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FROM ANOTHER SITE VISITOR: I think that my religious practices and spiritual exercises do simplify my life.
F.: So you admit that belief is a result of thinking, but thinking is the problem to begin with. Humans, via the inner guru, have always known Who/What They Truly Are, but they forget after programming and conditioning and domestication and acculturation.
Prior to programming, humans that sat in the silence recognized an intimation of "immortality" ; later, programming convinced them that the body and mind and personality are immortal as well.
Prior to acculturation, humans were able to tap into that inner resource directly since they had none of the nonsensical accoutrements that are employed by persons today, accoutrements that actually distract from tapping into the inner guru as those externals become the focus instead.
They were able to focus on the only source of truth, within, because they had no external distractions...no special bells to ring; no distracting scented sticks to burn; no special rocks or special crystals or special candles or special rugs to sidetrack them;
no special haircuts or special clothing or funny hats or elaborate robes or shiny shoes or special buildings (or building funds) or special leaders to divert their attention; no holy books with fictional tales that shifted attention away from knowing the Real;
no distractions that included genuflecting, meeting, singing, chanting, humming, cheering, worshipping, accumulating, or pledging; no holy food or holy bodies to eat and no special blood to drink; no pyramids to sit under and no compasses to point them in a special direction to a special land or a special place;
in fact, they were not distracted by any nonsensical acts that are contrary to the ways of natural living (which happened spontaneously and automatically for the millions of years prior to the past few millennia when controlling men dreamed up concepts and dogma and rituals and dualistic thinking).
That said, take yourself to be the do-er of all the religious and spiritual doingness that you desire, but if you reach the point that so many reach and realize how truly complicated your relative existence has become in spite of all that doingness, you will have a seed planted and you might recall at some point later on that there is another way.
Now, to continue with the e-mail from “Anonymous Too.” Reviewing, it has been shown that there can be no simple existence when identified with the body and “the mind” and the personality. There can be no simplicity when addicted or when avoiding, because simplicity involves less—involves de-accumulating—whereas addictions are about more…always more…never enough.
And one addiction that is common among persons is their addiction to chaos. Avoidance is about avoiding more and more until nothing is faced and chaos prevails. The accumulation of concept after concept, eventually building up an enormous set of belief systems, also complicates the relative existence.
And "group membership" will also block any chance for keeping it simple. Among groups or otherwise, no single source has generated more concepts than religions / spiritual movements. Any objective study of the effects of those groups (contrary to their claims of being the great source of peace) shows that they have historically generated chaos and are currently generating chaos as well. Simplicity and group-inspired chaos cannot possibly co-exist.
Are you seeing that there is nothing to gain but that there is so much to discard in order to eliminate chaos and pave the way for the peace and the quiet and the simplicity you seek?
Over the years, seekers have come here and shared some of the most (relatively) horrible tales imaginable—tales of appalling abuses (relatively speaking) that were perpetrated by persons embroiled in their complicated religious and/or spiritual beliefs that, in turn, complicated their lives and marred innumerable lives as well:
...a wife whose husband left her for her thirteen year-old-sister, a wife whose mother was so obsessed with religion and image that she arranged for the church to annul the original marriage so that her younger daughter could marry the former husband in the Catholic church and "guarantee that the younger daughter was in a marriage sanctioned by the church rather than living in sin";
...a man whose Christian wife, who was employed by a church, told him that she had gone to the altar and knelled in prayer every day for a year and begged her god to kill him so she could have the insurance money, a house that would be paid for, and the chance to marry another man that she could love;
...a woman whose father—a member of the clergy—abused her sisters to the point of ruining their lives, relatively speaking; and
...a sister who came with great resentment because her brother had joined a 12-step group that told him to “stop taking his medications and to turn to God.” He followed the group's advice, stopped taking his medication with no weaning process or medical consultation, and then killed himself within two weeks.
All of those cases involved persons who had joined groups to be “better people” (and who decided they were exactly that). It has been seen over the years that people who join groups and assume the new role of “member” are merely
(1) exposing themselves to a group of persons who have already assumed false roles and who have
(2) are responsible for moving persons farther away from knowing the True Self and knowing truth.
Thus, "group membership" is another one of those complicating factors that preempt any chance of enjoying the simple “life” you seek. Groups are places to escape the overwhelming noise of the “mind” when alone. Groups are places that reinforce concepts such as “better than,” “different from,” and “separate and apart from other groups.”
Regarding this topic of groups, that sage named “Carlin” (who typically offered wisdom with a dash of humor) said:
“I got a ‘dual’ problem here. First of all, I like people. You look in their eyes and you can see the universe. We’re all the same thing—we’re all stardust, and it’s all the same atoms floating around.
“I like people one at a time—I don’t like the grouping. People-clotting is what causes the trouble. As soon as there’s about 8 or 12 guys, they start having a fight song or a slogan, or they give themselves a name and buy hats, or they wear little arm bands;
“soon they’ve got a list of people they don’t like, and then they’re marching over in the park—and it’s a (expletive) danger. Groups are a danger. They sacrifice individual beauty for the sake of the group.”
Among the Realized, there is no “this” which can join with "that." There is only the One, so the concept of “grouping” and “group membership” is another false notion that perpetuates the self and that blocks Realization of the Self.
True, for the sake of efficiency, you might see Advaitin seekers meeting for satsang, as happened in Maharaj’s loft…as happens here on occasion…as happens in those out-of-town seminars once or twice a month. But in most cases, Maharaj limited the number of days that anyone could visit the loft.
He provided pointers and then sent the seekers away to consider the pointers alone…in the quiet. There was no group that formed, that considered itself a group, that met regularly as a group, or that solicited membership and dues and fees and contributions.
Chaos begins with an “individualized, personalized mind”; mass chaos—global chaos—results when those individualized minds become attracted to like “minds” and function together as a “group mind”—as the “collective mind.” At that point, personal conflict can expand to planet-wide conflict. Your desire to “keep it simple” cannot happen via groups. Please enter the silence of contemplation. (To be continued)
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON TODAY’S POST:
TWO OTHER OFFERINGS ARE AVAILABLE:
More and more seekers are requesting an understanding of how a personality formed in childhood is still determining and controlling everything that is thought or said or done in adulthood. Others have inquired about an opportunity to speak one-on-one about the seven-step “path” to Realization.
Thus, two opportunities are being offered from now until Dec 15th at 50% off:
PERSONALITY TYPING:
Here’s what is included in the package that is available for the next two months (the service available to international visitors but these price being only for the Continental U.S.):
A copy of the personality test (B) Priority mailing of the test (C) Analysis of the test results (D) a one-hour telephone session to discuss the results (E) the cost of the telephone conference. Cost is US$95.
ONE-ON-ONE SATSANG VIA TELE-CONFERENCE
For the next two months, a tele-conference to discuss any aspects of the Advaita teachings one-on-one will be offered. [Rich from the
To arrange either package, >Click ARRANGE PACKAGES provide all of the information requested, and in the message box at the bottom, indicate that you want to make arrangements for the PERSONALITY TYPING or for the ONE-ON-ONE ADVAITA SESSION or both.
