Today's Considerations
Maharaj said, "Understand that it is not the individual
which has consciousness; it is the consciousness which assumes innumerable
forms"
and
“All happens in consciousness”
and
“Your conviction that you are conscious of a world is 'the world'. 'The world' you perceive is made of consciousness; what you call 'matter' is consciousness itself”
“Your conviction that you are conscious of a world is 'the world'. 'The world' you perceive is made of consciousness; what you call 'matter' is consciousness itself”
and
“As all waves are in the ocean, so are all things physical and mental in awareness. Hence awareness itself is all-important, not the content of it.”
“As all waves are in the ocean, so are all things physical and mental in awareness. Hence awareness itself is all-important, not the content of it.”
Similarly, for those who would be freed from the effects of
the Ultimate Sickness - and thus at peace - what happens with the mind is "all-important."
Moreover, it is not as accurate to say, “The main problem for every human is
the mind” as to say, “The main problem for every human is 'the content of it'.”
First
consciousness
and then second
programming, conditioning, domestication, acculturation, indoctrination, and brainwashing
are the prerequisites for a mind.
A mind, in turn, is the prerequisite for the ability to store beliefs, including dualistic beliefs.
And a mind that is filled with dualistic beliefs is the prerequisite for developing the Ultimate Sickness and then suffering the misery generated by the symptoms of the Sickness ("ignorance and insanity" - Maharaj) as well as instability and chaos ("A dual-minded person is unstable is all ways" and “People who depend on the intellect only always will be
swinging like a pendulum” - Maharaj).
The evidence of freedom and of restoration to sanity (followed subsequently
by the manifestation of peace and quiet for the most part) is natural living, yet billions are living
in ways that are most unnatural (kneeling; rising; kneeling; rising; chanting [making
noise]; humming [making noise]; placing special bowls on special pillows and striking
the special bowls with special sticks [making noise]; singing special songs [making
noise];
ringing bells [making noise]; saying special prayers [making noise]; and constantly talking, talking, talking [making noise] about things deemed to be holy which were
recorded in books deemed to be holy by people who were deemed to be holy but who
lived in times when ignorance and belief in myths and superstitions and the
wildest tales imaginable were the norm).
Additionally, while the evidence of freedom is natural living,
millions more are living in ways that are deemed to be supernatural or
mystical (as opposed to natural).
So there are three options available to humans when it comes to their mode
of living. One involves living by conscious choice. The other two involve living under the influence, under the influence of the unconscious results of
programming, conditioning, etc. The two that are not by choice are unnatural
living and supposedly supernatural living. The one by choice – abiding naturally
– can only be chosen if one discards all of the influences of programming, conditioning,
etc. which are subconsciously controlling all thoughts and words and actions (even as persons would swear that they are making conscious choices - which they are not).
And the so-called “supernatural or spiritual mode” is even
less natural than “the unnatural mode.”
One example offered by Maharaj of a life form which abides naturally was the deer
(which he noted can "relax in the cool blue shade”). That same model of natural living is used
here where - most mornings this season - there are two bucks, four does, and two
fawns, either roaming about and foraging on plants or grazing on the front yard
grass before moving on to the wooded areas where they will lie down and rest in
the shade during the hottest and brightest parts of the day.
Deer abide naturally. So what happens during my morning walks
when I approach the copse of trees where they relax in their forever-quiet
manner and when I sit down for a moment and watch them? Nothing except that I watch them and they watch me. Pure witnessing. Nothing more. They do not react
as long as I remain seated and remain quiet and stay outside the wooded area where they are
resting.
But what would happen if I were to approach the edge of that
copse of trees where they were trying to rest and began kneeling and rising and
kneeling and rising and chanting and humming and hitting a brass bowl and making it
ring loudly and then started singing holy songs and ringing loud bells and praying special prayers out loud and
talking and talking and talking?
Naturally, they would jump up and run deeper into the woods, racing as
far away as possible from what they would deem to be a totally crazy human (if they had a mind capable of word-thoughts). And they would be right, would they not? They might not be able to label humans’ thoughts and
words and actions as “totally ignorant” or “totally insane” but they would dang
sure get the heck away from any human who is living in such a silly or nonsensical
or insane and noisy and disturbing and disturbed manner.
And every other life form would do the same, be they the fish in the nearby lake, birds in the abundant trees, butterflies feeding on the yellow lantana in the front yard, whatever. Only humans can be warped to the point where they abide in an unnatural or supernatural
fashion, and only humans are driven to seek out other humans who are attracted
to abiding in an unnatural or supernatural and silly and nonsensical and insane
manner.
Sanity avoids craziness. Only crazy is attracted to crazy.
Maharaj eventually reached a point during satsang sessions
when he no longer allowed anyone to quote from any text. He would say, "Hang Christ! Hang Buddha! Hang Muhammad!" and “I do not
care what others claim to know. What do you know?”
He said, “I have no faith in anything which has ever been
told, not even what has been told by the Vedas. Only my own experience”
and
“Whatever you have tried to understand during your spiritual
search will prove false”
and
"After the information given to you by the mother, that
you are a boy or girl, all your further acquisitions are by hearsay"
and
"Both the mantra and the faith in the mantra will get
dissolved"
and
"There is no progress"
so . . .
"Go to zero concepts."
Zero concepts = the no-mind state.
A no-mind state is the prerequisite for freedom from the
effects of programming, conditioning, etc. as well as freedom from the symptoms
of the Ultimate Sickness (again, identified by Maharaj as “ignorance and stupidity and
insanity").
And freedom from the effects of programming, conditioning, etc. and from
“ignorance and stupidity and insanity” are the prerequisites for peace.
May you reach the no-concepts, no-beliefs, no-mind state in order to reach a state of
freedom and then a state of peace, understanding what Maharaj said: “There is
no such thing as peace of mind” and understanding what is offered here: there is
only peace if you are out of your mind.
To be continued.
Please enter the silence of contemplation.
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