TODAY'S CONSIDERATIONS
THE FOUR STAGES AS EXPLAINED HERE:
Stage I: Being programmed to accumulate
Stage II: Accumulating
a. Discomfort / Emptiness inspiring even more accumulation
or
b. Discomfort / Emptiness inspiring seeking outside the popular venues
Stage III: Forest Dweller - the prerequisite and facilitator of the "inner journey"
Stage IV: De-Accumulation (via completion of the Four Stages and the Seven Steps to Realization, followed by abidance in the solitude of a relative existence that has been overlaid with the Absolute, then by abidance as the Nothingness, then by abidance, period, until the end of the manifestation).
In Chapter Twelve of THE ULTIMATE SICKNESS / THE ULTIMATE MEDICINE the following is shared regarding the fourth stage:
Stage IV: The De-Accumulation / Actual "Journey" Stage: Finding the Guide
[Continued from earlier] Reference was made earlier to finding the guide that can show you the exact way to move out of the darkness and out of the forest and into the light; that is, the guide that can show the exact, reverse steps that must be taken in order to Realize.
To be practical, it must first be noted that many do not want to be led all the way out of the darkness or all the way out of the forest. Many are more afraid of the light than they are of the darkness. (How many really want to know and accept the truth when it disproves every belief which they hold to be dear and even sacred, right down to the fanatical extremism which drives many to be willing to die for their beliefs?)
Many do not want to complete all seven steps to Full Realization because the fourth of those seven steps is a movement beyond the ego-states of "The Religious One," "The Spiritual One," and "The Seeker," which are three of the most popular "good" roles / labels on the planet.
Moreover, once any ego-state is assigned or assumed, then the ego-defense mechanism of egotism will trigger to "protect" that state; thereafter, the person in that ego-state will self-upgrade and become (in his or her mind) "The Super Religious One," "The Spiritual Giant," and "The Most Dedicated Seeker of All."
Thus, many (and, typically, most) will fixate at that third step of seven, proud of their "holiness" and their "purity" and their "spirituality" and their "specialness" and their "supremeness." Many will remain trapped forever in their false personality identification of "The Most Dedicated Seeker of All" and will seek and never find, having no willingness at all to stop seeking and bring the ego-state of "The Super Seeker" to an end. Many of those types are knowledge-seekers and love to accumulate more and more knowledge, either (a) isolating in their back rooms, surrounded by their library of books that were written by the most famous; or, (b) sitting in their rooms and listening to recordings of talks offered by the most famous talkers on the circuit.
Some are so egotistical that they must try to align themselves with the famous only, not unlike a stark-raving, screaming fool who loves his team when it is winning but is furious with the team when it is losing. The ego only wants to identify with the famous, with winners, with stars, so some seekers will only seek on "The Avenue of the Big Names," a path which Maharaj warned against by advising seekers to stay away from those he called "The Big Name Teachers."
Many have lived unnaturally for so long or have tried to live so supernaturally ("spiritually") of late that they have no desire at all to live in the all-natural fashion which the nisarga yoga offers. The point is, in the search for a guide, honesty is required at a point when, ironically, most cannot yet be honest. What an obstacle to realization!
Many seekers in the "Advaita Vedanta" realm already claim realization though they are still accepting false identifications (such as, again, "The Super Religious One," "The Spiritual Giant," "The Super Dedicated Seeker," "The Intelligent Knower" "The Critic of a Different Approach from His Own," or "The Omniscient One").
While the suggestion has been offered here to "watch for the resonance within" when you hear or read the words of a teacher, the challenge with that suggestion is this: some degree of resonance also happens when false beliefs are reinforced. (Take for example those who believe that they have had a "white light spiritual experience" when all they actually had was an extreme case of mental and emotional and spiritual intoxication.)
So let that be amended to suggest that you watch for a resonance of a fashion never before noticed, then try that teacher, follow the teacher's directions, and see what unfolds; otherwise, you will be like the butterflies being observed outside the window here: there are probably five hundred lantana in bloom in three different bedding areas in the front yard . . .
. . . but the butterflies flit to one source of nectar for a second and then to another and then to another, ever in motion, ever seeking, never content enough to light and relax and sit still in one place where they could draw out all of the nectar that they could possibly require.
Every bloom offers the same thing in the end. The butterfly could probably sit on one bloom all day and not draw forth all that it seeks from a hundred different sources. But it is driven to flit from one to the other to the other.
The invitation here, if you are flitting from one religion or denomination or guru or yoga to another, is to consider choosing one Advaitin source for a spell. Stick with that one source and see if you too can receive all of the nectar required to treat what would otherwise ail you. Maybe then you, too, can bloom. Stop flitting about from one method to another, one philosophy to another, one yoga to another, one guru to another, at least for a spell.
Or, on the other hand, don't. Some must flit to the end. Some must try dozens of "paths" and "teachers" and "guides" before they stumble across the one which truly resonances and triggers a "peripetia" and a learned-ignorance-ending awakening.
Too, "The Nectar of Immortality" is so misunderstood that, as with the butterflies, some want to continue to flit about here and there to taste the nectar for the entirety of the relative rather than to accept the nectar as the full and final dose of the Ultimate Medicine and then to live naturally for the remainder of the manifestation.
Thus:
1. Be honest enough to determine what it truly is that you seek. If you want to "Know-It-All" (which differs considerably from understanding it all and then receding into the nothingness of natural abidance) and if you want a teacher to teach you more, seek out one with many beliefs and concepts who is willing to share those.
2. Next, if you fall into the go-do-zoom group and do not want to leave that behind, then find a teacher that will forever offer you assignments and exercises and who will encourage you to do spiritual exercises all day every day.
3. Or, by contrast, determine if that which you truly seek might be the nothingness which "full realization" brings, and be honest enough to determine if that which you truly seek is the natural mode of functioning which the nisarga yoga can bring. If that is the case, seek a Direct Path, nisargan teacher that will, in the end, be an "un-teacher" that will eventually guide you through a total un-learning process.
Once you have determined how far along the "path" you would "journey," then make your selection.
If you only want to travel as far as the religious or spiritual step, find one who talks of dogma or the spiritual only.
If you want to fixate in the doingnress rather than the beingness, find a teacher that is prone to make assignments for as long as you are willing to go and do and zoom.
If you seek total freedom from the root of all misery and suffering, namely, your beliefs, then this might be the place for you to search for awhile.
One non-dualist wrote from Cape Town, South Africa, "I was driving down Hohenort Avenue and enjoying the mesmerizing beauty of the variegated trees and the mountain. There was such a strong feeling / longing that seekers could see who (actually what) you are and what you offer via the teaching, so they too can enjoy the extraordinariness of this impersonal view."
Yet that case here was that the understanding came after the flitting about had subsided, after the desire to know and the searching to know had taken their toll, and after going and doing and zooming had lost its appeal. The readiness was finally there.
Also, it was noted earlier in this series that, when you are trying to make a final selection about a teacher, do not be so arrogant as to ask the teacher to complete your "Teacher Checklist" of questions.
If not "realized," you have no clue at all about what to look for, anyway. Just watch for the resonance.
And do not be so arrogant as to demand some sort of "Realization Résumé." Just watch for the resonance.
And do not be so demanding as to seek some kind of "guarantee" that you will most assuredly understand if you choose any of then offerings from any given "guide."
For seekers that are, instead, in that state of readiness described above, then the seven steps, taken at the Stage Four De-Accumulation level, await. More on that in the next chapter.
To be continued.
Please enter into the silence of contemplation.
[NOTE: The four most recent posts are below. 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.]
In addition to the five non-duality books made available without charge by Andy Gugar, Jr. (see “FREEBIES” above), you can now access over 2,800 posts for any topics of interest to you.
