Here, there is nothing that is believed, so there is no one here
who wants you to believe anything, either. Here, the invitation is to be free of all that you have been programmed, conditioned, acculturated, and domesticated to believe so that you can be free, period.
who wants you to believe anything, either. Here, the invitation is to be free of all that you have been programmed, conditioned, acculturated, and domesticated to believe so that you can be free, period.
The Advaitan Teachings invite You to de-accumulate, eliminate, remove, discard, simplify, de-clutter. The natural state is already present; but it is cluttered over with layers and layers of false conditioning. You do not need to search for and find what is true. What is true is permanent, unchanging. All that is needed is to stop holding onto these false ideas you have about yourself and the world. Here, the beautiful scene of the garden, the pear tree, the swimming pool is already present; it can be viewed through the study window. If the window is dirty, caked with layers of dust and dirt, the garden will not be visible. It may even be possible not to know the garden is there. Will praying to the garden to reveal itself help? Will visualizing the garden in all its beauty have an effect? No, all that is required is for the filth covering the window to be systematically removed, layer by layer, and the garden will appear. The garden was always present, just the perceiving mechanism was clouded. The “journey” to Realization is like this.
Every day, every week, every month, every year since 2005, “floyd” has offered the Advaitan Teachings via daily postings. Systematically day after day, post after post, pointers are offered to remove the false, to clear the intuitive eyes of perception. If You visit here, to this electronic loft, if You take these pointers into the silence, perhaps You are beginning to notice that some of Your false concepts and beliefs are dropping away. Perhaps You are noticing that the perceiving mechanism is becoming clearer. The invitation is always to shift from the Pre-Realization state, described by "floyd" below:
Abidance as a person—as one living under the auspices of personality and allowing false personas to drive thoughts and words and deeds—will guarantee fluctuation and instability, will assure times of seeming happiness interspersed throughout times of misery, and will often eventually result in extended periods of total chaos.
to the Post-Realization state:
To those that were ready for the ultimate medicine containing the message of ultimate clarity, [Maharaj] said, “From my angle, you are nothing. You have no identity.”
Now, for the seeker bound up with false identifications, the message, the LOVE whispering that You are nothing, You have no identity is not a popular notion. This society enjoys to revere the special and unique "gifts" and talents of the individual. In spiritual personal development circles, extraordinary efforts are made to enhance and develop these talents, "gifts" and abilities. Why then, this radical teaching that points to total annihilation of the individual? What is the freedom you are asking for? Understand, that if You want the View of eternity, something must be given up – otherwise that view would be accessible to you right now. You are a pebble on a massive mountain. You want to see with the perspective of the mountain, but do not want to give up your “pebbleness”. Please see the contradiction here.Although for all of your life society has told you that what defines you is your attributes: your gender, your personality traits, your family, your nationality, your race, your culture, your religion, your degree certificate, your partner, your business, your choice of library book and your choice of dog … ad nauseum, the sense of self-identity derived from these attributes keeps you bound.
- Freedom is impersonal – how can you expect to find it when you are so attached to your personhood?
- Freedom is formless – how can you expect to find it when you are committed to your form?
- Freedom is limitless – how can you expect to find it if you are defined by what is particular and limited?
- Freedom is without attributes – how can you expect to find it when you define yourself according to your characteristics?
Identified as a limited individual, You ask again and again: “Why do I not get it?” “Why is the garden hidden from my view”. Please see, again you identify yourself as the limited subject (the seeker) with a desired object (Realization). Hear these words, if you never hear another whisper on this blog: You are not the limited subject. Just because You believe it presently does not make it true. It is a belief. Once you believed you would love the girl next door forever. Perhaps you believed in the teachings of the Jehovah’s Witnesses or were an impassioned communist. Perhaps you thought you would wear bell-bottomed jeans for the rest of your life? Where are those beliefs now? What keeps you bound is this false idea you have about yourself – your limited individual form. You are the ultimate subjectivity – beyond conscious awareness; beyond the senses, beyond duality. This sense of who you are can be intuited. How can you grasp what is beyond grasping? How can you conceive what is beyond conception? How can you name what is beyond name and form?
Perhaps you read these daily postings, and wonder why there are many series on mind intoxication and the effects of personality. Most seekers are not ready to abandon the concept of self-identity instantly. Usually, the Advaitan Teacher must point to false layer after false layer of identification. Initially, the labels, the concepts, the beliefs are removed one by one. With each cleaning rub at the window, with each removal of another falsehood, the suffering eases, the relative life becomes more manageable. This in itself is a significant improvement. By allowing the Teacher to pinpoint more layers of what is false, and dissolving these in the light of truth, for some, the moment of final dissolution can come. However, to know the mountain, You must give up being a pebble. To know what You truly are, You must give up EVERY notion You have about Yourself. Like the garden outside the window, with the removal of the muck of Your ideas and concepts, what is Real and has always been present, will become apparant.
To be concluded tomorrow.
Please enter the silence of contemplation.
(For extending teaching on the Advaitan Understanding – that guide You from the temporary fluctuating relative stance to abidance as Your Real Nature, see the “Non-Duality Books” link on the right hand side of this blog.)
Comments / clarifications may be sent to louise.advaita@gmail.com
