Today's Considerations
Before continuing, understand that the seven-step “path”
offered here is the same offered by Maharaj, though he never enumerated the
steps. In both cases, the third step is the same: it is the step where religious
or spiritual roles (either assigned when young or assumed later on) are played for a time; therefore, Maharaj did
not end up “at war” with religion and spirituality as some claim. Here, too,
there is no one who could be at war with either religion or spirituality. Yet Maharaj
did make clear that the religion / spiritual step is to be transitioned, and that can only happen
if all religious and spiritual identities (or Identity) are transitioned.
So Maharaj eventually came to understand that. . .
the Ultimate Sickness is a mental sickness;
that it is marked by – among other traits – “ignorance,
stupidity and insanity”;
that ignorance, stupidity and insanity all involve the mind
and mind illnesses / mental illnesses;
that the mind and mind / mental illnesses are the seat of humankind’s problems;
that the mind is formed via the use of ignorant, stupid and insane
programming, conditioning, domestication, acculturation, brainwashing and
indoctrination;
that ignorant, stupid and insane programming, conditioning,
domestication, acculturation, brainwashing and indoctrination can only result
in a mind that is dominated by and controlled by and driven by the influence of ignorance,
stupidity and insanity; and
that the sages had long focused on eliminating personality identification;
and he understood why, namely, because personality assignment and assumption is
also at the root of humanity’s problems.
He also came to understand – by way of experience – that none
of the following (all of which he used at one time or another) provided an effective
version of the Ultimate Medicine):
guru-bhakti;
bhakti;
jnana yoga;
a religious / non-dual compounded version; and
a spiritual / non-dual compounded version.
Eventually, after looking at all that he came to realize over
the years of working with seekers, he saw that nothing he had used was providing the necessary treatment for the Ultimate Sickness; then, he eventually realized
that all of the aspects of the Ultimate Sickness had one thing in common (including its mental nature; including
“ignorance, stupidity and insanity”; including programming, conditioning,
domestication, acculturation, brainwashing and indoctrination; including the
fact that personality disorders can disintegrate into neuroses and
psychosis). And was do all of the aspects of the Ultimate Sickness have in common?
All aspects of the Ultimate Sickness (which perpetuate the Sickness and which pass down that Sickness to
one generation after another), all of those aspects involve things mental . . . all are seated in the mind.
Why did he abandon all other yoga methods and religious methods and spiritual methods and “SELF”-Inquiry
methods and then focus on the mind, that is, on identifying and sharing and focusing
on recommendations for addressing the mental issues which are common to all of humanity and which lead to all of humankind’s
pain and misery and suffering?
He saw that none of the methods tried earlier actually worked to eliminate the Sickness once and for all. The locals who criticized Maharaj
for his “shifts” in methodologies and for his “evolution” in the methodology
preferred his early offerings which included religious activities and
teachings;
those during the “middle years” of his evolution preferred the
spiritual talks he offered when Westerners began showing up in the loft and
making clear they were not interested in Hinduism but were interested in lofty,
spiritual talks; and
those attached to their “Supreme Self” identity preferred
that he continue to use the “SELF”-Inquiry method exclusively instead of telling seekers that it is enough
to complete a personality inventory (that is, to complete a “self”-inquiry, or more accurately,
a “false-self-inquiry”) and instead of telling them that it is enough to know, by use of that method, who
you are not.
And two other key facts were realized after trying a
religion / non-duality mix, after trying a spiritual / non-duality mix, and after trying a “SELF”-Inquiry approach:
In addition to the fact that none of those treated effectively the
Ultimate Sickness, he also came to see that (A) all of those methods lead seekers
to assume new personality identifications (or a new “Supreme Identity”) rather
than leading them to discard all identities; and that (B) they all trigger the use of
the ego-defense mechanisms of egotism and arrogance; and that (C) ego-states
being driven by egotism and arrogance always lead to a third key problem, namely,
fanaticism.
The previous post ended with this:
None of that could ever even be conceived except for the fact that dual-minded persons assume false roles that then drive their every thought and word and deed (rendering them unstable in all ways after having assumed the roles of "Super Political Leaders," "Super Proud Xenophobes," "Super Religious Knowers," "Super Patriots" and - most arrogantly and delusionally and divisively - "Those Who Believe That They Are Living in 'The Greatest Nation on Earth'.") All dualistic, arrogance-based, hierarchy-inspiring, separatist nonsense.
None of that could ever even be conceived except for the fact that dual-minded persons assume false roles that then drive their every thought and word and deed (rendering them unstable in all ways after having assumed the roles of "Super Political Leaders," "Super Proud Xenophobes," "Super Religious Knowers," "Super Patriots" and - most arrogantly and delusionally and divisively - "Those Who Believe That They Are Living in 'The Greatest Nation on Earth'.") All dualistic, arrogance-based, hierarchy-inspiring, separatist nonsense.
Such is the relative existence when it is being controlled
by duality, that is, by dualistic thoughts, dualistic talk, and duality-driven
actions; by religious fanatics fomenting a false sense of separation and
different from and better than; by political fanatics fomenting a false sense
of separation and different from and better than; by political fanatics; by big
businesses who are co-opting control of elections and using their billions to
foment a false sense of separation and different from and better than; by
political fanatics; ad infinitum.
Witness objectively those all around the globe who have assumed
the identity and are now playing the role of “The
Super Politicians” or “The Great Reformers” or “The Super Religious Ones” or “The
Spiritual Giants” or those who have assumed the identity of “The Supreme Self”
or even “God” or even “The Super Sports Fans.” Then, because it applies to all
of those role players, consider the root word of the latter’s title: fanaticism.
“Fanaticism” = “wildly excessive or irrational devotion, dedication,
or enthusiasm”
and
“a mode of living which is marked by irrational and extreme
and unwarranted perceptions which lead to irrational and extreme and
unwarranted behaviors, especially as exhibited by excessive enthusiasm,
unreasoning zeal, or wild and extravagant notions on anything" (including politics, drugs, alcohol, religion, spirituality, realization, whatever).
Synonyms for “fanatic” = devotee, extremist, maniac, addict,
zealot, believer, fool, and monomaniac.
Krishna suggested that those who do not know “Who They Are”
(or “What They Are”) are fools.
Maharaj, coming to understand the psychological nature of
the Sickness, might have disagreed. He might have said, “Those who think what they
are is someone or Someone or something or Something which they are not, those are the fools (and
they are all going to be wildly excessive and irrational and unreasoning and fanatical and extremists and
maniacs and addicts and zealots and believers and monomaniacs).
Entire series have been offered here in which the most active
of the “modern” sources of duality (those of the last 5000 years) are
discussed. Among those major contributors to dualistic thinking are the three religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam (which have far more in common than they
sometimes admit, having all evolved from the words of one man,
Abraham). So consider their current dualistic natures:
Jews have divided and separated themselves dualistically
into Orthodox Jews and Reform Jews and Conservative Jews and Hasidic Jews and those
adhering to the Kabbalah viewpoint and others.
Muslims are steeped in duality, dividing themselves dualistically
into “Sectarian Muslims” (Sunnis and Shias) and “Sectarian Missionary Muslims” and
“True Muslims” and - Allah forbid! – "Secular Muslims" and “Moderate Muslims" and
"Liberal Muslims.”
But it is the Christians who have taken duality to a whole
new level:
While some give lip service to the concept of "ecumenism" -
the aim of promoting unity among the world's Christian churches – the fact is
that the number of identified Christian denominations by which they separate themselves from each other now exceeds 38,000.
Remember the five blind men trying to describe an elephant
by only being aware of one part of the overall picture?
Well, 38,000 denominations would equal 38,000 elephants with 7,600 groups of blind persons – five to a set - touching elephants and trying
to describe them by only knowing a small part of the big picture.
In the end of such examinations of elephants, there is no
accurate definition of “what an elephant is” and there in no unified agreement regarding
“what makes an elephant an elephant.” The same applies with a religion which
had now been dualistically subdivided into 38,000 parts and sub-parts.
As far as the Eastern teachings go, there are scores upon scores
of what the “True Self” is which – according to many – is what one is supposed
to find via “SELF”-Inquiry.
Does anything involved with those religions or with that SELF-Inquiry
process address the central issue of the Ultimate Sickness, namely “the mind” and the mental disorders which evolve as a result of the content of the mind?
Will any of those lead to freedom from all of the concepts / beliefs stored in the mind, as recommend by Maharaj, by flushing out of the mind all of that
which is stored therein and which is calling every minute of the day for a thorough flush?
Hardly. All of those fanaticism-inspiring institutions and methods have one aim: teaching more, having you learn more,
and stuffing even more concepts and notions and ideas and precepts, etc.
(a.k.a., “beliefs”) into your mind.
Only via the ultimate method (the psychological method) which Maharaj settled on can one have any
chance at all of being truly free of all of the concepts and notions and ideas and precepts, etc.
(a.k.a., “beliefs”) which combine to rob persons of their freedom. Specifically, only that method can uncover and address the beliefs which are stored in the mind and which subconsciously drive persons to think ignorant and dualistic and insane thoughts which lead to insane behaviors.
Such freedom does not manifest by adding
more beliefs to a mind but occurs via un-teaching all so that a person can un-learn all.
To be continued.
Please enter the silence of contemplation.
[NOTE:
The four most recent posts follow. You may access all of the posts in
this series and in the previous series and several thousand other posts as well by clicking on the links in the "Recent Posts and Archives" section.]
