An Advaita Vedanta philosophy site, focusing on Realisation, (Realization), enlightenment, nisarga yoga, non-duality, Real Love, peace, freedom, Your original nature, the natural state, and Maharaj.
Following the post, details on the 50% off sale of the remaining Non-Duality paperback books in the store
NOTE: A seeker who plans to attend an Advaita retreat this August is seeking someone to share the costs. If you are interested, you may use the Contact link and arrangements can be made. With this opportunity, you will be able to attend at about 50% of the regular price. For details of the retreats offered, please visit the retreat information site.
FROM A SITE VISITOR: Maharaj said THE ULTIMATE MEDICINE. What is the reference, please. Also, not to criticize but he discussed mind - you say mind must end. Seems opposite. Can you explain why the discrepancy is? PS Please understand no offense. ALSO PS Thanx for this site! Edvard
[The embedded links are only for those seeking a thorough explanation of pointers offered]
F.: Hello, Advard. Welcome. First, there is no one here that can take offense. Next, if you read the response to follow in its entirety, you’ll see that Maharaj offered no mixed signals; that he was not contradicting his own message but was customizing his message;
that there is no contradiction between what the speck called “maharaj” and the speck called “floyd” offer; and that Your “mind” question will be dealt with after addressing “the ultimate medicine” question:
THE ULTIMATE MEDICINE
To understand “the ultimate medicine” offered by Maharaj, “the ultimate sickness” must first be understood. Consider certain pointers that were offered in the 3 June 2009 post:
“So many Advaitin seekers overvalue the consciousness, missing out on the bliss of pure awareness and ignoring the fact that the consciousness will be ever-in-motion as long as it is manifested.”
Even “the unblocked consciousness…cannot be the actual basis of peace and freedom from chaos.”
You are invited to understand that even the unconditioned "mind" is a facet of consciousness, but the bliss of pure awareness is far beyond that.
“…not a thing associated with the relative existence nor anything associated with the manifested consciousness will provide access to the stability and peace and freedom that all seek.”
After reading those pointers, are you beginning to find the answer to your question on your own…on Your own? Are You seeing that it is the Am-ness itself that is the sickness…the illness of “The Knower,” the disability associated with the known, the infirmity of the knowingness which has been accumulated in most cases as a result of having been exposed to ignorance and having learned that ignorance?
Consider also: if you were to ask the people on the planet to list “their problems,” that cataloguing could take years to complete and no human could live long enough to read all of the problems that would be listed. Yet prior to consciousness—prior to the manifestation—what problems did they have? None. Not one.
Post-manifestation, what problems will those “persons” have? None. Not one. It is only during the interim period—during the period of manifestation…during the period of the Is-ness…during this period of beingness—that problems appear.
To emphasize the point, Maharaj used the awakened state and the sleep state. When asleep, no problems appear. Then, when the awakened state manifests, problems appear. When a person is asleep again, the problems disappear.
Similarly, the following was shared on this site more than a year ago which also explains the awake and sleep states and which can help clarify what the sickness is and when it began and when it (1) can or (2) will end:
Before the doctors began resetting all of the bones that were broken during a motorcycle accident, the body was subjected to general anesthesia. If fully awake and conscious, the pain of their incisions and the insertion of metal rods and plates and screws would have been unbearable.
However, as a result of the level of consciousness having been manipulated chemically, that was not the case (at least until regaining consciousness during the surgical procedure, feeling the pain, but not being able to let anyone know).
Manipulate the level of consciousness and a surgeon can cut open a chest and handle the body’s heart or remove it and replace it with a substitute. Since the events are not being registered via the full consciousness, it is not aware of those happenings, so pain that would typically be considered horrendous is tolerated.
Since the body registers none of the pain signals when under the influence of general anesthesia, it can be seen that experiencing pain involves not the breath and not the body as much as the level of consciousness and the play of "the mind." Such is the case not only with physical pain but with mental-emotional misery and suffering as well.
So again, problems appear to be problems if awake but not if asleep. Prior to consciousness (as if asleep) there was no sickness...no pain...no suffering. Post-consciousness (as if asleep) there will be no sickness...no pain...no suffering.
During the manifestation of consciousness, pain (an aspect of the body) will be known, and during the manifestation of consciousness, misery and suffering will be known (both aspects of the “mind” and the personality and the emotions).
That Is-ness, the very beingness itself, is the “sickness” that requires “the ultimate medicine.” As alluded to above, the sickness can end now, via the ultimate medicine of Full Realization or it will end at some point when the manifestation of consciousness ends.
Extend the analogy of "the ultimate medicine" to understand all that it implies:
The "medicine" is a compound medicine, not unlike those made by early pharmacists who used their mortars and pestles. The Advaita teachings are the ingredients that are placed into the mortars (into the consciousness of seekers attending satsang or Advaita retreats or seekers reading non-duality writings).
Then, those ingredients are worked into a compound medicine as if through the use of pharmaceutical-like pestles (the tools in the analogy representing quiet meditation and consideration and contemplation among Advaitin seekers).
By use of the ingredients and by use of the tools that can take all of the components and make them into one medicine—into the Medicine of One—then persons can be freed of that which results in the sickness of this beingness, even as the beingness continues. Please enter into the silence of contemplation. (To be continued)
[The embedded links are only for those seeking a thorough explanation of pointers offered]
F.: Hello, Advard. Welcome. First, there is no one here that can take offense. Next, if you read the response to follow in its entirety, you’ll see that Maharaj offered no mixed signals; that he was not contradicting his own message but was customizing his message;
that there is no contradiction between what the speck called “maharaj” and the speck called “floyd” offer; and that Your “mind” question will be dealt with after addressing “the ultimate medicine” question:
THE ULTIMATE MEDICINE
To understand “the ultimate medicine” offered by Maharaj, “the ultimate sickness” must first be understood. Consider certain pointers that were offered in the 3 June 2009 post:
“So many Advaitin seekers overvalue the consciousness, missing out on the bliss of pure awareness and ignoring the fact that the consciousness will be ever-in-motion as long as it is manifested.”
Even “the unblocked consciousness…cannot be the actual basis of peace and freedom from chaos.”
You are invited to understand that even the unconditioned "mind" is a facet of consciousness, but the bliss of pure awareness is far beyond that.
“…not a thing associated with the relative existence nor anything associated with the manifested consciousness will provide access to the stability and peace and freedom that all seek.”
After reading those pointers, are you beginning to find the answer to your question on your own…on Your own? Are You seeing that it is the Am-ness itself that is the sickness…the illness of “The Knower,” the disability associated with the known, the infirmity of the knowingness which has been accumulated in most cases as a result of having been exposed to ignorance and having learned that ignorance?
Consider also: if you were to ask the people on the planet to list “their problems,” that cataloguing could take years to complete and no human could live long enough to read all of the problems that would be listed. Yet prior to consciousness—prior to the manifestation—what problems did they have? None. Not one.
Post-manifestation, what problems will those “persons” have? None. Not one. It is only during the interim period—during the period of manifestation…during the period of the Is-ness…during this period of beingness—that problems appear.
To emphasize the point, Maharaj used the awakened state and the sleep state. When asleep, no problems appear. Then, when the awakened state manifests, problems appear. When a person is asleep again, the problems disappear.
Similarly, the following was shared on this site more than a year ago which also explains the awake and sleep states and which can help clarify what the sickness is and when it began and when it (1) can or (2) will end:
Before the doctors began resetting all of the bones that were broken during a motorcycle accident, the body was subjected to general anesthesia. If fully awake and conscious, the pain of their incisions and the insertion of metal rods and plates and screws would have been unbearable.
However, as a result of the level of consciousness having been manipulated chemically, that was not the case (at least until regaining consciousness during the surgical procedure, feeling the pain, but not being able to let anyone know).
Manipulate the level of consciousness and a surgeon can cut open a chest and handle the body’s heart or remove it and replace it with a substitute. Since the events are not being registered via the full consciousness, it is not aware of those happenings, so pain that would typically be considered horrendous is tolerated.
Since the body registers none of the pain signals when under the influence of general anesthesia, it can be seen that experiencing pain involves not the breath and not the body as much as the level of consciousness and the play of "the mind." Such is the case not only with physical pain but with mental-emotional misery and suffering as well.
So again, problems appear to be problems if awake but not if asleep. Prior to consciousness (as if asleep) there was no sickness...no pain...no suffering. Post-consciousness (as if asleep) there will be no sickness...no pain...no suffering.
During the manifestation of consciousness, pain (an aspect of the body) will be known, and during the manifestation of consciousness, misery and suffering will be known (both aspects of the “mind” and the personality and the emotions).
That Is-ness, the very beingness itself, is the “sickness” that requires “the ultimate medicine.” As alluded to above, the sickness can end now, via the ultimate medicine of Full Realization or it will end at some point when the manifestation of consciousness ends.
Extend the analogy of "the ultimate medicine" to understand all that it implies:
The "medicine" is a compound medicine, not unlike those made by early pharmacists who used their mortars and pestles. The Advaita teachings are the ingredients that are placed into the mortars (into the consciousness of seekers attending satsang or Advaita retreats or seekers reading non-duality writings).
Then, those ingredients are worked into a compound medicine as if through the use of pharmaceutical-like pestles (the tools in the analogy representing quiet meditation and consideration and contemplation among Advaitin seekers).
By use of the ingredients and by use of the tools that can take all of the components and make them into one medicine—into the Medicine of One—then persons can be freed of that which results in the sickness of this beingness, even as the beingness continues. Please enter into the silence of contemplation. (To be continued)
TABLE OF CONTENTS BELOW:
1. REALIZATION AIDS
2. ADVAITA BOOK SETS-50% off
3. ARRANGE FOR FLOYD TO SPEAK TO YOUR GROUP
4. DONATIONS
1. REALIZATION AIDS
The Advanced Seekers’ Book Set
From the I to the Absolute
Consciousness / Awareness
From the Absolute to the Nothingness
Purchase one or all at The Official Website of Floyd Henderson
2. ADVAITA / NON-DUALITY BOOK SET
THE FOLLOWING BOOKS ARE IN THE STORE IN LIMITED SUPPLY AND WILL BE OFFERED AT 50% OFF WHEN BOUGHT AS A PACKAGE:
From the Absolute to the Nothingness
Consciousness/Awareness
From the I to the Absolute (A Seven-Step Journey to Reality)
It's All Bullshit (and Why Knowing it Sets You Free)
Meditation Guide (Advanced Volume)
There's No Such Thing as ''Peace of Mind''
Ending Financial Problems by Understanding Your Personality
The Essence of the Teachings
$79.00 for all eight books + free S&H in the U.S.
Most titles are also available as eBooks
Visit
The Official Website of Floyd Henderson
3. ARRANGE FOR FLOYD TO TRAVEL TO YOUR LOCATION AND SPEAK TO YOUR GROUP
Here’s a recent example:
Travel costs of the drive to Austin and back: $200.00
Friday and Saturday hotel room: $140.00
½ day Friday, Saturday and ½ day Sunday fees: $600.00
16 participants: $59.00 each for the retreat
Certain bargains are currently available for international flights as well
4. DONATIONS
1. REALIZATION AIDS
2. ADVAITA BOOK SETS-50% off
3. ARRANGE FOR FLOYD TO SPEAK TO YOUR GROUP
4. DONATIONS
1. REALIZATION AIDS
The Advanced Seekers’ Book Set
From the I to the Absolute
Consciousness / Awareness
From the Absolute to the Nothingness
Purchase one or all at The Official Website of Floyd Henderson
2. ADVAITA / NON-DUALITY BOOK SET
THE FOLLOWING BOOKS ARE IN THE STORE IN LIMITED SUPPLY AND WILL BE OFFERED AT 50% OFF WHEN BOUGHT AS A PACKAGE:
From the Absolute to the Nothingness
Consciousness/Awareness
From the I to the Absolute (A Seven-Step Journey to Reality)
It's All Bullshit (and Why Knowing it Sets You Free)
Meditation Guide (Advanced Volume)
There's No Such Thing as ''Peace of Mind''
Ending Financial Problems by Understanding Your Personality
The Essence of the Teachings
$79.00 for all eight books + free S&H in the U.S.
Most titles are also available as eBooks
Visit
The Official Website of Floyd Henderson
3. ARRANGE FOR FLOYD TO TRAVEL TO YOUR LOCATION AND SPEAK TO YOUR GROUP
Here’s a recent example:
Travel costs of the drive to Austin and back: $200.00
Friday and Saturday hotel room: $140.00
½ day Friday, Saturday and ½ day Sunday fees: $600.00
16 participants: $59.00 each for the retreat
Certain bargains are currently available for international flights as well
4. DONATIONS
FROM SIM IN KENTUCKY, U.S.A.: How about a donate button? I give monthly to a blog about locations and reviews of a particular type of restaurant we like. I’d sure donate to this blog.
FROM “ANONYMOUS”: Almost every visitor brought Maharaj food or flowers. I’d like to treat you to a meal if you tell me how to do so with my credit card!
FROM LOUISE, SOUTH AFRICA: [Consider the case of an acquaintance who] added a donate button to his site. Regular blog readers were happy to support the site in this way.
F.: Okay—so it’s done, but note that the postings and responses are offered without charge, as is access to the library of 1,300 Advaitin essays archived on the site.
FROM “ANONYMOUS”: Almost every visitor brought Maharaj food or flowers. I’d like to treat you to a meal if you tell me how to do so with my credit card!
FROM LOUISE, SOUTH AFRICA: [Consider the case of an acquaintance who] added a donate button to his site. Regular blog readers were happy to support the site in this way.
F.: Okay—so it’s done, but note that the postings and responses are offered without charge, as is access to the library of 1,300 Advaitin essays archived on the site.
