Advaita Vedanta enlightenment, realization, nisarga yoga site discussing non-duality, nonduality, your original nature, and the means for dwelling in the natural state per Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj.
FROM A SITE VISITOR: Finally, a real understanding of neti-neti after I read you last series. Thank you. I see now that my entire search or journey or whatever it should be called has always involved trying to get the “either” or the “or” and by trying to acquire more religious knowledge and then later more spiritual knowledge. I was in the box and did not consider looking outside the box. No wonder we get stuck and never complete the journey! Thanks again, Jesse.
F.: Exactly. Here, nothing will be given, including religious or spiritual knowledge. Religious and spiritual roles must be played near the mid-range of the “path,” but to refuse to see that those, too, are roles that must be abandoned will lead persons to end their “journey” with the false belief that they “have arrived” when they have not.
By the “journey’s” real end, all concepts and beliefs and roles will be taken away or gladly forfeited or discarded, should You come to understand. Those who have gained something new (such as religious or spiritual identities) are far from the end of the “path” where de-accumulation (including the forfeiture of all roles and identities) happens. Neti-neti is merely a tool available during the “taking away or discarding” process.
That process takes away the content of “mind” as well as the prized intellect, the taught knowledge, and the learned ignorance—all of which are given such merit and held in such high esteem among the non-Realized.
To emphasize for beginners on this “path,” understand that the “antidote” for the “sickened” consciousness requiring re-purification—or unblocking or a re-direction of focus—is not more programming or different programmed. What is required is an end to all programming.
(What does that tell you about being in "this program" or "that program" and working this program or that program? Just more programming…just more learned ignorance. Armchair psychology is worth what you pay for it: nothing. Past postings here make clear that, while every programmed and conditioned person on the planet reaches a point where persona-adoption generates personality disorders, the Advaita philosophy cannot provide—and does not claim to provide—the services of qualified, trained professionals which many cases require.)
For those persons who are ready for these teachings, the proper “Advaita treatment” requires “removal,” not addition, which involves de-programming and de-accumulation. More programming and more accumulation of more information in never required.
Thus, the advice of the Realized Advaitin is never to “use thorns to remove thorns and then save your thorns and revisit them daily.” It is merely to use thorns (the teachings being shared) in order to remove thorns (the concepts that have been taught/learned).
Afterwards, you’ll toss all the thorns. Who that is sane would focus for days or months or years on the spot where a thorn had once been? Who would attach to the original thorn that caused so much relative pain and suffering? Who would assign special value to the thorns used to remove thorns and feel some attachment to those thorns?
Neti-neti is a thorn that can be used to remove thorns. Once all thorns have been removed, you can relax and take it easy and function in an AS IF fashion for the remainder of the manifestation. Peace and Light. Please enter the silence of consideration.
