This posting is for advanced seekers ready to discard the final spiritual persona and transition the third degree of separation. It is not aimed at beginners to Advaita.
You are invited to revisit the View offered in yesterday’s post:
Perhaps in the shock of this understanding, You see that You are prior to all creation and dissolution. You see that all elements have their origins in You – and so You are everything: the silent ravines, the remote settlements, the busy towns, the fishing boats, the ocean currents, the foam on the surface of the sea. You are the river from the source to the sea and the traveler who searches for it. Everything is included. All is One. Yet You also see that You are nothing – the true Source of Yourself is formless, limitless.
With this View in awareness, can You see the absurdity of the following list:
- Special robes or clothing to indicate that some are more “spiritual” than others;
- Special names or labels to indicate “advanced” spiritual status;
- Special ceremonies, rituals or practices for the purpose of “connection” with what is “spiritual” or “elevated”;
- Special buildings with special names that are more “spiritual” than other buildings;
- Special days and times that are more “spiritual” than other times;
- Special books with words and concepts that are more “spiritual” than other books and must be regularly read to “connect” to what is “spiritual” or “elevated”;
- Special relics that are believed to convey “spiritual” blessings or protections;
- Special implements and accessories e.g. beads, bells, gongs, etc that provide accompaniment to “spiritual” practices and therefore are more special than everyday implements and accessories;
- Special headgear or apparatus worn to show “membership” of a particular “spiritual” grouping.
Pointers to the Final Reality include these labels: formless, limitless, without attributes, no-concept, non-dual. Can You see that differentiating out “special” and “spiritual” names, labels, practices, relics, etc BLOCKS Realization? This is why Maharaj said:
"You have to give up everthing to know that you need nothing, not even your body. Your needs are unreal and your efforts are meaningless. You imagine that your possessions protect you. In reality they make you vulnerable. Realize yourself as away from all that can be pointed at as "this" or "that". You are un-reachable by any sensory experience or verbal construction."
Did he mean give up everything, except the special books?
Did he mean give up everything, except the special rituals?
Did he mean give up everything, except the special clothing?
Did he mean give up everything, except the special implements?
Did he mean give up everything, except the spiritual "possessions" like concepts, rituals, etc?.
If in doubt, You are invited to re-read his words.
Mention has been made of the reactive and defensive reaction of the Spiritual Persona when it feels under attack. If a charge is noticed when reading this post, consider the possibility that this is a reactive persona and not Who You Are. Be Your own teacher. Ask the questions: WHO cares? WHO reacts? WHO defends? WHO justifies? Etc. If Your detached observation finds a WHO in place, know that this is not Who You Are. You are invited to return for a time to the core question: Who Am I? Let the questions themselves take You into the Silent Interior of Your Own Unknowing. You do not need to find the answers outside of Yourself. You do not need to find the answers in this blog posting. You do not need to find the answers in ANYTHING that is external. The Truth You Already Know will reveal them. Your earnestness and hunger for the answer is more valuable currency. Do not rest until the Question takes You Safely Home.
The LOVE/NOTHINGNESS described in the View at the start of this post is Your True Nature. Perhaps You can recall when this View has shone through the fog of self-identification, and for a time You have dropped the small self-centred “I” and there has simply been: creating, dancing, laughing, working, playing, love-sharing, gardening, martial arting, writing, singing, painting, parenting, caring, crafting, chiseling, sharpening, potting, riding, jumping, or resting. Impersonal Being. Already this is Who You Are. However, the Advaitan teaching does not offer occasional snapshots – the technology is designed to return You to the stability of Your Natural State – so You can enjoy the freedom overlaid on relative life 24/7.
End Note: The Advaitan Technology includes books, texts, transcripts of verbal discussions (as in the case of “maharaj”), retreats, ebooks, Youtube videos (in the case of “floyd”). Do these teaching devices not qualify as Special books with words and concepts that are more “spiritual” than other books and must be regularly read to “connect” to what is “spiritual” or “elevated”. The concepts "special" and "connect to what is spiritual or elevated" are antithetical to the Advaitan understanding so these can never apply to Advaita. However, if referring simply to using or reading books or other texts containing the Advaitan teachings, this argument may be allowed for a time. The teachings (in whatever format) are thorns used to remove thorns. They are temporarily used by the seeker until the understanding has taken root, and then they can be and should be tossed. When you were at Grade school, you learned to read using Alphabet Books. Once you could read, did you continue reading the Alphabet Books? Do you still have an Alphabet Book by your bedside? Of course not – when the alphabet was mastered, the Alphabet Book was tossed, so you could move on to reading books with more enjoyable or entertaining plots. The Advaitan Teachings are like this.
In addition, the Advaitan technology makes active use of teaching metaphors – allegories that are pointers that can never be “acquired” and used to consolidate a false sense of self. Obviously, You know You are not the Amazon River or the Clear Blue Sky. Obviously You know the "teacher" is not actually a sharpshooter. This means that once the understanding pointed to by the teaching metaphor is grasped, the metaphor itself can be tossed without a backward glance. A thorn used to remove a thorn -- and a thorn that is easily identified and removed when no longer needed.
Can You see how differentiating out what is “spiritual” and “special” feeds the final Spiritual Persona and blocks Realization and the resultant enjoyment of Love/Nothingness overlaid on everyday living in the relative? De-accumulate.
Remember -- the Advaitan teachings are designed to return You to the Non-dual, No-concept State. As such, ultimately You are invited to discard all concepts and beliefs, including the most precious spiritual concepts, as well as the Teaching concepts of Advaita.
Please enter into the silence of contemplation. (To be continued)
(For extending teaching on transitioning the third step – the spiritual persona – see the ebook: From the I to the Absolute and the DVD of the Advaita Retreat -available soon)
Comments / clarifications may be sent to louise.advaita@gmail.com – a temporary email address available for the duration of these guest postings.
