An Advaita forum focusing on Realisation / Realization, enlightenment, non-duality, Real Love, peace, freedom, Your original nature, natural abidance, the nothingness, and Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj.
[At the end of this posting there are five videos that discuss thirty-three Advaitin topics]
F.: Michael P., one of the daily visitors to this site, was asked to share his recollections of pointers received during satsangs with Nisargadatta Maharaj, including any pointers that might be relevant to the other visitors to this site. This is the conclusion of what he shared, continued from yesterday.
M.P.: Fast forward three years:
Finished training as a meditation teacher, determined to save the world. Finished law school, working for a big law firm. During the time in the training to become a meditation teacher, heard a talk from my teacher at the time that the whole journey was a “pathless path”. That really stuck with me and puzzled me.
Here we were with a paint-by-the-numbers approach to enlightenment, do this and then this, and then this state results, but here was the teacher saying that it was a pathless path. Thought about it for a long time, and was reminded of what Nisargadatta Maharaj talked about.
So, practicing law while at the same time teaching at the meditation center. Got into hot water for mentioning to other teachers about the "pathless path" and how we were all, on one level, already there.
Asked my teacher about how i was teaching and was told that what i was doing was exactly what he wanted, and i should keep doing what i was doing. Asked about the "pathless path" and he repeated that i should keep doing what i was doing.
Still wondered if that torrent of words Maharaj spoke could be relevant. Read I Am That. Resonated with some of it, some of it seemed confusing and contradictory. Talked the firm into a leave of absence to go back to Europe and India to see my teacher.
While there, bumped into the same friend who had gone to see Nisargadatta Maharaj with me. One day he simply asked, “Wanna go?” We both knew where he meant, and soon after we were again climbing the stairs to Maharaj’s loft.
Got to ask Maharaj my burning question: "My teacher had prescribed a path, yet said it was a pathless path. Maharaj had followed his teacher’s instruction to abide in the I Am, yet he said that the I AM, the THAT, was never born, will never die, we are THAT, so what was to be done?"
The same intense stare from Maharaj, and after some time he said something like (again, the gaze quieted the mind so much couldn’t really think) that he was speaking from his level of consciousness, and that i was trying to use the information as an individual, and he was not speaking as an individual.
Said that i still wanted to be the one to travel the pathless path, but until i realized the unreality of that one who wanted to travel any path, even a pathless path, all my study was for naught and would be just more ignorance.
Although the words didn’t make sense at the time, something was going on in the awareness that was so profoundly still i could barely breathe, much less speak. He told me i was seeking the experience of beingness but needed to experience the non-beingness, and that which is beyond that. i’m sure my facial expression was like a dog who had just been shown a card trick.
Talked of the space in the loft being the same as the space in the street outside, which i took to mean the consciousness of the individual was the same consciousness.
The recent posts of Maharaj Mendum Menda, which caused strong resonance, had me recalling an exchange with Maharaj during that visit. He was NOT happy with my question of whether abiding in consciousness would make my material life better. Very not happy! Shouting again.
Don’t really remember much of the answer, but he said something like did i think he was some wallah (seller) of false knowledge about a false self sold by those who only wanted money and prestige from the ignorant who would be sold/told how to get that by meditating.
Was told that all of this would lead to suffering and misery. (While i sensed he was talking about my teacher at the time, i was so startled by his intensity, i don’t remember exactly what was said, but he was NOT pleased by this question. i sensed that he knew i believed, and had a lot ‘invested’ in the fact that i had, chosen the one and only path to enlightened bliss and material success!)
Again, wanted to disappear. Asked me who i was eight days before conception. Again, the mind stopped. Several days of going to see him, listening to the ceremony he performed to his teacher, scribbling notes when i could, trying to soak it all in.
The last day, Maharaj told me to stay in the Self, and i would not need him or any other teacher, that the Self was the only true teacher. While i at least had some better idea of what he meant than the first time i heard him, was still so steeped in the paradigm of my teacher at the time, i could not make sense of much of it.
Yet, i sensed that there was much power in what he said, even though i had little understanding. Thirty years later, those words still resonate, still bring stillness. At the time, i didn’t realize the value of those words, the fact that i was hearing pure, unvarnished, no-punches-pulled Truth with a capital T.
The recent posts and pointers here, particularly those that talk about Maharaj’s teachings about the mind, resonated. They reminded me very much of Maharaj’s intensity and uncompromised teaching.
i can only imagine how he would respond to recent, popular, ‘now’ teachings. Thanks so much for presenting the pointers and teachings without compromise. m.
Finished training as a meditation teacher, determined to save the world. Finished law school, working for a big law firm. During the time in the training to become a meditation teacher, heard a talk from my teacher at the time that the whole journey was a “pathless path”. That really stuck with me and puzzled me.
Here we were with a paint-by-the-numbers approach to enlightenment, do this and then this, and then this state results, but here was the teacher saying that it was a pathless path. Thought about it for a long time, and was reminded of what Nisargadatta Maharaj talked about.
So, practicing law while at the same time teaching at the meditation center. Got into hot water for mentioning to other teachers about the "pathless path" and how we were all, on one level, already there.
Asked my teacher about how i was teaching and was told that what i was doing was exactly what he wanted, and i should keep doing what i was doing. Asked about the "pathless path" and he repeated that i should keep doing what i was doing.
Still wondered if that torrent of words Maharaj spoke could be relevant. Read I Am That. Resonated with some of it, some of it seemed confusing and contradictory. Talked the firm into a leave of absence to go back to Europe and India to see my teacher.
While there, bumped into the same friend who had gone to see Nisargadatta Maharaj with me. One day he simply asked, “Wanna go?” We both knew where he meant, and soon after we were again climbing the stairs to Maharaj’s loft.
Got to ask Maharaj my burning question: "My teacher had prescribed a path, yet said it was a pathless path. Maharaj had followed his teacher’s instruction to abide in the I Am, yet he said that the I AM, the THAT, was never born, will never die, we are THAT, so what was to be done?"
The same intense stare from Maharaj, and after some time he said something like (again, the gaze quieted the mind so much couldn’t really think) that he was speaking from his level of consciousness, and that i was trying to use the information as an individual, and he was not speaking as an individual.
Said that i still wanted to be the one to travel the pathless path, but until i realized the unreality of that one who wanted to travel any path, even a pathless path, all my study was for naught and would be just more ignorance.
Although the words didn’t make sense at the time, something was going on in the awareness that was so profoundly still i could barely breathe, much less speak. He told me i was seeking the experience of beingness but needed to experience the non-beingness, and that which is beyond that. i’m sure my facial expression was like a dog who had just been shown a card trick.
Talked of the space in the loft being the same as the space in the street outside, which i took to mean the consciousness of the individual was the same consciousness.
The recent posts of Maharaj Mendum Menda, which caused strong resonance, had me recalling an exchange with Maharaj during that visit. He was NOT happy with my question of whether abiding in consciousness would make my material life better. Very not happy! Shouting again.
Don’t really remember much of the answer, but he said something like did i think he was some wallah (seller) of false knowledge about a false self sold by those who only wanted money and prestige from the ignorant who would be sold/told how to get that by meditating.
Was told that all of this would lead to suffering and misery. (While i sensed he was talking about my teacher at the time, i was so startled by his intensity, i don’t remember exactly what was said, but he was NOT pleased by this question. i sensed that he knew i believed, and had a lot ‘invested’ in the fact that i had, chosen the one and only path to enlightened bliss and material success!)
Again, wanted to disappear. Asked me who i was eight days before conception. Again, the mind stopped. Several days of going to see him, listening to the ceremony he performed to his teacher, scribbling notes when i could, trying to soak it all in.
The last day, Maharaj told me to stay in the Self, and i would not need him or any other teacher, that the Self was the only true teacher. While i at least had some better idea of what he meant than the first time i heard him, was still so steeped in the paradigm of my teacher at the time, i could not make sense of much of it.
Yet, i sensed that there was much power in what he said, even though i had little understanding. Thirty years later, those words still resonate, still bring stillness. At the time, i didn’t realize the value of those words, the fact that i was hearing pure, unvarnished, no-punches-pulled Truth with a capital T.
The recent posts and pointers here, particularly those that talk about Maharaj’s teachings about the mind, resonated. They reminded me very much of Maharaj’s intensity and uncompromised teaching.
i can only imagine how he would respond to recent, popular, ‘now’ teachings. Thanks so much for presenting the pointers and teachings without compromise. m.
Please enter into the silence of contemplation.
Schedule a one-hour satsang session with floyd
by telephone and the call (either international or in the U.S.) will be free.
[Details below]
For details of the retreats offered, please visit the retreat information site.
TABLE OF CONTENTS BELOW:
1. SATSANG BY TELEPHONE
2. REALIZATION AIDS
3. ARRANGE FOR FLOYD TO SPEAK TO YOUR GROUP
4. SUBMITTING ADVAITA VEDANTA POETRY FOR PUBLICATIONS
5. DONATIONS
6. YOUTUBE VIDEOS DISCUSSING A VARIETY OF ADVAITA TOPICS
1. SATSANG BY TELEPHONE:
A. FREE CALLS INSIDE THE U.S.
B. FREE INTERNATIONAL CALLS ALSO (via Skype)
If you do not already have a Skype account, you need only search “Skype” and, download the free program and take a few minutes to set up your account; then Floyd will call you and you will pay no telephone charges for your session.
Use the Contact link for details or for information on making arrangements for a session
2. REALIZATION AIDS
The Advanced Seekers’ Three-eBook Set
From the I to the Absolute
Consciousness / Awareness
From the Absolute to the Nothingness
(ORDER NOW ANY OF THE FOURTEEN NON-DUALITY BOOKS WRITTEN BY FLOYD
and
YOU WILL HAVE THEM AVAILABLE FOR READING IN A FEW MINUTES FROM NOW)
Order the “Advanced Seeker’s Set” or any of the other books by visiting
The Official Website of Floyd Henderson
3. ARRANGE FOR FLOYD TO TRAVEL TO YOUR LOCATION AND SPEAK TO YOUR GROUP
Use the contact link above to arrange a session in your city either in the U.S. or internationally.
4. SUBMITTING ADVAITA VEDANTA POETRY FOR PUBLICATION
Visit
Submitting Advaita Vedanta Poetry for Publication
5. DONATIONS
by telephone and the call (either international or in the U.S.) will be free.
[Details below]
For details of the retreats offered, please visit the retreat information site.
TABLE OF CONTENTS BELOW:
1. SATSANG BY TELEPHONE
2. REALIZATION AIDS
3. ARRANGE FOR FLOYD TO SPEAK TO YOUR GROUP
4. SUBMITTING ADVAITA VEDANTA POETRY FOR PUBLICATIONS
5. DONATIONS
6. YOUTUBE VIDEOS DISCUSSING A VARIETY OF ADVAITA TOPICS
1. SATSANG BY TELEPHONE:
A. FREE CALLS INSIDE THE U.S.
B. FREE INTERNATIONAL CALLS ALSO (via Skype)
If you do not already have a Skype account, you need only search “Skype” and, download the free program and take a few minutes to set up your account; then Floyd will call you and you will pay no telephone charges for your session.
Use the Contact link for details or for information on making arrangements for a session
2. REALIZATION AIDS
The Advanced Seekers’ Three-eBook Set
From the I to the Absolute
Consciousness / Awareness
From the Absolute to the Nothingness
(ORDER NOW ANY OF THE FOURTEEN NON-DUALITY BOOKS WRITTEN BY FLOYD
and
YOU WILL HAVE THEM AVAILABLE FOR READING IN A FEW MINUTES FROM NOW)
Order the “Advanced Seeker’s Set” or any of the other books by visiting
The Official Website of Floyd Henderson
3. ARRANGE FOR FLOYD TO TRAVEL TO YOUR LOCATION AND SPEAK TO YOUR GROUP
Use the contact link above to arrange a session in your city either in the U.S. or internationally.
4. SUBMITTING ADVAITA VEDANTA POETRY FOR PUBLICATION
Visit
Submitting Advaita Vedanta Poetry for Publication
5. 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 1,350+ Advaitin essays archived on the site.
That said, any donation will be appreciated. Thank you.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 1,350+ Advaitin essays archived on the site.
6. ADVAITA VIDEOS ON YOUTUBE
If you want to share the five Advaita videos on your own site, you are invited to do so without charge. Click on the links above and to the right under “Links and Resources.” You’ll be transferred to the video sites and there you will find the embedding codes that you can copy and paste onto your html pages.
Below are five lists containing thirty-three Advaitin subjects that are discussed on the YouTube videos that follow each of the lists.
(The numeric counter information is provided so that you can move to the exact location in the videos to find any particular discussion that might be of interest)
Advaita Topics 1-9:
1. Defining Advaita Vedanta (Counter 28-55)
2. Methods of Teaching (Counter 55-144)
3. Unicity / Nonduality (Counter 144-239)
4. I AM THAT; I AM (Counter 239-331)
5. Learn vs. Unlearn (Counter 331-413)
6. Unlearn What? (Counter 413-444)
7. Person vs. Realized (444-525)
8. The Triad (Counter 525-745)
9. Before Conception (Counter 745-901)
Click on the arrow below to start Video One and topics 1-9:
Advaita Topics 10-16:
10. No Body Continuity / “ME” (Counter 1-56)
11. Not Born / No Creation / Cannot Die (Counter 56-200)
12. No Peace of “mind” / My “mind” / “Their “mind” (Counter 200-333)
13. Brain vs. “mind” vs. Consciousness (Counter 333-500)
14. Not in the World (Counter 500-603)
15. Inner Guru (Counter 603-715)
16. Personality-Suffering Connection / Upgrading Illusions (Counter 715-840)
Click on the arrow below to start Video Two and topics 10-16:
Advaita Topics 18-24:
18. The Role-Playing + Co-dependency + Suicide Link (Counter 1-205)
19. Upgrading / Downgrading Illusions (Counter 205-300)
20. Emotions vs. Feelings (Counter 300-422)
21. Religion and Spirituality (Counter 422-547)
22. Question All (Counter 547-713)
23. Natural vs. Unnatural vs. Supernatural Living (Counter 713-833)
24. When Trillions Are Wrong (Counter 833-920)
Click on the arrow below to start Video Three and topics 18-24:
Advaita Topics 25-31:
25. Christ the Advaitin (Counter 1-150)
26. Child Ignorance / The Pre-”mind” State (Counter 150-340)
27. Child Ignorance vs. Learned Ignorance (Counter 340-439)
28. Two Levels of Witnessing (Counter 439-554)
29. Desires and Fears (Counter 554-641)
30. Consciousness vs. Awareness (Counter 641-720)
31. Real Love vs. false love (Counter 720-846)
Click on the arrow below to start Video Four and topics 25-31:
Advaita Topics 32-33:
32. Zero Concepts (Counter 1-120)
33. The Nothingness (Counter 120-250)
Click on the arrow below to start Video Five and topics 32-33:
