Today's Considerations
Today, let the focus be on what Maharaj had to say about distortion, about distorted views and unclear perspectives. For example, Some might look at this image and see that it is distorted . . .
To be continued.
yet some look at everything in what they take to be “the
world,” view what is just as distorted as the picture above, while thinking that
they are seeing very clearly whatever they are looking at, be that “the perfect potential mate,” "their perfect life together,"
"their religion-based views about the right way to think and the right beliefs to
cling to and what beliefs they should be willing to kill and die for," etc.
Sudhakar S. Dikshit in the "Editor’s Note” to I AM THAT said
of Maharaj: “He knows from his personal and abiding experience that the roots
of sorrow are in the mind and it is the mind that must be freed from its distorting
and destructive habits.”
Maharaj: “Your ‘personal’ universe does not exist by itself.
It is merely a limited and distorted view of the real. It is not the universe
that needs improving, but your way of looking.”
Much of this thing called "Realization" is simply about replacing one's warped or distorted perspective with a different perspective . . . with a clear perspective.
Consider: What if a child’s parents taught the child that what is generally
regarded to be “a dog” is actually a duck and that the sound generally regarded
as “a bark” is actually a quack. And what if those parents told the child on her or
his first day of school, “If you need to go to the bathroom, raise your hand
and say, ‘Miss, ah bah rack-back to the coconut patch’.”
And what if the parents taught this: The rest of the time, talk
like our parrot Polly and say, “Brrrraccckkkk! It’s all good!” and say, “Brrrraccckkkk!
Don’t worry – God will fix everything!” and say, “Brrrraccckkkk! Only
our God is the real God!” and say, “Brrrraccckkkk!
Only our way of looking at things is the
right way.”
Soon, schoolyard fights would be breaking out after other
students said, “Your momma is stupid and ignorant and crazy.”
The ego and its accompanying egotism could not stand that,
for one might be concerned that if ½ of that which he or she came from is stupid and ignorant
and crazy, then one might be ½ stupid and ignorant and crazy, too.
And if the classmates added, “And your daddy is also stupid and ignorant and crazy,” then there’s going to be a major fight because to suggest that
your momma and your daddy are both stupid and ignorant and crazy is to suggest
that what you came from was totally stupid and ignorant and crazy and, therefore,
you must be totally stupid and ignorant and crazy yourself.
They might even say, “Your parents are so stupid and ignorant
and crazy that they named you ‘Dikshit’.”
But what if the parents who kept that name and passed it on
did so in a culture where that name was commonplace? That
could lead to a different conclusion about their action or mental state, could it not?
And what if the parents who teach their children that a dog
is a duck and that a bark is a quack and teach their children to say all kinds of senseless things
are actually . . . intelligent? It was noted two days ago that
nothing absolutely negates the possibly that those who test
high on tests which measure intelligence can, nevertheless, behave in the exact
same fashion as their not-at-all-intelligent fellow humans. Even intelligent
persons can buy into nonsense and can be incredibly naïve, gullible,
susceptible to believing BS, and / or easy to fool. Why? Because intelligence
seldom overrides the ignorance and insanity-producing effects of programming,
conditioning, etc. and the effects of the subconscious influence exerted by the
hidden agendas of personality identifications.
So would it not be a bit more palatable to the ego and the egotism
if persons were to understand that the parents who taught them that
a dog is a duck and that a bark is a quack and taught them to say all kinds of senseless
things might actually be intelligent but said ignorant and stupid and insane things
because that is what they were programmed and conditioned to do?
Then, if persons in light of that were to be willing to at least consider the possibility that what they have been taught
is all nonsense, then
they might be willing to question objectively everything that they have taught,
to see it for the nonsense that it is, and then reject it all. Only by that process can the symptoms of the Ultimate
Sickness (which Maharaj identified as “ignorance, stupidity, and insanity”) be
transcended.
But where to go to find a process or a guide that might facilitate the purging
of the mind of its content and thereby become free of the mind's ignorant and stupid and insane influence once and for all? For many
who tried one organized religion or another or one spiritual group or another -
only to finally arrive at the conclusion that, “This is not working” or “There must
be more than this” - some of them might happen to stumble across the “Eastern teachings” (a term
which suggests that there is one set of teachings to be understood although there
are actually many methods and forms of the teachings and many versions which are in direct conflict with
other versions).
To continue with the earlier post regarding the nonsense
that some Eastern teachers come up with, consider some of the Direct Path /
Nisarga Yoga pointers as set forth by Maharaj
and contrast those with some of the Neo-Vedantin pointers
that were set forth by Swami Vivekananda
in order to see how diametrically-opposite some “Eastern pointers”
can be from others.
Begin with some of the same types of pointers which were offered
recently in a discussion of how it is that certain flowery-and-fine-sounding pointers might seem at first glance to be “deep”
and “profound” until studied and seen to be totally nonsensical instead:
V.: “This universe is the wreckage of the infinite on the
shores of the finite.”
and
V.: “The wind is blowing; those vessels whose sails are
unfurled catch it, and go forward on their way, but those which have their sails furled do not catch the wind."
and
V.: “Now is wanted intense Karma-Yoga with unbounded courage
and indomitable strength in the heart. Then only will the people of the country
be roused.”
and
V.: “There is only one sin. That is weakness” and “The older I grow, the more everything seems to me to
lie in manliness. This is my new gospel.”
[Wouldn’t you love to hear Freud’s response to those?]
and
V.: “Anything that brings spiritual, mental, or physical
weakness, touch it not with the toes of your feet.”
[And wouldn’t you love to hear Maharaj’s response to that?]
Then consider what Maharaj offered that was in direct opposition to some of those same types of pointers:
V.: “In a conflict between the heart and the brain, follow
your heart.”
M.: Humanity’s problems are centered in the mind. The heart generates
emotional intoxication. Use the brain, not the heart or the mind.
V.: “When an idea exclusively occupies the mind, it is
transformed into an actual physical or mental state.”
M.: “Don’t rely on the mind for liberation. It is the mind
that brought you into bondage.”
V.: “GOD is to be worshipped as the one beloved, dearer than
everything in this and next life.”
M.: “You have invented a God.”
V.: “The present is determined by our past actions and the
future by the present.”
M.: “'Past’ and ‘future’ are in the mind. I am now.”
V.: “Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life; dream
of it; think of it; live on that idea. Let the brain, the body, muscles,
nerves, every part of your body be full of that idea, and just leave every
other idea alone. This is the way to success, and this is the way great
spiritual giants are produced.”
M.: “Reach a state of zero concepts” and “Disregard concepts
and ideas and live by truth alone” and "Compared to you "Great Spiritual Giants," I am a mere spiritual pygmy."
V.: “All power is within you; you can do anything and
everything. Believe in that, do not believe that you are weak; do not believe
that you are half-crazy lunatics, as most of us do nowadays. You can do anything
and everything, without even the guidance of any one. Stand up and express the
divinity within you.”
M.: “The wise man is stripped of all his ‘powers’.”
V.: “They alone live, who live for others” and “Blessed are
they whose bodies get destroyed in the service of others.”
M.: “None can help you.” (Therefore . . . . ?)
and
“As to the people
you want to help, they are in their respective worlds for the sake of their
desires; there is no way of ‘helping’ them except through their desires”
and
“The
wise man [knows] he cannot help anybody . . . .”
V.: “The whole life is a succession of dreams. My ambition
is to be a conscious dreamer, that is all.”
M.: “The only thing that can help is to wake up from the
dream.”
V.: “There is no limit to the power of the human mind.”
M.: “As to my mind, there is no such thing.”
V.: “All knowledge that the world has ever received comes
from the mind; the infinite library of the universe is in our own mind.”
M.: “I am double dead. Not only am I dead to my body, but to
my mind, too.”
All of the problems of humanity are centered in the mind. To
assist in being free of the mind, these are some of the pointers regarding the
mind which are offered at the “Advaita Vedanta Quotes” site:
Efforts to quiet the mind or to ignore thoughts cannot
succeed with any consistency. Only when Full Realization strikes, only when the
"Oh my gosh!" moment happens - only then does the mind dissolve.
What to consider meanwhile? It is true that, if you are
instructed to "avoid thinking about an elephant," the only thing that
you can think of is an elephant. So, what is the answer? The answer is not to
try to be rid of a disturbing thought. The answer is to ask when a thought is
interrupting the peace, “WHO is thinking that thought?” (That is, what
ego-state is feeling so threatened or hurt or interfered with that the false
identity can inspire the "mind" in which that false self resides to
begin an endless flurry of thought-activity?)
Only by relinquishing belief in the false identities that
inspire thoughts can the thoughts come to an end. Only by abandoning the
"this" and "that" in such beliefs as "I am this"
(role) or "I am that" (role) will the peace and quiet of only the
"I Am" ever happen.
The "mind" is the instrument that supports your
personality with thoughts, and those thoughts are the instruments that will
forever prevent "peace of mind"; in fact, there is no such thing as
"peace of mind." There is only peace if freed of the
"mind."There can only be peace if you are out of your
"mind."
Consciousness is rooted in the Absolute. The brain is rooted
in the elements. The "mind" is rooted in wrong programming and faulty
conditioning and perverted domestication and xenophobia-based acculturation as
well as lies and concepts and ideas and superstitions and falsehoods.
When Maharaj said, "You are not in the world . . . the
world is in you," what did he mean? He meant, "You are not in the
world," that is, there is no "you" that is real or in any world.
"The world is in you" means that the world is in your
"mind" and is nothing more than a figment of your
programming-and-conditioning-induced imaginings.
Everything that is said here is to be used to get rid of
another false belief until all ideas and emotional intoxication and beliefs are
gone and nothing remains but the unstated understanding. Only then can the
constant churning and re-churning of the false beliefs of the corrupted
"mind" finally cease.
What is that inner resource, that inner guru? It is the
vestige of pure consciousness that remains, deeply buried beneath the waste
called “your mind.”
“Your mind” obscures the consciousness because that
"mind" is so marred with its belief in lies and superstitions and all
of its so-called "knowledge" (that is, its accumulation of learned
ignorance), that it leaves you insane . . . so insane that you don’t know Your
Self and so insane that you believe the lies and dreams of the planet.
If your body has disappeared, how can any person remain? And
if no person remains, how can a mind remain?
In order to know (the great) Reality, you must be sane. In
order to be sane, you must be out of your mind.
For their suffering to end, persons must understand the
functioning of the totality; must see that all suffering is rooted in the
assumption of ego-states as false identities; must realize that they have no
“mind” but instead are being driven by the “minds” of others (which they now
think is their own "mind"); must be aware of the fact that a “mind”
is nothing more than the storehouse of all the lies and beliefs and ideas and
concepts that must be cast aside in order to end human suffering; and must see
not only the limitations of doingness but the timelessness and limitless nature
of beingness . . . and non-beingness as well.
In this relative existence, nothing is going on but a
breeziness of play, but persons are caught up in a tornado of work, in a storm
of seriousness, and in a tempest of drama.
So-called “life” in this sphere of consciousness is just a
process of functioning, and while the “mind” of a person will dream up notions
about separation or differentiation, none exists. The process just keeps on
happening.
A belief or a concept, a religion or a philosophy, a state
or a nation, a hero or a villain ... all are just part of the process of
functioning. All those are just dreamed up names, and all such dreamed up
labels (dreamed up by that accumulation of corruptions called "the
mind") generate a false sense of reality.
The "journey" aims to put you fully in touch with
reality. To be out of touch with reality is to be insane.
This "journey" is about getting in touch with
reality in order to be free of the bondage of the illusions and falsehoods of a
"mind" exposed to years of acculturation.
Among religions and philosophies, there is no other means
that can produce the necessary brain-flush save completion of the entire
Advaita “journey” which invites the dissolution of all of the contamination
that is “the mind.”
Ultimately, Advaita Vedanta is the Teaching that has the
"goal" of becoming the non-teaching by way of un-teaching.
You should see by now that there is no such thing as “your
mind.” You were born with a brain and like all life-forms on the planet, it’s
all you needed for the body / elements to function. To your detriment, your
culture decided otherwise.
"They" decided you needed their “knowledge,” which
is really nothing other than their learned ignorance (including
"their" ideas and beliefs that were rooted in superstitious and
mythical explanations for what they could not explain factually or
scientifically). In pumping those lies into you, they created a “mind”—a
repository of ideas and beliefs and non-truths. It contains what was put into
their "minds" - which they never questioned even once - and then
passed along faithfully and dutifully and, unfortunately, to you. Nothing in it
came from you or from You.
"They" dreamed it all up, "they" forced
you to accept their concepts as a child, you have internalized their beliefs
into a “mind,” and you now allow their fiction to define your beliefs, your
values and your “mind.”
In fact, most of the (dualistic) beliefs in your
"mind" are the beliefs of the earliest self-appointed “religious or
tribal or spiritual leaders” who dreamed up those beliefs, adopted them, and
then passed them on. And all those values were based in duality, in terms of
what those persons decided was “right or wrong” and “good or bad.”
Which terms they used to label other persons was determined
by their agenda to control the masses and to gain benefit from that control.
Use the brain. Use the intuitive sixth-sense. Sense the
fourth dimension beyond the three dimensions of a body’s height, width and
depth. But abandon any notion that a mind is real or that you have a mind that
is yours. It is "theirs," has always been "theirs," and
shall always be "theirs" if you do not abandon it and then realize;
otherwise, those persons can still reach forward—from millennia ago or from
days ago—and control you via the compilation of that mass of learned ignorance
and contamination called “your mind.”
Religions want to "cleanse" your mind. Spiritual
movements want to "purify" your mind or "heal" your mind. Many
professionals want to “straighten out the thinking” of your mind. Many groups
want to move you from “wrong thinking" to “right thinking.” Some want to
guide you to your “right mind.” Some want to teach you to "halt the
constant movement" of your mind. None of those have a clue that they are
missing the point completely: nothing needs to be done to your "mind"
and nothing needs to happen to benefit your "mind." The mind is
illusion.
One may as well go to a desert and try to benefit and
improve or cleanse or purify or straighten out a mirage.
How can anyone cleanse a mirage, purify a mirage, heal a
mirage, straighten out a mirage, make a mirage that is wrong into a mirage that
is right, or stop mirages? It is impossible. The mind will dissolve if you see
every lie that is stored in it.
Then the brain, the sixth-sense and the intuition will move
you through this relative existence, and you will live the remainder of it in a
natural fashion rather than in an unnatural fashion or in a supernatural
fashion that is dominated by magical thinking that results from a
wrongly-programmed mind.
To be continued.
Please enter the silence of contemplation.
[NOTE:
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