ADVAITA: A PURIFYING AGENT THAT NEUTRALIZES AND ULTIMATELY BRINGS ABOUT THE DISSOLUTION OF THE ABUSIVE MIND. PART 4 – LOUISE STERLING

As the Advaitan pointers neutralize and dissolve the concepts that make up the mind, there is silence. The chatter of a thousand monkeys begins to fade. The ego-personas are witnessed as they appear, react and disappear. Later, the ego personas are simply witnessed as they appear and disappear. While they still take shape, there is insufficient belief in the personas to fuel their reactive ego-based dramas. They are like smoke, mirages in the desert, or cloaks worn by an actor on the stage. Eventually, without the thoughts, beliefs and concepts that give them their power and force, the personas do not form at all. Instead, there is silence. The internal dialogue that constantly evaluates, judges, chooses, reacts, selects … just stops. There is silence. Is this what having no mind means?

With traces of mind still in place, sometimes a persona may take shape out of habit or an old thought-train may ratchet down the track – these movements are simply witnessed as they arise, like quaint curios in an antique shop. The popular notion among the non-realized is that it is not possible to function without the mind; that the defining sense of self will be lost; that there will be a robotic functioning. All delusion. What relief to relax in this dark, cool, serenity of silence; or as Maharaj calls it, “the deep blue shade of the guru’s grace.”

From out of silence, there is a dance with life expressing. The world is infinitely responsive. There is the freedom of living life in the absence of self-identity. With no personas to protect, no special self-identity to reinforce, there are no desires or fears. There is an openness to life unfolding. Is it possible to describe this neutrality? There is no concern if the outcome is A or B. Each outcome will come with its own set of positives and negatives. The knowledge that comes is that there is no firm place to stand on this castle of shifting sand. Then You can let
events or life experiences happen as they please. This is the agenda-less life.

Notice the freedom that is pointed to when the mind no longer attempts to control the game. For those seekers attached to doing and improving, notice that there is no mention of activities like these (listed on an advert for a spiritual event):

• healing the body
• breaking through financial blockages
• healing relationships with parents, partners, children and yourself
• creating a bond with the divine
  

The mind-intoxicated personas enjoy the festivity of the carnival – they delight in the promise of “bonding with the divine” and “healing the self”. They do not see the duality implicit in each of these activities. However, in silence, with the absence of a mind, and with the knowledge of Who You Are, activities like these are seen to be fiction-filled parties for those caught up in kindergarten spirituality; they are spiritual trinkets and baubles and helium balloons. There is absolutely no inclination to move from the silence to seek where nothing can be found.

Often, the non-realized react to this idea of silence …with a package of fears or arguments. Silence is … While it certainly seems to mean less: less talking, less initiating; less visiting; quieter, fewer and simpler choices; it does not mean that working, parenting, exercising, communicating, love-making do not happen; but rather that the range of human functions happen within this vast silence that is Who You Are.

As has been noted in this case, when the Advaitan pointers are taken into silent consideration, they WILL have their effect – which is neutralization and finally dissolution of the mind. The seeker is pulled into the river of Truth which washes away all impurities, or embellishments, all the lies and the conditioning. Can the seeker swim? Will the seeker drown? The questions are pointless and irrelevant. When swept up in this river of grace, there is no conscious choice or volition – You are stripped bare until nothing remains, whether this stripping is gradual and gentle or harsh and instant. The rapids of this river are more powerful than the fiction-filled mind. The Advaitan Teachings on this site can be compared to the rapids of the river. Once the seeker has stepped into the water, he or she will be consumed by it. The teaching pointers offered will wash away all false ideas about Who You Are. Systematically, post after post, You will find Your concepts destroyed, Your beliefs deconstructed, Your personas exploded. Finding Yourself washing up in this river of Truth is grace. In the absence of the suffering mind, You too will enjoy the freedom of living mind-lessly, agenda-lessly. You too will enjoy the Silence.

Please enter the silence of contemplation.

(The way out of the maze of suffering and confusion is offered via the Advaitan teachings. See the links to Advaita Vedanta retreats, the Advaita Vedanta Retreat DVD or online classes on the right hand side.)

Comments / clarifications may be sent to louise.advaita@gmail.com