From a site visitor: “I thought Advaita Vedanta was a philosophical path or maybe a spiritual movement. Reading some of the e-mail you’ve posted, it seems some believe that it’s a religion. Which is it?”
F.: THE ORIGINAL UNDERSTANDING (which was likely being circulated more than 30,000 years ago in the areas that would eventually come to be known as India and Asia) preceded the discussions that would later be written into the Vedas and the Upanishads. Moses (c. 1400 B.C.) heard the teachings summarized in the phrase “I AM THAT; I AM” and plagiarized the expression in his writings, but THE ORIGINAL UNDERSTANDING far preceded the Vedas, the Upanishads, Moses, and the writings around 800 A.D. that provided the label “Advaita Vedanta.” The concepts and ideas and understanding had to exist before they could be written. And the more that THE ORIGINAL UNDERSTANDING has been repeated and discussed and written about over the millennia, the more distorted it has become.
There is a game some children play in which one person whispers a message and it is passed one-by-one to twenty persons or more who are seated in a circle. By the time the message arrives back at the starting point, it has almost always become so distorted through the varied repetitions that the original speaker can’t even recognize the final version (which has usually been bastardized into total nonsense in the end). Then, the group might debate who said what, what was meant, who distorted the original message, etc. Such has happened with THE ORIGINAL UNDERSTANDING and what is now called “Advaita Vedanta,” and that is why it is said that the truth cannot be told, cannot be written, and cannot be named. To understand THE ORIGINAL UNDERSTANDING, one must forget holy texts, holy labels, holy rituals and holy actions, must see the lies that have been told, must become free of all beliefs acquired via enculturation, and must then go into the quiet and remember what is already known but has been forgotten. In the end, all gurus are false (are personas) except the inner guru. The lies will not be seen and discarded (and the truth will not be known) via study, action, service, worship or any other "doings." The lies will be discarded and the truth will be Realized via tapping into the inner resource while just "being."
Some debates regarding Advaita Vedanta involve whether the focus should be on knowledge or worship or action. Other debates regarding Advaita Vedanta involve whether it is a philosophy or a religion or a spiritual process. All of the debates are for nil. To find the lies involved with knowledge, worship, action, philosophy, religion, or spirituality, the following must be realized: THE ORIGINAL UNDERSTANDING (which can now be attained by taking into meditation certain pointers that guide protégés through specific considerations and “steps”) suggested being free of knowledge, which is also known as “learned ignorance.” That ORIGINAL UNDERSTANDING also made clear that there is nothing to worship and that “worshipper” is nothing more than another ego-state; made clear that action does not begin with Realization but ends with Realization; and made clear that once Realization happens, no philosophy, religion or spirituality will be needed or sought. Why? Because those supposedly address wants, desires or fears of personas, but with Realization, the illusions of wants, desires and fears disappear because all personas disappear.
Have some “gurus” twisted the original teachings to suggest that their beliefs are right and should be followed? Of course, but THE ORIGINAL UNDERSTANDING that is closest to what is now called “Advaita Vedanta” had no beliefs but instead lead to Realization which is the end of all beliefs. Have some gurus prescribed rituals to follow? Of course, but THE ORIGINAL UNDERSTANDING that is closest to what is now called “Advaita Vedanta” had no rituals but instead lead to Realization...which is the end of all rituals. Have some gurus identified deities with personal attributes to worship? Of course, but THE ORIGINAL UNDERSTANDING recognized no deity or person/personal god with physical, mental and emotional attributes.
Whereas the original message which was closest to what is now called “Advaita Vedanta” has been distorted because it has been divided into various approaches focusing on knowledge, worship, or action and on philosophy, religion, or spirituality, it originally freed programmed persons of belief in the ancient superstitions and mythologies that generate knowledge, worship, action, philosophy, religion, and/or spirituality. Are there some who still cling to the god or gods whose origins were rooted in the pagan myths and the ancient folklore of Greek and Roman gods? Of course. Are there some who set forth codes of conduct to be followed along with their worldviews? Of course, but in THE ORIGINAL UNDERSTANDING there were no codes and no worldview; instead, there was freedom from all concepts and freedom from the belief that the world being viewed is real.
THE ORIGINAL UNDERSTANDING that is offered via some of the teachings of what is now called “Advaita Vedanta” led to an understanding of the functioning of the totality, not to an understanding of “this life” and “this world” and not to rules or dogma about the way you should behave in “this world.” “This world” and “this life” are fiction, much ado about nothing, a tale told by an idiot. What good any philosophy about tales and idiocy and fiction? All of those elements that define religion (listed in yesterday’s post) are the very elements that THE ORIGINAL UNDERSTANDING can free persons from, if they travel the “path” and complete the “journey.” Ironically, because the Realized are free of wants, fears and desires (including the desire to control, to have power, to accumulate, and to take) it can be witnessed that their movement through the remainder of their AS IF existence happens in a fashion that aligns with what personas like to call "moral behavior."
Further, Advaita Vedanta is not about “clinging to.” The Realized would never suggest that you “tie fast to” anything. THE ORIGINAL UNDERSTANDING that is now provided by some of the teachings in what is called “Advaita Vedanta” was about being free of, being untied to, and being detached from all dependencies and co-dependencies which are outgrowths of duality and which foster further duality and even trinities. The unicity was distorted into a duality as the Veda was divided into two sections: one dealing with duties and another dealing with actions. Then, the unicity was subdivided into a trinity (1) with qualities, (2) without qualities and (3) with a personal god in charge of the world of appearance. If the world is an appearance—an illusion—then wouldn’t anything thought to be presiding over an illusion also be an illusion? There is but the unicity. All dualities and trinities dreamed up by men are that which is not, not THAT Which Is. Have you seen what is not? Has that allowed You to see What Is? Please enter the silence of contemplation. [To be continued]
F.: THE ORIGINAL UNDERSTANDING (which was likely being circulated more than 30,000 years ago in the areas that would eventually come to be known as India and Asia) preceded the discussions that would later be written into the Vedas and the Upanishads. Moses (c. 1400 B.C.) heard the teachings summarized in the phrase “I AM THAT; I AM” and plagiarized the expression in his writings, but THE ORIGINAL UNDERSTANDING far preceded the Vedas, the Upanishads, Moses, and the writings around 800 A.D. that provided the label “Advaita Vedanta.” The concepts and ideas and understanding had to exist before they could be written. And the more that THE ORIGINAL UNDERSTANDING has been repeated and discussed and written about over the millennia, the more distorted it has become.
There is a game some children play in which one person whispers a message and it is passed one-by-one to twenty persons or more who are seated in a circle. By the time the message arrives back at the starting point, it has almost always become so distorted through the varied repetitions that the original speaker can’t even recognize the final version (which has usually been bastardized into total nonsense in the end). Then, the group might debate who said what, what was meant, who distorted the original message, etc. Such has happened with THE ORIGINAL UNDERSTANDING and what is now called “Advaita Vedanta,” and that is why it is said that the truth cannot be told, cannot be written, and cannot be named. To understand THE ORIGINAL UNDERSTANDING, one must forget holy texts, holy labels, holy rituals and holy actions, must see the lies that have been told, must become free of all beliefs acquired via enculturation, and must then go into the quiet and remember what is already known but has been forgotten. In the end, all gurus are false (are personas) except the inner guru. The lies will not be seen and discarded (and the truth will not be known) via study, action, service, worship or any other "doings." The lies will be discarded and the truth will be Realized via tapping into the inner resource while just "being."
Some debates regarding Advaita Vedanta involve whether the focus should be on knowledge or worship or action. Other debates regarding Advaita Vedanta involve whether it is a philosophy or a religion or a spiritual process. All of the debates are for nil. To find the lies involved with knowledge, worship, action, philosophy, religion, or spirituality, the following must be realized: THE ORIGINAL UNDERSTANDING (which can now be attained by taking into meditation certain pointers that guide protégés through specific considerations and “steps”) suggested being free of knowledge, which is also known as “learned ignorance.” That ORIGINAL UNDERSTANDING also made clear that there is nothing to worship and that “worshipper” is nothing more than another ego-state; made clear that action does not begin with Realization but ends with Realization; and made clear that once Realization happens, no philosophy, religion or spirituality will be needed or sought. Why? Because those supposedly address wants, desires or fears of personas, but with Realization, the illusions of wants, desires and fears disappear because all personas disappear.
Have some “gurus” twisted the original teachings to suggest that their beliefs are right and should be followed? Of course, but THE ORIGINAL UNDERSTANDING that is closest to what is now called “Advaita Vedanta” had no beliefs but instead lead to Realization which is the end of all beliefs. Have some gurus prescribed rituals to follow? Of course, but THE ORIGINAL UNDERSTANDING that is closest to what is now called “Advaita Vedanta” had no rituals but instead lead to Realization...which is the end of all rituals. Have some gurus identified deities with personal attributes to worship? Of course, but THE ORIGINAL UNDERSTANDING recognized no deity or person/personal god with physical, mental and emotional attributes.
Whereas the original message which was closest to what is now called “Advaita Vedanta” has been distorted because it has been divided into various approaches focusing on knowledge, worship, or action and on philosophy, religion, or spirituality, it originally freed programmed persons of belief in the ancient superstitions and mythologies that generate knowledge, worship, action, philosophy, religion, and/or spirituality. Are there some who still cling to the god or gods whose origins were rooted in the pagan myths and the ancient folklore of Greek and Roman gods? Of course. Are there some who set forth codes of conduct to be followed along with their worldviews? Of course, but in THE ORIGINAL UNDERSTANDING there were no codes and no worldview; instead, there was freedom from all concepts and freedom from the belief that the world being viewed is real.
THE ORIGINAL UNDERSTANDING that is offered via some of the teachings of what is now called “Advaita Vedanta” led to an understanding of the functioning of the totality, not to an understanding of “this life” and “this world” and not to rules or dogma about the way you should behave in “this world.” “This world” and “this life” are fiction, much ado about nothing, a tale told by an idiot. What good any philosophy about tales and idiocy and fiction? All of those elements that define religion (listed in yesterday’s post) are the very elements that THE ORIGINAL UNDERSTANDING can free persons from, if they travel the “path” and complete the “journey.” Ironically, because the Realized are free of wants, fears and desires (including the desire to control, to have power, to accumulate, and to take) it can be witnessed that their movement through the remainder of their AS IF existence happens in a fashion that aligns with what personas like to call "moral behavior."
Further, Advaita Vedanta is not about “clinging to.” The Realized would never suggest that you “tie fast to” anything. THE ORIGINAL UNDERSTANDING that is now provided by some of the teachings in what is called “Advaita Vedanta” was about being free of, being untied to, and being detached from all dependencies and co-dependencies which are outgrowths of duality and which foster further duality and even trinities. The unicity was distorted into a duality as the Veda was divided into two sections: one dealing with duties and another dealing with actions. Then, the unicity was subdivided into a trinity (1) with qualities, (2) without qualities and (3) with a personal god in charge of the world of appearance. If the world is an appearance—an illusion—then wouldn’t anything thought to be presiding over an illusion also be an illusion? There is but the unicity. All dualities and trinities dreamed up by men are that which is not, not THAT Which Is. Have you seen what is not? Has that allowed You to see What Is? Please enter the silence of contemplation. [To be continued]
