Now, to address the other e-mail on the subject of concepts:
From a different site visitor: “You said we should question it all. How? I’ve had 30 years of involvement with my religion and 18 years of school to get a masters degree. How could I even begin to question it all? I’ve probably been exposed to a million or more concepts. I could start now and spend the next 50 years and probably not be able to even remember it all, much less get rid of it all. Help!”
F.: A blind man who cannot see, but who claims that he can see, is deemed insane…out of touch with reality. I sense that maybe you are aware that there are some ideas that might need to be questioned and that maybe you are not blind to that need. But find for yourself where you are in the groupings of those with varied responses—or lack thereof—to the illogicalities of this illusory “world” that so many persons believe in:
First, there are those who never see anything illogical at all. They have been so thoroughly programmed that they blindly take illogicalities to be truths. Next, there are those who finally see the illogicalities but have no idea that there are certain “steps” that could be taken to be free of such. They are trapped in their puzzlement. Then, there are others who are trapped in outraged bewilderment, furious at the insanity of persons and their insane and fear-based or anger-based conduct. Then, there are those who are free enough of their programming to at least begin questioning the concepts of their culture. They have seen the illogicalities as illogicalities and have come across someone who says that there are "steps" that can be taken to become free of the widespread insanity. They are puzzled, and they know they are puzzled, but they are not outraged. Rather, they simply want answers. They want the truth, for a change. From that platform, they are ready to look objectively at some of the concepts that they have accepted and they are at least willing to consider that some of them may truly be so illogical that they must be forfeited. The last word of your e-mail suggests that you might be among that last group, so a response will be offered that will provide some examples of beliefs and concepts that you should possibly take an objective look at. Then, you might decide once and for all if the concepts are logical, if they are based in fact, and if you should continue to cling to them. Or, you might find that they are so illogical and non-factual that they must be discarded if you are ever to begin the process that will re-purify the consciousness. You report “30 year of involvement with religion,” but after three decades of “involvement” with religion and religious teachings, the end result of all that involvement and effort and exposure is…"Help!" That's the best they have been able to do for you?
So many persons who are on a religious or spiritual path blindly claim at sunrise that they are seeing high noon, yet that attitude is not sensed in your writing. Since, after three decades of “involvement with religion,” you are willing to admit that religion has not provided the answers, then religion will be addressed, again, along with an alternative that has provided the answers to millions over the ages. Persons such as you who find an Advaita site or who buy Advaita books are either moving along the “path” or are seeking the “path.” Inquiries from those always receive a response. First, see where you are on the “path.” Most seekers only make it as far as the third step of the “journey” and then fixate there as they play their religious or spiritual roles. You would not have found this site if you were not seeking something either beyond the physical and mental and your religion (or at least in addition to the physical and mental and your religion). By virtue of that, you must be at "Step Three"—the point where religious or spiritual roles have been assumed and are being played.
When the consciousness has been warped via early programming and conditioning, and when religious or spiritual programming is added into that mix, persons are seldom able to become fully in touch with reality. If you are at that point, then realize that you need not try to “question it all” to be free of the lies and then find the truth. Just begin by being willing to question some of the basic teachings, and if you find that a key part of those teachings are lies or are illogical, then that should inspire you to question—or maybe even cast aside—all of it, just as the Fully Realized have done. Why is that now happening more frequently than in the past? The Advaitan Douwe Tiemersma, a member of the Philosophical Faculty at Erasmus University in Holland, explained it this way in the 80’s:
From a different site visitor: “You said we should question it all. How? I’ve had 30 years of involvement with my religion and 18 years of school to get a masters degree. How could I even begin to question it all? I’ve probably been exposed to a million or more concepts. I could start now and spend the next 50 years and probably not be able to even remember it all, much less get rid of it all. Help!”
F.: A blind man who cannot see, but who claims that he can see, is deemed insane…out of touch with reality. I sense that maybe you are aware that there are some ideas that might need to be questioned and that maybe you are not blind to that need. But find for yourself where you are in the groupings of those with varied responses—or lack thereof—to the illogicalities of this illusory “world” that so many persons believe in:
First, there are those who never see anything illogical at all. They have been so thoroughly programmed that they blindly take illogicalities to be truths. Next, there are those who finally see the illogicalities but have no idea that there are certain “steps” that could be taken to be free of such. They are trapped in their puzzlement. Then, there are others who are trapped in outraged bewilderment, furious at the insanity of persons and their insane and fear-based or anger-based conduct. Then, there are those who are free enough of their programming to at least begin questioning the concepts of their culture. They have seen the illogicalities as illogicalities and have come across someone who says that there are "steps" that can be taken to become free of the widespread insanity. They are puzzled, and they know they are puzzled, but they are not outraged. Rather, they simply want answers. They want the truth, for a change. From that platform, they are ready to look objectively at some of the concepts that they have accepted and they are at least willing to consider that some of them may truly be so illogical that they must be forfeited. The last word of your e-mail suggests that you might be among that last group, so a response will be offered that will provide some examples of beliefs and concepts that you should possibly take an objective look at. Then, you might decide once and for all if the concepts are logical, if they are based in fact, and if you should continue to cling to them. Or, you might find that they are so illogical and non-factual that they must be discarded if you are ever to begin the process that will re-purify the consciousness. You report “30 year of involvement with religion,” but after three decades of “involvement” with religion and religious teachings, the end result of all that involvement and effort and exposure is…"Help!" That's the best they have been able to do for you?
So many persons who are on a religious or spiritual path blindly claim at sunrise that they are seeing high noon, yet that attitude is not sensed in your writing. Since, after three decades of “involvement with religion,” you are willing to admit that religion has not provided the answers, then religion will be addressed, again, along with an alternative that has provided the answers to millions over the ages. Persons such as you who find an Advaita site or who buy Advaita books are either moving along the “path” or are seeking the “path.” Inquiries from those always receive a response. First, see where you are on the “path.” Most seekers only make it as far as the third step of the “journey” and then fixate there as they play their religious or spiritual roles. You would not have found this site if you were not seeking something either beyond the physical and mental and your religion (or at least in addition to the physical and mental and your religion). By virtue of that, you must be at "Step Three"—the point where religious or spiritual roles have been assumed and are being played.
When the consciousness has been warped via early programming and conditioning, and when religious or spiritual programming is added into that mix, persons are seldom able to become fully in touch with reality. If you are at that point, then realize that you need not try to “question it all” to be free of the lies and then find the truth. Just begin by being willing to question some of the basic teachings, and if you find that a key part of those teachings are lies or are illogical, then that should inspire you to question—or maybe even cast aside—all of it, just as the Fully Realized have done. Why is that now happening more frequently than in the past? The Advaitan Douwe Tiemersma, a member of the Philosophical Faculty at Erasmus University in Holland, explained it this way in the 80’s:
There are various religions and systems of philosophy which claim to endow human life with meaning. But they suffer from certain inherent limitations. They couch into fine-sounding words their traditional beliefs and ideologies, theological or philosophical. Believers, however, discover the limited range of meaning and applicability of these words, sooner or later. They get disillusioned and tend to abandon the systems, in the same way as scientifc theories are abandoned, when they are called in question by too much contradictory empirical data.
Before offering explanations of why your religion—and all religions—fail to provide the answers you seek (even after they had thirty years to do so), it must be asked: (1) Are you beginning to see some of the "inherent limitations"? (2) Are you able to admit that you’re becoming disillusioned as result of giving them thirty years while their teachings have only given you your current condition wherein you’re screaming for help? (3) Are you willing to call into question their "inherent contradictions" and shortcomings? If you can answer “yes” to those questions, then you can continue the “journey” tomorrow. You can begin to move along the “path” if you are willing to see, and then question, their inherent limitations and contradictions while accepting that there is an alternative that can provide the answers you seek; however, that can happen only if you first detach from belief in the concepts offered by those who claim that they have all the answers but—in thirty years—have not able to provide them to you. What if, in fact, no one can provide those answers" But what if someone could provide some pointers that would allow you to find the answers...within? Please enter the silence of contemplation. [To be continued]
