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

Today's "DAILY CONSIDERATION" for You

F.: The key point is that the road to misery and suffering on planet earth is paved with misdiagnoses and, therefore, inappropriate, ineffective, and unsuitable treatments.

Any competent, all-powerful God that - for whatever unexplainable reason - stood by and let things get as messed up as they are on this planet would surely see how messed up things are and clean up the mess.

The fact that such is not happening is evidence of the additional fact that the most popular means of trying to treat anything and everything on the planet (namely, being religious and / or spiritual and / or praying or begging a god or gods for relief) is not working.

Whether the problem deals with addiction, emotional illness, personality disorders and neuroses and psychoses, trouble with "relationships," health problems, family crises, financial predicaments, physical pain, endless misery and suffering, grief, guilt, and resentment, the problems are ultimately rooted in body issues, mind issues, and / or personality issues.

And the most serious body issues, mind issues, and / or personality issues are not going to go away by praying to a myth-and-superstition-based entity. Because all is matter-energy, and because matter-energy can neither be destroyed nor created, then there is no Creator. And if there is no creator or Creator or Creator-God, then there is also no Sustainer-God or Destroyer-God either.

For five thousand years, people have just made up all that "stuff" as they go along. (When the author of the book discussed earlier explained to a man that he had no faith in the validity of religious concepts, he was advised, "Why don't you choose your own conception of God?") See? Just make it up. Just dream up a concept. Pick a version you like.

Maharaj explained that the only thing that has been "created" in this regard is the conception of a God, and conceptions are just "dreamed up things." Thus, he said:

"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."

As a result, humans over the ages have prayed to a conceptualized god or gods but have also wished upon a star or at a wishing well; have put faith in a four-leaf clover or a rabbit's foot; have felt that hanging a horseshoe affixed over a door will protect those entering; have believed that if garlic is hung inside a home that it will provide protection against evil spirits; ad infinitum.

But Maharaj made clear that "spirituality" has been proven meaningless:

“When the birth is disproved, the great noble meaning of spirituality and the meaning of this world—everything—is disproved.”

When a visitor said, "The scriptures say that we have our karma and our sins and that is why we are here," Maharaj answered: "That is for the ignorant masses. One who has realized the Self-Knowledge 'I AM,' for him these stories are of no use."

When the doctors misdiagnosed the internal state of "floyd's body" - failing to realize that the observable symptoms were a result of benign, pre-cancerous, and cancerous polyps - then all that they recommended prior to a proper diagnosis was the same as spirituality and holy books and holy concepts, namely, "of no use."

One doctor defended the failure of the medical community to me, saying that, "In the long run, you had to go through all of that and find out what did not work and eliminate other possibilities before the stage was set to come up with a proper diagnosis."

That is not unlike the addict who tells another, "We had to do everything we did in order to get where we finally got to so we could be given the proper treatment."

BS.

Treatment that is based in "a process of elimination" is not treatment. When antibiotics were prescribed as a treatment for what was actually polyps, that was not a treatment. When antacids were prescribed as a treatment for what was actually polyps, that was not a treatment. When Imodium, Pepto-Bismol, and Kaopectate were prescribed as a treatment for what was actually polyps, that was not a treatment.

Snake oil salesmen of days gone by sold a product that they claimed was a single cure-all: "No need to buy a variety of products or undergo a variety of medical procedures when you can buy one product that will wipe out anything and everything that ails you."

There is a modern version of the snake-oil salesmen that is alive and doing well, financially. The modern snake-oil salesmen are also presenting a supposed cure-all that could be called "Fix-It-All-Dogma" or "The-All-In-One-Spiritual-Fixer-Upper."

But not unlike the medical community's efforts to address a polyp problem with antibiotics, antacids, Imodium, Pepto-Bismol, and Kaopectate, people are reaching into their grab-bags of dogmatic and spiritual remedies and pulling out that which Maharaj made clear is "of no use."

So when dogma or spiritual exercises are prescribed as a treatment for addiction, emotional illness, personality disorders and neuroses and psychoses, trouble with "relationships," health problems, family crises, financial predicaments, physical pain, endless misery and suffering, grief, guilt, resentment, body issues, mind issues, and / or personality issues, that is not a treatment at all.

As with the process the doctors used here, improper treatment plans only prolong misery and suffering and provide a false sense of hope that extends the pain and that prevents a discovery of what is really needed to address any given issue.

And again, that is why Maharaj made clear that "the great noble meaning of spirituality ... has been disproved” and why he asserted that religious and spiritual concepts and scriptures and stories are "of no use."

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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