Parts of an e-mail from a site visitor are being addressed. [You may see the entire letter in the 23 December 2006 posting.] Today, the responses continue:
V.: What did Nisargadatta Maharaj and Floyd Henderson do to me? Why did they erase me and themselves in the process?
F.: So, Vigneshwar, you are still taking certain mirages to be real. Question: How would you witness a mirage accurately? The answer: with understanding. The awake and aware know that a mirage is merely an appearance in light. Once you see that a mirage is a mirage, you will never again attempt to upgrade an illusion or undertake to downgrade an illusion.
To review, when an assumed identity wants to pay “reverence” to a “guru” or “priest” or “preacher” or “spiritual advisor,” it is trying to upgrade not only the illusion of “guru” or “priest” or “preacher” or "spiritual advisor" but also the illusion of self. When one looks at a picture of “Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj,” what should really be seen? Nothing other than a grouping of elements with a nervous system that was used by consciousness for a limited period of manifestation. When one looks at a picture of “Floyd Henderson,” what should really be seen? Nothing other than a grouping of elements with a nervous system that is currently being used by consciousness for a limited period of manifestation. That’s all that happened “with Maharaj” and that’s all that is happening “with Floyd Henderson.”
V.: What did Nisargadatta Maharaj and Floyd Henderson do to me? Why did they erase me and themselves in the process?
F.: So, Vigneshwar, you are still taking certain mirages to be real. Question: How would you witness a mirage accurately? The answer: with understanding. The awake and aware know that a mirage is merely an appearance in light. Once you see that a mirage is a mirage, you will never again attempt to upgrade an illusion or undertake to downgrade an illusion.
To review, when an assumed identity wants to pay “reverence” to a “guru” or “priest” or “preacher” or “spiritual advisor,” it is trying to upgrade not only the illusion of “guru” or “priest” or “preacher” or "spiritual advisor" but also the illusion of self. When one looks at a picture of “Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj,” what should really be seen? Nothing other than a grouping of elements with a nervous system that was used by consciousness for a limited period of manifestation. When one looks at a picture of “Floyd Henderson,” what should really be seen? Nothing other than a grouping of elements with a nervous system that is currently being used by consciousness for a limited period of manifestation. That’s all that happened “with Maharaj” and that’s all that is happening “with Floyd Henderson.”
To say that Maharaj was a “great teacher” or an “enlightened guru” is merely an effort to upgrade that which was nothing more than an instance where conscious-energy manifested for a period by using a space of elements with a functioning nervous system. Wherefore any “reverence” for dust-to-dust, for ash-to-ash, for a space that happened because an orgasm occurred during an act of friction between two people who would be called “his parents”? Their pleasure became his pain. In the same way, the pleasures of two people became your pain—that “hurt” you mentioned in your e-mail, along with many other pains—and set the stage for them to delude you with beliefs that were blindly handed down to them and that they, in turn, blindly passed on to you. The simple thing that really happened is this:
I—the manifest consciousness—used the nervous system of a plant; I later used the nervous systems of two humans who were called “mother” and “father.” I am presently using the nervous system of a space called “floyd.” Were I to have “reverence” for Maharaj, why would I not also have reverence for a puddle of mud or a pile of ash or for any other temporary combination of elements? Maharaj was nothing more nor less than that which I Am and that which, for a temporary period, also used those same types of groupings and nervous systems. The same applies to You. Since reverence is a concept, no reverence is held for anyone or anything. I Am energy; you are energy. Do you show reverence to the energy that rests behind a plug in your wall, that moves into your computer, and that allows its programming to work? Of course not.
I—the manifest consciousness—used the nervous system of a plant; I later used the nervous systems of two humans who were called “mother” and “father.” I am presently using the nervous system of a space called “floyd.” Were I to have “reverence” for Maharaj, why would I not also have reverence for a puddle of mud or a pile of ash or for any other temporary combination of elements? Maharaj was nothing more nor less than that which I Am and that which, for a temporary period, also used those same types of groupings and nervous systems. The same applies to You. Since reverence is a concept, no reverence is held for anyone or anything. I Am energy; you are energy. Do you show reverence to the energy that rests behind a plug in your wall, that moves into your computer, and that allows its programming to work? Of course not.
Just as the energy will vacate that computer someday, and just as the elements that make up that computer will return to their original state someday, so it is with what is called "Floyd." When I Am no longer manifested, the nervous system that I am temporarily using will no longer have a space in which to function; also, no space will be available for circulating the air or the energy. The elements will merge again with the universal pool of elements, the breath will merge again into the surrounding pool of oxygen, and the energy will merge again into that pool of energy from which it manifested.
V.: Of course, these questions are asked by the "assumed" existence. Mind likes fairy tales and it wants a nice and finishing story that tells the "why" of all this. You may choose to answer me or not. But not showing reverence is not something that's acceptable to a "me" that's still present. Please help me comprehend things in the right perspective. How should the One who told me all this, to be viewed?
F.: As for a “nice end” to the story, there is no end to the story of cyclings. There is only an “end” to a particular space that was nothing more than a temporarily-organized set of elements. Furthermore, there is no end to the elements, to the breath, or to the energy. That which will not experience such continuity is the body-mind-personality triad. Be free of those three illusions and You can merely be for the remainder of the manifestation.
As it is, with your talk of “reverence” and “a lord” or “a guru” or “a Maharaj” or “a Floyd,” you are still trying to upgrade the illusion. See the efforts to upgrade or to downgrade illusions for what they are:
1. “The guru” is an illusory interpretation that you are applying to a space using a nervous system; you are upgrading that illusion to something worthy of reverence.
2. Buildings are illusions; temples and churches and mosques and synagogues are upgrades of that illusion.
3. Talk is a lie; preaching and praying and bhajans or singing of hymns are upgrades of that illusion.
4. “This world” is an illusion, so the “next world of rewards” is an upgrade of that basic illusion and the “next world of punishment” is a downgrade of that basic illusion.
5. To believe that “I am this body and mind and personality” is an illusion; the belief that one can come back as a higher being is an upgrade of that illusion; the belief that one can come back as a lower being is a downgrade of that illusion.
6. Spouses and lovers and children are illusions; “my wonderful spouse” or “my wonderful lover” and “my brilliant children” are upgrades to the illusion, just as “My former spouse is a bitch (or a bastard)” is a downgrade of a former spousal image.
7. The do-er is an illusion; doing noble or worthy or reverent or helpful things is an effort to upgrade the illusion.
8. The body-mind-personality is an illusion; to believe that the triad can be "a worshipper," "a devotee," "a religious person," "a spiritual person," a "better person than before," ad infinitum is a result of trying to upgrade the illusion. Some have asked, “But in the absence of religion or spirituality, what is going to hold the potential beasts called ‘humans’ in check and prevent them from doing ‘bad’ or ‘immoral’ things?” First, when mere beingness is happening, then doing “bad” or “immoral” things cannot happen. Second, does religion or spirituality really hold persons in check worldwide, or do both the historical evidence and the current evidence clearly show that it more often results in bestial conduct instead, relatively speaking?
You should now see your pattern, which is the pattern of all persons prior to Full Realization: you are being driven in your efforts to upgrade or to downgrade illusions. However, to try to eliminate—one at a time—each of the thousands of upgrades and each of the thousands of downgrades (all of which have been dreamed up by men) could never be accomplished even in a thousand years; instead, see the primary illusion; then, all of the secondary illusions involving upgrades and downgrades shall fade away. Then You will know that no one erased You. What was “erased” was only a mirage called “you” that had been seeking to upgrade all his wistful illusions in a quest that was quixotic to the core. An art restorer can strip away the layers of paint that have been added to a canvas and that prevent persons from seeing what had originally been observable. Similarly, Realization can erase away the layers of concepts and lies and tales and dogma which have been added to form a collection of learned ignorance and which are blocking the view of Your True Self and the Absolute as well. Please enter the silence of contemplation.
V.: Of course, these questions are asked by the "assumed" existence. Mind likes fairy tales and it wants a nice and finishing story that tells the "why" of all this. You may choose to answer me or not. But not showing reverence is not something that's acceptable to a "me" that's still present. Please help me comprehend things in the right perspective. How should the One who told me all this, to be viewed?
F.: As for a “nice end” to the story, there is no end to the story of cyclings. There is only an “end” to a particular space that was nothing more than a temporarily-organized set of elements. Furthermore, there is no end to the elements, to the breath, or to the energy. That which will not experience such continuity is the body-mind-personality triad. Be free of those three illusions and You can merely be for the remainder of the manifestation.
As it is, with your talk of “reverence” and “a lord” or “a guru” or “a Maharaj” or “a Floyd,” you are still trying to upgrade the illusion. See the efforts to upgrade or to downgrade illusions for what they are:
1. “The guru” is an illusory interpretation that you are applying to a space using a nervous system; you are upgrading that illusion to something worthy of reverence.
2. Buildings are illusions; temples and churches and mosques and synagogues are upgrades of that illusion.
3. Talk is a lie; preaching and praying and bhajans or singing of hymns are upgrades of that illusion.
4. “This world” is an illusion, so the “next world of rewards” is an upgrade of that basic illusion and the “next world of punishment” is a downgrade of that basic illusion.
5. To believe that “I am this body and mind and personality” is an illusion; the belief that one can come back as a higher being is an upgrade of that illusion; the belief that one can come back as a lower being is a downgrade of that illusion.
6. Spouses and lovers and children are illusions; “my wonderful spouse” or “my wonderful lover” and “my brilliant children” are upgrades to the illusion, just as “My former spouse is a bitch (or a bastard)” is a downgrade of a former spousal image.
7. The do-er is an illusion; doing noble or worthy or reverent or helpful things is an effort to upgrade the illusion.
8. The body-mind-personality is an illusion; to believe that the triad can be "a worshipper," "a devotee," "a religious person," "a spiritual person," a "better person than before," ad infinitum is a result of trying to upgrade the illusion. Some have asked, “But in the absence of religion or spirituality, what is going to hold the potential beasts called ‘humans’ in check and prevent them from doing ‘bad’ or ‘immoral’ things?” First, when mere beingness is happening, then doing “bad” or “immoral” things cannot happen. Second, does religion or spirituality really hold persons in check worldwide, or do both the historical evidence and the current evidence clearly show that it more often results in bestial conduct instead, relatively speaking?
You should now see your pattern, which is the pattern of all persons prior to Full Realization: you are being driven in your efforts to upgrade or to downgrade illusions. However, to try to eliminate—one at a time—each of the thousands of upgrades and each of the thousands of downgrades (all of which have been dreamed up by men) could never be accomplished even in a thousand years; instead, see the primary illusion; then, all of the secondary illusions involving upgrades and downgrades shall fade away. Then You will know that no one erased You. What was “erased” was only a mirage called “you” that had been seeking to upgrade all his wistful illusions in a quest that was quixotic to the core. An art restorer can strip away the layers of paint that have been added to a canvas and that prevent persons from seeing what had originally been observable. Similarly, Realization can erase away the layers of concepts and lies and tales and dogma which have been added to form a collection of learned ignorance and which are blocking the view of Your True Self and the Absolute as well. Please enter the silence of contemplation.
