THE ULTIMATE SICKNESS: Causes, Symptoms, Aspects, Effects, TREATMENT, Part Seventy-Four

TODAY'S CONSIDERATIONS 

In yesterday's post, an illustration was offered to show why the non-dual message - in a form which offers a viable treatment plan for the Ultimate Sickness - calls for a different perspective from the one most-commonly-held among the "non-realized" masses. Why? 

1. Because their present perspective inspires much that must be eliminated if there is ever going to be an end to their relative existence being driven by what Maharaj called "ignorance, stupidity and insanity." 

2. Because their present perspective inspires much that should be eliminated if the relative existence is to no longer be marked and marred by chaos. 

3. Because their present perspective inspires them to become emotionally-intoxicated when manipulated by leaders or would-be leaders and then to behave in ways which run counter to their own best interests, relatively speaking, or counter to their life-long stated "values." In other words, it renders them totally hypocritical and they can end up supporting persons who are obviously suffering from the Sociopathic Personality Disorder and the Psychopathic Personality Disorder. 

4. Because their present perspective usually leads to monomania, a mental illness which (a) is marked by a manic concern with a single issue and which (b) renders them completely fanatical and preoccupied with that one issue to the exclusion of all other considerations and which (c) leads them to obsess fanatically over one thing.

 [Maharaj: "Habit and passion blind and mislead."] 

5. Because their obsessing always leads eventually to their being excessively-devoted to something or someone, to be extremely zealous about "their issue," to be overly-enthusiastic about "their issue," and - at some point - to behave compulsively as a result of being driven by the blind fervor which is generated by their Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder (OCD). 

6. Because their monomania and OCD and fanaticism eventually lead them to take the most self-destructive and self-defeating actions imaginable, relatively speaking.

And, as Maharaj eventually pointed out, the relative is all that matters because there is no "one" and no "who-ness" which will survive the manifestation. 

Whatever happens post-manifestation to a composite unity - and to the elements of which is it composed and the air and conscious-energy which it circulates for a finite period - will happen automatically and spontaneously without any input from "a person" or "a Power." 

That understanding led him to abandon recommending a practice which he had endorsed for years - namely, the SELF-Enquiry process - and to begin recommending that seekers enter into a "self"-enquiry instead, (that is, a false-self-enquiry) and to find out not "Who You Are" but to find all that you are not; and then abide naturally for the remainder of the manifestation. 

Once he saw that the Hindu / non-dual version of the Ultimate Medicine which he had recommended for years had no lasting effect in terms of healing the Ultimate Sickness and once he saw that the spirituality / non-dual version of the Ultimate Medicine which he had recommended for years had no lasting effect in terms of healing the Ultimate Sickness, then he stopped focusing on THAT and used a psychological / non-dual version of the Medicine to address the mental-illness-aspect which is actually at the root of the Ultimate Sickness and which is marking and marring the relative existence of almost all persons.

If persons do not use some treatment plan to be freed from "ignorance, stupidity, and insanity" and from the effects of OCD and from the effects of their fanaticism and from the effects of their hypocrisy and from the effects of their self-destructive and self-defeating behaviors, then they will continue to align themselves with psychotic leaders; will attack persons with darker skin than their own; 

will target those who are Jewish, or will target those who are Muslims, or will target those who are Christians. That will get you some wars; that will get you some beheadings; that will get you a confrontational leader who has a history of being bellicose, combative, antagonistic, and belligerent and who prefers fighting over peace and conflict over harmony; 

whose most influential adviser is telling him that the U.S. "is in the great Fourth Turning in American history"; and who is advising that what is now required for advancement is a war that is even larger in scope than "the American Revolution, the U.S. Civil War, World War I, and World War II." 

Maharaj knew that personality disorders can lead to grave mental disorders and to neuroses and psychoses. He also understood that when the Ultimate Sickness prevails globally, as it did then and does now, that the extreme results which were brought about when total psychos ruled in the past cannot compare to what total psychos can bring now when the grave mental disorders which accompany the Ultimate Sickness have increased and when humanity's capacity for destruction has increased.

When the ignorance and stupidity and insanity which are driving leaders and their followers reach higher levels of ignorance and stupidly and insanity, then the consequences will reach higher levels as well.

For example, World War I generated levels of brutality and chaos which were so high that persons called that "The war to end all wars." But within a short time, a new set of leaders emerged who were driven by even higher levels of insanity than the levels of the leaders who pushed the planet into WWI; at that point, WWII began and took the brutality and chaos to an even higher level. 

Whether one is looking at the results of the current effects of the Ultimate Sickness on oneself or looking at the widespread results on a global basis, the effects can be seen to be increasing. 

One might not be able to affect the way that things are unfolding for the population of the planet in general, but one can effect change in one's own relative existence. Sometimes that calls for professional intervention; in other cases, it can possibly happen if one finds and uses a viable version of the Ultimate Medicine. 

And what did Maharaj eventually conclude needed to be "healed" by the Ultimate Medicine? Not a person who knows too little dogma. Not a person who has a "sick spirit" or a "spiritual malady." No, what he came to understand is this: what is calling for "healing" is the really sick human mind. 

Maharaj: "Detach yourself from all that makes your mind restless. Renounce all that disturbs its peace. If you want peace, deserve it." 

Last year, I felt a strange sensation and some pain within. I used a heart rate app on my phone and it revealed that my heart was dropping to 35 and 40 beats per minute and then soaring to 160 beats per minute and then dropping off again. I went to the emergency room and was immediately admitted to the cardiac unit. 

Seeking medical assistance and an effective treatment for what was ailing me - in that case, what was later described as "a mild heart attack" - led to my being here today. 

When Maharaj advised seekers to "deserve peace" (or a "decent existence" or "happiness" or "mental health") he was suggesting that there are times when one must seek "medical assistance" and "an effective treatment plan."

That is what a viable version of the Ultimate Medicine can offer to some seekers. 

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 nearly 2,900 posts for any topics of interest to you.

THE ULTIMATE SICKNESS: Causes, Symptoms, Aspects, Effects, TREATMENT, Part Seventy-Three

TODAY'S CONSIDERATIONS 

Some persons - endorsing their religious concept of "confession" and encouraging their listeners to make continuous use that "sacrament"- tell people that "you are only as sick as your darkest secret." Maybe. Maybe not. 

Certainly there are some really sick politicians who are keeping secrets from their constituents and who are involved in all sorts of battles to keep it that way. 

And true, there is no employee who is not keeping some secret from her or his employer, and vice-versa. 

Certainly, also, there is no one in "a relationship" who is not keeping something secret from his or her mate, partner, spouse, etc. 

Secrets. Secrets. Secrets. Google "secrets" and you'll find over a half billion instances where the word is being used in one way or another. 

However, if persons were to understand 

1. all of the ramifications of personality identification

and were to understand that 

2. the Ultimate Sickness is solely and exclusively a mental sickness 

and were to understand 

3. the way that personality disorders can generate grave mental disorders which can lead to 

4. debilitating personality disorders, neuroses and psychoses, 

then it would be clear that the masses are being made sick by certain mental conditions which have effects that result in far greater consequences than any secret. 

 A "non-dual teacher" could paraphrase the statement above and say accurately, "you are only as sick as the darkest (i.e., most unfounded and bogus) of your beliefs." But Google "false beliefs" and only about 1% as many hits will popup as there are for "secrets." 

That might suggest that "secrets" are indeed the greater concern for humanity than "false beliefs"; or, while far from scientific, it might inspire one to at least wonder if it might be possible that persons are 100 times more concerned with keeping their secrets hidden from others than they are in finding - and being rid of - their false beliefs.  Here, it is suspected that the number is actually far higher.

Some who have come this way have truly been able to apply to some degree the recommendation to "de-accumulate the nonsense which has been stored in your mind." They have discarded so many beliefs and - in the process - moved so much closer to realization (which Maharaj said is nothing more than the state persons reach when they are "free of all learned ignorance"). 

When Maharaj explained that complete relief from the symptoms of the Ultimate Sickness requires complete abandonment all of the content of the mind and requires "reaching a state of zero concepts," what was he referring to, specifically, which had to go? 

Not just concepts and their cousins - notions, perspectives, perceptions, ideas, thoughts, theories, conceptions, views, etc. What he was referring to is what, in the end, boils down to . . . beliefs. 

First, among "the planet's non-realized masses" (that is, per Maharaj, among those "living in ignorance," which pretty-much means "nearly everyone") two of the most commonly-accepted and never-questioned concepts which the masses cling to involve . . . 

. . . "my mind" 

and 

"my beliefs." 

In fact, neither is real. 

It's explained this way in the book entitled FREEDOM FROM BELIEFS (Believers, Non-Believers, and "No-Belief-ers")

What there is among "the not-fully-realized" is what is not really "your mind" but is actually "their mind" ("their" referring to all persons who have taught you any belief or idea or concept that is presently stored in the section of the brain called "the mind"); thus, it is the content of "their mind" which has been passed down and transferred and is always taken in error to be "your mind." Why is it "their mind"? 

Because whatever is in "your mind," you did not put there. "They" put it there. Who are "they"? The members of your family of origin, relatives, friends, teachers, religious and / or spiritual influencers, political leaders, and all who were in positions of "authority" during your childhood and who exposed you to their ideas and concepts and beliefs which you have adopted as "your own"  and who continue even now - into your adult age years - to do the same.

The "mind" has been filled with fiction; with beliefs that are based not at all in fact; with beliefs that have never been questioned; and with beliefs that have been accepted with no evidence at all but have been accepted on "blind faith" alone. 

Among the masses, the contents of the "mind" are now held in such esteem that people are willing to fight for those beliefs or - in some cases - even willing to die in a fight over those beliefs. They are, in fact, willing to act in ways that are diametrically-opposite to their own relative interest for the sake of their beliefs and "values."

In non-duality, there can be no "Believer" vs. "Non-Believer" pairings. Among "the realized, the closest to truth that could be stated is that - as a result of "their minds" having been purged of all beliefs - they are functioning as "No-Belief-ers." 

That understanding is what allowed Maharaj to assert, 

"There is no such thing as a mind" 

and to report accurately that 

"I have no mind . . . ." 

Same here, and reaching that "zero concepts, "no-mind" state was easy once it was understood that the only thing required to enter into that state is to abandon all beliefs. That process then renders one notion-free, perspective-free, perception-free, idea-free, theory-free, concept-free, view-free, and . . . free, period.

Because the mind and its belief-based contents function like a cancer, aggravating the already-incapacitating symptoms of the Ultimate Sickness, it is imperative that the entire mind and the entire body of beliefs stored therein much go. With cancer, it is not enough to purge past of the cancerous cells. They must all be eliminated. Same with the beliefs which are at the root of the Ultimate (Mental) Sickness. 

So, seeing that the problems of humanity are all centered in the mind, let us review once more what Maharaj had to say regarding the mind and its contents: 

"There is no such thing as peace of mind. Mind means disturbance. Restlessness itself is mind." 

“Don’t rely on your mind for liberation. It is the mind that brought you into bondage. Go beyond it altogether.” 

"Distrust your mind, and go beyond." 

“The death of the mind is the birth of wisdom.” 

"All illness begins in the mind." 

"There is no chaos in the world except the chaos which your mind creates." 

" . . . The mind obscures and distorts." 

"Beyond the mind there is no suffering.” 

[Note the distinction between “pain” on one hand and "misery and suffering" on the other: pain is rooted in the body; misery and suffering are rooted in the mind.] 

His advice: 

"Stop making use of your mind and see what happens." 

"There is no such thing as mind. There are ideas . . . ." 

[Here the point is that ideas, concepts, notions, perceptions, values, etc. can all be clustered into one single group or classification: beliefs; thus, it would be said here that “There is no such thing as mind. There is only a conglomeration of beliefs; moreover, those are not 'your beliefs' but are actually just 'their beliefs' which have been accepted on blind faith without any logical or reasonable or objective questioning at all.”] 

To continue:

Maharaj: "To know that you are a prisoner of your mind - that you live in an imaginary world of your own creation - is the dawn of wisdom." 

So what was the state which ultimately freed him and led to the birth of his wisdom? It was a no-mind state: 

"There is no such thing as a mind." 

"I have no mind . . . ." 

"Reach a state of zero-concepts." 

"As to my mind, I have no such thing. There is consciousness in which everything happens." 

"I find I have lost the mind irretrievably." 

So the question for all seekers is, "What are the remaining beliefs which you are clinging to?"

Those clinging to even a single belief - and those who are focused fanatically on a single issue -  can change the course of human history in one fell swoop.

Analysis of the voting patterns in the recent presidential election in the U.S. show that the outcome was decided by two groups of believers (with overlapping memberships), namely, white supremacists and religious fanatics. 

Consider the dysfunctional workings of the minds and the belief systems of persons who claim, "I am a Christian. Christ is my Lord and Savior and that makes me an anti-abortionist, so I will vote for the anti-abortion candidate even though he admitted that . . .

he walked into changing areas in his beauty pageants in order to see teenage girls in the nude; 

revealed time and again that he is sexually-attracted to his daughter; 

admitted that he has sexually-assaulted women and "grabbed them by the pussy"; 

said 

“My fingers are long and beautiful, as - it has been well-documented - are various other parts of my body"; 

 and said, 

“You know, it really doesn’t matter what the media write as long as you’ve got a young and beautiful piece of ass on your arm.”

Now typically, any one of those comments might be enough to repulse a "Christian value voter," but the typical attitude instead was: "We moral Christians are determined to stop all abortions, even the ones for women who are pregnant because of rape or incest, so he's our man." 

Is it any wonder that "Jesus wept"? Is it any wonder that the current pope said, "It is better to be an atheist than a hypocrite." 

The relevant point: For those that understand non-duality, it's clear that the pope was spot on with that point because without beliefs (that is, if one is functioning as a "no-belief-er") then one cannot be a hypocrite. 

More to the point, though, is this: "Has there ever been a more urgent call for a different perspective?"

See, the key point about blind faith is that its real danger - relatively speaking - lies not as much in the "faith" part as in the "blind" part which always manifests with the acceptance of any belief based in blind faith. 

And the real danger - relatively speaking - of the fanaticism of persons driven by a fixation on any single issue is that they will be trapped in the chaos and insanity of the Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder which is presently more prevalent than ever. 

As for white supremacists, it is often pointed out here that when dualistic beliefs prevail, there will be a notion that "I am different from others and that difference actually makes me better than them." 

If there is to be freedom from the symptoms of the Ultimate Sickness which Maharaj identified as "ignorance, stupidity and insanity," 

and 

if there is to be any internal peace, 

then 

it is not enough to abandon most beliefs.

Instead, all beliefs must go because all chaos and ignorance and stupidity and insanity always begin with one single belief. 

So much for "Ah, he is such a wonderful man, so dedicated to his beliefs." Really? Was that not also true of Hitler?

So much for "Ah, she is a really good woman, so dedicated to her beliefs." Really? Was that not also true for Mary I of England (a.k.a., "Bloody Mary") who was very true to her Catholic beliefs? 

The wise can review the history of human existence and see that personality-based fears and desires, along with mind-based beliefs, have been the key relative curse of humankind. No wonder the sages for ages have invited persons to be free of all body and mind and personality identification.

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 nearly 2,900 posts for any topics of interest to you.

THE ULTIMATE SICKNESS: Causes, Symptoms, Aspects, Effects, TREATMENT, Part Seventy-Two

TODAY'S CONSIDERATIONS

"THE AFTERLIFE" (Continued) 

"The belief that heaven or an afterlife awaits us is a 'fairy story' for people afraid of death."

---Stephen Hawking 

Maharaj did not always adhere to the Eastern tradition which honored freedom from speech. He discussed Hindu / non-dual concepts in the home of his guru; he went to the river and sat on the bank - sometimes in the heat, sometimes in the cold, sometimes in the rain, and sometimes well past midnight - and talked with a friend about Hindu / non-dual concepts; 

after his "forest dweller stage," he returned to Bombay and discussed Hindu / non-dual concepts in his shop; later, when he considered inviting visitors to his flat, specifically to the room upstairs which he had arranged as a place for him to retreat to (Maharaj's Spiritual Man Cave, if you will), and he followed his guru's advice when he continued talking during those first years in the loft: 

Maharaj's guru explained that few of the Hindus in Bombay were interested singularly in non-duality per se and that if he wanted to attract people into his loft, he was going to have to "trick them"; that is, he was going to have to put up pictures of certain teachers, drape them with flowers, burn incense, and offer Hinduism-based pointers and sing bhajans and jump and dance about in order to entice guests to come to him; in short, he was going to have to first offer what they were accustomed to hearing and doing and then sneak in some non-dual pointers. 

To that end, he was advised to give out mantras (which, by his own admission, he did long after he knew they were irrelevant). After Westerners began to show up in the loft, he would eventually break away from what his guru had ordered and would go his own route, talking more about the spiritual topics his Western guests were interested in and less about Hindu dogma which they were less interested in. 

By his own admission, his words for years were not rooted in the pure, universal consciousness but were rooted in what he had been taught and what he had heard. 

As regular visitors to this site know, he eventually abandoned the use of a Hindu / non-dual version of the Ultimate Medicine which he had prescribed for his early visitors and he would also eventually abandon the use of a spiritual / non-dual version of the Ultimate Medicine which he prescribed when his Western audiences grew in numbers. 

Both of those versions were replaced by a psychological / non-dual version of the Medicine after he came to understand that the Ultimate Sickness is a mental sickness because the seat of the Sickness is in the mind. 

By the late 1970's and early 1980's, he was speaking more succinctly. His terse talks focused on the root of the Sickness - the mind - as he explained why the only viable method for treating the Sickness involved being freed from the mind. His words by that point were coming via the pure universal consciousness and his Nisarga Yoga message prevailed as he encouraged visitors to "just give up spirituality and abide naturally." Thus he advised: 

“Stop reading I AM THAT and listen to my later talks.” He said that those talks in I AM THAT were for that time only and not applicable now. 

So that final understanding of the fact that the Sickness is a mental sickness led him eventually to advise seekers to 

stop reading I AM THAT, 

stop with all their religious and spiritual seeking, 

address the mind problem which is at the root of the Ultimate Sickness, 

be freed from the learned ignorance that was taught and from the insanity which was imposed from outside (via parental and societal influences), 

stop abiding unnaturally, 

stop trying to abide supernaturally (magically, spiritually, etc.) 

and then 

just abide naturally, the way that every living thing on the planet abides except for programmed and conditioned humans. 

Such was the nature of his later talks which came to an end on Wednesday, 9 September 1981, and such were the changes which brought the critics out in full force: 

One critic of Maharaj’s evolving message said, “I really hate him for telling people in his later talks to stop reading I AM THAT and that his message has changed completely from what he shared in those early talks.”

How the Spiritual Giants hated to hear him advise: "Forget spirituality." 

How they hated to hear him encourage seekers to follow "their normal inclinations," that is, to follow their natural tendencies, to abandon all of their spiritual work and just abide naturally - not unnaturally and not supernaturally (i.e., neither "religiously" nor "spiritually" nor "philosophically"). 

How they hated it when he told visitors, "Do your normal duties" 

and 

"just give up spirituality." 

How they hated to hear him advise seekers to stop reading the book I AM THAT and to heed his later teachings (advice offered after he witnessed clearly that spirituality and spiritual exercises and the adoption of a spiritual persona did not cure the Sickness but actually aggravated its symptoms). 

And how those embroiled in the Self-Inquiry process hated to hear him say: "I got involved in spirituality, in the business of spirituality; finally, I lost that love of Self also. I have no more love for the Self." 

He lost interest in - and love for - the Self, the Supreme Self, the Ultimate Self, the Real Self, the Godhead, the Godself, or whatever else supposedly noble identifiers can be called. See? The "Realized" have transcended both the false self / selves and even "the True Self" and even "the Supreme SELF," so all that happens among "the Realized" merely happens . . . spontaneously. 

All of that is shared so that seekers can understand how his message changed and why it changed. To comprehend his final understanding about "karma" and "rebirth" and an "afterlife," one cannot study the words he shared during his Hindu / non-dual phase or during his spirituality / non-dual phase. 

True, early on he did offer certain flashes of facts, making clear that humans invented God and that there is no such thing as karma and rebirth and reincarnation. He did offer some clarity around the fact that no afterlife exists for any persons or for some "soul-version" of persons. He tried to offer clarity, but few really want to see clearly.

(For example, here, the man living next door who told me that he did not want to spend eternity with the woman he's presently married to was inspired - as a result of his fear of an eternity with her and his desires for someone "better" in heaven - to dream up a new concept of heaven. He said that now believes that God will line up something better for him once he gets to heaven. I asked, "So according to your beliefs and perspective, God is going to pimp for you?" He didn't like the phrasing but he did admit to the belief expressed therein.) 

What were some of the early clarifications which Maharaj sprinkled throughout his talks even though religion and spirituality were influencing him? Consider: 

A questioner asked, "When an ordinary man dies, what happens to him?" 

Maharaj replied: "As life before death is but imagination, so is life after." 

In other words, the "afterlife" is just a concept imagined by persons. 

Maharaj on occasions also suggested that the notion of "the person" - which is limited in space and time - should be cast aside and replaced with an understanding of "a de-personalized, universalized awareness of nothing in particular." 

He asked: "What is birth and death but the beginning and the ending of a stream of events in consciousness? Because of the idea of separation and limitation they are painful. Momentary relief from pain we call 'pleasure' — and we build castles in the air hoping for endless pleasure which we call 'happiness.' It is all misunderstanding and misuse. Wake up, go beyond, live, really." 

He said: "Physical 'death' will make no difference in my case. I am timeless being." 

[Note that he said "timeless being," not "a timeless being." That which the composite unity is involved with (elements, air, conscious-energy) will be. Those three parts will continue being; the particular composite unity, however, will not be post-mahasamadhi.]

So what happened regarding the composite unity which was called "Maharaj" on Wednesday, 9 September 1981? Much ado about nothing. Much ado which he would have opposed vehemently. 

First, on that day: 

After it was clear that Maharaj had "died," his body was covered with flowers, exposing his face only. Later, his body was placed in a reclining position in a chair which a Belgian named Josef Nauwelaerts had presented to Maharaj a month or so earlier. 

Next, a little after noon, the reclining body of Maharaj in that chair was placed in the back of a large truck adorned with hundreds and hundreds of flowers and driven along the streets in a 2-1/2 hour procession to the Banganga cremation ground. Hundreds walked along ahead of, beside, and behind the truck, and many more lined the route to pay homage as the truck and crowd passed by.

After a ceremony which lasted about an hour, Maharaj's son lit the pyre. It burned until what remained was earth / ashes / dust / elements.

So what really happened that day to the body of Maharaj? By the time his body was loaded onto a truck in the chair, the air has stopped circulating through the body. The conscious-energy was departing and merging with the field of conscious-energy. (The conscious-energy leaves the human cells over a period of time, not all at once). 

After the cremation process was complete, the physical plant food elements merged with the universal pool of elements, except for one handful. 

Next, on subsequent days, right up to the present: 

Were he present and able to do so, Maharaj would likely classify what happened after the cremation - and what continues to this day - as more evidence of the symptoms of the Ultimate Sickness (which he identified as "ignorance, stupidity, and insanity"). 

Most of his ashes were interred near the ashes of his guru, but one fellow grabbed a handful and saved them. Now, those ashes are on display in a room, and each day, persons go to visit those ashes and bang on noisemakers and chant and worship and pay homage . . . to "Maharaj" . . . to remaining ashes.

Remember the story about Jesus going into the temple and driving the moneymakers out with a whip? Were Maharaj able to return and to enter that room while all that doingness was going on, do you guess he might bring along a whip? 

As for his take on an "afterlife," Maharaj ultimately made clear that there is no reincarnation, saying: 

Maharaj: “Only those who think themselves born can think themselves re-born," and he made clear that no one was born. Hence, no re-birth, no reincarnation. 

He and his contemporary Ramana Maharshi agreed as Maharshi also eventually reached the same understanding, saying: “Reincarnation exists only so long as there is ignorance. There is really no reincarnation at all, either now or before.” 

Their different-from-the-commonly-held perceptive, allowing for an understanding that there is no "afterlife" (that is, an understanding that all that remains post-manifestation is a universal pool of air and a universal pool of elements and a universal pool of conscious-energy) is not a popular perspective. 

Most persons are so attached to body and mind and personality identifications - and are so entrapped in the will of the consciousness for eternal continuity - that most will cling to the illusion of an afterlife; will dream up tales about a soul; will make up stories about vacating the present human body but entering into a half-human / half-bird body; 

will dream up some Celestial Being (as opposed to elements and air and conscious-energy merely being) and will call that Being an Infinite Self or Atman or Supreme Brahman or Divine Self or Infinite Soul or Spiritual Life Principle of the Universe, or the Real, or an Eternal Self or some such. 

For most persons, to forfeit the belief in an afterlife - and to give up the hope for the eternal continuity of certain particular specks of consciousness - is to be paralyzed with fear or despair or desolation. But to understand the pertinent facts surrounding what is possible in terms of a composite unity (and what is not possible) is to set the stage for enjoying what can be enjoyed during the only period when enjoyment can be enjoyed, namely, NOW. 

Post-manifestation, there will be no one to enjoy anything or to dread anything. Were that understood, then persons would not deem acceptable the misery and suffering which so many presently normalize. There would be no belief that "you should tolerate suffering now because it will lead to an eternal reward later." 

All that one "has" is now. 

Years ago, during the days when I owned a European tour company, direct flights from Houston to other major cities in Europe and even to Cape Town, South Africa and many other cities were available. Now, most of those flights have been permanently cancelled. 

So consider this parallel: 

What would you conclude if I were to say, "Dammit, I hate all these non-direct flights to Europe and to Cape Town which are now unbearably long. I liked the direct flights from days gone by, so I'm going to the airport and - by damn - I'm going to sit there and wait for a flight of the kind I like to take me to where I want to go and in the way I want to go there"? 

And if you asked, "So where do you want to go and how do you want to go there?" and I answered, "I want to go to Xanadu and I want to go there quickly and directly on a supersonic Concorde airplane," you would, rightly, conclude that I was delusional. If you were honest with me, you might even tell me that Xanadu is a fictional, dreamed up place that does not really exist and that there is no longer a supersonic Concorde airline to take me anywhere. 

And if I were to spend the remaining years of this manifestation pouting about that reality and being depressed and denying the facts and claiming that "I've been told that the supersonic Concorde airline does too still exist and I'm going to fly on it someday" and claiming that "I've been told that Xanadu is real and I'm going there someday," you that understand the pertinent facts would just shake your head and see how ignorant and even insane I had become, believing in the nonsense I have been told or imagined. 

So it would be, and so it is for billions, but so it need not be if wisdom were to replace the debilitating symptoms of the Ultimate Sickness. 

But that can only happen if persons find a different perspective from the one that is popular and commonly-held. 

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 nearly 2,900 posts for any topics of interest to you.

THE ULTIMATE SICKNESS: Causes, Symptoms, Aspects, Effects, TREATMENT, Part Seventy-One

TODAY'S CONSIDERATIONS 

From yesterday: More on that tomorrow as well as why - of all the different perspectives being called for - a perspective which differs from that which the masses hold in regards to "the purpose of this life" and to "the concepts about an afterlife" might well be the most freeing, liberating, emancipating perspective of all, relatively speaking. 

First, 

"THE PURPOSE OF LIFE" 

Maharaj did not say that nothing has any purpose, relatively speaking. For example, 

1. there was a relative purpose of sorts to the satsanga sessions he offered; 

2. until one reaches the end of "the path" and realizes fully (which is, according to him, nothing more than being "freed of all learned ignorance") there is a relative purpose for meditation, namely, to sit into the quiet - fully awake and aware - and contemplate the pointers offered by "a realized teacher" so that one might become fully conscious of truth. 

(Maharaj, when asked, "What is the purpose of meditation?" replied: "Seeing the false as the false, is meditation. This must go on all the time." Not "stopping the always-overactive mind?" No. Once the mind ends when all beliefs have been discarded and one reaches a state of "zero concepts" as Maharaj recommended, then even that practice ends.)

3. And there was a relative purpose to Yoga. He explained "The unlimited and the limited are confused and taken to be the same. To undo this confusion is the purpose of Yoga." So, Maharaj did not say that nothing has any purpose, relatively speaking, but he did make clear that I do not have a purpose and that you do not have a purpose. 

When asked, "Do you see in the world a direction and a purpose?" he answered, "The world is but a reflection of my imagination," so any "purpose" that persons claim is merely something they have imagined.

"I was put here for a purpose." Really? By whom? 

The fact: This "you" that is spoken of is nothing more than a composite unity triad involving an elemental plant food body which is temporarily circulating air and conscious-energy. 

Contrary to the widely-held belief among "the non-realized masses" who think they "were put here for a purpose," the presence now of an elemental plant food body was not triggered by a "Creator God" because all is energy-matter, because energy-matter cannot be created or destroyed, and because, therefore, nothing was created. 

This "you" is merely present because of the cycling of what has always been, not because something "new" was invented or created. The current cycling of this "you" began because of an act of friction, an exchanging of body fluid, a sperm coming into contact with an egg, and a nine-month process which was not "guided" or "controlled" by anyone or any One but happened automatically and spontaneously. 

To suggest otherwise is to buy into the bogus notion held by the masses who are so driven by ignorance that they do not know how babies are "made"; do not understand that the "making" of a baby is a natural process and not a supernatural process; and do not understand, therefore, that there was no phenomenal-noumenal combo ménage a trois with a woman, a man, and a god who all played a role in an egg being fertilized by a sperm cell. 

Maharaj: "A tremendously complex work is going on all the time in your brain and body, are you conscious of it? Not at all. Yet for an outsider all seems to be going on intelligently and purposefully. Why not admit that one’s entire personal life may sink largely below the threshold of consciousness and yet proceed sanely and smoothly?" 

The masses are not "conscious" of the "tremendously complex work going on" inside them because - as noted yesterday - healthy, normal humans arrive with an operating system, specifically, a brain stem which controls breathing, the heart rate, blood pressure, digestion, defecation, reproduction, etc.

And in healthy, normal humans, breathing, the heart rate, blood pressure, digestion, defecation, reproduction, etc. are all natural processes. 

Ninety-seven percent of the humans on planet earth claim to be affiliated with one organized religion or another; millions more brag, "I am not religious! I am spiritual." The result: the masses - almost in toto - assign supernatural cause to events which are simply natural.

Yet humans are not even consistent as they announce to one and all who will listen that they are really hooked up with their god, really working in tandem with "Him" (or "Her" or "Them"). Thus, they ignore everything that happens solely as a result of the functioning of a brain stem, so they credit god with "having blessed them with a perfect baby" but they never report that "God me gave a perfect BM this morning." If "He's" in charge of one bodily function, he's in charge of all bodily functions, so don't pick and choose. Express gratitude to Him for every bodily function He's supposedly in charge of.

[A couple bragged recently that they had been unable to conceive so they decided "to turn it over to God." They reported that they prayed for a pregnancy every day for 952 in a row. After 952 days of praying, the wife became pregnant. Some might have asked, "Why do you think He ignored your prayers for over two and a half years?" For those who believe that God is personally in charge of everything, including breathing and conception and BM's, it's clear: He had His hands full, what with having to control the breathing and conceiving and defecating of seven billion people. So of course it took 951 days to finally get around to answering that particular prayer. See what drives persons when the Ultimate Sickness is at play? "Ignorance, stupidity, and insanity," according to Maharaj.]

So, either (A) the brain stem is in charge of all bodily processes - including conception as well as defecation - or (B) some other-worldly God is in charge of all bodily functions. The invitation here: give credit where credit is due. The wise give credit to the naturally-functioning brain stem rather than to some supernaturally-functioning entity.

So if all of those bodily functions are happening naturally and automatically and spontaneously, then there is no one or "One" who is making anything happen, and if no one or "One" is making anything happen, then nothing involving a human life can have any "purpose" being determined and controlled by someone / Someone. 

Of course these pointers will all be anathema to the egomaniacs who think that are they "are changing the world, "are saving people," and "are making people better"; these pointers will also be anathema to the delusional persons who believe that they are here and operating under the auspices of a "Sacred Contract" entered into during their "pre-conception, pre-birth" life; 

and these pointers will also be anathema to "The Super Religious Ones" and "The Spiritual Giants" who believe that they "have found God's will for all people" and who claim that they are now "God's representative on earth" and who are explaining to all who will listen exactly what God's will is for all persons and what purpose he has assigned for each.

That was the same claim made by the earliest priests who dreamed up the concept of "Communion with God" and who had sex with virgins (to appease the angry God who was withholding the rain from the crops in need of water), who cut out a virgin's beating heart, who ate the body and drank the blood, and who then passed the through the crowd for all to eat the body and drink the blood and enter into communion with god to please him.

Next, 

"THE AFTERLIFE" 

Most religious and spiritual persons also believe, among other things, that a key purpose of this life is to prepare oneself and others for "the afterlife." The questions asked here are these: 

What part of the composite unity could be available for an afterlife? The elements forming a temporary plant body will eventually return to the universal pool of elements; the final quantity of air inhaled into the temporary plant body will eventually be exhaled and will return to the universal pool of air; and the conscious-energy within the temporary plant body will eventually be released and will return to the universal pool of conscious-energy. 

That is what happens instantaneously with an insect that splats against a windshield / windscreen; that is also what happens instantaneously with humans when they take mahasamadhi. There is no heaven or hell awaiting the insects that were either "good" or "bad" during the relative existence; there is no heaven or hell awaiting humans that were either "good" or "bad" during the relative existence. How can that be understood?

The brain, being elemental, will return to the universal pool of elements, so for the millions of years that human or human-like beings have walked the earth, the part of the brain where information was stored - the mind part - also returned to the universal pool of elements and those particles were scattered about by the wind. 

How could the scattered earth / dust / ashes which formed the mind part of the brain be magically retrieved and combined again and restocked with all that had been stored therein and then once more be intact and capable of functioning forevermore as such, only in a gauzy, ghostly, half-human, half-bird entity? It could not. 

No part of any composite unity can remain intact and stay together forever, so without that original "mind," who could recognize their former family members? Who could know that they are in heaven and are supposed to praise a god for eternity? Or who could know that they are in hell and should be screaming at the top of their lungs as god's tormenting flames lick at their asses?

The "original" mouth returned to the earth / ashes / dust, so there can be no mouth to sing praises to a god who loves praise and there can be no mouth to scream because god  decided to punish some for eternity. And who could scream at the top of one's lungs if the "original" lungs have already returned to the universal pool of elements / earth / ashes / dust and if the brain stem which controlled those "original" lungs also returned to the universal pool of elements / earth / ashes / dust?

So what, according to Maharaj, is the closest thing to a human having "a purpose"? 

First, his warning: "You are using things and people for purposes alien to them and you play havoc with the world and yourself." Who is so arrogant as to believe that he or she knows exactly what any persons "needs" at any given moment? 

I (meaning the super religious, spiritual giant ego-states which I once played) spearheaded for many years a winter coat drive, collecting donated coats and then distributing them to the homeless in downtown Houston. 

One unusually cold December, when the temperature had dropped into the upper 20's, I found a fellow living in a discarded refrigerator box. It took some time to wake him (or help him "come to," considering the number of empty wine bottles scattered about inside his box.). 

I bent down and looked inside his box and asked if he was cold. He explained that he was. (Actually, he did not explain anything. He actually asked, "Well what do you think, whitey? Ignorant asshole.") I told him if he'd come out of his box, I'd fit him with a coat. That made him a bit more cooperative. He slid out of the box.

After trying on several coats, we finally found one that fit fairly well. At that point, he expressed his excitement about having that coat and then said something to the effect, 

"You a real lifesaver, mister! I told my pardner last night that I was tired of freezin' my ass off and I was gonna go to the shelter and clean up and then go to McDonald's and get me a damn job. But now, thanks to you, I don't gotta go flip burgers for a livin'." With that, he climbed back into his box, pulled the coat up snug around him, and prepared to go back to sleep (both literally and figuratively).

I was stunned into silence, as I should have been all along. Those on the trip with me that day later laughed as they described the way my mouth was literally hanging open when he said that..

Did I help him? He had a possible shot at independence, a possible shot at moving out of a cardboard box and finding a home of some kind. What the hell did I know about him and what he needed? Nothing. 

Why had I not investigated first to try to determine what he might really "need"? Because I was not concerned with his agenda; instead, I was concerned with - that is, being driven by - the agenda of my phony ego-states. They gave "me" a purpose (so it was believed) and - better yet - a "noble purpose" at that.

I never headed up a coat drive again, and others playing the same roles that I had played would criticize me for that decision. So it was. 

What Maharaj understood was this: 

"Results do not affect me. I do not even care, whether they are 'good' or 'bad.' Whatever they are, they are — if they come back to me, I deal with them afresh. Or, rather, I happen to deal with them afresh. There is no sense of purpose in my doing anything. Things happens as they happen — not because I make them happen." 

So it can be asked again, "What, according to Maharaj, is the closest thing to a human having 'a purpose'?" 

He said: "Living is life’s only purpose." 

Maharaj: "The world is but a show, glittering and empty. It is, and yet is not. It is there as long as I want to see it and take part in it. When I cease caring, it dissolves. It has no cause and serves no purpose" 

and 

"Whatever is conceived by the mind must be false, for it is bound to be relative and limited. The real is inconceivable and cannot be harnessed to a purpose" 

and 

"In reality, there is no need of purpose." 

Now all of the above offers many different perspectives from those held by the masses in general.

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 nearly 2,900 posts for any topics of interest to you.

THE ULTIMATE SICKNESS: Causes, Symptoms, Aspects, Effects, TREATMENT, Part Seventy

TODAY'S CONSIDERATIONS 

Here, the "blank tablet" or "Tabula rasa" notions have been discussed, often in reference to the fourth step on "the path" where seekers shift beyond all personality identifications and beyond belief in all concepts and ideas and perceptions and perspectives which have been taught and which have become a part of the body of "learned ignorance" which is passed down from one generation the next. 

"Tabula rasa" refers to that part of the philosophy shared by many - including Plato, Kant, Nietzsche, Buddha, Confucius, Averroes, John Locke and many others over the millennia - setting forth that infants are "born" without any built-in content and that all knowledge comes from "experience" or "perception."

[The exception: certain archetypal images which are passed along genetically.]

Consider:

Computers come pre-loaded with an operating system and with data storage capability (a.k.a., "storage" or "memory") which allows humans to retain data and information on their computers and then to retrieve it at some point in the future. With computers, the data can be stored on hard drives or on external memory devices. 

With humans, there is the region of the brain known as the limbic system which includes the hippocampus, the amygdala, the cingulate gyrus, the thalamus, the hypothalamus, the epithalamus, the mammillary body and other organs, many of which are of particular relevance to the storing of data and the processing of memory. 

Similarly, humans arrive with an operating system, specifically, a brain stem which controls breathing, heart rate, blood pressure, etc. and with data storage and retrieval capability, but - as is the case with a computer - it is up to humans to decide what data is to be accumulated and stored and available to be retrieved. 

The same applies to humans except with humans, the information which is accumulated and stored and available to be retrieved is not determined by the individual with the brain where information is being stored but is determined by "authority figures" who are loading a child's brain with information during its early years. 

With computers, one's data can be corrupted if, say, a virus is introduced. A computer virus is a software program which is "malicious," meaning its purpose is to cause the computer to malfunction in some way. In the case of computers, the programmers / jackasses who come up with viruses and spread them via the internet are conscious of the fact that they are intending to screw people over royally; 

in the case of humans, however, the people introducing viruses into the minds of children actually think they are "helping" them by placing what will prove to be harmful data into the data storage part of the brains of children. 

[By the way, "authority figures" / programmers / jackasses will continue the process of introducing viruses into the minds of children even after they reach their adult years, and the only way to stop that process is to unplug the connection which links one to those "authority figures" / programmers / jackasses.]

With computers, the greatest threat, as noted above, is called "a virus"; with humans, the greatest threat (to peace, to clear seeing, to efficient functioning, to being free of distortion, etc.) is called "the Ultimate Sickness." 

Whether talking about data saved inside a computer or data saved inside a human mind, one overriding rule applies: 

Garbage in; garbage out. 

When someone boots up a computer with a virus, they might see that it is slow to startup; that it runs slowly; that something which they are trying to tap into is missing; that they cannot access valuable data that has been stored there and that they are only coming up with valueless nonsense instead; that error messages are coming up (which they often ignore in their panic as they keeps trying to get the computer to do what they want it to do); and that their computer eventually crashes and burns and will not function at all. 

The same happens with humans who have been infected with the Ultimate Sickness. but there is a rub: with their computers, humans can literally feel sick to their stomachs when they realize that their computer has been infected.

Yet when their minds have been infected, they do not know it and do not care. If their computer is exhibiting the effects of "garbage in, garbage out," they hate that; if their lives are exhibiting the effects of garbage in, garbage out, they normalize that and do not care. 

A virus in a computer is in full control, and the same is true of the corrupted data which has been stored in a mind via corrupted and corrupting programming, conditioning, domestication, acculturation, brainwashing and indoctrination. 

With humans, the abnormal norm nowadays is the blind acceptance of garbage in, garbage out, of nonsense in, nonsense out. And the greatest, most influential nonsense nowadays involves the nonsense which drives persons to focus on what they deem to be "the eternal afterlife or existence" after a brief "relative life or existence." 

Here, funerals are seldom attended. Over the last eighteen years, there was a presence at only two: one in 1999 for he who was called "father" and a second in 2014 for she who was called "mother." 

At the 1999 funeral, a minister conducting a Christian funeral said, "Earth to earth; ashes to ashes, dust to dust. Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return." And the Christians there nodded in agreement and then many accepted the invitation to walk past the casket after it had been lowered into a hole in the ground, grab a handful of dirt from the nearby pile, and toss it onto the coffin. Why? 

As a final reminder, once more, of the key points being offered: "Earth to earth; ashes to ashes, dust to dust. Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return." 

Yet those nodding in their sleep ignored the message and left with the perspective / the belief that some part of what was now in the coffin has already escaped "the surly bounds of earth" and had gone to wherever that escaped part of good men and women go. 

To heck with the fact that the one they call "Their Savior" said, "No one shall ever see 'the kingdom of heaven. It is within'." 

Never mind that they had just been presented with the salient fact that the process of manifestation involves earth elements coming together spontaneously, forming a temporary composite unity (a.k.a., in that case, a "human") spontaneously, and then spontaneously coming apart. 

And the attendees at that funeral (along with the masses in general) ignore the fact that they have heard many times, "Earth to earth; ashes to ashes, dust to dust. Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return" 

but were told neither . . . 

. . . "Earth to - heaven or hell" 

nor 

. . . "Ashes to - a kind of gauzy, filmy, transparent, ghostly soul or spirit forever" 

 nor 

. . . "Dust to - an Infinite Self." 

Yet how many of the trillions of composite unities which have come together and come apart were driven by the fear of an afterlife of eternal punishment and flame and pain or by the desire for an afterlife of eternal reward? How many spent hours and days and months and years in prayer to get an afterlife reward? How many have given away monetary fortunes in an effort to try to buy their way into an eternal reward? How many have closed their businesses on their "holy day" and forfeited 14% of their potential income? 

How many have used special rugs and special candles and special crystals and burned incense and used a special bowl on a special pillow and struck the special bowl with a special mallet or wore special saffron robes or special crosses around their necks or eat only special food and ring special bells or bow five times a day toward one particular direction on a compass or wailed at a special wall or went on a special pilgrimage to a special place deemed to be holy or even paid someone $5000 to teach them how to breathe? 

How many have raged "You ignorant, stupid, insane jackasses" at the persons who infected their computers with a virus but have willingly, joyfully, and lovingly accepted the word of the persons who infected their minds and inspired them to engage in the nonsensical practices above? 

Winston Churchill said of the Nazis who were bombing the U.K. and other Western European nations during World War II: "Never was so much owed by so many to so few." The perspective of "the realized," looking back over the history of humanity, might lead to their offering this consideration: 

"Is it possible that never has so much been owed by so many who have been fooled throughout the ages by the few whom they listened to and believed?" 

Abraham Lincoln said: "You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time." The perspective of "the realized," looking back over the history of humanity, might lead to their offering this consideration: 

"Is it possible, after seeing what persons have been willing to believe throughout the ages, that it is clear that "You can fool all the people some of the time, and you can fool some of the people all the time and, in fact, you can fool damn near all the people all the time"? 

It is the failure of the masses to understand "the nothingness" as well as what is - and is not - "beyond the beingness and non-beingness" which has set the stage for persons to waste an entire relative existence; to ennoble suffering now in deference to get a reward later; 

to forego pleasure throughout an entire relative existence; to be driven by fear and desire throughout an entire relative existence; to give away a fortune during an entire relative existence; and to be fooled throughout an entire relative existence. 

More on that tomorrow as well as why - of all the different perspectives being called for - a perspective which differs from that which the masses hold in regards to "the purpose of this life" and to "theie concepts about an afterlife" might well be the most freeing, liberating, emancipating perspective of all, relatively speaking. 

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 nearly 2,900 posts for any topics of interest to you.

THE ULTIMATE SICKNESS: Causes, Symptoms, Aspects, Effects, TREATMENT, Part Sixty-Nine

TODAY'S CONSIDERATIONS 

 Again, this reminder:  

The invitation offered via this series is to understand that the "Fully Realized" (those fully freed from abiding under the influence of a nonsense-filled mind) are no different from anyone who visits this site. That includes the actually realized; the non-realized who are seeking; the non-realized who are not seeking; and those claiming realization who think they have completed the entire "journey" but have not and are, therefore, trying to satisfy their ego-based desire to control others or to assume new "Superior Identities." 

The only possible difference among all of those is in perspective, in a perspective which has been changed as a result of being freed from the key symptoms of the Ultimate Sickness (identified by Maharaj as "ignorance, stupidity, and insanity); thus, certain perspectives here that might differ from perspectives held by "others" are being shared for consideration and - possibly - for further enlightenment. 

That said, realization - combined with the Nisargan understanding - results in another perspective that differs from a non-dual understanding alone. It has been explained this way in "The Advanced Seekers' Series": 

Because the post-realization, post-Nisarga understanding allows for abidance as the Awareness - which will not even be aware of awareness post-manifestation - what justification can be offered for being “concerned” with any of the following labels, if Fully Realized? 

“Absolute,” “THAT,” “Brahman,” “God,” “energy,” “energy-matter,” “Consciousness,” “Awareness,” and “something.” Are not all of those still man-made labels generated by persons, even if many persons believe that concepts pointing to things Noumenal are exempt from being discounted because they are still nothing more than . . . concepts? 

Here, there is no justification for concern with any label or identity. Here, the final understanding leads to an end to any desire to "be something" in the relative, including something that is supposedly "beyond the relative" or that is "metaphysical" or that is thought to be "truly special." 

Most who read pointers that endorse reaching a state of zero concepts (as offered by some Direct Path Advaita Teachers and by some “Neo-Advaitins”), will feel as if they are dying or being robbed of their “true identity.” 

Some will feel that their “true identity” is being minimized and not recognized for the glorious post-manifestation "SOMETHING" that it is . . . all “heavenly” and “celestial” and “splendid” . . . maybe even “saintly” or “godly” or “cherubic” or “spiritual” or “divine” or “holy” or "something" which they believe will be "even above and beyond" all of that. 

Here, there is a "no-something-at-all" perspective. 

Some resent the implication that their relevance, either during the relative manifestation or after the relative manifestation, is being decreased or diminished or underestimated. 

They hate the suggestion that to have taken themselves and their beliefs seriously for so many years was all nonsense. 

They hate hearing that their years of fighting for their causes were uselessly passed in vain and were steeped in egotism and efforts to support their false identities / ego-states. 

They hate hearing that their entire existence is all much ado about nothing. 

They despise being told that they have been fooled. 

They hate pointers dealing with purposelessness and meaninglessness. 

They hate pointers which suggest that all of those times when they made mountains out of molehills was pure foolishness. 

They hate the notion of "nothingness" and thrive on all their concepts that deal with "somethingness." 

They hate hearing that their beliefs and their concepts are fiction. 

They hate hearing that they will never be able to "change the world," that they are not even in the world, and that "the world" is in them . . . in their fiction-filled "minds." 

They hate when their dualistic belief in their own eternal reward is exposed as a fraud or when their belief in an eternal punishment for their enemies is debunked. 

They bristle when it is pointed out that their "life-long" attempts to defend their various concepts have amounted to nothing more than a waste of breath. 

They hate to hear that the energy spent in trying to make their views understood and accepted was for naught. 

They can become livid when it is noted that their actions (which earned applause from the masses who considered those actions to be “accomplishments”) were for nil. 

They despise the pointer that no one has ever "made the world a better place" as a result of any action. They hate hearing that the one they take to be "His Holiness" in not holy at all (the word "holy" meaning "different"). 

In reality, there is no different-from-ness, no separation, no multiplicity, no real hierarchies, and, therefore, no better-than-ness. They hate hearing that the one they perceived to be "the wisest" cannot even differentiate actual, natural events from imaginary "supernatural" events (as was the case with the man discussed yesterday).

If among those who are active in one of the three sky cults that evolved from the words of Abraham, they hate hearing that their having fought and killed each other for centuries - with their centuries of fighting each other and murdering each other continuing to this very day - is pure insanity because they are fighting and killing over a debate about which of those three religions has the best imaginary friend and protector. 

Others are offended when it is suggested that the naming of streets after them, that the building of statues in their honor, and that the construction of libraries built to laud their "achievements" amount to just so much rubbish. 

They reject any suggestion that the desire to extend in perpetuity the memory of them and their “identity” is mere tripe. 

Similarly, the following pointer - evidencing a quite different perspective from that held by most - was offered to a seeker who said that "surely he had to be something" in defense of his “identity,” desiring as he did to verify his assumed identity and to be assured that his assumed identity will be extended in perpetuity: 

Whether their assumed identity / identities are of a phenomenal nature or a noumenal nature in the “mind” of persons, the preoccupation with it is evidence of the fact that they hold in esteem either that which they currently believe they are, or that "something" which they think they shall be forever, or both. In fact, when a "state" of zero concepts is reached, it is understood that there is no "identity" at all. 

It is also realized from that "state" that there is nothing deserving any esteem at all, contrary to the tendency among the non-Realized and / or the supposedly Realized to demand that they be shown “the honor they deserve” as something that is most different from what the masses take themselves to be. 

The concept of “something” blocks the understanding of what is most pervasive in this universe (and in all universes). What is most pervasive? Not something but . . . no-thing. The physical body of a human is neither “primarily energy” nor “primarily matter.” It is primarily space, primarily a void, and can thereby serve as a microcosm of the universe which is primarily space, primarily nothingness, primarily no-thingness. 

Similar to every concrete and steel bridge that will eventually be reduced to rubble, a couple of hundred pounds of “floyd” will be reduced to a few pounds of ash. That which is mainly “space” is misperceived by the non-Realized as being “something.” Typically, "the nothing" is neither seen nor understood as persons show deference to, and preference for, “something.” 

Only "the most advanced" (the most free of ignorance) might consider the implications of this pointer objectively, a pointer which offers a totally different perspective from that held by most: If "the nothingness" is understood, then not an iota of attention is wasted with concern about the “something” that so many take themselves - "Their Selves" - to be. 

At "the peak" of understanding, it is realized that “concern” with a post-manifestation identity is just so much silliness. Persons who focus on “somethings” become “concerned,” and "concern" about anything will generate unnatural or supernatural thinking and living. 

The "realized Nisargan" understands that all “concerns” prevent peace and natural living from happening. If an excess of energy is available, employ it to realize all that you are not if you would eliminate insane-like thoughts and words and deeds and relative destructiveness from an otherwise ego-dominated existence. 

Thus, there are also these perspectives: To focus on the concept of “SOMETHING” prevents seeing “The Reality of the Emptiness,” “The Reality of the Void,” “The Reality of the Nothingness.” 

All “mind”-stuff attached to “somethingness” will preempt any Full Understanding of the no-concept, non-dual, no-thing Reality; of the actual functioning of the totality; and of what natural living truly entails. 

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 nearly 2,900 posts for any topics of interest to you.