Advaita Vedanta: PERSONALITY-BASED INSANITY, NOT "EVIL," Part Thirty-Five in the Series

Today's "DAILY CONSIDERATION" for You

This was asked yesterday:

What if persons no longer misunderstood and realized that the last time that they were unconditionally happy and content was early on, during "The Child Ignorance Stage" or while in "The Child No-Knowing State," when they had no beliefs and, therefore, had no body-mind-personality identification and no hidden agendas and no dualistic "us vs. them" mentality?

What if they no longer misunderstood and realized again that initial sense of unicity and Oneness that came during the early months when they identified, often, with "The Mother" rather than with "self"?

It has been explained here in previous postings that a child feels a sense of oneness or unity early on, usually with a mother if she is the primary caregiver. The familiarity of the voice dates back to the womb days, and that familiarity provides some sense of comfort and security.

The child is considered to be a delight right until it enters the stage that parents refer to disparagingly as "The Terrible Two's." What happened? What happened is that the child discovered its body, and with that the child lost a sense of oneness / Oneness and developed a sense of two-ness and separate-from-ness and apart-from-ness and a sense of different-from-ment. And when that happens, a sense of better-than-ment is sure to follow.

The child might discover its hand first, then a foot. It will become fascinated with those "newly-found parts," and the fascination usually lasts for the remainder of the relative existence as body identification drives the "mindset" of "Give my body all of the attention and pleasure you possibly can. Use special food, special clothing, special housing, special drinks, special sex, and then keep heaping all of that on in larger and larger doses."

Yet the relative problem grows worse: soon programming and conditioning and domestication and acculturation and brainwashing and indoctrination generate a "mind" and fill it with nonsense and fiction, and much of that nonsense and fiction is dualistic in nature:

"Stay away from strangers. 'We' are fine but 'they' are dangerous, even evil." The "us vs. them" mentality is set in place, and that generates both fear and arrogance; security and insecurity; and acceptance and rejection. Duality becomes the abnormal norm.

Then, 97% are introduced to organized religion which will, throughout one's childhood and continuing throughout adulthood, teach and reinforce the most dualistic body of beliefs ever, including, "we are the only way" and "we are the right religion and those other people are all in the wrong religions" and "we are to go to the four corners of the earth and baptize everyone in the name of Jesus" and "no way - everyone is to be made into a Muslim or must be eliminated" and "we are the virtuous ones and they are the sinful ones."

Via that process, the weed-filled garden of the mind will have been made ready for the planting of the greatest sense of arrogance and sense of separation known to humankind, namely, the arrogance and sense of separation that allows sociopathic and psychopathic tendencies to grow and flourish, all fertilized by humanity's addictions to (a) control and to (b) the power required to be able to control.

What follows is the development of multiple personality disorders that lay the groundwork for fighting and killing and bombing - be that the bombing of a group of people on a street or the bombing of an entire nation that a leader is determined to "shock and awe" - including the following disorders and more:

the Narcissistic Personality Disorder / the God Complex Personality Disorder (P.D.); the Antisocial / Sociopathic P. D.; the Pathological P.D.; and the Sadistic P.D. (Note that there is no "Evil Personality Disorder.")

When those disorders are driving thoughts and words and actions, as all assumed personalities do, that will get some elementary-school-age children slaughtered; that will get some people bombed on a Boston street; and that will get civilians bombed in Middle Eastern or Far Eastern countries that are thought to be nations of "others," of "them," of "our enemies."

All of those disorders, and especially the Sociopathic and Psychopathic Disorders, will result in a lack of empathy, callousness and complete disregard for anyone else or for anything else other than one's own selfish desires and motives.

Yet such types are not obvious, especially in the most warlike cultures around the globe, cultures that evolved from a long line of marauders and pillagers and rapists and criminals, cultures that now behave in ways that are not very different at all from their forebearers.

Child psychiatrist Bruce Perry, M.D., Ph.D. said, "People don't realize that there are hundreds of sociopaths walking around [who] aren't criminals." He continued, but "they end up manipulating people to get into relationships; they're the kind of people at work that you ultimately learn are sleazy; and they're right on the edge, but [are] not criminal."

He said, "Some refrain from violence because they can get what they need without it, but many, of course, do cross the line into crime. Almost always their manipulation skills are exceptional. A study published in the journal 'Legal and Criminal Psychology' found that even though they are more likely than other criminals to re-offend, psychopathic criminals are two and a half times more likely than others to charm parole boards into releasing them."

You may, therefore, have heard some saying of the Boston bombers, "I don't get it. They were both such nice guys. I still don't think they can be the ones who did this" and "They were really a couple of charming boys." Charming indeed.

On the playground, children who are angry because they have been indulged by their parents for years, but are now frustrated because other children are not indulging them, might hit a classmate and then might feel terrible afterwards. If the child feels no remorse at all, that child may be on the road to becoming a psychopath who can shoot children in an elementary school, or - as was the case with one U.S. President when he was a child - can blow up frogs with high-powered fireworks and then laugh about it.

And THAT is the one who will eventually be able to blow up hundreds and thousands of people by using high-powered weapons and then feel no remorse, and THAT is the one who can claim even today that he is "comfortable" with his decision to start an unnecessary war.

And THAT is the same type that can set bombs on a street in Boston and blow up "others" as well. Yet, there is no difference in those bombing civilians on the streets of Boston and a national leader bombing civilians on the streets of Baghdad (the belief that "'we' are good when 'we' do whatever 'we' do but 'they' are bad when 'they' do the same thing" notwithstanding).

While some researchers suggest that callousness and a lack of empathy can have a genetic component (see those in nations nowadays that mimic their Aryan ancestors' invade-and-pillage-and-destroy behaviors), there is little that will assure that truly bizarre personality traits and behaviors will manifest as programming and conditioning and domestication and acculturation and brainwashing and indoctrination which, in turn, result in body-mind-personality identification and which result in being driven by dualistic concepts, ideas, notions, and ideas, (a.k.a., "beliefs").

The other option: heed the teachings of the sages - those rare vestiges of wisdom throughout the ages - that have long advised persons to be rid of body-mind-personality identification, to be rid of self-absorption, to be rid of the influence of the nonsense in the "mind," and to stop being driven by the subconscious agendas of personality and personality disorders and personas.

The Ultimate Medicine is not a cure-all, but it can certainly address much of the ignorance-and-stupidity-and-insanity-driven behavior that is being witnessed nowadays.

Please enter the silence of contemplation.

Questions? Submit to:

Comments?

Just hang on to those please.

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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FOR THOSE SEEKING FURTHER EXPLANATION OF THE NON-DUALITY UNDERSTANDING, AS NOTED ABOVE, SOME SEEKERS HAVE REALIZED BY USING THE METHODS BELOW, OR A COMBINATION OF THE METHODS:

WAYS THAT SEEKERS HAVE REALIZED:

I. 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, DVD or Downloadable computer file versions of the Four-Day Advaita Retreat

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FROM THE I TO THE ABSOLUTE: A Seven-Step Journey to the Absolute