But when Her appearance is withdrawn,

                           The role of Witness is abandoned as well.



                       Through Her, He assumes the form of the universe;

                                   Without Her, He is left naked.



                          If night and day were to approach the Sun,

                                           Both would disappear.

                              In the same way, their duality would vanish

                                   If their essential Unity were seen.



                               In fact, the duality of Shiva and Shakti

                               Cannot exist in that primal unitive state

                                     From which AUM emanates.





                                 They are like a stream of Knowledge

                                   From which a knower cannot drink

                                      Unless he gives up himself.





(From Amrutanubhava of Jnyaneshwar)