NOTE: This teaching was given on November 2, 2006.
Jesus: There are some ego games that are very specific, and they are relatively easy to expose when they are outplayed in specific situations. There are other ego games that are more general, and they can be difficult to expose because they apply in many different situations, even in all situations. These general ego games often set the stage for the specific ego games, and thus they can impair your ability to see through and rise above the specific games. Thus, I will begin by talking about one of the general ego games.
To understand this game, let us summarize what I have explained in the previous couple of discourses:
•The ego wants to blind you to the existence of a higher reality that is beyond the dualistic thinking of the ego.
•Once you are blinded by that illusion, the ego wants to keep you there indefinitely.
•The ego wants you to go where it wants you to go without you realizing what is happening. It wants to take you down the staircase of life so gradually that you don’t notice the descent.
•If you refuse to go further down, the ego wants to keep you standing still at your present level. Even after you start climbing back up, the ego seeks to stop your growth at any level.
•It takes a distinct decision to stand up and start walking back up the staircase of life. The ego will do anything to prevent you from making such a LIFE decision.
So what is the ego’s primary weapon in attempting to prevent you from making LIFE decisions and taking the next step up the staircase of life? It is that the ego seeks to make you accept a norm, a definition of what is considered normal behavior. The ego will then project into your conscious mind that as long as you stay within what it has defined as normal, there is no reason for you to do anything out of the ordinary, such as making a LIFE decision and taking a distinct step up the staircase. In other words, the ego wants you to believe that sliding down the staircase or standing still is normal behavior, whereas taking a step up the staircase is abnormal and therefore unnecessary, dangerous, forbidden or impossible. The ego’s message is, “Don’t rock the boat—just be normal like everyone else!”
In this endeavor, the ego has a major ally, namely what some psychologists call the collective unconscious. We might also call it the mass consciousness or the planetary ego. When you look at society, you will see that many people live their entire lives within the norms of their particular society, blindly following the standards for normal behavior in anything from religion to fashion trends.
Throughout history, you will see that many societies have imposed various penalties for going beyond their norms. This can be drastic measures, such as being killed, deported, imprisoned or herded into railroad cars and taken off to a concentration camp. Or it can be less dramatic – and thus harder to expose – methods ranging from family and social pressure to simply not teaching people that there is a different way to look at life.
Once a society has created a state in which most people fear to go against or question the norm, that society has become rigid. There is little possibility of an internal change, which is why such societies often enter a downward slide that leads to their collapse, either through internal factors or an external enemy that conquers them. The Roman empire is a prime example, but many others litter the pages of history.
Historically speaking, very few societies have had norms that made it acceptable behavior to follow the spiritual path. Most societies have discouraged people from doing so—even – or perhaps especially – religious societies. That is why I was opposed, pressured and attacked from all sides when I started expressing my Christhood. Thus, all sincere spiritual seekers should expect that they will have to go beyond the norms of their society in order to pursue the spiritual path to its full extent. In other words, a spiritual seeker might as well accept the fact that spiritual growth is currently not seen as normal by any Western society. And once you expect to be abnormal – with whatever that entails in your particular environment – you are not as susceptible to your ego’s subtle attempts to make you stay within the norm—stay within the fold.
Beyond your society, you also need to be aware of the inner pressure created by your ego itself. Your personal norm is clearly affected by the environment in which you grew up, but it also has its own personal characteristics that your ego has carefully created over many lifetimes. These are designed to keep you following what your ego has defined as normal, and thus a spiritual seeker must be wiling to examine his or her norms. No one ever has been successful on the spiritual path without examining and questioning – and then transcending – his or her personal norms as well as the external norm of the environment. In other words, for a spiritual seeker, going beyond the norm should be considered normal behavior.
The carrot and the stick
The concept of a norm implies a median value, a sort of average. But a median exists only in relation to two extremes, as an average is found somewhere between a high and a low. So the ego seeks to define its norm by setting up a high and a low:
•The carrot is the highest you can attain, the wildest dream, your ultimate sense of happiness—according to the ego. Yet because the ego cannot see beyond the duality consciousness, it will define this high based on its own limited vision. Or it will define the way to attain this ultimate state based on its illusions. For example, many spiritual people have a somewhat correct vision in terms of thinking the ultimate goal of life is an exalted state in the spiritual realm. Yet their egos often manage to make them believe in the automatic path to that goal, as I explained in previous discourses. One obvious example is the belief that if you verbally confess Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior, then I will automatically take upon myself all of your sins and take you to heaven.
•The stick is your greatest fears, the vision of the worst that could possibly happen to you. Again, the ego will define this based on its own illusions, and thus there will always be a clear element of irrationality. In fact, all fear is irrational, for when you truly understand the reality of God, truth will set you free from all fear.
My point here is that – in reality – the ego’s norm is a mental prison that is meant to keep you within the boundaries where your ego feels it can control you. Yet the ego presents the norm as a safe zone that will guarantee that you attain your highest dream while keeping you safe from your worst fears. To use my previous example, as long as you believe Jesus will save you, you will be saved. And as long as you do not question the doctrine of the vicarious atonement, you will avoid burning in hell.
The conclusion is simple. As long as you do not question the norm, including the carrot and the stick, you will stay within the mental box defined by your ego and no spiritual growth is possible. Thus, you will not begin to grow spiritually until you begin to question your ego’s norm. The ego, of course, will do anything it can think of to make you believe questioning the norm is dangerous, and thus you must be prepared to question the reasons for why you should not question the norm.
As I said, all fear is irrational, and all irrationality can be removed through proper understanding. So the very key to any kind of progress is to seek understanding. As the Bible itself puts it, “With all thy getting, get understanding.” This is also why I often talked about those who have “ears to hear” or “eyes to see.” It is why I told people that if they seek, they shall find, if they ask, they shall receive and if they knock, the door shall be opened unto them. Yet I know the fear of questioning the norm is very persuasive, so let me attempt to give you the clarity that will empower you to conquer it.
Why it is dangerous NOT to question the norm
As an example, I will use traditional Christian terminology. Most Christian churches would agree that you need to be saved because you have sinned. Yet why do you have the option to sin, why didn’t God simply create you without that option, so that there would be no question about whether or not you would be saved?
Most churches would also agree that you have to do something in order to be saved—you have to make certain choices. They often disagree on what you have to do, but that is not important in this context. The very fact that you are not automatically saved and that you have to do something in order to be saved shows that God gave you free will. Because you have free will, you can choose to go against God’s law – thereby sinning and jeopardizing your salvation – or you can choose to align yourself with God’s law and be saved.
The very fact that God gave you free will shows that while God wants you to enter his kingdom, he does not want to force you to do so. If he was a forceful God, he would have created you without the option to sin, so that you would automatically be in God’s kingdom. So the logical conclusion is that God did not create you as a robot, but he wants you to enter his kingdom out of your own free-will choosing.
What will it take for you to voluntarily enter God’s kingdom? It will take that you understand that entering God’s kingdom is what you really want, and thus doing what it takes to enter is in your own best interest. You must overcome any sense of fear, the sense that you are somehow forced to be saved because otherwise you will end up in a terrible place. You must overcome any sense of obligation, the sense that you should give up your earthly pleasures in order to enter heaven—which really is the subtle sense that being saved is a loss of earthly things.
Entering God’s kingdom must be a completely free choice, and you can make a free choice only when you have the full understanding of what is involved in the choice. You must be able to see why choosing God’s kingdom over an earthly kingdom is enlightened self-interest. You must see that you do not lose anything but gain something that is infinitely more valuable than anything you have on Earth. If you do not have this full understanding, you simply cannot make a free choice. A choice that is based on even partial ignorance can never be a free choice.
The conclusion is clear. God wants you to make a free choice, which is why he gave you free will. God knows that when you have the full understanding of reality, you will lovingly choose God’s kingdom over anything on Earth. And therefore, God wants you to have the full understanding of reality. In other words, God has nothing to hide and is not seeking to hide anything from you. Thus, it can only be the forces who seek to keep you out of God’s kingdom that want to prevent you from having full understanding.
It is the ego and the prince of this world who are seeking to keep you in ignorance by making you believe that asking certain questions is dangerous. These forces have often used religion to stop people from asking questions, yet in this age it is time people rise above that intimidation and demand the full truth about their relationship with God. The reality is that God never seeks to discourage you from discovering the truth that will make you free. So when you encounter any inner or outer resistance to your growth in understanding, you know the ego and the prince of this world are at work. Thus, be willing to question the norm, be willing to transcend the norm, be willing to be MORE than the norm tells you that you can or are allowed to be.
The norm, an uneven standard
For the vast majority of human beings, the norm set by their egos is to not go beyond what is considered normal behavior in their society. Obviously, various cultures and societies have different standards for what is considered normal, so the norms created in different parts of the world can vary greatly. Yet they all say pretty much the same thing, namely that you should not do anything extraordinary. Just be an ordinary human being and you will reach whatever goal is defined. For example, just be an ordinary Christian and follow the doctrines of your church and then you will be saved.
Most people are happy to live what might be called “ordinary” lives by following the standard for what is considered normal. Yet in every society there are people who cannot be satisfied by being normal, and they long for something extraordinary in their lives. Thus, they often engage in a sincere striving for excellence and seek to rise above “ordinary” people in a variety of ways.
Unfortunately, most of these people get trapped in another ego game, namely that of competing with others. Although their striving for excellence could potentially lead them to make progress on the spiritual path, as long as they are caught in the game of comparison, they are not truly rising above the ego. The ego loves to feel superior to others, so for these people, their egos have simply defined a different norm. This norm says that instead of blending into the crowd, these people’s norm is to stand out from the crowd. It is normal for them to be better than others.
In its extreme form, this can make people believe that they belong to a separate category of people, a higher class, that is inherently above the masses. Thus, for these people, superiority has become the norm, and their lives are eaten up by a quest to prove this superiority by any means, be it power, intelligence, education, sports, money, beauty or whatever else might be available.
Obviously, being involved with a spiritual teaching or movement is not above being used by the ego to create the sense of superiority. Many spiritual people have been trapped in pursuing a goal defined by their egos, often set up as the guaranteed path to salvation. As long as you follow the outer rules set by this or that spiritual organization, you will rise above others and be more spiritual—says the ego.
In fact, the vast majority of the spiritual organizations found on this planet have norms – sometimes clearly defined and sometimes unspoken or vague – that are partially or fully defined by the egos of the leaders and members of the organization. The ego has simply managed to make such people accept its norm for what it means to be a spiritual person.
Behind all norms is an underlying message, namely that it is never normal for you to go beyond being human—as defined by the consciousness of duality. The ego will let you rise however high you want, as long as you stay within the dualistic game of comparing yourself to others or to an outer standard. What the ego does not want to see is that you begin to attain union with your I AM Presence so that you begin to strive to be – here on Earth – an extension of the Being you already are in the spiritual realm.
The ego knows that once you begin to know your spiritual being, you will see beyond any earthly standard and you will want MORE than the Earth – or the ego – can offer. You will begin to become non-attached to the goals and norms defined by the ego, and this will gradually empower you to take command over your own mind and being. You can then follow the original call for all co-creators, namely to multiply and have dominion over the Earth. Thus, any norm defined by the ego has as its underlying goal to prevent you from attaining this non-dualistic approach to life. The ego will let you be any kind of human being you want to be, but it does not want you to be here below all that you are Above.
The norm, an ever-moving target
It is essential for spiritual seekers to realize that the ego’s norm is not a fixed entity. As you grow on the spiritual path, your ego will adapt to your new beliefs, your new world view. Obviously, the ego would prefer to keep you away from the spiritual path and keep you trapped in the materialistic ego games that I will describe in coming discourses. Yet if it cannot do so, it will simply change its norm to incorporate your spiritual beliefs while distorting them in subtle ways so that you still stay within the borders of being a human being.
I have already described the ego’s attempt to create the illusion of an automatic salvation, and it is essential for all spiritual seekers to consider whether they have been trapped by their ego’s attempt to set up a norm that appeases their spiritual beliefs while preventing any serious spiritual growth.
The reality is that as long as you have any ego left, it will attempt to adapt its norm, including the stick and the carrot, to your present level of consciousness. The purpose is always to prevent you from going beyond your current state of consciousness. That is why is is so important for a spiritual seeker to realize that you can never stand still. Stillstand means that the ego will catch up to you, and when it does, it will create a new norm which makes it seem as if your current level on the spiritual path is all that is needed or possible. Thus, you should feel comfortable staying where you are and forget about going higher.
Be aware that the higher you climb on the path, the more subtle your ego becomes. As you educate yourself in spiritual concepts, you are also educating your ego, and it will use this education to create a norm that is very persuasive. This norm will play on all of your spiritual beliefs and it might contain much truth. Yet there is always that slight distortion which seeks to prevent you from transcending your current state of consciousness.
That is why you can never stand still, never allow yourself to become too comfortable. If you will take an honest look at spiritual organizations, you will see that there is a distinct pattern. Many members start out by eagerly following whatever path if offered in the organization. They apply themselves fully and often make great progress. Yet as they climb the ranks of the outer organization, they gradually become more concerned about their outer positions than their inner progress.
Thus, they now seek to defend their positions rather than transcending them, and this is the hallmark of the ego. It is a sure sign that they have now accepted a new norm that reinforces the belief that they are very spiritual because they live up to outer characteristics defined by the dualistic vision of the ego. Many spiritual organizations have been perverted by this process and have lost their original transformative qualities. Instead, they now seek to trap people at a certain level and prevent them from going beyond the norm – overt or hidden – defined by the organization.
Questioning the norm
The effect of the norm is to get you to “do nothing” – or rather to continue to do the same thing – while feeling that you do not need to change yourself or any aspect of your life. That is why so many people only have a spiritual awakening when they experience a major crisis in their lives. Only when some outside event shatters their sense that everything is normal, that everything is okay, do they wake up and acknowledge that something needs to change.
Consider how many people are moving very gradually toward such a crisis, and everyone around them can see where they are going, but they cannot see it themselves. Well, they cannot see it because so far nothing has disturbed the norm, the sense that they are okay and that nothing bad will happen as long as they keep doing what they are doing. The more blinded people are by the norms of their egos, the more severe the crisis that is needed in order to wake them up and make them willing to change.
It is always sad for a spiritual seeker to see how people move toward a crisis while ignoring all of the warning signals. They simply bury their heads in the sand and refuse to heed the people or events that are meant to signal that it is time to change course. As a spiritual teacher, I would very much wish that all sincere seekers would avoid this trap, but the only way to do so is to become aware of the ego’s norm and be willing to question it.
The basic fact is that the ego’s norm is always designed to prevent you from going beyond a certain level. You simply cannot go beyond that level until you see what is holding you back, namely a norm created by the dualistic mind. Thus, it is essential for all spiritual seekers to be aware of the existence of a norm and to always remain open to questioning it.
This involves questioning all elements of the norm, including the high, the low and the median:
•The Median. It might be normal for most people to behave or believe a certain way, but that is not to say it is normal for spiritual seekers. If you truly understand the spiritual path, your goal should be to transcend yourself, so this is the standard you need to apply. Will the norms I have in certain areas help me grow spiritually, or will they tie me to a certain level, a level that might be comfortable but does not lead to growth? You should also be aware that there is always a temptation to become comfortable at any level of the spiritual path. So if you feel yourself becoming comfortable and start to think you do not need to go higher or that you can keep doing the same thing, be alert and start questioning the norm that gives rise to such thoughts and feelings. Self-transcendence means that you cannot keep doing or believing the same thing for an indefinite period of time. There will come a time, when it is necessary to make a LIFE decision and rise to an entirely new level.
•The high. Question your highest dreams or vision and be willing to go within and seek an even higher vision from your Christ self. Be aware that your ego can never truly understand the spiritual path, so it cannot define the highest possible goal for you. That goal is already defined in your divine plan, and you only need to uncover it, but to do so, you need to look beyond the limited vision of the ego. You also need to question the way the ego defines for reaching your/its goals. The ego can never understand self-transcendence, so it will tend to come up with outer criteria for reaching whatever goals you have. Be willing to look beyond them. Study spiritual teachings and ask for direction from your Christ self, so that you can refine your vision of how to reach your goals. Above all, always be willing to reach for more, for a higher vision than you have right now.
•The low. Be willing to realize that all fear springs from an illusion. The crippling effect of fear is that it makes you afraid to look at what you fear, and therefore you cannot discover that your fear is based on an illusion. Once you take a look, you see the irrationality of fear, and that is the first step to leaving it behind. Ask yourself, “What is the worst thing that could happen? Would that prevent me from learning my lessons and transcending myself?” You see, when you begin to look beyond the ego’s norms, you realize that the true goal of life is for you to grow spiritually, which means you have the potential to learn from every situation. Many people have grown tremendously from the worst tragedies. This is not to say you should long for a tragedy, but that you should realize that even if the worst happened, it would not mean the end of your spiritual growth. Once you begin to consider that even if the worst fears of your ego came to pass, it would only accelerate your growth, you begin to truly overcome the paralyzing effect of the ego’s fears. Your conscious self has no fear. Only the ego has fears, so once you start separating yourself from the ego, you will no longer be overwhelmed by its fears, for you see how irrational and paranoid they are.
Why have I chosen to talk about this norm game before I talk about more specific ego games? Because for each of the specific ego games, there is a norm game. When you are caught in a specific ego game, you think the game is normal behavior, and thus you simply cannot see that there is anything wrong with it. You cannot see how it limits or even hurts yourself, let alone other people. You simply cannot see the beam in your own eye, and thus you obviously cannot start removing it.
So before you can even begin to see through a specific ego game, you must overcome the illusion that playing this game is normal behavior. You must realize that even if it is normal behavior for most human beings, it is not normal for a spiritual seeker, a person who wants spiritual freedom. You must realize that playing the game takes away your freedom, and this empowers you to start separating yourself from that specific game, eventually leaving it behind for good. Thus, the crucial point for overcoming any ego game is to have a moment of truth, where you see what you are doing, see that it is an ego game and then have the spontaneous decision, “I can’t keep doing this anymore, I have to change.”
In the beginning, such a moment of truth can be a shock to you because you are still so identified with the ego. It can cause you some emotional pain and hurt pride to realize that you are trapped in an ego game. Yet as you begin to separate yourself from the ego, the shock will be less and less, until you can discover an ego game without feeling any sense of shock or pain. You simply see it for what it is and let it go, as easily as you throw away a pair of old pants that are worn out.
By building this momentum of seeing and letting go of ego games, you will make it easier for yourself to walk the path. And to encourage this process, I will go on to talk about some of the most materialistic ego games, games that most spiritual seekers have moved beyond. Thus, I hope to help you see that you have already built a momentum on overcoming ego games. You simply need to become aware of this so you can apply it to the ego games you have not yet seen, whereby you can overcome them without pain. The spiritual path is not a painful process, but a joyful process of letting go of what limits you so that you can experience greater freedom.
..........from askrealjesus.com
Now...
The present moment holds the key to liberation. But you cannot find the present moment as long as you are your mind..... -Eckhart Tolle
I AM THAT... By Nisargadatta Maharaj...
. The Sense of "I am"
Questioner: It is a matter of daily experience that on waking up the world suddenly appears. Where does it come from?
Maharaj: Before anything can come into being there must be somebody to whom it comes. All appearance and disappearance presupposes a change against some changeless background.
Q: Before waking up I was unconscious.
M: In what sense? Having forgotten, or not having experienced? Don"t you experience even when unconscious? Can you exist without knowing? A lapse in memory: is it a proof of non-existence? And can you validly talk about your own non-existence as an actual experience? You cannot even say that your mind did not exist. Did you not wake up on being called? And on waking up, was it not the sense "I am" that came first? Some seed consciousness must be existing even during sleep, or swoon. On waking up the experience runs: "I am -- the body -- in the world." It may appear to arise in succession but in fact it is all simultaneous, a single idea of having a body in a world. Can there be the sense of "I am" without being somebody or other?
Q: I am always somebody with its memories and habits. I know no other "I am".
M: Maybe something prevents you from knowing? When you do not know something which others know, what do you do?
Q: I seek the source of their knowledge under their instruction.
M: Is it not important to you to know whether you are a mere body, or something else? Or, maybe nothing at all? Don"t you see that all your problems are your body"s problems -- food, clothing, shelter, family, friends, name, fame, security, survival -- all these lose their meaning the moment you realise that you may not be a mere body.
Q: What benefit is there in knowing that I am not the body?
M: Even to say that you are not the body is not quite true. In a way you are all the bodies, hearts and minds and much more. Go deep into the sense of "I am" and you will find. How do you find a thing you have mislaid or forgotten? You keep it in your mind until you recall it. The sense of being, of 'I am' is the first to emerge. Ask yourself whence it comes, or just watch it quietly. When the mind stays in the 'I am' without moving, you enter a state which cannot be verbalised but can be experienced. All you need to do is try and try again. After all the sense "I am" is always with you, only you have attached all kinds of things to it -- body, feelings, thoughts, ideas, possessions etc. All these self-identifications are misleading. Because of them you take yourself to be what you are not.
Q: Then what am I?
M: It is enough to know what you are not. You need not know what you are. For as long as knowledge means description in terms of what is already known, perceptual, or conceptual, there can be no such thing as self-knowledge, for what you are cannot be described, except as except as total negation. All you can say is: "I am not this, I am not that". You cannot meaningfully say "this is what I am". It just makes no sense. What you can point out as 'this' or 'that' cannot be yourself. Surely, you can not be 'something' else. You are nothing perceivable, or imaginable. Yet, without you there can be neither perception nor imagination. You observe the heart feeling, the mind thinking, the body acting; the very act of perceiving shows that you are not what you perceive. Can there be perception, experience without you? An experience must "belong'. Somebody must come and declare it as his own. Without an experiencer the experience is not real. It is the experiencer that imparts reality to experience. An experience which you cannot have, of what value is it to you?
Q: The sense of being an experiencer, the sense of "I am", is it not also an experience?
M: Obviously, every thing experienced is an experience. And in every experience there arises the experiencer of it. Memory creates the illusion of continuity. In reality each experience has its own experiencer and the sense of identity is due to the common factor at the root of all experiencer-experience relations. Identity and continuity are not the same. Just as each flower has its own colour, but all colours are caused by the same light, so do many experiences appear in the undivided and indivisible awareness, each separate in memory, identical in essence. This essence is the root, the foundation, the timeless and spaceless 'possibility' of all experience.
Q: How do I get at it?
M: You need not get at it, for you are it. It will get at you, if you give it a chance. Let go your attachment to the unreal and the real will swiftly and smoothly step into its own. Stop imagining yourself being or doing this or that and the realisation that you are the source and heart of all will dawn upon you. With this will come great love which is not choice or predilection, nor attachment, but a power which makes all things love-worthy and lovable.
2. Obsession with the body
Questioner: Maharaj, you are sitting in front of me and I am here at your feet. What is the basic difference between us?
Maharaj: There is no basic difference.
Q: Still there must be some real difference, I come to you, you do not come to me.
M: Because you imagine differences, you go here and there in search of "superior" people.
Q: You too are a superior person. You claim to know the real, while I do not.
M: Did I ever tell you that you do not know and, therefore, you are inferior? Let those who invented such distinctions prove them. I do not claim to know what you do not. In fact, I know much less than you do.
Q: Your words are wise, your behaviour noble, your grace all-powerful.
M: I know nothing about it all and see no difference between you and me. My life is a succession of events, just like yours. Only I am detached and see the passing show as a passing show, while you stick to things and move along with them.
Q: What made you so dispassionate?
M: Nothing in particular. It so happened that I trusted my Guru. He told me I am nothing but my self and I believed him. Trusting him, I behaved accordingly and ceased caring for what was not me, nor mine.
Q: Why were you lucky to trust your teacher fully, while our trust is nominal and verbal?
M: Who can say? It happened so. Things happen without cause and reason and, after all, what does it matter, who is who? Your high opinion of me is your opinion only. Any moment you may change it. Why attach importance to opinions, even your own?
Q: Still, you are different. Your mind seems to be always quiet and happy. And miracles happen round you.
M: I know nothing about miracles, and I wonder whether nature admits exceptions to her laws, unless we agree that everything is a miracle. As to my mind, there is no such thing. There is consciousness in which everything happens. It is quite obvious and within the experience of everybody. You just do not look carefully enough. Look well, and see what I see.
Q: What do you see?
M: I see what you too could see, here and now, but for the wrong focus of your attention. You give no attention to your self. Your mind is all with things, people and ideas, never with your self. Bring your self into focus, become aware of your own existence. See how you function, watch the motives and the results of your actions. Study the prison you have built around yourself by inadvertence. By knowing what you are not, you come to know your self. The way back to your self is through refusal and rejection. One thing is certain: the real is not imaginary, it is not a product of the mind. Even the sense "I am" is not continuous, though it is a useful pointer; it shows where to seek, but not what to seek. Just have a good look at it. Once you are convinced that you cannot say truthfully about your self anything except "I am", and that nothing that can be pointed at, can be your self, the need for the "I am" is over -- you are no longer intent on verbalising what you are. All you need is to get rid of the tendency to define your self. All definitions apply to your body only and to its expressions. Once this obsession with the body goes, you will revert to your natural state, spontaneously and effortlessly. The only difference between us is that I am aware of my natural state, while you are bemused. Just like gold made into ornaments has no advantage over gold dust, except when the mind makes it so, so are we one in being -- we differ only in appearance. We discover it by being earnest, by searching, enquiring, questioning daily and hourly, by giving one's life to this discovery.
3. The Living Present
Questioner: As I can see, there is nothing wrong with my body nor with my real being. Both are not of my making and need not be improved upon. What has gone wrong is the "inner body", call it mind, consciousness, antahkarana, whatever the name.
Maharaj: What do you consider to be wrong with your mind?
Q: It is restless, greedy of the pleasant and afraid of the unpleasant.
M: What is wrong with its seeking the pleasant and shirking the unpleasant? Between the banks of pain and pleasure the river of life flows. It is only when the mind refuses to flow with life, and gets stuck at the banks, that it becomes a problem. By flowing with life I mean acceptance -- letting come what comes and go what goes. Desire not, fear not, observe the actual, as and when it happens, for you are not what happens, you are to whom it happens. Ultimately even the observer you are not. You are the ultimate potentiality of which the all-embracing consciousness is the manifestation and expression.
Q: Yet, between the body and the self there lies a cloud of thoughts and feelings, which neither server the body nor the self. These thoughts and feelings are flimsy, transient and meaningless, mere mental dust that blinds and chokes, yet they are there, obscuring and destroying.
M: Surely, the memory of an event cannot pass for the event itself. Nor can the anticipation. There is something exceptional, unique, about the present event, which the previous, or the coming do not have. There is a livingness about it, an actuality; it stands out as if illuminated. There is the "stamp of reality" on the actual, which the past and the future do not have.
Q: What gives the present that 'stamp of reality"?
M: There is nothing peculiar in the present event to make it different from the past and future. For a moment the past was actual and the future will become so. What makes the present so different? Obviously, my presence. I am real for I am always now, in the present, and what is with me now shares in my reality. The past is in memory, the future -- in imagination. There is nothing in the present event itself that makes it stand out as real. It may be some simple, periodical occurrence, like the striking of the clock. In spite of our knowing that the successive strokes are identical, the present stroke is quite different from the previous one and the next -- as remembered, or expected. A thing focussed in the now is with me, for I am ever present; it is my own reality that I impart to the present event.
Q: But we deal with things remembered as if they were real.
M: We consider memories, only when they come into the present The forgotten is not counted until one is reminded -- which implies, bringing into the now.
Q: Yes, I can see there is in the now some unknown factor that gives momentary reality to the transient actuality.
M: You need not say it is unknown, for you see it in constant operation. Since you were born, has it ever changed? Things and thoughts have been changing all the time. But the feeling that what is now is real has never changed, even in dream.
Q: In deep sleep there is no experience of the present reality.
M: The blankness of deep sleep is due entirely to the lack of specific memories. But a general memory of well-being is there. There is a difference in feeling when we say "I was deeply asleep" from "I was absent".
Q: We shall repeat the question we began with: between life"s source and life"s expression (which is the body), there is the mind and its ever-changeful states. The stream of mental states is endless, meaningless and painful. Pain is the constant factor. What we call pleasure is but a gap, an interval between two painful states. Desire and fear are the weft and warp of living, and both are made of pain. Our question is: can there be a happy mind?
M: Desire is the memory of pleasure and fear is the memory of pain. Both make the mind restless. Moments of pleasure are merely gaps in the stream of pain. How can the mind be happy?
Q: That is true when we desire pleasure or expect pain. But there are moments of unexpected, unanticipated joy. Pure joy, uncontaminated by desire -- unsought, undeserved, God-given.
M: Still, joy is joy only against a background of pain.
Q: Is pain a cosmic fact, or purely mental?
M: The universe is complete and where there is completeness, where nothing lacks, what can give pain?
Q: The Universe may be complete as a whole, but incomplete in details.
M: A part of the whole seen in relation to the whole is also complete. Only when seen in isolation it becomes deficient and thus a seat of pain. What makes for isolation?
Q: Limitations of the mind, of course. The mind cannot see the whole for the part.
M: Good enough. The mind, by its very nature, divides and opposes. Can there be some other mind, which unites and harmonises, which sees the whole in the part and the part as totally related to the whole?
Q: The other mind -- where to look for it?
M: In the going beyond the limiting, dividing and opposing mind. In ending the mental process as we know it. When this comes to an end, that mind is born.
Q: In that mind, the problem of joy and sorrow exist no longer?
M: Not as we know them, as desirable or repugnant. It becomes rather a question of love seeking expression and meeting with obstacles. The inclusive mind is love in action, battling against circumstances, initially frustrated, ultimately victorious.
Q: Between the spirit and the body, is it love that provides the bridge?
M: What else? Mind creates the abyss, the heart crosses it.
4. Real World is Beyond the Mind
Questioner: On several occasions the question was raised as to whether the universe is subject to the law of causation, or does it exist and function outside the law. You seem to hold the view that it is uncaused, that everything, however small, is uncaused, arising and disappearing for no known reason whatsoever.
Maharaj: Causation means succession in time of events in space, the space being physical or mental. Time, space, causation are mental categories, arising and subsiding with the mind.
Q: As long as the mind operates, causation is a valid law.
M: Like everything mental, the so-called law of causation contradicts itself. No thing in existence has a particular cause; the entire universe contributes to the existence of even the smallest thing; nothing could be as it is without the universe being what it is. When the source and ground of everything is the only cause of everything, to speak of causality as a universal law is wrong. The universe is not bound by its content, because its potentialities are infinite; besides it is a manifestation, or expression of a principle fundamentally and totally free.
Q: Yes, one can see that ultimately to speak of one thing being the only cause of another thing is altogether wrong. Yet, in actual life we invariably initiate action with a view to a result.
M: Yes, there is a lot of such activity going on, because of ignorance. 'Would people know that nothing can happen unless the entire universe makes it happen, they would achieve much more with less expenditure of energy.
Q: If everything is an expression of the totality of causes, how can we talk of a purposeful action towards an achievement?
M: The very urge to achieve is also an expression of the total universe. It merely shows that the energy potential has risen at a particular point. It is the illusion of time that makes you talk of causality. When the past and the future are seen in the timeless now, as parts of a common pattern, the idea of cause-effect loses its validity and creative freedom takes its place.
Q: Yet, I cannot see how can anything come to be without a cause.
M: When I say a thing is without a cause, I mean it can be without a particular cause. Your own mother was needed to give you birth; But you could not have been born without the sun and the earth. Even these could not have caused your birth without your own desire to be born. It is desire that gives birth, that gives name and form. The desirable is imagined and wanted and manifests itself as something tangible or conceivable. Thus is created the world in which we live, our personal world. The real world is beyond the mind's ken; we see it through the net of our desires, divided into pleasure and pain, right and wrong, inner and outer. To see the universe as it is, you must step beyond the net. It is not hard to do so, for the net is full of holes.
Q: What do you mean by holes? And how to find them?
M: Look at the net and its many contradictions. You do and undo at every step. You want peace, love, happiness and work hard to create pain, hatred and war. You want longevity and overeat, you want friendship and exploit. See your net as made of such contradictions and remove them -- your very seeing them will make them go.
Q: Since my seeing the contradiction makes it go, is there no causal link between my seeing and its going?
M: Causality, even as a concept, does not apply to chaos.
Q: To what extent is desire a causal factor?
M: One of the many. For everything there are innumerable causal factors. But the source of all that is, is the Infinite Possibility, the Supreme Reality, which is in you and which throws its power and light and love on every experience. But, this source is not a cause and no cause is a source. Because of that, I say everything is uncaused. You may try to trace how a thing happens, but you cannot find out why a thing is as it is. A thing is as it is, because the universe is as it is.
5. What is Born must Die
Questioner: Is the witness-consciousness permanent or not?
Maharaj: It is not permanent. The knower rises and sets with the known. That in which both the knower and the known arise and set, is beyond time. The words permanent or eternal do not apply.
Q: In sleep there is neither the known, nor the knower. What keeps the body sensitive and receptive?
M: Surely you cannot say the knower was absent. The experience of things and thoughts was not there, that is all. But the absence of experience too is experience. It is like entering a dark room and saying: 'I see nothing'. A man blind from birth knows not what darkness means. Similarly, only the knower knows that he does not know. Sleep is merely a lapse in memory. Life goes on.
Q: And what is death?
M: It is the change in the living process of a particular body. Integration ends and disintegration sets in.
Q: But what about the knower. With the disappearance of the body, does the knower disappear?
M: Just as the knower of the body appears at birth, so he disappears at death.
Q: And nothing remains?
M: Life remains. Consciousness needs a vehicle and an instrument for its manifestation. When life produces another body, another knower comes into being,
Q: Is there a causal link between the successive bodyknowers, or body-minds?
M: Yes, there is something that may be called the memory body, or causal body, a record of all that was thought, wanted and done. It is like a cloud of images held together
Q: What is this sense of a separate existence?
M: It is a reflection in a separate body of the one reality. In this reflection the unlimited and the limited are confused and taken to be the same. To undo this confusion is the purpose of Yoga.
Q: Does not death undo this confusion?
M: In death only the body dies. Life does not, consciousness does not, reality does not. And the life is never so alive as after death.
Q: But does one get reborn?
M: What was born must die. Only the unborn is deathless. Find what is it that never sleeps and never wakes, and whose pale reflection is our sense of 'I'.
Q: How am I to go about this finding out?
M: How do you go about finding anything? By keeping your mind and heart in it. Interest there must be and steady remembrance. To remember what needs to be remembered is the secret of success. You come to it through earnestness.
Q: Do you mean to say that mere wanting to find out is enough? Surely, both qualifications and opportunities are needed.
M: These will come with earnestness. What is supremely important is to be free from contradictions: the goal and the way must not be on different levels; life and light must not quarrel; behaviour must not betray belief. Call it honesty, integrity, wholeness; you must not go back, undo, uproot, abandon the conquered ground. Tenacity of purpose and honesty in pursuit will bring you to your goal.
Q: Tenacity and honesty are endowments, surely! Not a trace of them I have.
M: All will come as you go on. Take the first step first. All blessings come from within. Turn within. 'l am' you know. Be with it all the time you can spare, until you revert to it spontaneously. There is no simpler and easier way.
Questioner: It is a matter of daily experience that on waking up the world suddenly appears. Where does it come from?
Maharaj: Before anything can come into being there must be somebody to whom it comes. All appearance and disappearance presupposes a change against some changeless background.
Q: Before waking up I was unconscious.
M: In what sense? Having forgotten, or not having experienced? Don"t you experience even when unconscious? Can you exist without knowing? A lapse in memory: is it a proof of non-existence? And can you validly talk about your own non-existence as an actual experience? You cannot even say that your mind did not exist. Did you not wake up on being called? And on waking up, was it not the sense "I am" that came first? Some seed consciousness must be existing even during sleep, or swoon. On waking up the experience runs: "I am -- the body -- in the world." It may appear to arise in succession but in fact it is all simultaneous, a single idea of having a body in a world. Can there be the sense of "I am" without being somebody or other?
Q: I am always somebody with its memories and habits. I know no other "I am".
M: Maybe something prevents you from knowing? When you do not know something which others know, what do you do?
Q: I seek the source of their knowledge under their instruction.
M: Is it not important to you to know whether you are a mere body, or something else? Or, maybe nothing at all? Don"t you see that all your problems are your body"s problems -- food, clothing, shelter, family, friends, name, fame, security, survival -- all these lose their meaning the moment you realise that you may not be a mere body.
Q: What benefit is there in knowing that I am not the body?
M: Even to say that you are not the body is not quite true. In a way you are all the bodies, hearts and minds and much more. Go deep into the sense of "I am" and you will find. How do you find a thing you have mislaid or forgotten? You keep it in your mind until you recall it. The sense of being, of 'I am' is the first to emerge. Ask yourself whence it comes, or just watch it quietly. When the mind stays in the 'I am' without moving, you enter a state which cannot be verbalised but can be experienced. All you need to do is try and try again. After all the sense "I am" is always with you, only you have attached all kinds of things to it -- body, feelings, thoughts, ideas, possessions etc. All these self-identifications are misleading. Because of them you take yourself to be what you are not.
Q: Then what am I?
M: It is enough to know what you are not. You need not know what you are. For as long as knowledge means description in terms of what is already known, perceptual, or conceptual, there can be no such thing as self-knowledge, for what you are cannot be described, except as except as total negation. All you can say is: "I am not this, I am not that". You cannot meaningfully say "this is what I am". It just makes no sense. What you can point out as 'this' or 'that' cannot be yourself. Surely, you can not be 'something' else. You are nothing perceivable, or imaginable. Yet, without you there can be neither perception nor imagination. You observe the heart feeling, the mind thinking, the body acting; the very act of perceiving shows that you are not what you perceive. Can there be perception, experience without you? An experience must "belong'. Somebody must come and declare it as his own. Without an experiencer the experience is not real. It is the experiencer that imparts reality to experience. An experience which you cannot have, of what value is it to you?
Q: The sense of being an experiencer, the sense of "I am", is it not also an experience?
M: Obviously, every thing experienced is an experience. And in every experience there arises the experiencer of it. Memory creates the illusion of continuity. In reality each experience has its own experiencer and the sense of identity is due to the common factor at the root of all experiencer-experience relations. Identity and continuity are not the same. Just as each flower has its own colour, but all colours are caused by the same light, so do many experiences appear in the undivided and indivisible awareness, each separate in memory, identical in essence. This essence is the root, the foundation, the timeless and spaceless 'possibility' of all experience.
Q: How do I get at it?
M: You need not get at it, for you are it. It will get at you, if you give it a chance. Let go your attachment to the unreal and the real will swiftly and smoothly step into its own. Stop imagining yourself being or doing this or that and the realisation that you are the source and heart of all will dawn upon you. With this will come great love which is not choice or predilection, nor attachment, but a power which makes all things love-worthy and lovable.
2. Obsession with the body
Questioner: Maharaj, you are sitting in front of me and I am here at your feet. What is the basic difference between us?
Maharaj: There is no basic difference.
Q: Still there must be some real difference, I come to you, you do not come to me.
M: Because you imagine differences, you go here and there in search of "superior" people.
Q: You too are a superior person. You claim to know the real, while I do not.
M: Did I ever tell you that you do not know and, therefore, you are inferior? Let those who invented such distinctions prove them. I do not claim to know what you do not. In fact, I know much less than you do.
Q: Your words are wise, your behaviour noble, your grace all-powerful.
M: I know nothing about it all and see no difference between you and me. My life is a succession of events, just like yours. Only I am detached and see the passing show as a passing show, while you stick to things and move along with them.
Q: What made you so dispassionate?
M: Nothing in particular. It so happened that I trusted my Guru. He told me I am nothing but my self and I believed him. Trusting him, I behaved accordingly and ceased caring for what was not me, nor mine.
Q: Why were you lucky to trust your teacher fully, while our trust is nominal and verbal?
M: Who can say? It happened so. Things happen without cause and reason and, after all, what does it matter, who is who? Your high opinion of me is your opinion only. Any moment you may change it. Why attach importance to opinions, even your own?
Q: Still, you are different. Your mind seems to be always quiet and happy. And miracles happen round you.
M: I know nothing about miracles, and I wonder whether nature admits exceptions to her laws, unless we agree that everything is a miracle. As to my mind, there is no such thing. There is consciousness in which everything happens. It is quite obvious and within the experience of everybody. You just do not look carefully enough. Look well, and see what I see.
Q: What do you see?
M: I see what you too could see, here and now, but for the wrong focus of your attention. You give no attention to your self. Your mind is all with things, people and ideas, never with your self. Bring your self into focus, become aware of your own existence. See how you function, watch the motives and the results of your actions. Study the prison you have built around yourself by inadvertence. By knowing what you are not, you come to know your self. The way back to your self is through refusal and rejection. One thing is certain: the real is not imaginary, it is not a product of the mind. Even the sense "I am" is not continuous, though it is a useful pointer; it shows where to seek, but not what to seek. Just have a good look at it. Once you are convinced that you cannot say truthfully about your self anything except "I am", and that nothing that can be pointed at, can be your self, the need for the "I am" is over -- you are no longer intent on verbalising what you are. All you need is to get rid of the tendency to define your self. All definitions apply to your body only and to its expressions. Once this obsession with the body goes, you will revert to your natural state, spontaneously and effortlessly. The only difference between us is that I am aware of my natural state, while you are bemused. Just like gold made into ornaments has no advantage over gold dust, except when the mind makes it so, so are we one in being -- we differ only in appearance. We discover it by being earnest, by searching, enquiring, questioning daily and hourly, by giving one's life to this discovery.
3. The Living Present
Questioner: As I can see, there is nothing wrong with my body nor with my real being. Both are not of my making and need not be improved upon. What has gone wrong is the "inner body", call it mind, consciousness, antahkarana, whatever the name.
Maharaj: What do you consider to be wrong with your mind?
Q: It is restless, greedy of the pleasant and afraid of the unpleasant.
M: What is wrong with its seeking the pleasant and shirking the unpleasant? Between the banks of pain and pleasure the river of life flows. It is only when the mind refuses to flow with life, and gets stuck at the banks, that it becomes a problem. By flowing with life I mean acceptance -- letting come what comes and go what goes. Desire not, fear not, observe the actual, as and when it happens, for you are not what happens, you are to whom it happens. Ultimately even the observer you are not. You are the ultimate potentiality of which the all-embracing consciousness is the manifestation and expression.
Q: Yet, between the body and the self there lies a cloud of thoughts and feelings, which neither server the body nor the self. These thoughts and feelings are flimsy, transient and meaningless, mere mental dust that blinds and chokes, yet they are there, obscuring and destroying.
M: Surely, the memory of an event cannot pass for the event itself. Nor can the anticipation. There is something exceptional, unique, about the present event, which the previous, or the coming do not have. There is a livingness about it, an actuality; it stands out as if illuminated. There is the "stamp of reality" on the actual, which the past and the future do not have.
Q: What gives the present that 'stamp of reality"?
M: There is nothing peculiar in the present event to make it different from the past and future. For a moment the past was actual and the future will become so. What makes the present so different? Obviously, my presence. I am real for I am always now, in the present, and what is with me now shares in my reality. The past is in memory, the future -- in imagination. There is nothing in the present event itself that makes it stand out as real. It may be some simple, periodical occurrence, like the striking of the clock. In spite of our knowing that the successive strokes are identical, the present stroke is quite different from the previous one and the next -- as remembered, or expected. A thing focussed in the now is with me, for I am ever present; it is my own reality that I impart to the present event.
Q: But we deal with things remembered as if they were real.
M: We consider memories, only when they come into the present The forgotten is not counted until one is reminded -- which implies, bringing into the now.
Q: Yes, I can see there is in the now some unknown factor that gives momentary reality to the transient actuality.
M: You need not say it is unknown, for you see it in constant operation. Since you were born, has it ever changed? Things and thoughts have been changing all the time. But the feeling that what is now is real has never changed, even in dream.
Q: In deep sleep there is no experience of the present reality.
M: The blankness of deep sleep is due entirely to the lack of specific memories. But a general memory of well-being is there. There is a difference in feeling when we say "I was deeply asleep" from "I was absent".
Q: We shall repeat the question we began with: between life"s source and life"s expression (which is the body), there is the mind and its ever-changeful states. The stream of mental states is endless, meaningless and painful. Pain is the constant factor. What we call pleasure is but a gap, an interval between two painful states. Desire and fear are the weft and warp of living, and both are made of pain. Our question is: can there be a happy mind?
M: Desire is the memory of pleasure and fear is the memory of pain. Both make the mind restless. Moments of pleasure are merely gaps in the stream of pain. How can the mind be happy?
Q: That is true when we desire pleasure or expect pain. But there are moments of unexpected, unanticipated joy. Pure joy, uncontaminated by desire -- unsought, undeserved, God-given.
M: Still, joy is joy only against a background of pain.
Q: Is pain a cosmic fact, or purely mental?
M: The universe is complete and where there is completeness, where nothing lacks, what can give pain?
Q: The Universe may be complete as a whole, but incomplete in details.
M: A part of the whole seen in relation to the whole is also complete. Only when seen in isolation it becomes deficient and thus a seat of pain. What makes for isolation?
Q: Limitations of the mind, of course. The mind cannot see the whole for the part.
M: Good enough. The mind, by its very nature, divides and opposes. Can there be some other mind, which unites and harmonises, which sees the whole in the part and the part as totally related to the whole?
Q: The other mind -- where to look for it?
M: In the going beyond the limiting, dividing and opposing mind. In ending the mental process as we know it. When this comes to an end, that mind is born.
Q: In that mind, the problem of joy and sorrow exist no longer?
M: Not as we know them, as desirable or repugnant. It becomes rather a question of love seeking expression and meeting with obstacles. The inclusive mind is love in action, battling against circumstances, initially frustrated, ultimately victorious.
Q: Between the spirit and the body, is it love that provides the bridge?
M: What else? Mind creates the abyss, the heart crosses it.
4. Real World is Beyond the Mind
Questioner: On several occasions the question was raised as to whether the universe is subject to the law of causation, or does it exist and function outside the law. You seem to hold the view that it is uncaused, that everything, however small, is uncaused, arising and disappearing for no known reason whatsoever.
Maharaj: Causation means succession in time of events in space, the space being physical or mental. Time, space, causation are mental categories, arising and subsiding with the mind.
Q: As long as the mind operates, causation is a valid law.
M: Like everything mental, the so-called law of causation contradicts itself. No thing in existence has a particular cause; the entire universe contributes to the existence of even the smallest thing; nothing could be as it is without the universe being what it is. When the source and ground of everything is the only cause of everything, to speak of causality as a universal law is wrong. The universe is not bound by its content, because its potentialities are infinite; besides it is a manifestation, or expression of a principle fundamentally and totally free.
Q: Yes, one can see that ultimately to speak of one thing being the only cause of another thing is altogether wrong. Yet, in actual life we invariably initiate action with a view to a result.
M: Yes, there is a lot of such activity going on, because of ignorance. 'Would people know that nothing can happen unless the entire universe makes it happen, they would achieve much more with less expenditure of energy.
Q: If everything is an expression of the totality of causes, how can we talk of a purposeful action towards an achievement?
M: The very urge to achieve is also an expression of the total universe. It merely shows that the energy potential has risen at a particular point. It is the illusion of time that makes you talk of causality. When the past and the future are seen in the timeless now, as parts of a common pattern, the idea of cause-effect loses its validity and creative freedom takes its place.
Q: Yet, I cannot see how can anything come to be without a cause.
M: When I say a thing is without a cause, I mean it can be without a particular cause. Your own mother was needed to give you birth; But you could not have been born without the sun and the earth. Even these could not have caused your birth without your own desire to be born. It is desire that gives birth, that gives name and form. The desirable is imagined and wanted and manifests itself as something tangible or conceivable. Thus is created the world in which we live, our personal world. The real world is beyond the mind's ken; we see it through the net of our desires, divided into pleasure and pain, right and wrong, inner and outer. To see the universe as it is, you must step beyond the net. It is not hard to do so, for the net is full of holes.
Q: What do you mean by holes? And how to find them?
M: Look at the net and its many contradictions. You do and undo at every step. You want peace, love, happiness and work hard to create pain, hatred and war. You want longevity and overeat, you want friendship and exploit. See your net as made of such contradictions and remove them -- your very seeing them will make them go.
Q: Since my seeing the contradiction makes it go, is there no causal link between my seeing and its going?
M: Causality, even as a concept, does not apply to chaos.
Q: To what extent is desire a causal factor?
M: One of the many. For everything there are innumerable causal factors. But the source of all that is, is the Infinite Possibility, the Supreme Reality, which is in you and which throws its power and light and love on every experience. But, this source is not a cause and no cause is a source. Because of that, I say everything is uncaused. You may try to trace how a thing happens, but you cannot find out why a thing is as it is. A thing is as it is, because the universe is as it is.
5. What is Born must Die
Questioner: Is the witness-consciousness permanent or not?
Maharaj: It is not permanent. The knower rises and sets with the known. That in which both the knower and the known arise and set, is beyond time. The words permanent or eternal do not apply.
Q: In sleep there is neither the known, nor the knower. What keeps the body sensitive and receptive?
M: Surely you cannot say the knower was absent. The experience of things and thoughts was not there, that is all. But the absence of experience too is experience. It is like entering a dark room and saying: 'I see nothing'. A man blind from birth knows not what darkness means. Similarly, only the knower knows that he does not know. Sleep is merely a lapse in memory. Life goes on.
Q: And what is death?
M: It is the change in the living process of a particular body. Integration ends and disintegration sets in.
Q: But what about the knower. With the disappearance of the body, does the knower disappear?
M: Just as the knower of the body appears at birth, so he disappears at death.
Q: And nothing remains?
M: Life remains. Consciousness needs a vehicle and an instrument for its manifestation. When life produces another body, another knower comes into being,
Q: Is there a causal link between the successive bodyknowers, or body-minds?
M: Yes, there is something that may be called the memory body, or causal body, a record of all that was thought, wanted and done. It is like a cloud of images held together
Q: What is this sense of a separate existence?
M: It is a reflection in a separate body of the one reality. In this reflection the unlimited and the limited are confused and taken to be the same. To undo this confusion is the purpose of Yoga.
Q: Does not death undo this confusion?
M: In death only the body dies. Life does not, consciousness does not, reality does not. And the life is never so alive as after death.
Q: But does one get reborn?
M: What was born must die. Only the unborn is deathless. Find what is it that never sleeps and never wakes, and whose pale reflection is our sense of 'I'.
Q: How am I to go about this finding out?
M: How do you go about finding anything? By keeping your mind and heart in it. Interest there must be and steady remembrance. To remember what needs to be remembered is the secret of success. You come to it through earnestness.
Q: Do you mean to say that mere wanting to find out is enough? Surely, both qualifications and opportunities are needed.
M: These will come with earnestness. What is supremely important is to be free from contradictions: the goal and the way must not be on different levels; life and light must not quarrel; behaviour must not betray belief. Call it honesty, integrity, wholeness; you must not go back, undo, uproot, abandon the conquered ground. Tenacity of purpose and honesty in pursuit will bring you to your goal.
Q: Tenacity and honesty are endowments, surely! Not a trace of them I have.
M: All will come as you go on. Take the first step first. All blessings come from within. Turn within. 'l am' you know. Be with it all the time you can spare, until you revert to it spontaneously. There is no simpler and easier way.
He's that rascally kind of yogi...
By Kabir
(15th Century)
He's that rascally kind of yogi
who has no sky or earth,
no hand, foot,
form or shape.
Where there's no market
he sets up shop,
weighs things
and keeps the accounts.
No deeds, no creeds,
no yogic powers,
not even a horn or gourd,
so how can he
go begging?
"I know you
and you know me
and I'm inside of you."
When there isn't a trace
of creation or destruction,
what do you meditate on?
That yogi built a house
brimful of Ram.
He has no healing herbs,
his root-of-life
is Ram.
He looks and looks
at the juggler's tricks,
the magician's sleight-of-hand --
Kabir says, saints, he's made it
to the King's land.
-- from The Bijak of Kabir, Translated by Linda Hess / Translated by Shukdeo
Singh
(15th Century)
He's that rascally kind of yogi
who has no sky or earth,
no hand, foot,
form or shape.
Where there's no market
he sets up shop,
weighs things
and keeps the accounts.
No deeds, no creeds,
no yogic powers,
not even a horn or gourd,
so how can he
go begging?
"I know you
and you know me
and I'm inside of you."
When there isn't a trace
of creation or destruction,
what do you meditate on?
That yogi built a house
brimful of Ram.
He has no healing herbs,
his root-of-life
is Ram.
He looks and looks
at the juggler's tricks,
the magician's sleight-of-hand --
Kabir says, saints, he's made it
to the King's land.
-- from The Bijak of Kabir, Translated by Linda Hess / Translated by Shukdeo
Singh
Time...
Shri Atmananda from Spiritual Discourses;
The one thought which is the permanent background of all thoughts is: ‘I am.’
Usually this background thought is forgotten, and immediately a plurality of
thoughts come in. This plurality is what is called ‘time’.
The one thought which is the permanent background of all thoughts is: ‘I am.’
Usually this background thought is forgotten, and immediately a plurality of
thoughts come in. This plurality is what is called ‘time’.
Beyond all doubt...
When you know beyond all doubting that
the same life flows through all that is and
you are that life, you will love all naturally
and spontaneously. When you realize the
depth and fullness of your love of yourself,
you know that every living being and the
entire universe are included in your affection.
- Nisargadatta Maharaj
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
"I Am That"
Talks with Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
The Acorn Press, 1973
the same life flows through all that is and
you are that life, you will love all naturally
and spontaneously. When you realize the
depth and fullness of your love of yourself,
you know that every living being and the
entire universe are included in your affection.
- Nisargadatta Maharaj
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
"I Am That"
Talks with Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
The Acorn Press, 1973
Jesus Speaks...
Do you have any recommendations on methods for introducing spiritual concepts and the spiritual path to children?
The best way to teach children about anything is to teach them by example. Children are natural imitators and follow the examples of the adults around them. So the very best way to teach children about spiritual concepts is to make sure that you yourself have adopted the attitude that you are a seeker of truth instead of a follower of doctrine. You need to adopt the approach to spirituality that this website calls the inner approach. And you need to move away from the outer, doctrinal or dogmatic approach.
In other words, you need to be constantly searching for a higher understanding of spiritual matters than what you have right now. You need to be curious and willing to ask difficult questions. You need to realize that your present understanding is not the final or infallible understanding, but simply a stepping stone to an even deeper understanding. You need to be willing to consider and discuss any topic about spirituality without feeling like certain topics are taboos or go too far beyond an accepted doctrine or standard.
Only by adopting this open approach to spirituality will you avoid hurting children and destroying their natural spirituality. It is a sad fact that millions of devoutly religious people, be they Christians or members of other religions, believe that they are doing the right thing by giving their children a religious upbringing. Yet in reality these parents, and their ministers, are destroying the children's natural spirituality. This has two aspects.
In the New Testament, you will see that I rebuked my disciples for trying to prevent the children from approaching me. I also said that unless you become as a little child, you cannot enter the kingdom of Heaven. What I truly meant with that statement was that unless you develop the approach to God that children have, you cannot put on the state of consciousness that allows you to enter the kingdom of Heaven.
The two most important aspects of children's approach to God are their natural curiosity and their innocence, or unconditionality.
You will see that children are naturally curious about God and the spiritual side of life. This is because when a child is young, it usually has a direct inner experience of the spiritual side of life. Many children literally experience angels or ascended beings who are with them as helpers. Therefore, they know there is more to life than the material universe, and they are naturally curious about it.
Unfortunately, most adults tend to ignore or outright deny the inner spirituality of children. Many adults do this because modern psychology has labeled children’s spirituality as a sign of immaturity or the fictitious belief in “magic helpers”. Other adults do it because children naturally tend to ask questions that cannot readily be answered by the doctrines that these adults accept as infallible or complete.
The simple fact is that because children have a direct experience of the reality of the spiritual realm, they see no reason why this reality should be forced into the framework of a set of man-made doctrines, be they in the field of science or in the field of religion. Therefore, they are willing to ask any question that comes to mind, and this is the hallmark of all true spiritual seekers. After all, the type of questions you are willing to ask will determine the type of answers you can receive. Does the Bible not say, “Ask and ye shall receive?” So if you are afraid to ask questions that go beyond your present beliefs, how can you receive deeper answers?
When it comes to presenting spiritual concepts to children, it is extremely important to do this in such a way that it does not discourage or destroy children's curiosity about God and about spiritual matters. Therefore, it is very important not to present spiritual concepts in the form of closed or infallible doctrines. Allow children to ask any questions that come into their innocent minds. Encourage them to ask questions and discuss these questions with them.
The other aspect of children’s spirituality is their innocent, or unconditional, approach to spiritual topics and to God. Because children experience the spiritual realm as real, and because they see it as a benevolent force that is there to help them, they have no fear of God. They are not afraid to approach God, and indeed why should they be?
During Old Testament times, the Israelites developed an image of God as an angry and judgmental God. Part of my mission was to present a new image of God, namely that of a loving father figure. This is the image that most children naturally have of God. Unfortunately, many of today's Christians have reverted back to the Old Testament image of an angry and judgmental God, and they inevitably pass this image on to their children. Therefore, as soon as children begin to receive religious training, their natural innocence and unconditionality is quickly destroyed.
These children learn to see God as something dangerous or something to be feared. They learn to think that they can approach God only in specific ways, defined by their religious culture. They learn to think that they can be worthy to approach God only if they live up to certain conditions defined by church doctrines and rules.
This is a completely artificial programming that children should never be exposed to. Why do you think I said that unless you become as little children you cannot enter the kingdom? It is because of one simple fact. Love is an attractive force and fear is a repulsive force. If you fear God, you will never want to approach God or to get close to God. Therefore, how could you enter God's kingdom? Everything is subject to your free will, and God will not force you to enter his kingdom. You must do so of your own free will, but how can you do so if you fear God?
Children naturally love God, and this love for God is the most important asset that any soul can have on the spiritual path. Therefore, the greatest crime against children is to destroy their natural love for God and their natural feeling that they are welcome to approach God without following any outer conditions.
When I allowed the little children to approach me, I set up no conditions for their approach. It was my disciples who attempted to set up conditions for their approach. If I did not do so, why do so many modern Christians feel that their children should live up to certain conditions before they can approach God, Christ or spiritual topics?
Let the children come to me with their curiosity, their innocence and their unconditional attitude. Let the parents stand back and do some soul searching so they can realize that they need to follow my command and become as curious and innocent as a little child. And then too the adults can approach me, and they will be received with the same unconditional love with which the children are received.
In reality, all people who approach God are received with unconditional love. The problem is that most people do not perceive this unconditional love or cannot accept it. Most people have set up conditions in their minds which makes them feel that unless they live up to certain outer rules and regulations, they are not worthy to receive God’s love. Because everything is subject to free will, God cannot force you to receive his love. You must accept it, and you can do so only when you accept that you are worthy to receive it.
Most children are born with this sense of worthiness and unconditionality, and it is truly one of their greatest assets. Please do not destroy it in your zeal to give your children a “good Christian upbringing.”
.......from askrealjesus.com
The best way to teach children about anything is to teach them by example. Children are natural imitators and follow the examples of the adults around them. So the very best way to teach children about spiritual concepts is to make sure that you yourself have adopted the attitude that you are a seeker of truth instead of a follower of doctrine. You need to adopt the approach to spirituality that this website calls the inner approach. And you need to move away from the outer, doctrinal or dogmatic approach.
In other words, you need to be constantly searching for a higher understanding of spiritual matters than what you have right now. You need to be curious and willing to ask difficult questions. You need to realize that your present understanding is not the final or infallible understanding, but simply a stepping stone to an even deeper understanding. You need to be willing to consider and discuss any topic about spirituality without feeling like certain topics are taboos or go too far beyond an accepted doctrine or standard.
Only by adopting this open approach to spirituality will you avoid hurting children and destroying their natural spirituality. It is a sad fact that millions of devoutly religious people, be they Christians or members of other religions, believe that they are doing the right thing by giving their children a religious upbringing. Yet in reality these parents, and their ministers, are destroying the children's natural spirituality. This has two aspects.
In the New Testament, you will see that I rebuked my disciples for trying to prevent the children from approaching me. I also said that unless you become as a little child, you cannot enter the kingdom of Heaven. What I truly meant with that statement was that unless you develop the approach to God that children have, you cannot put on the state of consciousness that allows you to enter the kingdom of Heaven.
The two most important aspects of children's approach to God are their natural curiosity and their innocence, or unconditionality.
You will see that children are naturally curious about God and the spiritual side of life. This is because when a child is young, it usually has a direct inner experience of the spiritual side of life. Many children literally experience angels or ascended beings who are with them as helpers. Therefore, they know there is more to life than the material universe, and they are naturally curious about it.
Unfortunately, most adults tend to ignore or outright deny the inner spirituality of children. Many adults do this because modern psychology has labeled children’s spirituality as a sign of immaturity or the fictitious belief in “magic helpers”. Other adults do it because children naturally tend to ask questions that cannot readily be answered by the doctrines that these adults accept as infallible or complete.
The simple fact is that because children have a direct experience of the reality of the spiritual realm, they see no reason why this reality should be forced into the framework of a set of man-made doctrines, be they in the field of science or in the field of religion. Therefore, they are willing to ask any question that comes to mind, and this is the hallmark of all true spiritual seekers. After all, the type of questions you are willing to ask will determine the type of answers you can receive. Does the Bible not say, “Ask and ye shall receive?” So if you are afraid to ask questions that go beyond your present beliefs, how can you receive deeper answers?
When it comes to presenting spiritual concepts to children, it is extremely important to do this in such a way that it does not discourage or destroy children's curiosity about God and about spiritual matters. Therefore, it is very important not to present spiritual concepts in the form of closed or infallible doctrines. Allow children to ask any questions that come into their innocent minds. Encourage them to ask questions and discuss these questions with them.
The other aspect of children’s spirituality is their innocent, or unconditional, approach to spiritual topics and to God. Because children experience the spiritual realm as real, and because they see it as a benevolent force that is there to help them, they have no fear of God. They are not afraid to approach God, and indeed why should they be?
During Old Testament times, the Israelites developed an image of God as an angry and judgmental God. Part of my mission was to present a new image of God, namely that of a loving father figure. This is the image that most children naturally have of God. Unfortunately, many of today's Christians have reverted back to the Old Testament image of an angry and judgmental God, and they inevitably pass this image on to their children. Therefore, as soon as children begin to receive religious training, their natural innocence and unconditionality is quickly destroyed.
These children learn to see God as something dangerous or something to be feared. They learn to think that they can approach God only in specific ways, defined by their religious culture. They learn to think that they can be worthy to approach God only if they live up to certain conditions defined by church doctrines and rules.
This is a completely artificial programming that children should never be exposed to. Why do you think I said that unless you become as little children you cannot enter the kingdom? It is because of one simple fact. Love is an attractive force and fear is a repulsive force. If you fear God, you will never want to approach God or to get close to God. Therefore, how could you enter God's kingdom? Everything is subject to your free will, and God will not force you to enter his kingdom. You must do so of your own free will, but how can you do so if you fear God?
Children naturally love God, and this love for God is the most important asset that any soul can have on the spiritual path. Therefore, the greatest crime against children is to destroy their natural love for God and their natural feeling that they are welcome to approach God without following any outer conditions.
When I allowed the little children to approach me, I set up no conditions for their approach. It was my disciples who attempted to set up conditions for their approach. If I did not do so, why do so many modern Christians feel that their children should live up to certain conditions before they can approach God, Christ or spiritual topics?
Let the children come to me with their curiosity, their innocence and their unconditional attitude. Let the parents stand back and do some soul searching so they can realize that they need to follow my command and become as curious and innocent as a little child. And then too the adults can approach me, and they will be received with the same unconditional love with which the children are received.
In reality, all people who approach God are received with unconditional love. The problem is that most people do not perceive this unconditional love or cannot accept it. Most people have set up conditions in their minds which makes them feel that unless they live up to certain outer rules and regulations, they are not worthy to receive God’s love. Because everything is subject to free will, God cannot force you to receive his love. You must accept it, and you can do so only when you accept that you are worthy to receive it.
Most children are born with this sense of worthiness and unconditionality, and it is truly one of their greatest assets. Please do not destroy it in your zeal to give your children a “good Christian upbringing.”
.......from askrealjesus.com
Quit Imagining...
Enlighten your desires.
Meditate on who you are.
Quit imagining.
What you want is profoundly expensive,
and difficult to find,
yet closeby.
Don't search for it. It is nothing,
and a nothing within nothing.
- Lalla
14th Century North Indian mystic
Meditate on who you are.
Quit imagining.
What you want is profoundly expensive,
and difficult to find,
yet closeby.
Don't search for it. It is nothing,
and a nothing within nothing.
- Lalla
14th Century North Indian mystic
Living from the Level of the Soul...
If we could learn to live from the level of the soul, we would see that the best, most luminous part of ourselves is connected to all the rhythms of the universe. We would truly know ourselves as the miracle-makers we are capable of being.
We would lose fear, and longing, and hatred, and anxiety, and hesitation. Living form the level of the soul means diving past the ego, past the limitations of the mind that harness us to events and outcomes in the physical world.
In the vastness of the ocean there is no individual “I” clamoring for attention. There are waves and eddies and tides, but it is all, in the end, ocean. We are all patterns of nonlocality pretending to be people. In the end, it is all spirit.
And yet, we feel quite individual, don’t we? Our senses reassure us that these bodies are real, and we think our own very personal, individual thoughts. We learn, fall in love, have children, and work at our own careers. How is it that we do not feel this vast ocean churning inside us? Why do our lives feel so circumscribed? It all comes back to the three levels of existence.
At the physical level, what we call the real world, the soul is the observer in the midst of the observation. What about our thoughts? Our thoughts are recycled information. Emotions are just recycled energy. Emotions do not originate with us. They come and go depending on situations, circumstances, relationships, and events.
Whatever else we are, no matter how much of a mess we may have made of our lives, it is always possible to tap into the part of the soul that is universal, the infinite field of pure potential, and change the course of our destiny.
Adapted from The Spontaneous Fulfillment of Desire, by Deepak Chopra (Three Rivers Press).
We would lose fear, and longing, and hatred, and anxiety, and hesitation. Living form the level of the soul means diving past the ego, past the limitations of the mind that harness us to events and outcomes in the physical world.
In the vastness of the ocean there is no individual “I” clamoring for attention. There are waves and eddies and tides, but it is all, in the end, ocean. We are all patterns of nonlocality pretending to be people. In the end, it is all spirit.
And yet, we feel quite individual, don’t we? Our senses reassure us that these bodies are real, and we think our own very personal, individual thoughts. We learn, fall in love, have children, and work at our own careers. How is it that we do not feel this vast ocean churning inside us? Why do our lives feel so circumscribed? It all comes back to the three levels of existence.
At the physical level, what we call the real world, the soul is the observer in the midst of the observation. What about our thoughts? Our thoughts are recycled information. Emotions are just recycled energy. Emotions do not originate with us. They come and go depending on situations, circumstances, relationships, and events.
Whatever else we are, no matter how much of a mess we may have made of our lives, it is always possible to tap into the part of the soul that is universal, the infinite field of pure potential, and change the course of our destiny.
Adapted from The Spontaneous Fulfillment of Desire, by Deepak Chopra (Three Rivers Press).
Saint Meerabai Quotes...
Let people say good things or bad things
I will bear them all!
Meera cannot love even a moment without her beloved Lord Krishna.
O my mind,
Worship the lotus feet of the Indestructible One!
O my companion,
Worldly comfort is an illusion,
As soon you get it, it goes.
My eyes are sad without seeing you!
Ever since you left, my Lord!
I have no peace of mind!
I am mad, not conscious of my body!
Nobody understands my agony!
Meera says: only He knows my state,
in whose hands are life and death!
Drink the nectar of the Divine Name,
O human! Drink the nectar of the Divine Name!
Leave the bad company,
always sit among righteous company.
With my tears,
I watered the creeper of love that I planted;
Now the creeper has grown spread all over,
and borne the fruit of bliss.
If abandoning one's wife could summon God
Would not thousands be eunuchs?
Mirabai knows that to find the Divine One,
The only indispensable is Love.
I have no father, no mother, relatives or brothers.
I have broken family ties; who can do anything?
I have spoken of my love through my tears.
Servant Meera has fallen in love with the Lord,
He is now mine. Gopala (Lord Krishna) is mine. No one else!
One night as I sat in quiet,
I seemed on the verge of entering a world inside so vast
I know it is the source of all of us.
Do not mention the name of love,
O my simple-minded companion.
Strange is the path
When you offer your love.
Your body is crushed at the first step. .....................from buddhasangha.com
I will bear them all!
Meera cannot love even a moment without her beloved Lord Krishna.
O my mind,
Worship the lotus feet of the Indestructible One!
O my companion,
Worldly comfort is an illusion,
As soon you get it, it goes.
My eyes are sad without seeing you!
Ever since you left, my Lord!
I have no peace of mind!
I am mad, not conscious of my body!
Nobody understands my agony!
Meera says: only He knows my state,
in whose hands are life and death!
Drink the nectar of the Divine Name,
O human! Drink the nectar of the Divine Name!
Leave the bad company,
always sit among righteous company.
With my tears,
I watered the creeper of love that I planted;
Now the creeper has grown spread all over,
and borne the fruit of bliss.
If abandoning one's wife could summon God
Would not thousands be eunuchs?
Mirabai knows that to find the Divine One,
The only indispensable is Love.
I have no father, no mother, relatives or brothers.
I have broken family ties; who can do anything?
I have spoken of my love through my tears.
Servant Meera has fallen in love with the Lord,
He is now mine. Gopala (Lord Krishna) is mine. No one else!
One night as I sat in quiet,
I seemed on the verge of entering a world inside so vast
I know it is the source of all of us.
Do not mention the name of love,
O my simple-minded companion.
Strange is the path
When you offer your love.
Your body is crushed at the first step. .....................from buddhasangha.com
The Lankavatara Sutra...
The Lankavatara Sutra, an essential chapter of The Buddhist Bible, states: "...let every disciple take good heed not to become attached to words as being in perfect conformity with meaning, because Truth is not in the letters. When a man with his finger-tip points to something, the finger-tip may be mistaken for the thing pointed at; in like manner the ignorant and simple-minded, like children, are unable even to the day of their death to abandon the idea that in the finger-tip of words there is the meaning itself. They cannot realise Ultimate Reality because of their intent clinging to words which were intended to be no more than a pointing finger. Words and their discrimination bind one to the dreary round of rebirths into the world of birth-and-death; meaning stands alone and is a guide to Nirvana. Meaning is attained by much learning, and much learning is attained by becoming conversant with meaning and not with words; therefore, let seekers for truth reverently approach those who are wise and avoid the sticklers for particular words."
from nonduality.com
from nonduality.com
Beyond the thinking mind...
Become at ease with the state of "not knowing."
This takes you beyond mind
because the mind is always trying to conclude and interpret.
It is afraid of not knowing.
So, when you can be at ease with not knowing,
you have already gone beyond the mind.
A deeper knowing that is non-conceptual then arises out of that state.
- Eckhart Tolle
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
"The Power of Now"
Eckhart Tolle
New World Library, 1999
This takes you beyond mind
because the mind is always trying to conclude and interpret.
It is afraid of not knowing.
So, when you can be at ease with not knowing,
you have already gone beyond the mind.
A deeper knowing that is non-conceptual then arises out of that state.
- Eckhart Tolle
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
"The Power of Now"
Eckhart Tolle
New World Library, 1999
Past and Future...
Everyone sometimes thinks of the past or future, but this prevents you from
existing within the present moment.. your thoughts create that which you think
and hold within the mind.. this is then passed to the subconsciousness mind for
manifestation.. If your past thoughts are of pain, then pain will be manifested
in the future.. the subconsciousness mind does not differentiate between that
which you really want or don't want.. It's job is to create that which you hold
within the mind.. This is how the Power of Positive Thinking works for a better
present and future............namaste, thomas
existing within the present moment.. your thoughts create that which you think
and hold within the mind.. this is then passed to the subconsciousness mind for
manifestation.. If your past thoughts are of pain, then pain will be manifested
in the future.. the subconsciousness mind does not differentiate between that
which you really want or don't want.. It's job is to create that which you hold
within the mind.. This is how the Power of Positive Thinking works for a better
present and future............namaste, thomas
Experiencing Happiness...
Why do we bring our mind to the past?.. do we secretly enjoy feeling self-pity?.. do we enjoy the feelings of hatred and revenge?.. do we enjoy feeling regret and embarassment?.. so many questions that relate to the control of our thoughts.. What if, You existed only in the present moment with no thoughts of the past or future.. how would You feel.. the present moment is the only time that has ever existed.. the past is just a memory and the future never exists.. It too becomes the present moment.. When you have finally come to the decision that you have suffered enough, then begin to keep your mind and thoughts, Awake.. in the only time that does exist.. Now.. you will find a new life, a new goal, a new Reality, and even a new Happiness.......namaste, thomas
Seeking Truth...
Truth doesn't need to be sought because it isn't lost. Truth is everywhere at all times; never absent, never distant.
-Jed McKenna
-Jed McKenna
A one man show...
Consciousness has produced this play.
Consciousness has written the script.
Consciousness is playing all the characters.
And Consciousness is witnessing the play.
It's a one man show.
- Ramesh S. Balsekar
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
"A Net of Jewels"
Ramesh S. Balsekar
Advaita Press, 1996
Consciousness has written the script.
Consciousness is playing all the characters.
And Consciousness is witnessing the play.
It's a one man show.
- Ramesh S. Balsekar
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
"A Net of Jewels"
Ramesh S. Balsekar
Advaita Press, 1996
Find the Seer...
My Master, Ramana Maharishi, said to me,
"God is not an object to be seen, He is the subject.
He cannot be seen, He is the Seer, find this Seer."
My Heart was opened.
"Find the Seer." This is the Teaching.
- Papaji
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
"The Truth Is"
Sri H.W.L. Poonja
Yudhishtara, 1995
"God is not an object to be seen, He is the subject.
He cannot be seen, He is the Seer, find this Seer."
My Heart was opened.
"Find the Seer." This is the Teaching.
- Papaji
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
"The Truth Is"
Sri H.W.L. Poonja
Yudhishtara, 1995
You are Consciousness...
You are Consciousness,, You as Consciousness watches the mind and decides
what thoughts that you wish to enter the sub-consciousness mind..the
sub-conscious mind creates that which You desire.. It is the place of healing or
destruction.. either of which depends upon what You have entered within the
sub-conscious mind.. when You are Awake as Consciousness and stay Awake, You are
the Creator of that which is called good.. when You fall asleep from
Consciousness during the normal state of living, You create manifestations from
the ego, which are creations of selfishness and are called evil........namaste,
thomas
what thoughts that you wish to enter the sub-consciousness mind..the
sub-conscious mind creates that which You desire.. It is the place of healing or
destruction.. either of which depends upon what You have entered within the
sub-conscious mind.. when You are Awake as Consciousness and stay Awake, You are
the Creator of that which is called good.. when You fall asleep from
Consciousness during the normal state of living, You create manifestations from
the ego, which are creations of selfishness and are called evil........namaste,
thomas
The Soul...
The soul does not see good or evil, it accepts all that the conscious mind
puts into it.. you choose the direction that the soul will take according to the
thoughts that you allow within the sub-conscious mind.. you are the gate
keeper.. this is why you must stay awake... you must watch every thought and
determine which ones to enter or not enter the sub-conscious mind.. by these
actions of thought control, you decide your destiny.. the more thoughts of Love
will raise your frequencies to higher levels closer to Reality.. thoughts of
non-love will drop the soul to lower level of frequencies called hell..... hell
is ego.. Heaven is non-ego.. It is your free choice to choose to which You
Belong............namaste, thomas
puts into it.. you choose the direction that the soul will take according to the
thoughts that you allow within the sub-conscious mind.. you are the gate
keeper.. this is why you must stay awake... you must watch every thought and
determine which ones to enter or not enter the sub-conscious mind.. by these
actions of thought control, you decide your destiny.. the more thoughts of Love
will raise your frequencies to higher levels closer to Reality.. thoughts of
non-love will drop the soul to lower level of frequencies called hell..... hell
is ego.. Heaven is non-ego.. It is your free choice to choose to which You
Belong............namaste, thomas
You too may Know...
Different terms can be used to label this unique attainment. It is insight, awakening, enlightenment. It is Being, Truth, Consciousness. It is Discrimination between the Seer and the Seen. It is awareness of That Which Is. It is the Practice of the Presence of God. It is the Discovery of Timelessness. All these words tell us something but they all fall short and do not tell us enough. In fact they are only hints for farther they cannot go: it is not on their level at all since it is the Touch of the Untouchable. But never mind; just play with such ideas if you care too. Ruminate and move among them. Put your heart as well as head into the game. Who knows one day what may happen? Perhaps if you become still enough you too may know--as the Bible suggests.
— Notebooks Category 1: Overview of the Quest > Chapter 5: Self-Development > # 172
....Paul Brunton
— Notebooks Category 1: Overview of the Quest > Chapter 5: Self-Development > # 172
....Paul Brunton
Being...
No trace of Truth in a human face
Only the Love that fills all space
No "me" over here
No "you" over there
No person who can "be aware"
Liberation is here right now
No-one can possibly teach you how
To the restless mind this will never be clear
It's beyond the reach of mortal ear
Being is found in the still, quiet space
Bearing witness of itself in every place
Yet there's nowhere that it cannot be found
It's both the silence and the sound.
It has many names, like "God" or "Being"
Talked about in "glimpses" and "seeing"
But all the while there's no-thing to "see"
It's simply found where there's no-one to BE
by Mandi Solk
Only the Love that fills all space
No "me" over here
No "you" over there
No person who can "be aware"
Liberation is here right now
No-one can possibly teach you how
To the restless mind this will never be clear
It's beyond the reach of mortal ear
Being is found in the still, quiet space
Bearing witness of itself in every place
Yet there's nowhere that it cannot be found
It's both the silence and the sound.
It has many names, like "God" or "Being"
Talked about in "glimpses" and "seeing"
But all the while there's no-thing to "see"
It's simply found where there's no-one to BE
by Mandi Solk
Clarity...
It
Was all
So clear this morning.
My mind and heart had never felt
More convinced:
There is only God,
A Great Wild
God.
But somehow I got yanked from
That annihilating
Realization
And can now appear again
As this wine-stained
Talking
Rag.
- Hafiz
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
"The Gift"
Translations by Daniel Ladinsky
Penguin/Arkana, 1999
Was all
So clear this morning.
My mind and heart had never felt
More convinced:
There is only God,
A Great Wild
God.
But somehow I got yanked from
That annihilating
Realization
And can now appear again
As this wine-stained
Talking
Rag.
- Hafiz
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
"The Gift"
Translations by Daniel Ladinsky
Penguin/Arkana, 1999
Humility...
Humility Quotes
A man can counterfeit love, he can counterfeit faith, he can counterfeit hope and all the other graces, but it is very difficult to counterfeit humility.-- D. L. Moody
I long to accomplish a great and noble task; but my chief duty is to accomplish small tasks as if they were great and noble - Helen Keller
Simplicity is the nature of great souls.-- Papa Ramadas
The smallest things become great when God requires them of us; they are small only in themselves; they are always great when they are done for God. --Francois Fenelon
The ordinary arts we practice every day at home are of more importance to the soul than their simplicity might suggest. -- Thomas More
We ought not to be weary of doing little things for the love of God, who regards not the greatness of the work, but the love with which it is performed. --Brother Lawrence
How do we know if we have a servant’s heart? By how we act when we are treated like one!--Unknown
The only humility that is really ours is not that which we try to show before God in prayer, but that which we carry with us in our daily conduct.. –Andrew Murray
Be not proud of race, face, place, or grace. --Charles Haddon Spurgeon
Looking at yourself in a mirror isn't exactly a study of life. --Lauren Bacall
If all flowers wanted to be roses, nature would lose her springtime beauty and the fields would no longer be decked out with little wildflowers. --Teresa of Lisieux
My one regret in life is that I am not someone else.- Woody Allen
Whatever you may be sure of, be sure of this: That you are dreadfully like other people.—James Pearsall Smith
Be not angry that you cannot make others as you wish them to be, since you cannot make yourself as you wish to be.-- Thomas a Kempis
The test of good manners is to be patient with bad ones. –Gabirol
The meek man will attain a place of soul rest. As he walks on in meekness he will be happy to let God defend him. The old struggle to defend himself is over. He has found the peace which meekness brings.-- A.W. Tozer
One cannot imagine St. Francis of Assisi talking about rights. --Simone Weil
Greatness lies not in trying to be somebody but in trying to help somebody.--Unknown
Everybody can be great... because anybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love. --Martin Luther King, Jr.
A candle loses nothing of its light by lighting another candle. - Fr. James Keller
Whatever makes us feel superior to other people, whatever tempts us to convey a sense of superiority, that is the gravity of our sinful nature, not grace. --Phillip Yancey
Nothing disciplines the inordinate desires of the flesh like service, and nothing transforms the desires of the flesh like serving in hiddenness. The flesh whines against service but it screams against hidden service. It strains and pulls for honor and recognition. --Richard Foster
If I cannot in honest happiness take the second place (or the twentieth); if I cannot take the first without making a fuss about my unworthiness, then I know nothing of Calvary love. --Amy Carmichael
Blessed the man and woman who is able to serve cheerfully in the second rank -- a big test. --Mary Slessor
I have learned that much of my spiritual progress does not come directly from God, but through my ability to humble myself and hear Him speak through imperfect people. --Francis Frangipane
How tragic that the very thing that could set us free--playing the fool--is the thing we will not do. When we're afraid to be fools, we end up being afraid to be anything.---Mike Mason
I am sure that there are many Christians who will confess that their experience has been very much like my own—that we had long known the Lord without realizing that meekness and lowliness of heart should be the distinguishing feature of the disciple, as they were of the Master. Such humility is not a thing that will come on its own. It must be made the object of special desire, prayer, faith and practice. Andrew Murray
Humility and love are precisely the graces which the men of the world can understand, if they do not comprehend doctrines. They are the graces about which there is no mystery, and they are within reach of all classes... The poorest Christian can every day find occasion for practicing love and humility. --J. C. Ryle
God descends to the humble as waters flow down from the hills into the valleys. --Tikhon
Do you wish to rise? Begin by descending. You plan a tower that will pierce the clouds? Lay first the foundation of humility. --Saint Augustine
Do you wish people to think well of you? Don't speak well of yourself. --Blaise Pascal
Just because God is working through us does not mean that we are right with God.--Unknown
We have forgotten the gracious hand which has preserved us in peace and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us, and have vainly imagined in the deceitfulness of our hearts that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving Grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us. --Abraham Lincoln
The proof of spiritual maturity is not how pure you are but awareness of your impurity. That very awareness opens the door to grace. --Phillip Yancey
In some sense we are all hypocrites in transition. --Erwin McManus
Humility is freedom from your own driven ego. --Martha Kilpatrick
Humility is nothing but truth, and pride is nothing but lying. -- Vincent de Paul
Humility is nothing else but a right judgment of ourselves. --William Law
Humility is not thinking less of yourself but thinking of yourself less. --C.S. Lewis
Humility is offering no resistance to the dealings of the Lord with us. --Chip Brogden
Those who have known God without knowing their wretchedness have not glorified him, but have glorified themselves. --Blaise Pascal
Humility is knowing you yourself desperately require forgiveness as the greatest of all needs. --Martha Kilpatrick
The meek man is not a human mouse afflicted with a sense of his own inferiority. He has accepted God's estimate of his own life: In himself, nothing; In God, everything. He knows well that the world will never see him as God sees him and he has stopped caring.-- A.W. Tozer
Don't imagine that if you meet a really humble man he will be what most people call "humble" nowadays: he won't be a sort of greasy, smarmy person, who's always telling you that, of course, he's nobody. Probably all you'll think about him is that he seemed a cheerful, intelligent chap who took a real interest in what you said to him. If you do dislike him, it will be because you feel a bit envious of anyone who seems to enjoy life so easily. He won't be thinking about himself at all. There I must stop. If anyone would like to acquire humility, I can, I think, tell him the first step. The first step is to realize that one is proud. And a biggish step, too. At least, nothing whatever can be done before it. If you think you're not conceited, it means you are very conceited indeed. --C.S. Lewis
A man will act out what he believes himself to be. --Jacquelyn K. Heasley
Only with great difficulty does a shaft of light pierce the armor of self-righteousness. --Lois Wilson
A proud monk needs no demon. He has turned into one, an enemy to himself. --John Climacus
The devil sees nothing more abominable than a truly humble christian, for [that Christian] is just the opposite of [the devil's] own image -- Hans Nielsen Hauge
Oh, that we fully understood how very opposite our self-righteousness is to the designs of God! --Jeanne Guyon
There is no room for God in him who is full of himself. --Martin Buber
He who knows himself well is mean and abject in his own sight, and takes no delight in the vain praise of men. --Thomas a'Kempis
The labor of self-love is a heavy one indeed... The heart's fierce effort to protect itself from every slight, to shield its touchy honor from the bad opinion of friend and enemy, will never let the mind have rest... --A.W. Tozer
It happens, I do not know how, that most of the proud never really discover their true selves. They think they have conquered their passions and they find out how poor they really are only after they die. --John Climacus
The man, full of himself, can never proclaim the Christ who emptied Himself. --Jacquelyn K. Heasley
God is not proud...He will have us even though we have shown that we prefer everything else to Him.-- CS Lewis
We are to be as unnoticed as the Lord was at times. We should be willing to pass through the crowd and not be noticed. Jesus made a whole different kind of wave, not a wave of worldliness that seeks the center. He was quiet yet He brought a storm. --W.A. Belle
We'd like to be humble...but what if no one notices? --John Ortberg
Provided that God be glorified, we must not care by whom. --Francis de Sales
We must make humility the chief thing we admire in Him. --Andrew Murray
A humble knowledge of ourselves is a surer way to God than is the search for depth of learning. --Thomas a'Kempis
Without humility of heart all the other virtues by which one runs toward God seem -- and are -- absolutely worthless. --Angela of Foligno
A heart that understands what is implicit in God's tenderness is humbled beyond any hope of goodness or worth in itself.--Marian Scheele
God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. --The Bible
......from tentmaker.org
A man can counterfeit love, he can counterfeit faith, he can counterfeit hope and all the other graces, but it is very difficult to counterfeit humility.-- D. L. Moody
I long to accomplish a great and noble task; but my chief duty is to accomplish small tasks as if they were great and noble - Helen Keller
Simplicity is the nature of great souls.-- Papa Ramadas
The smallest things become great when God requires them of us; they are small only in themselves; they are always great when they are done for God. --Francois Fenelon
The ordinary arts we practice every day at home are of more importance to the soul than their simplicity might suggest. -- Thomas More
We ought not to be weary of doing little things for the love of God, who regards not the greatness of the work, but the love with which it is performed. --Brother Lawrence
How do we know if we have a servant’s heart? By how we act when we are treated like one!--Unknown
The only humility that is really ours is not that which we try to show before God in prayer, but that which we carry with us in our daily conduct.. –Andrew Murray
Be not proud of race, face, place, or grace. --Charles Haddon Spurgeon
Looking at yourself in a mirror isn't exactly a study of life. --Lauren Bacall
If all flowers wanted to be roses, nature would lose her springtime beauty and the fields would no longer be decked out with little wildflowers. --Teresa of Lisieux
My one regret in life is that I am not someone else.- Woody Allen
Whatever you may be sure of, be sure of this: That you are dreadfully like other people.—James Pearsall Smith
Be not angry that you cannot make others as you wish them to be, since you cannot make yourself as you wish to be.-- Thomas a Kempis
The test of good manners is to be patient with bad ones. –Gabirol
The meek man will attain a place of soul rest. As he walks on in meekness he will be happy to let God defend him. The old struggle to defend himself is over. He has found the peace which meekness brings.-- A.W. Tozer
One cannot imagine St. Francis of Assisi talking about rights. --Simone Weil
Greatness lies not in trying to be somebody but in trying to help somebody.--Unknown
Everybody can be great... because anybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love. --Martin Luther King, Jr.
A candle loses nothing of its light by lighting another candle. - Fr. James Keller
Whatever makes us feel superior to other people, whatever tempts us to convey a sense of superiority, that is the gravity of our sinful nature, not grace. --Phillip Yancey
Nothing disciplines the inordinate desires of the flesh like service, and nothing transforms the desires of the flesh like serving in hiddenness. The flesh whines against service but it screams against hidden service. It strains and pulls for honor and recognition. --Richard Foster
If I cannot in honest happiness take the second place (or the twentieth); if I cannot take the first without making a fuss about my unworthiness, then I know nothing of Calvary love. --Amy Carmichael
Blessed the man and woman who is able to serve cheerfully in the second rank -- a big test. --Mary Slessor
I have learned that much of my spiritual progress does not come directly from God, but through my ability to humble myself and hear Him speak through imperfect people. --Francis Frangipane
How tragic that the very thing that could set us free--playing the fool--is the thing we will not do. When we're afraid to be fools, we end up being afraid to be anything.---Mike Mason
I am sure that there are many Christians who will confess that their experience has been very much like my own—that we had long known the Lord without realizing that meekness and lowliness of heart should be the distinguishing feature of the disciple, as they were of the Master. Such humility is not a thing that will come on its own. It must be made the object of special desire, prayer, faith and practice. Andrew Murray
Humility and love are precisely the graces which the men of the world can understand, if they do not comprehend doctrines. They are the graces about which there is no mystery, and they are within reach of all classes... The poorest Christian can every day find occasion for practicing love and humility. --J. C. Ryle
God descends to the humble as waters flow down from the hills into the valleys. --Tikhon
Do you wish to rise? Begin by descending. You plan a tower that will pierce the clouds? Lay first the foundation of humility. --Saint Augustine
Do you wish people to think well of you? Don't speak well of yourself. --Blaise Pascal
Just because God is working through us does not mean that we are right with God.--Unknown
We have forgotten the gracious hand which has preserved us in peace and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us, and have vainly imagined in the deceitfulness of our hearts that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving Grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us. --Abraham Lincoln
The proof of spiritual maturity is not how pure you are but awareness of your impurity. That very awareness opens the door to grace. --Phillip Yancey
In some sense we are all hypocrites in transition. --Erwin McManus
Humility is freedom from your own driven ego. --Martha Kilpatrick
Humility is nothing but truth, and pride is nothing but lying. -- Vincent de Paul
Humility is nothing else but a right judgment of ourselves. --William Law
Humility is not thinking less of yourself but thinking of yourself less. --C.S. Lewis
Humility is offering no resistance to the dealings of the Lord with us. --Chip Brogden
Those who have known God without knowing their wretchedness have not glorified him, but have glorified themselves. --Blaise Pascal
Humility is knowing you yourself desperately require forgiveness as the greatest of all needs. --Martha Kilpatrick
The meek man is not a human mouse afflicted with a sense of his own inferiority. He has accepted God's estimate of his own life: In himself, nothing; In God, everything. He knows well that the world will never see him as God sees him and he has stopped caring.-- A.W. Tozer
Don't imagine that if you meet a really humble man he will be what most people call "humble" nowadays: he won't be a sort of greasy, smarmy person, who's always telling you that, of course, he's nobody. Probably all you'll think about him is that he seemed a cheerful, intelligent chap who took a real interest in what you said to him. If you do dislike him, it will be because you feel a bit envious of anyone who seems to enjoy life so easily. He won't be thinking about himself at all. There I must stop. If anyone would like to acquire humility, I can, I think, tell him the first step. The first step is to realize that one is proud. And a biggish step, too. At least, nothing whatever can be done before it. If you think you're not conceited, it means you are very conceited indeed. --C.S. Lewis
A man will act out what he believes himself to be. --Jacquelyn K. Heasley
Only with great difficulty does a shaft of light pierce the armor of self-righteousness. --Lois Wilson
A proud monk needs no demon. He has turned into one, an enemy to himself. --John Climacus
The devil sees nothing more abominable than a truly humble christian, for [that Christian] is just the opposite of [the devil's] own image -- Hans Nielsen Hauge
Oh, that we fully understood how very opposite our self-righteousness is to the designs of God! --Jeanne Guyon
There is no room for God in him who is full of himself. --Martin Buber
He who knows himself well is mean and abject in his own sight, and takes no delight in the vain praise of men. --Thomas a'Kempis
The labor of self-love is a heavy one indeed... The heart's fierce effort to protect itself from every slight, to shield its touchy honor from the bad opinion of friend and enemy, will never let the mind have rest... --A.W. Tozer
It happens, I do not know how, that most of the proud never really discover their true selves. They think they have conquered their passions and they find out how poor they really are only after they die. --John Climacus
The man, full of himself, can never proclaim the Christ who emptied Himself. --Jacquelyn K. Heasley
God is not proud...He will have us even though we have shown that we prefer everything else to Him.-- CS Lewis
We are to be as unnoticed as the Lord was at times. We should be willing to pass through the crowd and not be noticed. Jesus made a whole different kind of wave, not a wave of worldliness that seeks the center. He was quiet yet He brought a storm. --W.A. Belle
We'd like to be humble...but what if no one notices? --John Ortberg
Provided that God be glorified, we must not care by whom. --Francis de Sales
We must make humility the chief thing we admire in Him. --Andrew Murray
A humble knowledge of ourselves is a surer way to God than is the search for depth of learning. --Thomas a'Kempis
Without humility of heart all the other virtues by which one runs toward God seem -- and are -- absolutely worthless. --Angela of Foligno
A heart that understands what is implicit in God's tenderness is humbled beyond any hope of goodness or worth in itself.--Marian Scheele
God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. --The Bible
......from tentmaker.org
Fight...
Fight with all the strength at your disposal
against the idea that you are nameable and
describable. You are not. Refuse to think of
yourself in terms of this or that. There is no
other way out of misery, which you have
created for yourself through blind acceptance
without investigation. Suffering is a call for
enquiry, all pain needs investigation. Don't be
lazy to think.
- Nisargadatta Maharaj
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
"I Am That"
Talks with Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
The Acorn Press, 1973
against the idea that you are nameable and
describable. You are not. Refuse to think of
yourself in terms of this or that. There is no
other way out of misery, which you have
created for yourself through blind acceptance
without investigation. Suffering is a call for
enquiry, all pain needs investigation. Don't be
lazy to think.
- Nisargadatta Maharaj
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
"I Am That"
Talks with Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
The Acorn Press, 1973
Embodiment...
In general the path of embodiment asks that you live your understanding from moment to moment. As my friend and teacher Adyashanti put it, serve the truth you know yourself to be. Rather than allowing yourself to fall back into old patterns, live the silent presence--the empty fullness, the openness, peace, and clarity you experienced when you woke up--in every situation. In other words, be who you are.
This requires what my teacher Jean Klein called earnestness or sincerity, a deep, abiding commitment to the truth in all circumstances. Awakening tend to ignite it, but this commitment may flag from time to time as the ego puts up a fuss. If you appear to have a choice, choose the truth again and again--not only the absolute truth of your being but the relative truth of the moment. In its efforts to maintain control, the ego tends to fudge, obscure, or avoid the truth in order to manipulate situations for its own benefit. Instead, the process of embodiment asks that you tell the truth and let go of the outcome, which involves a major leap into the unknown.
Wake Up Now
Stephan Bodian
p.170
This requires what my teacher Jean Klein called earnestness or sincerity, a deep, abiding commitment to the truth in all circumstances. Awakening tend to ignite it, but this commitment may flag from time to time as the ego puts up a fuss. If you appear to have a choice, choose the truth again and again--not only the absolute truth of your being but the relative truth of the moment. In its efforts to maintain control, the ego tends to fudge, obscure, or avoid the truth in order to manipulate situations for its own benefit. Instead, the process of embodiment asks that you tell the truth and let go of the outcome, which involves a major leap into the unknown.
Wake Up Now
Stephan Bodian
p.170
The Secret...
Last night
I begged the Wise One to tell me
the secret of the world.
Gently, gently he whispered,
"Be quiet,
the secret cannot be spoken,
it is wrapped in silence."
- Rumi
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
"Rumi - Whispers of the Beloved:
Selected and translated by
Azima Melita Kolin and Maryam Mafi
Thorsons, London 1999
I begged the Wise One to tell me
the secret of the world.
Gently, gently he whispered,
"Be quiet,
the secret cannot be spoken,
it is wrapped in silence."
- Rumi
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
"Rumi - Whispers of the Beloved:
Selected and translated by
Azima Melita Kolin and Maryam Mafi
Thorsons, London 1999
Advaita Yoga...
Richard Miller:
Advaita means, "not-two" and reveals the truth that all objects are expressions of unqualified Consciousness and always point back to Awareness, our true nature, the unfathomable Vast-ness-that-we-are. Consciousness and its objects are One, not two. This can never be conceptualized, only intuitively realized. Yana is the pathless "path" we traverse as our misperceptions of separation are healed. This path is not developmental. Separateness is not a case of something that exists becoming non-existent. Our 'self' never exists in the first place except conceptually. The path reveals the non-existence of the 'self' that always was nonexistent. Yoga is the means we utilize in realizing our non-separateness. We investigate all that we take ourself to be (body, senses and mind), and understand That, which we always are Be-ing-unqualified Presence. The body/mind is an expression of Consciousness, and we are That unqualified Consciousness. There is only Consciousness. Our yearning to understand comes from Consciousness. The path we traverse unfolds in Consciousness. The means that we utilize are the tools provided by Consciousness. And That, which we realize is Consciousness. Therefore, the emphasis of Advaitayana Yoga from the beginning, in the middle, and at the end is not on transformation but upon seeing, listening, understanding and welcoming all that is. From the non-dual perspective nothing needs to be changed in order for freedom to be ex-perienced. It takes effort to live our separateness. It takes no effort to be free. This is the final understanding of Advaitayana Yoga.
Advaita means, "not-two" and reveals the truth that all objects are expressions of unqualified Consciousness and always point back to Awareness, our true nature, the unfathomable Vast-ness-that-we-are. Consciousness and its objects are One, not two. This can never be conceptualized, only intuitively realized. Yana is the pathless "path" we traverse as our misperceptions of separation are healed. This path is not developmental. Separateness is not a case of something that exists becoming non-existent. Our 'self' never exists in the first place except conceptually. The path reveals the non-existence of the 'self' that always was nonexistent. Yoga is the means we utilize in realizing our non-separateness. We investigate all that we take ourself to be (body, senses and mind), and understand That, which we always are Be-ing-unqualified Presence. The body/mind is an expression of Consciousness, and we are That unqualified Consciousness. There is only Consciousness. Our yearning to understand comes from Consciousness. The path we traverse unfolds in Consciousness. The means that we utilize are the tools provided by Consciousness. And That, which we realize is Consciousness. Therefore, the emphasis of Advaitayana Yoga from the beginning, in the middle, and at the end is not on transformation but upon seeing, listening, understanding and welcoming all that is. From the non-dual perspective nothing needs to be changed in order for freedom to be ex-perienced. It takes effort to live our separateness. It takes no effort to be free. This is the final understanding of Advaitayana Yoga.
Divine Consciousness...
There appears to be two major levels of Divine Consciousness.. when we have completely surrendered the belief in separate ego and separate life, We immediately enter Reality.. Reality is our natural state and I found My Self as a separate identity within Light and Love and existing as Light and Love.. Although, I could actually be very happy to spend Eternity within this Reality, I Realised that this was not the end of the Journey.. the Final Act of Love was to surrender even this small vestige of separation called identity and enter Complete Love called Pure Awareness.. This is the State of Non-Existence that Created Divine Consciousness for Creation purposes and thus Created Us for Experiences...........namaste, thomas
To Give Everything...
This is the meaning of Unconditional Love, to give everything.. This is the only way to Realise Enlightenment.. to give your self(ego), to give your life(illusion).. to give Everything.. This is the meaning of the Altar, to sacrifice your self to Love(God).. the ego tries to prevent us from this experience by the process of Desires.. our desires keep us imprisioned within the material universe, so that we can experience these desires..for life after life.. It is Time to break free from these desires that separate us from Reality.. Reality is the desireless state as there is nothing more to be desired.. The only Desire that you should have is to end all desires and enter the Reality of Unconditional Love called Divine Consciousness...........namaste, thomas
"me"...
If there is no such entity as a "me," an ego, you are entitled to ask who then has this enlightenment? And the answer is the only possible one: it is the Void having the experience of itself: or rediscovering itself as it does in each person who attains this level.
— Notebooks Category 25: World-Mind in Individual Mind > Chapter 2: Enlightenment Which Stays > # 221........Paul Brunton
— Notebooks Category 25: World-Mind in Individual Mind > Chapter 2: Enlightenment Which Stays > # 221........Paul Brunton
Ram Tzu Speaks...
You want your purveyors of Truth
To look and act special.
You want them different
And separate
And powerful.
You prefer to imagine them
Cloaked in light
Than sitting on the toilet.
You like them passionless, sexless,
Mellow, gentle and kind.
You like the idea of miracles
And will invent them when necessary.
Your strategy is to keep them
Out there
Far away from you
Exotic and mysterious.
You revel in the myth
Of the Enlightened individual
Hoping to someday be so empowered.
What you can't tolerate
Is for them to appear
As ordinary as you.
Ram Tzu knows this…
You always miss the Truth
Because it is too plain to see.
To look and act special.
You want them different
And separate
And powerful.
You prefer to imagine them
Cloaked in light
Than sitting on the toilet.
You like them passionless, sexless,
Mellow, gentle and kind.
You like the idea of miracles
And will invent them when necessary.
Your strategy is to keep them
Out there
Far away from you
Exotic and mysterious.
You revel in the myth
Of the Enlightened individual
Hoping to someday be so empowered.
What you can't tolerate
Is for them to appear
As ordinary as you.
Ram Tzu knows this…
You always miss the Truth
Because it is too plain to see.
The Art of Happiness...
Love and concern for all are not things some of
us are born with and others are not. Rather, they
are results of what we do with our minds: We can
choose to transform our minds so that they embody
love, or we can allow them to develop habits and
false concepts of separation.
From: 'Loving-Kindness - The Revolutionary Art of Happiness'
Sharon Salzberg p89
us are born with and others are not. Rather, they
are results of what we do with our minds: We can
choose to transform our minds so that they embody
love, or we can allow them to develop habits and
false concepts of separation.
From: 'Loving-Kindness - The Revolutionary Art of Happiness'
Sharon Salzberg p89
Dreaming...
We dream that we are awake, we dream that we are asleep. The three states are only varieties of the dream state. Treating everything as a dream liberates. As long as you give reality to dreams, you are their slave. By imaging that you are born as so and so, you become a slave to the so-and-so. The essence of slavery is to imagine yourself to be a process, to have past and future, to have history......
Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
Mental Pain...
Everyone on earth has mental pains.. these exhibit themselves
as not feeling peaceful or content.. or anger, keeping our minds in a state of
pain and revenge.. any thoughts that prevent You from feeling Joy are painful..
non-love is painful.. the list goes on and on, and leads back to the illusion of
a separate self that We have created.. we have to un-create this illusion to
feel Happiness.. This Happiness is called Unconditional Love and is seen as
humility and kindness........namaste, thomas
as not feeling peaceful or content.. or anger, keeping our minds in a state of
pain and revenge.. any thoughts that prevent You from feeling Joy are painful..
non-love is painful.. the list goes on and on, and leads back to the illusion of
a separate self that We have created.. we have to un-create this illusion to
feel Happiness.. This Happiness is called Unconditional Love and is seen as
humility and kindness........namaste, thomas
The ego...
NOTE: This is an excerpt from the book The Least You Should Know About Life.
Part One explained that the key to improving your life experience is to increase your understanding of life. A new understanding cannot be found within your current knowledge and beliefs, so you must be willing to look outside your mental box. Yet as history and common experience proves, people often become attached to their beliefs and are reluctant to think outside the box. If you are to be successful in taking command over your inner circumstances, it is absolutely necessary to recognize that there is a force in your own psyche that opposes your growth. This force is seeking to make you stay in your current mental box by getting you to reject any idea that can set you free from your current limitations. This force has traditionally been called the human ego.
The human ego is a term that has been used differently by various psychologists and spiritual teachers. In this book it is used specifically to refer to an “alien” being that exists in your psyche, meaning the lower part of your being. This being is somewhat self-aware and it has a survival instinct. For most people, their egos have attained a high degree of control over their lives. The spiritual path is a process of taking control away from the ego and thus attaining the freedom to be who you were created to be.
Yet the ego will not give up control voluntarily. It is therefore essential for you to understand how the ego was created. This is a somewhat complicated process, so the following is only a brief summary.
As explained above, the Conscious You is the center of your being and it is meant to be in control of your psyche. Yet in order to maintain this control, the conscious self must be willing to take full responsibility for your life and make the important decisions. In order to make balanced decisions, decisions that do not harm yourself or other parts of life, the conscious self must reach for a greater understanding of the laws that guide the universe. This understanding can be obtained from a spiritual teacher, as explained later.
The laws of God are designed to ensure harmony in the universe, meaning that one co-creator will not destroy or control other co-creators. If all people followed these laws, humankind would create an upward spiral that would eliminate all suffering on this planet. Because all co-creators have free will, it is possible for them to go against God’s laws and create the illusion that they are separate beings. This creates the illusion that you can raise up yourself in comparison to others and that you can harm others without hurting yourself. By giving co-creators free will, the consciousness of selfishness came into being as an option. In other words, co-creators have two options for building their sense of identity:
•You can base your identity on a state of mind in which you see yourself as one with your higher Being and one with all life. This creates harmony between your higher and lower being and makes sure your actions will raise up both yourself and everyone else. You will then fulfill your reason for being and bring the Earth closer to manifesting a higher form of life. The mind that is designed to ensure harmony and oneness in the universe is called the Christ mind. In reality, this is a universal term that transcends the Christian religion and its sectarian use of the word “Christ” (more on this later).
•You can base your identity on a state of mind in which you see yourself as separated from your higher Being and from all other parts of life. This inevitably leads to a division between your higher and lower self, and your lower self will not reflect your spiritual individuality. You will never feel fulfilled in this way and all your actions will ultimately lead to suffering for yourself and others. The mind of separation and selfishness is called the mind of anti-christ (explained in more detail later).
When you were created as a self-conscious being, you lived in a protected environment – a symbolic description is the story of the Garden of Eden – in which you were guided by a spiritual teacher. As you grew in self-awareness, you had to face the temptation to use the mind of anti-christ—symbolized by the serpent.
Most people on Earth gradually became blinded by the logic of the mind of anti-christ and started seeing themselves as separated from their own spiritual selves and from each other. This caused people to make decisions based on the illusion that they were human beings in competition with each other. People started acting as animals fighting for survival, which led to suffering. The conscious self started feeling that every decision it made had undesirable consequences. Thus, there came a point when the conscious self decided that it would no longer make decisions, it would no longer be in a position of responsibility.
At the moment you decided to abandon your responsibility to make decisions, your ego was born. This happened because your outer circumstances demanded that decisions be made, and since the conscious self would not make them, someone else had to. That someone else is the ego. You essentially decided to stop making conscious decisions, and the ego now started making decisions for you below the level of your conscious awareness.
To understand the creation of the ego, consider that your subconscious mind functions much like a computer. If you repeat a certain action enough times, you create a computer program in the subconscious mind that can now perform the action without your conscious mind being engaged in it. One example is riding a bicycle; once you have learned it, you never forget it. You might not ride a bike for ten years, but once you get on, the subconscious computer program takes over. The downside is that if you create a self-centered or self-destructive program, it will produce suffering and your conscious mind will seem powerless to stop it. An obvious example is an addiction.
Before the conscious self decided to abandon its responsibility, it had already created a number of such programs. When you refused to make decisions, these programs took over. Some science fiction stories describe a supercomputer becoming so powerful that it attains intelligence and wants to control the world. Well, after you abandoned control over your life, the subconscious computer became more powerful and the ego was formed. The ego has a limited form of self-awareness and intelligence, but it has a very strong survival instinct.
The ego does not actually care about you, it only cares about itself. It is seeking to control you so that it can use you as a tool for expanding its power in the world. It is like the mad dictator who can never get enough—be it pleasure, possessions or power. If you threaten the ego, it is willing to destroy you – destroy your self-esteem and sense of identity – in order to survive. The ego is generally not intelligent enough to reason that since it depends on you for its existence, destroying you means destroying itself.
You also need to understand that the ego knows it can maintain its control over you only by staying hidden. If the Conscious You discovers the ego and understands how it controls your life, you will not accept this and will take back control. The ego will do anything to avoid this, including changing its behavior and beliefs. Thus, when you find the spiritual path, your ego will not give up. It will seek to use your spiritual beliefs in order to maintain or even expand its control over you. It is quite possible that people can think they are very spiritual, yet they are still controlled by their egos. This is what Jesus addressed in the following statement, “Either how canst thou say to thy brother, Brother, let me pull out the mote that is in thine eye, when thou thyself beholdest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to pull out the mote that is in thy brother's eye” (Luke 6:42). The ego cannot see its own shortcomings, and it blinds you to reality, which is the origin of all hypocrisy.
Because the ego will do anything to stay hidden, it will seek to get you to deny or ignore these teachings on the ego. Therefore, once you begin to understand the ego, you will see that overcoming it is the real key to winning your spiritual freedom. All true spiritual teachers have taught people how to overcome the ego. The Buddha talked about attaining enlightenment and overcoming suffering, which means you must overcome the ego. Jesus talked about the kingdom of God, namely a state of consciousness in which you are no longer controlled by the ego.
.....from askrealjesus.com
Part One explained that the key to improving your life experience is to increase your understanding of life. A new understanding cannot be found within your current knowledge and beliefs, so you must be willing to look outside your mental box. Yet as history and common experience proves, people often become attached to their beliefs and are reluctant to think outside the box. If you are to be successful in taking command over your inner circumstances, it is absolutely necessary to recognize that there is a force in your own psyche that opposes your growth. This force is seeking to make you stay in your current mental box by getting you to reject any idea that can set you free from your current limitations. This force has traditionally been called the human ego.
The human ego is a term that has been used differently by various psychologists and spiritual teachers. In this book it is used specifically to refer to an “alien” being that exists in your psyche, meaning the lower part of your being. This being is somewhat self-aware and it has a survival instinct. For most people, their egos have attained a high degree of control over their lives. The spiritual path is a process of taking control away from the ego and thus attaining the freedom to be who you were created to be.
Yet the ego will not give up control voluntarily. It is therefore essential for you to understand how the ego was created. This is a somewhat complicated process, so the following is only a brief summary.
As explained above, the Conscious You is the center of your being and it is meant to be in control of your psyche. Yet in order to maintain this control, the conscious self must be willing to take full responsibility for your life and make the important decisions. In order to make balanced decisions, decisions that do not harm yourself or other parts of life, the conscious self must reach for a greater understanding of the laws that guide the universe. This understanding can be obtained from a spiritual teacher, as explained later.
The laws of God are designed to ensure harmony in the universe, meaning that one co-creator will not destroy or control other co-creators. If all people followed these laws, humankind would create an upward spiral that would eliminate all suffering on this planet. Because all co-creators have free will, it is possible for them to go against God’s laws and create the illusion that they are separate beings. This creates the illusion that you can raise up yourself in comparison to others and that you can harm others without hurting yourself. By giving co-creators free will, the consciousness of selfishness came into being as an option. In other words, co-creators have two options for building their sense of identity:
•You can base your identity on a state of mind in which you see yourself as one with your higher Being and one with all life. This creates harmony between your higher and lower being and makes sure your actions will raise up both yourself and everyone else. You will then fulfill your reason for being and bring the Earth closer to manifesting a higher form of life. The mind that is designed to ensure harmony and oneness in the universe is called the Christ mind. In reality, this is a universal term that transcends the Christian religion and its sectarian use of the word “Christ” (more on this later).
•You can base your identity on a state of mind in which you see yourself as separated from your higher Being and from all other parts of life. This inevitably leads to a division between your higher and lower self, and your lower self will not reflect your spiritual individuality. You will never feel fulfilled in this way and all your actions will ultimately lead to suffering for yourself and others. The mind of separation and selfishness is called the mind of anti-christ (explained in more detail later).
When you were created as a self-conscious being, you lived in a protected environment – a symbolic description is the story of the Garden of Eden – in which you were guided by a spiritual teacher. As you grew in self-awareness, you had to face the temptation to use the mind of anti-christ—symbolized by the serpent.
Most people on Earth gradually became blinded by the logic of the mind of anti-christ and started seeing themselves as separated from their own spiritual selves and from each other. This caused people to make decisions based on the illusion that they were human beings in competition with each other. People started acting as animals fighting for survival, which led to suffering. The conscious self started feeling that every decision it made had undesirable consequences. Thus, there came a point when the conscious self decided that it would no longer make decisions, it would no longer be in a position of responsibility.
At the moment you decided to abandon your responsibility to make decisions, your ego was born. This happened because your outer circumstances demanded that decisions be made, and since the conscious self would not make them, someone else had to. That someone else is the ego. You essentially decided to stop making conscious decisions, and the ego now started making decisions for you below the level of your conscious awareness.
To understand the creation of the ego, consider that your subconscious mind functions much like a computer. If you repeat a certain action enough times, you create a computer program in the subconscious mind that can now perform the action without your conscious mind being engaged in it. One example is riding a bicycle; once you have learned it, you never forget it. You might not ride a bike for ten years, but once you get on, the subconscious computer program takes over. The downside is that if you create a self-centered or self-destructive program, it will produce suffering and your conscious mind will seem powerless to stop it. An obvious example is an addiction.
Before the conscious self decided to abandon its responsibility, it had already created a number of such programs. When you refused to make decisions, these programs took over. Some science fiction stories describe a supercomputer becoming so powerful that it attains intelligence and wants to control the world. Well, after you abandoned control over your life, the subconscious computer became more powerful and the ego was formed. The ego has a limited form of self-awareness and intelligence, but it has a very strong survival instinct.
The ego does not actually care about you, it only cares about itself. It is seeking to control you so that it can use you as a tool for expanding its power in the world. It is like the mad dictator who can never get enough—be it pleasure, possessions or power. If you threaten the ego, it is willing to destroy you – destroy your self-esteem and sense of identity – in order to survive. The ego is generally not intelligent enough to reason that since it depends on you for its existence, destroying you means destroying itself.
You also need to understand that the ego knows it can maintain its control over you only by staying hidden. If the Conscious You discovers the ego and understands how it controls your life, you will not accept this and will take back control. The ego will do anything to avoid this, including changing its behavior and beliefs. Thus, when you find the spiritual path, your ego will not give up. It will seek to use your spiritual beliefs in order to maintain or even expand its control over you. It is quite possible that people can think they are very spiritual, yet they are still controlled by their egos. This is what Jesus addressed in the following statement, “Either how canst thou say to thy brother, Brother, let me pull out the mote that is in thine eye, when thou thyself beholdest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to pull out the mote that is in thy brother's eye” (Luke 6:42). The ego cannot see its own shortcomings, and it blinds you to reality, which is the origin of all hypocrisy.
Because the ego will do anything to stay hidden, it will seek to get you to deny or ignore these teachings on the ego. Therefore, once you begin to understand the ego, you will see that overcoming it is the real key to winning your spiritual freedom. All true spiritual teachers have taught people how to overcome the ego. The Buddha talked about attaining enlightenment and overcoming suffering, which means you must overcome the ego. Jesus talked about the kingdom of God, namely a state of consciousness in which you are no longer controlled by the ego.
.....from askrealjesus.com
This Is It...
This Is It. This is all there is - life appearing as an endless display of changing images, with no inherent purpose other than this appearance itself. There is simply life with no one living it.
For no reason at all life is at play with its own imagery, roving as attention, engaging in a mesmerising game of hide and seek which arises as a sense of separation with an integral urge to wholeness. Life restlessly seeks, yearning for itself. The seeking is the restlessness. This play of worldly existence is imbued with life’s haunted longing for itself, seeking but never finding within the imagery in which it seeks. What is sought all along is this in which the seeking is playing out.
In life’s play as humanity, thought assumes an exaggerated importance as attention spins effortlessly into myriad longings and desires, epitomised by the idea of seeking fulfilment through enlightenment. Reading texts, asking questions, surfing the internet, going on retreat, gurus, teachers, non-teachers, practice, no practice - any or all of it is possible but none of it is necessary as in actuality nothing needs to be discovered, understood, let go of or transcended. Life already is, and recognition of itself in the form of enlightenment, liberation, nirvana etc is superfluous, merely another happening in the endless now of appearances in the play of life.
Nothing other than the configuration of life as it is now appearing is possible. All is happening exactly as it’s ‘meant’ to. If separation and seeking are the case, then this is it. If recognition and resting are the case, then this is it. Whatever is now - however ordinary or extraordinary - is it.
...................Nathan Gill
For no reason at all life is at play with its own imagery, roving as attention, engaging in a mesmerising game of hide and seek which arises as a sense of separation with an integral urge to wholeness. Life restlessly seeks, yearning for itself. The seeking is the restlessness. This play of worldly existence is imbued with life’s haunted longing for itself, seeking but never finding within the imagery in which it seeks. What is sought all along is this in which the seeking is playing out.
In life’s play as humanity, thought assumes an exaggerated importance as attention spins effortlessly into myriad longings and desires, epitomised by the idea of seeking fulfilment through enlightenment. Reading texts, asking questions, surfing the internet, going on retreat, gurus, teachers, non-teachers, practice, no practice - any or all of it is possible but none of it is necessary as in actuality nothing needs to be discovered, understood, let go of or transcended. Life already is, and recognition of itself in the form of enlightenment, liberation, nirvana etc is superfluous, merely another happening in the endless now of appearances in the play of life.
Nothing other than the configuration of life as it is now appearing is possible. All is happening exactly as it’s ‘meant’ to. If separation and seeking are the case, then this is it. If recognition and resting are the case, then this is it. Whatever is now - however ordinary or extraordinary - is it.
...................Nathan Gill
An Artist...
"He who works with his hands is a laborer.
He who works with his hands and his head is a craftsman.
He who works with his hands and his head and his heart is an artist."
— St. Francis of Assisi
He who works with his hands and his head is a craftsman.
He who works with his hands and his head and his heart is an artist."
— St. Francis of Assisi
Perceiving directly...
Thought is absent in seeing things intuitively.
When you perceive directly, there is no think-
ing. When you think you understand, you don't.
You do not think that you are alive, you know
that you are alive.
- Ramesh S. Balsekar
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
"A Net of Jewels"
Ramesh S. Balsekar
Advaita Press, 1966
When you perceive directly, there is no think-
ing. When you think you understand, you don't.
You do not think that you are alive, you know
that you are alive.
- Ramesh S. Balsekar
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
"A Net of Jewels"
Ramesh S. Balsekar
Advaita Press, 1966
Creative Silence...
"This withdrawal from the day's turmoil into creative silence is not a luxury, a fad, or a futility. It is a necessity, because it tries to provide the conditions wherein we are able to yield ourselves to intuitive leadings, promptings, warnings, teachings, and counsels and also to the inspiring peace of the soul. It dissolves mental tensions and heals negative emotions."
— Paul Brunton (The Notebooks of Paul Brunton)
— Paul Brunton (The Notebooks of Paul Brunton)
The earth of water and clay...
The drum of the realization of the promise is beating,
we are sweeping the road to the sky. Your joy is here today, what remains for
tomorrow?
The armies of the day have chased the army of the night,
Heaven and earth are filled with purity and light.
Oh! joy for he who has escaped from this world of perfumes and color!
For beyond these colors and these perfumes, these are other colors in the heart
and the soul.
Oh! joy for this soul and this heart who have escaped
the earth of water and clay,
Although this water and this clay contain the hearth of the
philosophical stone.
..... Rumi
we are sweeping the road to the sky. Your joy is here today, what remains for
tomorrow?
The armies of the day have chased the army of the night,
Heaven and earth are filled with purity and light.
Oh! joy for he who has escaped from this world of perfumes and color!
For beyond these colors and these perfumes, these are other colors in the heart
and the soul.
Oh! joy for this soul and this heart who have escaped
the earth of water and clay,
Although this water and this clay contain the hearth of the
philosophical stone.
..... Rumi
Luke 14 v 26?...
The Meaning and Purpose of a Mystic's life and goal is the Realisation of what is True.. What is True is that Unselfish Love is the highest mental pleasure available to us.. This pleasure is only Realised and experienced when we surrender the belief that we are the separate ego.. this surrender automatically occurs when we feel Unselfish Love.. I am not wise enough to judge the words and actions of a Mystical Master such as Jesus, therefore, I can only see His actions and words as they relate to other experiences of Spiritual Masters.. If His words do not appear to be within the energy of Love, then, I can only assume that I have not yet reached the Awareness to understand these words yet.. Anyone that teaches the advantages of Unconditional Love is a "nice guy", at least part of the time..To see the Buddha(Jesus) means that you have not become the Buddha..This is the mental problem with most religions.. To see God, means that You do not yet Realise that You are God.. This is Duality, This is us..............namaste, thomas
True Humility...
True humility is not the opposite of pride
but the very negation of a separate entity
who could either be proud or humble.
- Ramesh S. Balsekar
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
"A Net of Jewels"
Ramesh S. Balsekar
Advaita Press, 1996
but the very negation of a separate entity
who could either be proud or humble.
- Ramesh S. Balsekar
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
"A Net of Jewels"
Ramesh S. Balsekar
Advaita Press, 1996
The radiance of eternity...
The Master must have known that his words were frequently
beyond his disciples' comprehension. He spoke to them nonetheless
in the knowledge that a day would surely come when his
words would take root and blossom in the hearts of those who
heard them.
One day he said, "Time always seems so long when you wait -
for a vacation, an examination, for something yearned for or
dreaded in the future.
"But to those who dare to surrender to the experience of the
present moment -- with no thought about the experience, no
desire that it return or be avoided -- time is transformed into the
radiance of eternity."
~ Anthony de Mello, SJ
from "Awakening: Conversations with the Masters"
beyond his disciples' comprehension. He spoke to them nonetheless
in the knowledge that a day would surely come when his
words would take root and blossom in the hearts of those who
heard them.
One day he said, "Time always seems so long when you wait -
for a vacation, an examination, for something yearned for or
dreaded in the future.
"But to those who dare to surrender to the experience of the
present moment -- with no thought about the experience, no
desire that it return or be avoided -- time is transformed into the
radiance of eternity."
~ Anthony de Mello, SJ
from "Awakening: Conversations with the Masters"
What does God want?...
God does not want You to become anything..Divine Consciousness wants You to
Realize that You are Already that which you seek.. Remove the glasses of
separate self and You will also See.. It is that simple...........namaste,
thomas
Realize that You are Already that which you seek.. Remove the glasses of
separate self and You will also See.. It is that simple...........namaste,
thomas
Clarity and Earnestness...
You need both clarity and earnestness for
self-knowledge. You need maturity of heart
and mind, which comes through earnest
application in daily life of whatever little
you have understood. There is no such thing
as compromise in Yoga.
If you want to sin, sin wholeheartedly and
openly. Sins too have their lessons to teach
the earnest sinner, as virtues - the earnest
saint. It is the mixing up of the two that is
so disastrous. Nothing can block you so
effectively as compromise, for it shows
lack of earnestness, without which nothing
can be done.
- Nisargadatta Maharaj
self-knowledge. You need maturity of heart
and mind, which comes through earnest
application in daily life of whatever little
you have understood. There is no such thing
as compromise in Yoga.
If you want to sin, sin wholeheartedly and
openly. Sins too have their lessons to teach
the earnest sinner, as virtues - the earnest
saint. It is the mixing up of the two that is
so disastrous. Nothing can block you so
effectively as compromise, for it shows
lack of earnestness, without which nothing
can be done.
- Nisargadatta Maharaj
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