An Advaita forum focusing on Realisation, enlightenment, non-duality, Real Love, peace, freedom, Your original nature, abiding naturally, the Oneness, the Nothingness, and Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj.
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.
(Please note: The Annual Fall / Winter Season Book Sale is now under way. Most Non-Duality eBooks at floydhenderson.com are on sale at 30-50% off regular price.)
F.: In her most recent series, Louise offered a pointer about cult membership that generated considerable response. Many, however, reached a new level of understanding when they sat in the quiet and contemplated the pointer objectively.
Before reviewing her spot-on pointer, consider: What is a cult? Who is a cult member? Cult members have been defined as "followers of an exclusive system of religious beliefs and practices"; or "persons who show adulation or adoration for a particular leader, a particular book, or a particular set of beliefs";
or "those who follow teachings with an exaggerated zeal" (which can also include persons who are obsessively-driven Advaitin seekers); or "those who attach to charismatic leaders, speakers, or writers who do not share pointers to truth but who shape a political, religious or spiritual message that is sculpted to appeal to the masses";
or "persons who join a group that encourages or requires its new members to learn how the existing members think and talk and act and that conditions and programs the new members to think and talk and act in the same way."
Note that "cult" is an abbreviated form of the word "culture" and that "culture" refers to a group with particular beliefs about the way people should live and think and talk and behave and perceive and interpret and understand "the world around them."
All cults / cultures have a particular value system and shared pursuits that become demonstrated in a variety of events that are practiced in unison; usually, they show considerable rigidity and a sense of always being "right" while others outside the cult / culture are always believed to be "wrong"; thus, all cults / cultures are dualistic at their very core.
Many cults have specific chants or prayers, slogans that are unique to their group, and often a book or books that are believed to be unique and different (the latter being the meaning of the word "holy"):
** "This land is holy," (i.e., "different from other land")
** "This book is holy," (i.e., "different from other books")
** "Our leader / founder is holy," (i.e., "different from other people")
So in that light, Louise's pointer can be reviewed:
The cult of modern society has one function – to programme its members so that the false consensual reality is reinforced. Every person who is non-realized can be described as a cult member. Why? Each non-realized person has been subjected to systematic programming and conditioning from an early age, resulting in a fiction-filled mind that blocks understanding of the true nature of reality.
The main programming machines of the society are: the family, culture, religion, education, politics, and the media. These programming machines function together to produce persons who think, believe and act in particular, ego-based and conditioned ways. Since the cult is so huge and since virtually all persons are members, the cult is not perceived as a cult – but rather as natural and normal.
Thus, if one is a member of a society, which all except hermits are, then that person is a cult member. (Consider in light of that fact why one stage of the process to Realization in the Far East has included "the forest dweller stage." Pointers can come in groups, but Realization never comes in groups. It is a most solitary event.)
Within societies, a plethora of groups flourish that - by definition - fall into the category of being "cults":
RELIGIOUS CULTS
Religious (or religious-philosophical) cults for thousands of years have flourished, including but not limited to: Christianity, Judaism, Bábism, Bahá'í Faith, Islam, the Rastafarian movement, Mandaeans and Sabians, Samaritanism, Unitarian Universalism, Ayyavazhi, Baul, the Bhakti Movement, Buddhism, Din-i-Ilahi, Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism, the Persian religions, all of the ancient pagan religions, Confucianism, Shinto, Taoism, the African diasporic religions, Historical Polytheism, all of the Ancient Near Eastern religions / cults, all of the Indo-European religions / cults, the Hellenistic religions, Neopaganism, Mormonism, Scientology, Jehovah's Witnesses, Seventh-Day Adventists, ad infinitum.
SPIRITUAL CULTS
Spiritual Cults include Twelve Step Groups, New Age groups, Esotericism and Mysticism, Occult and Magical groups, the Left-Hand Path, and hundreds and thousands of Fraternal and Secretive Societies, including but not limited to: the Masons, Skull and Bones, The Pitt Club, Bullingdon Club, 16' Club, the Strafford Club and Shinshukyo.
GANG CULTS
The Ku Klux Klan, the Crips, the Bloods, etc.
THE "ANTI" CULTS
The members of the "anti" cults are against any freedom-guaranteeing practices, including those cults with members who are anti-women's rights; anti-abortion; anti-the right to vote; anti-a-particular-race; anti-multi-racial dating or marriage; etc.
If the list were added to each day for all of the remaining days that this speck of consciousness is manifested, the list could not begin to list all of the cults that have come and gone and all of the cults that presently remain.
Therefore, the post deals not with any effort to compile a complete list of cults. It offers only a sampling in order to invite others to take Louise's pointer into quiet and objective consideration and to honestly admit that all persons have indeed been members of one or more cults / cultures that have programmed or conditioned them to believe certain beliefs, to adopt certain ideas, and to attach to certain concepts.
Businesses take regular inventories in order to be fully aware of the state of their affairs. Persons are invited to take inventories in order to be fully aware of the state of their affairs. One such inventory would include a listing of all of the cults in which they have held membership without consciously being aware of the fact that they have been conditioned and programmed.
The inventory might lead to a recognition of the fact that, even after some persons realize that they have been programmed and need to be free of programming, they join new cults that re-program them rather than invite them to be de-programmed completely.
To what end might the inventory guide persons? To the end of discarding all concepts and ideas and beliefs, understanding that the Truth can be known but cannot be stated. To the end of rejecting every concept and idea and belief, each of which forms one of the bars that make the prison of the mind.
To that end, you might also consider the pointer from Maharaj that is relevant here and that Louise shared earlier:
Maharaj: "It is useless to search for the truth when the mind is blind to the false. It must be purged of the false completely before truth can dawn on it."
Thus, the Advaitin approach: you must find all that you are not if You would find That Which You Are; you must find all that is false before you can find the Truth; and you must see the purveyors of lies and ignorance as purveyors of lies and ignorance before being able to tap into the inner resource and then be fully in touch with Reality.
Before reviewing her spot-on pointer, consider: What is a cult? Who is a cult member? Cult members have been defined as "followers of an exclusive system of religious beliefs and practices"; or "persons who show adulation or adoration for a particular leader, a particular book, or a particular set of beliefs";
or "those who follow teachings with an exaggerated zeal" (which can also include persons who are obsessively-driven Advaitin seekers); or "those who attach to charismatic leaders, speakers, or writers who do not share pointers to truth but who shape a political, religious or spiritual message that is sculpted to appeal to the masses";
or "persons who join a group that encourages or requires its new members to learn how the existing members think and talk and act and that conditions and programs the new members to think and talk and act in the same way."
Note that "cult" is an abbreviated form of the word "culture" and that "culture" refers to a group with particular beliefs about the way people should live and think and talk and behave and perceive and interpret and understand "the world around them."
All cults / cultures have a particular value system and shared pursuits that become demonstrated in a variety of events that are practiced in unison; usually, they show considerable rigidity and a sense of always being "right" while others outside the cult / culture are always believed to be "wrong"; thus, all cults / cultures are dualistic at their very core.
Many cults have specific chants or prayers, slogans that are unique to their group, and often a book or books that are believed to be unique and different (the latter being the meaning of the word "holy"):
** "This land is holy," (i.e., "different from other land")
** "This book is holy," (i.e., "different from other books")
** "Our leader / founder is holy," (i.e., "different from other people")
So in that light, Louise's pointer can be reviewed:
The cult of modern society has one function – to programme its members so that the false consensual reality is reinforced. Every person who is non-realized can be described as a cult member. Why? Each non-realized person has been subjected to systematic programming and conditioning from an early age, resulting in a fiction-filled mind that blocks understanding of the true nature of reality.
The main programming machines of the society are: the family, culture, religion, education, politics, and the media. These programming machines function together to produce persons who think, believe and act in particular, ego-based and conditioned ways. Since the cult is so huge and since virtually all persons are members, the cult is not perceived as a cult – but rather as natural and normal.
Thus, if one is a member of a society, which all except hermits are, then that person is a cult member. (Consider in light of that fact why one stage of the process to Realization in the Far East has included "the forest dweller stage." Pointers can come in groups, but Realization never comes in groups. It is a most solitary event.)
Within societies, a plethora of groups flourish that - by definition - fall into the category of being "cults":
RELIGIOUS CULTS
Religious (or religious-philosophical) cults for thousands of years have flourished, including but not limited to: Christianity, Judaism, Bábism, Bahá'í Faith, Islam, the Rastafarian movement, Mandaeans and Sabians, Samaritanism, Unitarian Universalism, Ayyavazhi, Baul, the Bhakti Movement, Buddhism, Din-i-Ilahi, Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism, the Persian religions, all of the ancient pagan religions, Confucianism, Shinto, Taoism, the African diasporic religions, Historical Polytheism, all of the Ancient Near Eastern religions / cults, all of the Indo-European religions / cults, the Hellenistic religions, Neopaganism, Mormonism, Scientology, Jehovah's Witnesses, Seventh-Day Adventists, ad infinitum.
SPIRITUAL CULTS
Spiritual Cults include Twelve Step Groups, New Age groups, Esotericism and Mysticism, Occult and Magical groups, the Left-Hand Path, and hundreds and thousands of Fraternal and Secretive Societies, including but not limited to: the Masons, Skull and Bones, The Pitt Club, Bullingdon Club, 16' Club, the Strafford Club and Shinshukyo.
GANG CULTS
The Ku Klux Klan, the Crips, the Bloods, etc.
THE "ANTI" CULTS
The members of the "anti" cults are against any freedom-guaranteeing practices, including those cults with members who are anti-women's rights; anti-abortion; anti-the right to vote; anti-a-particular-race; anti-multi-racial dating or marriage; etc.
If the list were added to each day for all of the remaining days that this speck of consciousness is manifested, the list could not begin to list all of the cults that have come and gone and all of the cults that presently remain.
Therefore, the post deals not with any effort to compile a complete list of cults. It offers only a sampling in order to invite others to take Louise's pointer into quiet and objective consideration and to honestly admit that all persons have indeed been members of one or more cults / cultures that have programmed or conditioned them to believe certain beliefs, to adopt certain ideas, and to attach to certain concepts.
Businesses take regular inventories in order to be fully aware of the state of their affairs. Persons are invited to take inventories in order to be fully aware of the state of their affairs. One such inventory would include a listing of all of the cults in which they have held membership without consciously being aware of the fact that they have been conditioned and programmed.
The inventory might lead to a recognition of the fact that, even after some persons realize that they have been programmed and need to be free of programming, they join new cults that re-program them rather than invite them to be de-programmed completely.
To what end might the inventory guide persons? To the end of discarding all concepts and ideas and beliefs, understanding that the Truth can be known but cannot be stated. To the end of rejecting every concept and idea and belief, each of which forms one of the bars that make the prison of the mind.
To that end, you might also consider the pointer from Maharaj that is relevant here and that Louise shared earlier:
Maharaj: "It is useless to search for the truth when the mind is blind to the false. It must be purged of the false completely before truth can dawn on it."
Thus, the Advaitin approach: you must find all that you are not if You would find That Which You Are; you must find all that is false before you can find the Truth; and you must see the purveyors of lies and ignorance as purveyors of lies and ignorance before being able to tap into the inner resource and then be fully in touch with Reality.
Please enter the silence of contemplation.
[PLEASE NOTE: If you are receiving this post via an RSS feed, it is recommended that you view the actual article because the content is often modified or added to after the initial posting.]
Much of what Louise has shared has resonated with many site visitors. to that end, some have inquired recently if Louise offers the online Advaita Internet Course. The answer is, "Yes."
Whether taking the course with Louise or Floyd, the price of the course includes all 11 of the Advaita eBooks, questions sent after completion of the assigned readings, replies to your answers, and follow-up as required.
With either teacher, you will be guided through all seven of the steps, in order, that lead from identification with the false "I" to the Absolute (and beyond). For more specific information and details about the course, you may click on the link to the right.
Purchase at Discount the Advaita Internet Course with Louise
by
Clicking the Buy Now Button below:
Purchase at Discount the Advaita Internet Course with Floyd
by
Clicking the Buy Now Button below:
Whether taking the course with Louise or Floyd, the price of the course includes all 11 of the Advaita eBooks, questions sent after completion of the assigned readings, replies to your answers, and follow-up as required.
With either teacher, you will be guided through all seven of the steps, in order, that lead from identification with the false "I" to the Absolute (and beyond). For more specific information and details about the course, you may click on the link to the right.
Purchase at Discount the Advaita Internet Course with Louise
by
Clicking the Buy Now Button below:
Purchase at Discount the Advaita Internet Course with Floyd
by
Clicking the Buy Now Button below:
Now you can receive for $40 a downloadable computer file version of the same 7-hour satsang that seekers receive when they visit for the Advaita Retreat with Floyd. You will be guided through the seven steps from identification with the false "I" to the Absolute (and beyond).
For more information or to order, click:
DVD or Downloadable computer file versions of the Four-Day Advaita Retreat
SIX WAYS THAT SEEKERS HAVE REALIZED:
1. BY WATCHING the 4-Disk Video (DVD) Set, or the same retreat available as a downloadable file. Either will provide an entire seven-hour retreat / series of satsang sessions showing three seekers being guided through all seven steps by Floyd and can provide viewers with an “experiential,” step-by-step series of satsang meetings that will move the viewers from identification with the I to abidance as the Absolute and then to abidance as That Which Is beyond
Some seekers are already using the computer file version and the DVD sets for meetings in groups in homes, playing the retreat, pausing for discussion, etc.
To find out more or to purchase the DVD set or the downloadable computer file version of the retreat, click:
DVD or Downloadable computer file versions of the Four-Day Advaita Retreat
Option “A” is for the downloadable file version, Option “B” is used to order the DVD set for delivery inside the U.S., Option “C” for international orders.
For the download, Paypal will send me a notice that payment has been received and then I will send by e-mail the downloading instruction, password, etc.
[It is recommended that you watch the video with pen and paper in hand. Write whatever you need clarified. You'll see that there are constant reviews and you might find an answer later in the seven-hour presentation. Then, after you watch it all, there will be a common ground for discussion. Purchase of the DVD’s or the file will include the right to clarifications and answers to your specific questions via e-mail.]
2. BY READING these books in this exact order:
IT'S ALL BULLSHIT (And Why Knowing It Sets You Free)
SPIRITUAL SOBRIETY (Recovering What Religions Lost)
[Those two prepare the seeker to question it all]
THE MEDITATION GUIDES
[Provide a broad overview of the understanding]
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN I DIE?
[Begins to free the seeker of body identification and the desire for body continuity]
THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS "PEACE OF MIND" (There Is Only Peace if You're Out of Your Mind)
[Shows the seeker how to be free of the subconscious motivators of the false content of the “mind”]
LIBERATION
[Shows the seeker how to be free of the subconscious motivators of personas]
THE ESSENCE OF THE TEACHINGS
[Provides the final preparation for the seeker to be directed along the “path”]
FROM THE I TO THE ABSOLUTE (A Seven-Step Journey to Reality)
[Directs the seeker along the “path”]
CONSCIOUSNESS/AWARENESS: The Nature of Reality Beyond Self-Realization (Peace Every Day When Abiding as The Absolute)
[Allows the seeker to understand the functioning of the totality, the manifestation, and what is involved with the un-manifestation]
FROM THE ABSOLUTE TO THE NOTHINGNESS
[Provides the seeker the wisdom to understand the Noneness as well as the Oneness]
Purchase an e-Book now and begin reading it in minutes (except with e-checks that can take 7-10 days). Trusting our clients as we do, all e-Books are provided to you in printable form.
SAVE IF YOU BUY ALL ELEVEN AT ONCE:
(You may order the books one at a time or you may use the following link to acquire the entire 11-e-Book set on sale for $99 if ordered at one time with the “Buy Now” button below. For this option, there will be no download links provided; once the near-instant notice of payment is received from PayPal, your e-Books will be sent to you as e-mail attachments. All are printable for your convenience.
NOTE: When you order this package, you receive three additional ebooks free: CASTING LIGHT ON THE DARK SIDE OF RELATIONSHIPS, FINDING REAL LOVE IN AN UNREAL WORLD and THE TWICE-STOLEN NECKLACE MURDERS (offering the Advaita teachings in a fictional novel format)
For more information or to order, click:
DVD or Downloadable computer file versions of the Four-Day Advaita Retreat
SIX WAYS THAT SEEKERS HAVE REALIZED:
1. BY WATCHING the 4-Disk Video (DVD) Set, or the same retreat available as a downloadable file. Either will provide an entire seven-hour retreat / series of satsang sessions showing three seekers being guided through all seven steps by Floyd and can provide viewers with an “experiential,” step-by-step series of satsang meetings that will move the viewers from identification with the I to abidance as the Absolute and then to abidance as That Which Is beyond
Some seekers are already using the computer file version and the DVD sets for meetings in groups in homes, playing the retreat, pausing for discussion, etc.
To find out more or to purchase the DVD set or the downloadable computer file version of the retreat, click:
DVD or Downloadable computer file versions of the Four-Day Advaita Retreat
Option “A” is for the downloadable file version, Option “B” is used to order the DVD set for delivery inside the U.S., Option “C” for international orders.
For the download, Paypal will send me a notice that payment has been received and then I will send by e-mail the downloading instruction, password, etc.
[It is recommended that you watch the video with pen and paper in hand. Write whatever you need clarified. You'll see that there are constant reviews and you might find an answer later in the seven-hour presentation. Then, after you watch it all, there will be a common ground for discussion. Purchase of the DVD’s or the file will include the right to clarifications and answers to your specific questions via e-mail.]
2. BY READING these books in this exact order:
IT'S ALL BULLSHIT (And Why Knowing It Sets You Free)
SPIRITUAL SOBRIETY (Recovering What Religions Lost)
[Those two prepare the seeker to question it all]
THE MEDITATION GUIDES
[Provide a broad overview of the understanding]
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN I DIE?
[Begins to free the seeker of body identification and the desire for body continuity]
THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS "PEACE OF MIND" (There Is Only Peace if You're Out of Your Mind)
[Shows the seeker how to be free of the subconscious motivators of the false content of the “mind”]
LIBERATION
[Shows the seeker how to be free of the subconscious motivators of personas]
THE ESSENCE OF THE TEACHINGS
[Provides the final preparation for the seeker to be directed along the “path”]
FROM THE I TO THE ABSOLUTE (A Seven-Step Journey to Reality)
[Directs the seeker along the “path”]
CONSCIOUSNESS/AWARENESS: The Nature of Reality Beyond Self-Realization (Peace Every Day When Abiding as The Absolute)
[Allows the seeker to understand the functioning of the totality, the manifestation, and what is involved with the un-manifestation]
FROM THE ABSOLUTE TO THE NOTHINGNESS
[Provides the seeker the wisdom to understand the Noneness as well as the Oneness]
Purchase an e-Book now and begin reading it in minutes (except with e-checks that can take 7-10 days). Trusting our clients as we do, all e-Books are provided to you in printable form.
SAVE IF YOU BUY ALL ELEVEN AT ONCE:
(You may order the books one at a time or you may use the following link to acquire the entire 11-e-Book set on sale for $99 if ordered at one time with the “Buy Now” button below. For this option, there will be no download links provided; once the near-instant notice of payment is received from PayPal, your e-Books will be sent to you as e-mail attachments. All are printable for your convenience.
NOTE: When you order this package, you receive three additional ebooks free: CASTING LIGHT ON THE DARK SIDE OF RELATIONSHIPS, FINDING REAL LOVE IN AN UNREAL WORLD and THE TWICE-STOLEN NECKLACE MURDERS (offering the Advaita teachings in a fictional novel format)
You may visit The Official Website of Floyd Henderson for information on each book.
3. BY ENROLLING in the Online Advaita Classes
Received 19 August 2010 from one that just completed the entire course:
I would like to extend deepest appreciation towards you for these teachings that you have offered. It has been most valuable towards what may not have been revealed throughout this manifestation labeled "anthony." Understanding Truth and finding words for gratitude are one as is all. Thank you again for pointing "me" to THAT and the understanding that came as well. Hopeful for future "contact"! Sincerely, Anthony M. W.
For information, visit Information on the Advaita Classes on the Internet
To enroll visit Enroll in the Advaita Internet Course
4. BY ATTENDING an Advaitin retreat for satsang with floyd and being guided through all seven steps. For details of the retreats offered, please visit the retreat information site.
5. BY ARRANGING satsang by telephone in the U.S. or by Skype internationally:
Use the Contact link for details or for information on making arrangements for a session
6. BY ARRANGING for floyd to travel to your location and meet with you or your group. Use the contact link above to discuss details.
3. BY ENROLLING in the Online Advaita Classes
Received 19 August 2010 from one that just completed the entire course:
I would like to extend deepest appreciation towards you for these teachings that you have offered. It has been most valuable towards what may not have been revealed throughout this manifestation labeled "anthony." Understanding Truth and finding words for gratitude are one as is all. Thank you again for pointing "me" to THAT and the understanding that came as well. Hopeful for future "contact"! Sincerely, Anthony M. W.
For information, visit Information on the Advaita Classes on the Internet
To enroll visit Enroll in the Advaita Internet Course
4. BY ATTENDING an Advaitin retreat for satsang with floyd and being guided through all seven steps. For details of the retreats offered, please visit the retreat information site.
5. BY ARRANGING satsang by telephone in the U.S. or by Skype internationally:
Use the Contact link for details or for information on making arrangements for a session
6. BY ARRANGING for floyd to travel to your location and meet with you or your group. Use the contact link above to discuss details.
The Twice-Stolen Necklace Murders offers the non-duality message by way of a mystery-adventure novel, discussing the movement from pain to healing to awakening to peace.
From Dr. R.F. Maley, Ph.D, Professor Emeritus and former Head of the Department of Psychology, University of Houston: "Floyd Henderson's book, The Twice-Stolen Necklace Murders, is a fun read and an interesting mystery, but perhaps more importantly it serves as a vehicle for blending Eastern Philosophy and Native American Spirituality to make an intellectually challenging novel. The book's insights into both relationships and authoritarian conditioning of people in our society make it a must read, tracing the roots of narcissistic, sociopathic and psychopathic behaviors to the very core of the culture. This truly witty and politically-incorrect study of the aggressive nature of 'the American character' offers not only a diagnosis but also a treatment plan, making the book an excellent supplemental reading in courses such as psychology, anthropology, philosophy, sociology and counseling."
You may purchase your copy of the ebook version of THE TWICE-STOLEN NECKLACE MURDERS then start reading within minutes:
The Sequel to The Twice-Stolen Necklace Murders:
THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF WARS
For a paperback or eBook version of the book, click:
[THE YOUTUBE ADVAITA VEDANTA VIDEOS ARE AVAILABLE IN LARGER FORMATS BELOW WHICH MIGHT PROVIDE MORE COMFORTABLE VIEWING FOR SOME SITE VISITORS]
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Please enter the silence of contemplation.
