From Jim: “Hi Floyd, Time for another Saturday email. This time a question. Wondering about the worthwhileness of surpassing the Child Ignorance stage. What's the utility in contemplating the remainder of the steps? [NOTE: The “remainder of the steps” include the witness, the True Self or Pure Witness and THAT which is beyond beingness and non-beingness.] Remember all of those tribes you mentioned from thousands of years ago who had the "Original Understanding" but had little or no language and no need for ideas and beliefs? How many of them grunted and made motions on the fire-lit cave wall about beingness, non-beingness, beyond beingness, and beyond non-beingness? They witnessed that everything that arises passes away (which encapsulated a huge understanding).”
F.: Agreed. [By the way, those tribes aren’t all from thousands of years ago. Many are living right now in that same AS IF fashion in remote South American jungles or in remote island jungles across the globe, “protected” by that remoteness from exposure to the insane concepts of persons who think they are the “advanced” ones living in “First World” countries. The arrogance of the duality of that concept of “We’re First World but you’re Third World” would require an entirely separate discussion.] But here’s the pointer: none of those tribal people you referenced could have witnessed anything if fixated at the Child Ignorance stage. That's the point. The witness stage and the Pure Witness stage must be reached after transcending the Child Ignorance stage if you are to be able to differentiate real from illusion, if you are to understand that You Are the Absolute, and if You Are to abide as the Absolute. Now, your point could be relevant if the original manifestation had only "moved" as far as the Child Ignorance stage from the Absolute. If the bastardization that follows that stage had never occurred--the bastardization that results in the assumption of religious and spiritual roles, in a "mind," in all other false roles, and in body identification--then the other "steps" might not be needed, relatively speaking. That being rare, the requirement is that you must be as a child (for a time) to come to Me, the Absolute.
To understand the movement from body-mind-personality identification and the passage “back to” the understanding of the Absolute, you much see each step, in reverse, that resulted in body identification. The Absolute manifested as the True Self. The True Self began functioning as a Pure Witness but soon a “subject-object witness” began to dominate as the child became more and more consciousness of its physical self by witnessing a hand and an arm and a leg; then it became more consciousness of "others" as the “mind” began to form with exposure to concepts and programming and conditioning and enculturation. But it was not until the child was erroneously told what it is—which is not at all what it is—that spiritual or religious dualities were accepted: "You were a gift from god"; “you are bad when you do that; “you are good if you do this”; “this is what is moral and that is what is immoral”; “for that you will get a punishment”; “for this you will get a reward,” etc. Then, the mental machinations really began, a “mind” began to form (merely an accumulation of the lies of enculturation), and then the digression into limited, body ID set in and once again another cycle from the Absolute to the belief in the “I” was completed. To be free of all that, you must repeat the entire "journey" back to the Absolute, and the “journey” must be completed in reverse and in toto. The most direct route out of the illusion is the direct route in reverse that got you into the illusion.
Jim: “But they had no codified concepts about the Absolute that is beyond beingness and non-beingness and about hydrogen atoms splitting into helium atoms and other such concepts. In other words, the Original Understanding was "No Understanding"; at least not an understanding that required expression. Today, those who choose to verbalize their version of the process "as gurus" seem in many cases to be Super-Duper Level 3's who may have been "misguided dogma peddlars" in years past but have now graduated to still being Spirtual Giants but not labelling themselves as such because they don't believe in labels and after-all, they're pointing to the Truth in their satsangs; right? So they can't be Spiritual Giants. They're Realized! Jim”
F.: Agreed. When there was the universally-held, Original Understanding, how could there be any “need” to teach the Understanding? When no persons/personalities existed with thorns in their hands, wherefore any need for thorns that can remove thorns? That is, when there were no concepts, there was no need for other concepts to be used to remove all concepts, so your point in that regard would be completely accurate, if it applied to persons today. But it doesn't.
The only “need” for “codification” or "teaching" now is to remove the contamination that is obstructing the view of the Original Understanding. Hence, the snake in the rope. If all saw that the rope is a just rope, then there would be no need to mention a snake at all. What’s to teach in that case? If the reality were seen, then the illusion would not have to be pointed to by one who knows the rope to be a rope and who understands the “not snake.” And the only reason for mentioning "not snake" or "not truth" or "not two" is to allow protégés to see the rope clearly (as is), to realize that each role they assume is more self-deception, to realize the lie of multiplicity, to realize the truth of the unicity, and to grasp the Original Understanding. Finally, those in ignorance aren't in bliss—they're in misery; however, do not confuse “the ignorant” with the "severely retarded" who are totally out of their minds and therefore can be in a more blissful state than those being driven by learned ignorance. That is the pointer for all seekers: only persons who are out of their "minds" can be sane and in touch with Reality.
Finally, to your term “huge understanding.” Even if protégés happen to miss “Full Realization” or “the Original Understanding” or “the understanding of the functioning of the totality,” it would be a “huge understanding” even if they never saw the truth but at least saw all the lies. Again, though, that would still require that the Child Ignorance stage be transcended and that the witnessing stage and Pure Witnessing stage be attained. Please enter the silence of contemplation.
