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.
As for Maharaj, you will find here some of his early pointers for beginners but some of his later pointers that are for seekers farther along the "path." During his last years, he said of I AM THAT: "That book and whatever was expounded at that time was only relevant for that period. I am speaking differently today" and am "emphasizing different aspects." What he offered later differed considerably from his earlier talks, making clear that the pointers in I AM THAT will take you to the midpoint of "the race" but that his final talks point the way to "the finish line."
F.: Dignity (and its associated composure, calmness, tranquility, and serenity) happens only in the absence of fear and desire, and the absence of fear and desire only happens in the absence of personality.
When seekers come here for a retreat and reveal that they still desire body continuity - that they are still afraid of "death" - the suggestion offered is, "In that case, go ahead and die now and get it over with."
What does that mean? It means that they are invited to see all of the personas that they are not and to allow the belief in those false body-mind-personality identities to "die" ... to end. At that point, the "death" of all of the personalities that can fear what the masses call "death" will also happen.
On some level, that "death" which accompanies Realization seems violent. Why? Because the non-Realized masses have to be shaken to be awakened, but they do not really want to be either shaken or awakened at all. Consider the pointers in this exchange:
Maharaj: "The outer represent the inner, the inner accepts the outer -- for a time."
Questioner: "Whose is the effort?"
Maharaj: "The disciple's, of course. The outer Guru gives the instructions, the inner sends the strength; the alert application is the disciple's. Without will, intelligence and energy on the part of the disciple, the outer Guru is helpless. The inner Guru bids his chance. Obtuseness and wrong pursuits bring about a crisis and the disciple wakes up to his own plight. Wise is he who does not wait for a shock, which can be quite rude."
Questioner: "Is it a threat?"
Maharaj: "Not a threat, a warning. The inner Guru is not committed to non-violence. He can be quite violent at times, to the point of destroying the obtuse or perverted personality. Suffering and death, as life and happiness, are his tools of work."
Of course, neither the dissolution of belief in personas nor the dissolution of the plant food body is really violent, yet both most assuredly do seem that way to the non-Realized. The notion that it is actually violent is only the result of persons' misperceptions. To understand that fact is to reach an entirely new level of composure, calmness, tranquility, and serenity that most among the masses will never know. So ...
first, to the dissolution of the belief in one's personas. What could the non-Realized cling to more? If "The Wife" says that she is leaving "The Husband," in many cases murder follows, suicide follows, or murder-suicide follows.
Yet that all follows the initial misperception, "I am dying, so I might as well hasten the process so no more misery or suffering is experienced." In fact, personas cannot die. They can merely be seen to be the illusions that they are and then allowed to fade away with dignity, composure, calmness, tranquility, and serenity.
In such cases, the seeker that reaches that understanding transitions into the knower; the knower dissolves into the known; the known - overlaid upon the relative - transitions into the dancer, and for the remainder of the manifestation, the dancer dances lightly and eventually becomes the dance:
Ted Shawn: "Dance is the only art of which we ourselves are the stuff of which it is made."
Secondly, to the dissolution of the belief that there are "violent" means by which the body can end: in fact, there is no such thing as "death," and there is no such thing as "a violent death." In all cases, the consciousness merely "fades away."
Pain is of the body; misery and suffering are of the "mind." The body might fade away slowly or quickly, but the consciousness always fades away slowly and painlessly, not violently.
Misery and suffering can end promptly either through Realization while manifested or via mahasamadhi as the manifestation ends.
It was because he understood that fact that "the later Christ, the Advaitin Christ," reportedly said, "Heaven and earth shall fade." Why? Because they are nothing more than concepts stored in the mind and allowed to remain as a result of the consciousness having been blocked by programming, conditioning, acculturation, and domestication. When the consciousness fades away, so do all of the concepts that had been stored in the "mind."
When the consciousness manifests, it manifests in the gross body ... in the body-cum-consciousness. When it unmanifests - that is, fades away - it passes through the subtle body form and then the transcendental body form and then into formlessness in the field of energy from which it came. [Of course, the plant food body itself can take even longer to dissolve.]
Maharaj: "Your True Being is entirely un-self-conscious, completely free from all self-identification with whatever it may be ... gross, subtle or transcendental."
You might or might not be able to stop all pain, but you can definitely stop all misery and suffering, now, by seeking and finding Reality. How?
Maharaj: "If you seek Reality you must set yourself free of all backgrounds, of all cultures, of all patterns of thinking and feeling. Even the idea of being man or woman, or even human, should be discarded. The ocean of life contains all, not only humans. So, first of all abandon all self-identification, stop thinking of yourself as such-and-such, so-and-so, this or that. Abandon all self-concern; worry not about your welfare, material or spiritual; abandon every desire, gross or subtle; stop thinking of achievement of any kind. You are complete here and now; you need absolutely nothing."
Note: those pointers refer to being free of the "mind," not free of the brain and not free of the consciousness. [Often shared here is the fact that the brain is rooted in the elements; the consciousness is rooted in the Absolute; and the mind is rooted in false and faulty programming, conditioning, domestication, and acculturation.]
Maharaj: "It does not mean that you must be brainless and foolhardy, improvident or indifferent; only the basic anxiety for oneself must go. You need some food, clothing and shelter for you and yours, but this will not create problems as long as greed is not taken for a need. Live in tune with things as they are and not as they are imagined."
Abiding "in tune" allows one to hear the music of the universe and to dance lightly to it.
Ah ... the bliss of the freedom and peace and serenity and calmness and composure and tranquility that comes after allowing all to dissolve with dignity, including all that is imagined; including all false identities that are assumed;
including the false belief in "death"; including the baseless anticipation of such an "event"; including the needless anxiety generated by that belief; including the fear of an eternal punishment; including the desire for an eternal reward.
So relax. Enjoy the only thing that can be enjoyed: the present manifestation, now, if Reality is overlaid upon it. That alone can bring sanity, logic, and reason; and those alone can bring an end to instability and ignorance and insanity and chaos.
Please enter into the silence of contemplation. (To be continued)
F.: Dignity (and its associated composure, calmness, tranquility, and serenity) happens only in the absence of fear and desire, and the absence of fear and desire only happens in the absence of personality.
When seekers come here for a retreat and reveal that they still desire body continuity - that they are still afraid of "death" - the suggestion offered is, "In that case, go ahead and die now and get it over with."
What does that mean? It means that they are invited to see all of the personas that they are not and to allow the belief in those false body-mind-personality identities to "die" ... to end. At that point, the "death" of all of the personalities that can fear what the masses call "death" will also happen.
On some level, that "death" which accompanies Realization seems violent. Why? Because the non-Realized masses have to be shaken to be awakened, but they do not really want to be either shaken or awakened at all. Consider the pointers in this exchange:
Maharaj: "The outer represent the inner, the inner accepts the outer -- for a time."
Questioner: "Whose is the effort?"
Maharaj: "The disciple's, of course. The outer Guru gives the instructions, the inner sends the strength; the alert application is the disciple's. Without will, intelligence and energy on the part of the disciple, the outer Guru is helpless. The inner Guru bids his chance. Obtuseness and wrong pursuits bring about a crisis and the disciple wakes up to his own plight. Wise is he who does not wait for a shock, which can be quite rude."
Questioner: "Is it a threat?"
Maharaj: "Not a threat, a warning. The inner Guru is not committed to non-violence. He can be quite violent at times, to the point of destroying the obtuse or perverted personality. Suffering and death, as life and happiness, are his tools of work."
Of course, neither the dissolution of belief in personas nor the dissolution of the plant food body is really violent, yet both most assuredly do seem that way to the non-Realized. The notion that it is actually violent is only the result of persons' misperceptions. To understand that fact is to reach an entirely new level of composure, calmness, tranquility, and serenity that most among the masses will never know. So ...
first, to the dissolution of the belief in one's personas. What could the non-Realized cling to more? If "The Wife" says that she is leaving "The Husband," in many cases murder follows, suicide follows, or murder-suicide follows.
Yet that all follows the initial misperception, "I am dying, so I might as well hasten the process so no more misery or suffering is experienced." In fact, personas cannot die. They can merely be seen to be the illusions that they are and then allowed to fade away with dignity, composure, calmness, tranquility, and serenity.
In such cases, the seeker that reaches that understanding transitions into the knower; the knower dissolves into the known; the known - overlaid upon the relative - transitions into the dancer, and for the remainder of the manifestation, the dancer dances lightly and eventually becomes the dance:
Ted Shawn: "Dance is the only art of which we ourselves are the stuff of which it is made."
Secondly, to the dissolution of the belief that there are "violent" means by which the body can end: in fact, there is no such thing as "death," and there is no such thing as "a violent death." In all cases, the consciousness merely "fades away."
Pain is of the body; misery and suffering are of the "mind." The body might fade away slowly or quickly, but the consciousness always fades away slowly and painlessly, not violently.
Misery and suffering can end promptly either through Realization while manifested or via mahasamadhi as the manifestation ends.
It was because he understood that fact that "the later Christ, the Advaitin Christ," reportedly said, "Heaven and earth shall fade." Why? Because they are nothing more than concepts stored in the mind and allowed to remain as a result of the consciousness having been blocked by programming, conditioning, acculturation, and domestication. When the consciousness fades away, so do all of the concepts that had been stored in the "mind."
When the consciousness manifests, it manifests in the gross body ... in the body-cum-consciousness. When it unmanifests - that is, fades away - it passes through the subtle body form and then the transcendental body form and then into formlessness in the field of energy from which it came. [Of course, the plant food body itself can take even longer to dissolve.]
Maharaj: "Your True Being is entirely un-self-conscious, completely free from all self-identification with whatever it may be ... gross, subtle or transcendental."
You might or might not be able to stop all pain, but you can definitely stop all misery and suffering, now, by seeking and finding Reality. How?
Maharaj: "If you seek Reality you must set yourself free of all backgrounds, of all cultures, of all patterns of thinking and feeling. Even the idea of being man or woman, or even human, should be discarded. The ocean of life contains all, not only humans. So, first of all abandon all self-identification, stop thinking of yourself as such-and-such, so-and-so, this or that. Abandon all self-concern; worry not about your welfare, material or spiritual; abandon every desire, gross or subtle; stop thinking of achievement of any kind. You are complete here and now; you need absolutely nothing."
Note: those pointers refer to being free of the "mind," not free of the brain and not free of the consciousness. [Often shared here is the fact that the brain is rooted in the elements; the consciousness is rooted in the Absolute; and the mind is rooted in false and faulty programming, conditioning, domestication, and acculturation.]
Maharaj: "It does not mean that you must be brainless and foolhardy, improvident or indifferent; only the basic anxiety for oneself must go. You need some food, clothing and shelter for you and yours, but this will not create problems as long as greed is not taken for a need. Live in tune with things as they are and not as they are imagined."
Abiding "in tune" allows one to hear the music of the universe and to dance lightly to it.
Ah ... the bliss of the freedom and peace and serenity and calmness and composure and tranquility that comes after allowing all to dissolve with dignity, including all that is imagined; including all false identities that are assumed;
including the false belief in "death"; including the baseless anticipation of such an "event"; including the needless anxiety generated by that belief; including the fear of an eternal punishment; including the desire for an eternal reward.
So relax. Enjoy the only thing that can be enjoyed: the present manifestation, now, if Reality is overlaid upon it. That alone can bring sanity, logic, and reason; and those alone can bring an end to instability and ignorance and insanity and chaos.
Please enter into the silence of contemplation. (To be continued)
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For those seeking the full explanation of the topics addressed on this site: there are non-duality books offered below as well as retreats and Skype or telephone sessions available at Floyd Henderson's Website
The full explanations are also available in the books in the author's collection that explain in detail all of the non-duality, nisarga teachings offered here:
1. Most non-duality books below are available through Amazon.com.
2. Read Kindle books on your own device by downloading a free app.
The full explanations are also available in the books in the author's collection that explain in detail all of the non-duality, nisarga teachings offered here:
1. Most non-duality books below are available through Amazon.com.
2. Read Kindle books on your own device by downloading a free app.
The available books are arranged on the carousels below. Use the arrows to move each book to the forefront; then, you may click on any book that you might be interested in to find more information or to purchase.
THE ADVANCED SEEKERS' SERIES
From the I to the Absolute
Consciousness / Awareness
From the Absolute to the Nothingness
The Final Understanding
The Advanced Seekers' Series in paperback
The Two Meditation Guides
From the I to the Absolute
Consciousness / Awareness
From the Absolute to the Nothingness
The Final Understanding
The Advanced Seekers' Series in paperback
The Two Meditation Guides
The BLISSFUL ABIDANCE SERIES, PART ONE
What BLISS Is and What BLISS Is Not
Why You Must Be Empty If You Would Be Full
When Reality Is Overlaid Upon the Relative
Freedom from Shifting Between States of Happiness and Unhappiness
Liberation
The Blissful Abidance Series (6 books) in paperback
What BLISS Is and What BLISS Is Not
Why You Must Be Empty If You Would Be Full
When Reality Is Overlaid Upon the Relative
Freedom from Shifting Between States of Happiness and Unhappiness
Liberation
The Blissful Abidance Series (6 books) in paperback
The ADVAITINS Collection
with THE MAHARAJ QUATRO, including:
(1) Why NISARGA YOGA in addition to the ADVAITA TEACHING?
(2) Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj and His Evolution
(3) A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE
(4) Going Crazy / Going Sane
Jesus Christ the Advaitin
William Shakespeare the Advaitin
with THE MAHARAJ QUATRO, including:
(1) Why NISARGA YOGA in addition to the ADVAITA TEACHING?
(2) Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj and His Evolution
(3) A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE
(4) Going Crazy / Going Sane
Jesus Christ the Advaitin
William Shakespeare the Advaitin
The BLISSFUL ABIDANCE SERIES, PART TWO
Overcoming the Fear of Being Totally Independent
I AM THAT (vs. "This Is Who I Think I Am")
The Essence of the Teachings
There Is Nothing That Is Personal (Including You and Including God)
Lessons in Non-Duality from Travels in South Africa
The Path to Freedom vs. the Path to Misery
Overcoming the Fear of Being Totally Independent
I AM THAT (vs. "This Is Who I Think I Am")
The Essence of the Teachings
There Is Nothing That Is Personal (Including You and Including God)
Lessons in Non-Duality from Travels in South Africa
The Path to Freedom vs. the Path to Misery
The FREEDOM FROM THE MIND Series
Instability / Insanity: What the Advaita Teachings Can (and Cannot) Address
PROGRAMMING, CONDITIONING, DOMESTICATION, AND ACCULTURATION
The Ultimate Sickness, The Ultimate Medicine
Going Crazy / Going Sane
There's No Such Thing As "Peace of Mind" (There Is Only Peace If You're Out of Your Mind)
Dancing Lightly
Instability / Insanity: What the Advaita Teachings Can (and Cannot) Address
PROGRAMMING, CONDITIONING, DOMESTICATION, AND ACCULTURATION
The Ultimate Sickness, The Ultimate Medicine
Going Crazy / Going Sane
There's No Such Thing As "Peace of Mind" (There Is Only Peace If You're Out of Your Mind)
Dancing Lightly
RECOVERY LITERATURE, the RELATIONSHIP books
A Twelve-Step Journey to SELF-Realization [Kindle]
A Twelve-Step Journey to SELF-Realization [Paperback]
A Guide for Working the Twelve Steps (In the Manner Used by the Founders)
The Twelve Steps and Advaita / Non-Duality: A 21-Day Plan for a Psychic Change
Finding Real Love in An Unreal World
Casting Light on the Dark Side of Relationships
A Twelve-Step Journey to SELF-Realization [Kindle]
A Twelve-Step Journey to SELF-Realization [Paperback]
A Guide for Working the Twelve Steps (In the Manner Used by the Founders)
The Twelve Steps and Advaita / Non-Duality: A 21-Day Plan for a Psychic Change
Finding Real Love in An Unreal World
Casting Light on the Dark Side of Relationships
The NO DEATH books, NON-DUALITY IN FICTION, FINANCIAL SANITY
The Myth of Death
What Happens When I Die?
The Twice-Stolen Necklace Murders (Non-Duality) [Kindle]
The Board of Directors of Wars (Non-Duality) [Kindle]
The Board of Directors of Wars (Non-Duality) [Paperback]
Living Within Your Means
How Your Personality Type Shapes Your Spending Habits
The Myth of Death
What Happens When I Die?
The Twice-Stolen Necklace Murders (Non-Duality) [Kindle]
The Board of Directors of Wars (Non-Duality) [Kindle]
The Board of Directors of Wars (Non-Duality) [Paperback]
Living Within Your Means
How Your Personality Type Shapes Your Spending Habits
NON-DUALITY BOOKS, EACH CONTAINING A SERIES OF ESSAYS DISCUSSING ONE OF THE SEVEN STEPS ON THE PATH TO REALIZATION
FOR THOSE WHO PREFER PAPERBACK, THE FOLLOWING PAPERBACK BOOKS ARE ON SALE NOW
(Click the pictures for information on the paperback versions)
(Click the pictures for information on the paperback versions)
(FOUR BOOKS IN ONE)
(SIX BOOKS IN ONE)
FOR THOSE SEEKING FURTHER EXPLANATION
An online Advaita Internet Course is offered here. The price of the course includes the four Advaita eBooks used as the texts; questions sent after completion of the assigned readings; replies to your answers; and follow-up as required.
The price of the course includes the four Advaita eBooks used as the texts; questions sent after completion of the assigned readings, replies to your answers, and follow-up as required.
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. To get started now now, click the pay button below and receive the $365 course for a discounted price of $325.00.
Purchase at Discount the Advaita Internet Course with Floyd
by
Clicking the Buy Now Button below:
Or, if you prefer, begin by arranging a one-hour Advaita session via Skype with Floyd:
Next, you can now 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).
The price of the course includes the four Advaita eBooks used as the texts; questions sent after completion of the assigned readings, replies to your answers, and follow-up as required.
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. To get started now now, click the pay button below and receive the $365 course for a discounted price of $325.00.
Purchase at Discount the Advaita Internet Course with Floyd
by
Clicking the Buy Now Button below:
Or, if you prefer, begin by arranging a one-hour Advaita session via Skype with Floyd:
Next, you can now 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, Seven-Hour Video (DVD) Set of an advaita retreat, or the downloadable file version. To find out more or to purchase the DVD or downloadable computer file version of the retreat, click:
DVD or Downloadable computer file versions of the Four-Day Advaita Retreat
International buyers: note the separate option for those outside the continental U.S.
2. BY READING the explanations offered in the collection of non-duality books that are available on this site.
3. BY ENROLLING in the Online Advaita Classes
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 information or use the link below to pay for your first Advaita session.
You may click the BUY NOW button below to begin arrangements for your first Advaita session with Floyd via Skype and he will contact you to schedule:
DVD or Downloadable computer file versions of the Four-Day Advaita Retreat
SIX WAYS THAT SEEKERS HAVE REALIZED:
1. BY WATCHING the 4-Disk, Seven-Hour Video (DVD) Set of an advaita retreat, or the downloadable file version. To find out more or to purchase the DVD or downloadable computer file version of the retreat, click:
DVD or Downloadable computer file versions of the Four-Day Advaita Retreat
International buyers: note the separate option for those outside the continental U.S.
2. BY READING the explanations offered in the collection of non-duality books that are available on this site.
3. BY ENROLLING in the Online Advaita Classes
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 information or use the link below to pay for your first Advaita session.
You may click the BUY NOW button below to begin arrangements for your first Advaita session with Floyd via Skype and he will contact you to schedule:
6. BY ARRANGING for floyd to travel to your location and meet with you or your group. Use the contact link below to discuss details.
