FROM A SITE VISITOR: I can’t get it. I’ve tried and tried, and I can’t get it. I’ve wasted years in my study of AV, for all I’ve got to show. Anonymous
F.: Dear Anonymous,
First, it sounds as if you have read some of the advanced Teachings without having mastered the basics. That will always prove to be discouraging and even frustrating. (A solution will be offered at the end of the post should you decide not to abandon your seeking.)
Meanwhile, thanks for writing since your e-mail will cause a sharing on the site of some pointers that have only been offered before in a few one-on-one sessions with some seekers who felt just as frustrated as you. This posting is only for those who have truly sought, who “haven’t got it, yet” and who believe that they likely never will:
To the Fully Realized, it becomes clear on a certain level that You Have Always Been That Which you sought. It becomes clear on another level that there is no “one” to gain and no “one” to lose. At another level, Consciousness/Awareness, The Absolute, the beingness, the non-beingness, and the functioning of the totality are understood completely. Yet you are not at any of those points on the “path.”
Too, only 5% at best are ever likely to Realize Fully. That does not mean, however, that your study of Advaita Vedanta has all been a “waste.” Such need not be the case, relatively speaking. Can the terms “Applied Advaita” or “Advaita Advantage” have any applicability in the relative? The answer is resoundingly, “Yes.” How can that be, if there is no “experiencer” and no “applier” and no “do-er” and no “one” to “gain” any advantage?
Here is how: if you never realize Who or What You Truly Are, the freedom and joy and happiness that most persons seek can manifest to some degree if you at least find out WHO you are not. And if you find out WHO you are not, some freedom will come to you and then to all others persons who have to deal with you in the relative existence. They too will experience some additional degree of joy and happiness as well.
Why? Because all suffering in the relative existence is generated by persons who do not know WHO they are not. To not know that you are not the roles you play will assure that you will take those roles as identities, will guarantee that you will dedicate yourself to sustaining your ego-states, will guarantee that ego-defense mechanisms will become your tools of trade, and will assure that egotism (and the separation it causes) will mark every phase of your relative existence. Look at the widespread effects of ego in the history of the planet as well as now:
EGO HAS HAD A GLOBAL IMPACT
For example, if one believes that he/she really is the role being played of “God’s Agent” (a.k.a. “Super Agent of God”), then the following types of beliefs will follow:
“We have the right to conduct an inquisition and torture and kill the unfaithful,” or
“We good Lutherans have the right to kill 12,000,000 of the bad Jews and homosexuals and handicapped people,” or
“We are better than you so we have the right to take this land from you and to form a Christian nation and to kill 150,000,000 of you non-Christians in the process,” or
“We good Muslims have the right to kill you bad Christians because you’re infidels,” or
“I talked to God and he told me to bomb them,” or
“We were guided by God to fly airplanes into your buildings.”
EGO HAS HAD A NATIONAL IMPACT
In such cases where leaders have national influence, people can form a nation and say that “All are created equal…except women and blacks,” and
Some can say, “Ownership of another person is OK” while others can claim “It is not,” and then a civil war can erupt, and
Some can believe that their nation on the African continent has the right to kill those living in adjacent nations, and
Some can claim that they have the right to kill others in their nation who belong to a different religious sect from theirs.
EGO HAS HAD A LOCAL IMPACT
If one believes that he/she is “Spouse” (a.k.a. “Super Spouse”) or “Boss” (a.k.a. “Super Boss”) or “The Authority” (a.k.a. “Super Authority”), then words such as “How dare you speak to me that way! I must be shown respect!” will be spoken; then, conflict and suffering will follow adoption of those ego-states which will conclude that “She/he is not good enough for me” or “I am entitled to be honored and cared for.”
Again, all suffering in the relative existence is generated by persons who do not know WHO they are not. If students of the Advaita philosophy never understand anything other than what they are not, then they could abandon the ego-states that they think define who they are. And if persons were to abandon the ego-states that they think define who they are, then the use of ego-defense mechanisms would end. And if egotism were to end, so would most of the international, national, and “relational” problems that mar the relative existence. If persons were to fully complete only the first three of the seven steps to Realization, they would be free of fears about their bodies and free of body desires that drive so much insane-like behavior on the planet.
They would be free of the insane-like thoughts and behaviors that are generated from the influence of their “minds,” which are nothing more than the repository of outlandish lies and warped beliefs and dreamed up concepts and insane ideas; they would be free of being driven by illusory identities and personality disorders; and they would forfeit the last two personas to be forfeited on the "journey," namely, “The Super Religious One” and/or “The Spiritual Giant.”
The ego is always about separation. The ego always imagines a hierarchy or pecking order with itself at the top. The ego can never be satisfied. The ego will always generate imagined divisions and imagined insults and imagined slights and imagined causes for attack or retaliation. Ego is always about going and doing and zooming and making noise, so ego and peace can never coincide.
So, Anonymous, you are invited to revisit the Advaita Teachings and determine if you might be able to at least transcend body-mind-personality identification, even if you never move any farther along the “path.” That much freedom from ego-states and ego can only have a positive impact on you and on persons having to deal with you, relatively speaking. It was mentioned earlier that you might have read some of the advanced Teachings without having mastered the basics. If you realize that you need one-on-one instruction with a teacher to lay that foundation, you might consider at least doing “Level One” of the course offerings (at www.advaitaclasses.blogspot.com). If you lay that foundation which you have missed so far, then you might find at some point that Full Realization is attainable as well. Please enter the silence of contemplation.
F.: Dear Anonymous,
First, it sounds as if you have read some of the advanced Teachings without having mastered the basics. That will always prove to be discouraging and even frustrating. (A solution will be offered at the end of the post should you decide not to abandon your seeking.)
Meanwhile, thanks for writing since your e-mail will cause a sharing on the site of some pointers that have only been offered before in a few one-on-one sessions with some seekers who felt just as frustrated as you. This posting is only for those who have truly sought, who “haven’t got it, yet” and who believe that they likely never will:
To the Fully Realized, it becomes clear on a certain level that You Have Always Been That Which you sought. It becomes clear on another level that there is no “one” to gain and no “one” to lose. At another level, Consciousness/Awareness, The Absolute, the beingness, the non-beingness, and the functioning of the totality are understood completely. Yet you are not at any of those points on the “path.”
Too, only 5% at best are ever likely to Realize Fully. That does not mean, however, that your study of Advaita Vedanta has all been a “waste.” Such need not be the case, relatively speaking. Can the terms “Applied Advaita” or “Advaita Advantage” have any applicability in the relative? The answer is resoundingly, “Yes.” How can that be, if there is no “experiencer” and no “applier” and no “do-er” and no “one” to “gain” any advantage?
Here is how: if you never realize Who or What You Truly Are, the freedom and joy and happiness that most persons seek can manifest to some degree if you at least find out WHO you are not. And if you find out WHO you are not, some freedom will come to you and then to all others persons who have to deal with you in the relative existence. They too will experience some additional degree of joy and happiness as well.
Why? Because all suffering in the relative existence is generated by persons who do not know WHO they are not. To not know that you are not the roles you play will assure that you will take those roles as identities, will guarantee that you will dedicate yourself to sustaining your ego-states, will guarantee that ego-defense mechanisms will become your tools of trade, and will assure that egotism (and the separation it causes) will mark every phase of your relative existence. Look at the widespread effects of ego in the history of the planet as well as now:
EGO HAS HAD A GLOBAL IMPACT
For example, if one believes that he/she really is the role being played of “God’s Agent” (a.k.a. “Super Agent of God”), then the following types of beliefs will follow:
“We have the right to conduct an inquisition and torture and kill the unfaithful,” or
“We good Lutherans have the right to kill 12,000,000 of the bad Jews and homosexuals and handicapped people,” or
“We are better than you so we have the right to take this land from you and to form a Christian nation and to kill 150,000,000 of you non-Christians in the process,” or
“We good Muslims have the right to kill you bad Christians because you’re infidels,” or
“I talked to God and he told me to bomb them,” or
“We were guided by God to fly airplanes into your buildings.”
EGO HAS HAD A NATIONAL IMPACT
In such cases where leaders have national influence, people can form a nation and say that “All are created equal…except women and blacks,” and
Some can say, “Ownership of another person is OK” while others can claim “It is not,” and then a civil war can erupt, and
Some can believe that their nation on the African continent has the right to kill those living in adjacent nations, and
Some can claim that they have the right to kill others in their nation who belong to a different religious sect from theirs.
EGO HAS HAD A LOCAL IMPACT
If one believes that he/she is “Spouse” (a.k.a. “Super Spouse”) or “Boss” (a.k.a. “Super Boss”) or “The Authority” (a.k.a. “Super Authority”), then words such as “How dare you speak to me that way! I must be shown respect!” will be spoken; then, conflict and suffering will follow adoption of those ego-states which will conclude that “She/he is not good enough for me” or “I am entitled to be honored and cared for.”
Again, all suffering in the relative existence is generated by persons who do not know WHO they are not. If students of the Advaita philosophy never understand anything other than what they are not, then they could abandon the ego-states that they think define who they are. And if persons were to abandon the ego-states that they think define who they are, then the use of ego-defense mechanisms would end. And if egotism were to end, so would most of the international, national, and “relational” problems that mar the relative existence. If persons were to fully complete only the first three of the seven steps to Realization, they would be free of fears about their bodies and free of body desires that drive so much insane-like behavior on the planet.
They would be free of the insane-like thoughts and behaviors that are generated from the influence of their “minds,” which are nothing more than the repository of outlandish lies and warped beliefs and dreamed up concepts and insane ideas; they would be free of being driven by illusory identities and personality disorders; and they would forfeit the last two personas to be forfeited on the "journey," namely, “The Super Religious One” and/or “The Spiritual Giant.”
The ego is always about separation. The ego always imagines a hierarchy or pecking order with itself at the top. The ego can never be satisfied. The ego will always generate imagined divisions and imagined insults and imagined slights and imagined causes for attack or retaliation. Ego is always about going and doing and zooming and making noise, so ego and peace can never coincide.
So, Anonymous, you are invited to revisit the Advaita Teachings and determine if you might be able to at least transcend body-mind-personality identification, even if you never move any farther along the “path.” That much freedom from ego-states and ego can only have a positive impact on you and on persons having to deal with you, relatively speaking. It was mentioned earlier that you might have read some of the advanced Teachings without having mastered the basics. If you realize that you need one-on-one instruction with a teacher to lay that foundation, you might consider at least doing “Level One” of the course offerings (at www.advaitaclasses.blogspot.com). If you lay that foundation which you have missed so far, then you might find at some point that Full Realization is attainable as well. Please enter the silence of contemplation.
