Advaita Vedanta: There Is No God Who Is In the Business of Messing Up "Minds" or Repairing "Minds," Part Two

Today's "DAILY CONSIDERATION" for You

F.: What happened seventy-eight years ago with an author who understood the roots of the Addictive Personality Disorder is what is happening today with non-dualists and Nisargans who understand the roots of all of the personality disorders that are a key component of the Ultimate Sickness.

That author who understood the cause of a particular sickness was ignored and shouted down by the voices of certain ignorant persons with whom he was dealing. The same happens nowadays as well when one comes forth that understands the cause of the Ultimate Sickness;

therefore, that author's experience provides a framework for a discussion of non-duality (and the challenges faced by those that would share the teachings) because it mirrors exactly what happens when

(a) non-duality teachers with an understanding of the functioning of the totality

cross paths with

(b) the non-Realized masses who reject facts as being false and accept myths and superstitions as truth.

It was seen yesterday that the author of the most widely-read book dealing with the treatment of alcoholism caved in to pressure; that he abandoned his original thesis that addiction is a mental, emotional and physical problem and not "a moral problem"; and that he was coerced into claiming that "spirituality" provides "the cure."

The argument of the opponents of his thesis claimed that the Addictive Personality Disorder was caused by "bad morals." And though the author did assert that more about alcoholism was sure to be revealed over the coming years and decades, what has been revealed in the subsequent seventy-eight years is still being ignored by those using his book and program.

Next Thursday, my daughter will undergo a surgical procedure to remove her tonsils. We discussed in detail why she rejected the first doctor she spoke to and then discussed what she found out about the second doctor, whom she did choose, following two consultations with him, after completing the research she did into his skills, after reading the reviews of him that were available, and after talking with some of his former patients.

She did not say, "The reason I chose him is because he has ignored all of the modern research and because he refuses to acknowledge any and all of the advances in medical techniques that have come about over the last eight decades and because he uses the same method that doctors used in the 1930's."

She would have to be insane to choose a treatment method that ignores all that has been learned over an eight-decade period which can address her illness more effectively, wouldn't she? That could only happen if the first persons she sought help from were non-professionals who nevertheless promised her that they had the very best treatment available for what ailed her and if she then took their word about that without investigating any other possibilities.

Indeed, research has shown that the Addictive Personality Disorder does indeed have mental, emotional and physical components, yet seventy-eight years worth of progress in terms of research and understanding are constantly ignored and cast aside as the readers of that author's book - and the program in which they claim membership - still claim on a daily basis that the disorder is a moral one that can only be cured by spiritual means.

The non-dual teachings are about restoring logic and reason and wisdom; the absence of logic and reason and wisdom among those making such an assertion as the one above is astonishing, really.

The author under discussion knew, just as the non-dual Nisargan knows, that the main problem (not only in regards to that disorder but also in regards to almost all of the problems on the planet) centers in the mind; thus, anyone with the slightest touch of common sense would understand this:

physical problems are addressed by dealing with the physical issues involved; mental problems are addressed by dealing with the mental issues involved; and emotional problems are dealt with by dealing with the emotional problems involved.

Moreover, any reasonable human would admit that if there is an all-knowing, all-powerful, all-caring God that is about the business of repairing minds (or anything else that is messed up) then any reasonable human should also realize that any all-knowing and all-powerful and all-caring God would not allow minds (or anything else) to be messed up in the first place.

Since minds are messed up to an astounding degree, how do those endorsing a spiritual cure for all of the planet's ills reconcile the fact that the power they are recommending to fix the planet's ills does not use "his / her / their" supposedly available and unlimited power to prevent the ills before they manifest in the first place?

Not really an impressive way to supervise, control, and operate a planet, is it?

Of course, their answer is, "God loves us so much that he / she / they give us free will" (as if I would have given my three-year-old daughter the right to exercise her free will when she wanted to play in the street ... "because I loved her so much" ... rather than making her play in the yard).

Understanding the insanity of such a belief sets the stage for the sharing of another non-dual, Nisargan pointer: the Realized know that - when one is abiding under the influence of personality - there is no such thing as "free will" and that there is no such thing as "choice."

How could there be when every thought and word and action is determined by the subconscious agendas of each personality that has been adopted as any identity, even as each personality hides its agenda from the one being driven by multiple personalities?

The next non-dual pointer: seekers are seeking many different things, and - as with those in the program above who are suffering from the Addictive Personality Disorder - many of those seekers share in common the belief that a spiritual cure or solution is required for whatever ails them.

Any sane and sound human, however, would know this: the fact is that in no case can a spiritual cure address a physical ailment, a mental ailment, or an emotional ailment, the belief by some that they have the power to heal anyone and everyone via prayer notwithstanding.

How sure was the author of the factual basis of that statement? He would later write that alcoholism is a four-part illness, 25% involving physical intoxication, 25% involving mental intoxication, and 25% involving emotional intoxication. Then, in his subsequent writings, he returned to his original hypothesis, that (as with the masses scattered about the entire planet now) the main problem centers in the mind and that spirituality does not treat the mind.

There is no God who is in the business of messing up "minds," and there is no God that is in the business of repairing "minds." In fact, that author - after years of witnessing persons trying to use a spiritual cure for a mental, emotional, and physical problem - went on to identify the other 25% of the problem that had developed in that program.

The term he used to refer to the new problem that had developed in that program was "spiritual intoxication," and he made clear that spiritual intoxication was not leading to recovery but was inhibiting recovery. He observed, of course, that spiritual intoxication was just one additional manifestation of the Addictive Personality Disorder which was causing persons to remain intoxicated in one manner or the other.

Again, Maharaj:

"First of all you identify something as being good or bad for yourself. Then, in an effort to acquire good or to get rid of the bad, you have invented a God. Then you worship such a God and ... you pray to that God for something good to happen to you."

“Whatever you have tried to understand during your spiritual search will prove false.”

"Whatever spiritual things you aspire to know are all happening in this objective world, in the illusion. All this is happening in the objective world. All is dishonesty. There is no truth in this fraud."

Please enter the silence of contemplation.

A Non-Duality Online Course is currently available at a reduced rate. See above for details. [Received from Mac, 10/17/12]: "Glad to see the online teaching offered at a discount. Hopefully, more who are ready will be able to take the course. For me, the course was the beginning of the unlearning that led to the trip to the lake for a retreat and the understanding."

SHIFTING THE FOCUS FROM THAT WHICH DOES NOT WORK TO THAT WHICH DOES, Part One

A "movement" or "shift" happened here that added another parallel to the many parallels in terms of the phenomenal "experiences" and the noumenal revelations that "Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj" and "Floyd" share in common. (Many visitors over the years have said that they also shared the same parallels with "Maharaj" and "Floyd" as well.) In the case of "Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj" and "Floyd";;

1. both grew up in very poor families 2. both moved to populated areas to seek employment opportunities 3. both exhibited business skills that led to their opening and operating many businesses and to their having a large number of employees working for them 4. both succeeded financially 5. both became attached to accumulating;

6. both married and had a family 7. both were initially religious 8. both moved away from organized religion and became interested in "spiritual" matters, finding and following the teachings of a big name teacher (or, in "Floyd's" case, many big name teachers) 9. both had highly religious wives who were quite displeased with the shift away from religion and toward "spirituality" 10. both began to feel empty in spite of all of their "spiritual seeking" and in spite of all of their accumulated "spiritual knowledge";

11. both began to de-accumulate after both saw that they could survive quite well on a fraction of the income they had been making 12. both had wives who were unhappy when the de-accumulation stage was entered and both had wives who became unhappy about their husbands' focus on non-duality and who blamed their unhappiness on no longer having a religious husband (The facts be known, in both cases the unhappiness involved the fact that their husbands were no longer interested in - or willing - to work 80+ hours per week and that their husbands were no longer interested in accumulating wealth and possessions and providing the rich lifestyle to which their wives had grown accustomed) 13. both eventually came to see that the religious and spiritual states were also ego-states, and both saw that there are far more steps on the "path" to complete after reaching the religious and spiritual steps and after playing those roles which are the third of seven steps on the entire "path" 14. both "lost" their wives (one via "death," the other through divorce) 15. both accelerated their seeking;

16. both entered into the "forest dweller stage" 17. both Realized 18. both began to de-accumulate even more 19. both began sharing the teachings 20. for years, both answered questions in whatever order those questions were received, though both said that the movement from identification with the false "I" / "I's" involved an exact, step-wise manner of moving along a "path" that involved "going back" in the same (but reverse order) of the way they "came in" - that is, the way that the manifestation happened and the way that the consciousness was blocked through seven stages that resulted in their becoming identified solely with their false personas, with the content of the "mind," and eventually, with the body. But the most significant awareness that finally came to both after years of offering satsang and after having answered thousands and thousands of questions was this: After years of "Maharaj" offering satsang in his loft, and after years of "Floyd" offering satsang in meeting halls and in his home and via what one site visitor called "Floyd's electronic loft," this fact became obvious to both: "Maharaj" came to see in the 1970's and into 1980 and 1981 that his approach was not working and "Floyd" finally came to see the same.

21. Both saw that many who heard the teachings are not going to understand (Maharaj reporting that "only 1 in 100,000 are going to 'get' this" understanding) 22. both soon saw that even more than expected of those who heard the teachings were not going to understand (Maharaj modifying his "guesstimate" and reporting that "only 1 in 1,000,000 are going to 'get' this" understanding) 23. eventually both saw that even far more than expected of those who heard the teachings were not going to understand (Maharaj eventually concluding that "only 1 in 10,000,000 are going to 'get' this" understanding). And the failings were not the fault of seekers. A "one -in-ten-million" estimate is proof that satsang was not working for most seekers, and the evidence here lately is proof of the same.

Both "Maharaj" and "Floyd" invited seekers to focus on the exact, step-wise "path." Yes, during satsang, "Maharaj" sometimes alluded to the steps while discussing them in no particular order - but he never once laid out the steps in the exact order in which they had to be completed. That was not his teachings style or approach.

Therefore, another movement or shift is happening here spontaneously after reflecting on the more than two decades since the teachings were first offered here and looking at the results of Maharaj sharing pointers in his loft and looking at the results of "Floyd" sharing pointers in this electronic loft: Looking objectively at his results, Maharaj's satsang method of sharing - in the end and by his own admission (only "one out of 10,000,000") - did not produce the intended outcome.

Looking objectively at the results here when using an "electronic loft" satsang method of sharing has not produced the intended outcome nearly as often as any of the three "face-to-face" methods used with seekers by which they have been led through the seven steps in order. Here, the body is growing older, of course. Mahasamadhi could be taken today, or it could be taken in twenty years.

Obviously, that cannot be known. But the decision here has been made that whatever amount of the relative existence remains shall be spent in sharing the teachings in the ways that have been seen over the last 20+ years to be the most effective methods.

Looking back over the list of those that have truly received the understanding, it is seen that Robert R. read all of the books, then took the online Advaita course and then completed some face-to-face Skype sessions to receive the final clarifications required. It was seen that Mac read all of the books, completed the online course, and then attended a retreat where he was guided through the seven steps. Mac said that the online course work inspired him to attend the retreat in order to be able to receive the final "pieces." It was seen that Andy Gugar, Jr. read all of the books, then came here for a retreat and was taken through the seven steps in order, and then returned once more for the final clarifications required. After reviewing the shifts that happened with him after attending two retreats, he reaffirmed this past week his commitment to helping spread the non-duality, nisarga understanding as presented here. As a result of seeing what has "worked" during the last 20+ years of sharing the non-duality understanding - and seeing what had not "worked" as well - changes will be made.

SHIFTING THE FOCUS FROM THAT WHICH DOES NOT WORK TO THAT WHICH DOES, Part Two

In "Part One," examples were given of seekers that were led to Realization not by satsang but by following the various protocols outlined farther down this page which provide the understanding in the step-wise, orderly, required fashion which moves seekers along a "path" that is as prescribed by Maharaj ... "going back" in the "reverse order" by which the consciousness manifested and became blocked.

However, conversations with some that just read the majority of the books have revealed that they certainly seem to have grasped the understanding and Realized as well. As a result of seeing what has "worked" during the last 20+ years of sharing the non-duality understanding - and seeing what has "not worked" as well - changes are being made. There are seven specific steps that happen when awareness-energy is "pulled" into a cycle of manifestation. When that energy manifests as conscious-energy, that formerly pure and unadulterated energy becomes "corrupted" (or "blocked" from seeing clearly) via programming, conditioning, domestication, acculturation, and brainwashing. Soon, there is a belief in the not-Real as a result of seven degrees of separation from an understanding of the Real. Using the method that was also employed by his contemporaries - a method which focused on offering non-duality pointers via satsang - Maharaj addressed questions in the order in which they were received. He might receive a question from a seeker at the third step and his reply would include what amounted to an invitation to move to the fourth step. The next question might come from a seeker at the first step, and the reply would include an invitation to move to the second step. The information offered to the second seeker would seemingly contradict what was offered to the first seeker, so visitors who have come here for decades have asked questions which showed how confused they were by the fact that Maharaj's statements to each visitor in his loft were "level-appropriate" yet were provided in no precise order, resulting in what seemed to be an inconsistent message. So the process overall was confusing in that seekers were told to follow the "path back" in the same way that they "came in," except in reverse order, but pointers were not given in a specific, step-wise order at all. Maharaj did recognize the seven steps that are taught here, but by offering the teachings in an order that was dictated by the order in which questions were received from seekers who were at different steps on the "path," the result was this: a pointer about moving beyond the fourth step might be followed by a pointer about moving beyond the first step, and that pointer might be followed by a pointer about how to move beyond the sixth step. The same was done on this site for seven years. The result is a collection of 1,800 or so essays discussing almost every non-duality topic that can be discussed, and the search button on the top right side of this page will now allow seekers with a question about a specific topic to find an explanation. That method, however, will never provide the manner in which the seven steps on the "path" must be transmitted and received in order to Realize Fully. An objective study of the history here of more than twenty years of offering non-duality pointers reveals this: seekers that were given pointers in the exact order in which they needed to receive them were the ones that Realized.

They read the books, then they completed the online course and / or completed seven Skype or telephone sessions or came here for a retreat (or watched the downloadable DVD version of an actual retreat, available below).

Some found that which they were seeking by reading the author's book that deal with non-duality subject matter. Via all of those venues, the steps are taught in their proper order. The essays available on this site will remain for those interested in searching for a discussion of a particular non-duality topic without charge, but the focus here until mahasamadhi is taken is going to be on offering the teachings in the step-wise fashion that has been seen to work.

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WAYS THAT SEEKERS HAVE REALIZED:
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FROM THE I TO THE ABSOLUTE: A Seven-Step Journey to the Absolute