TODAY'S CONSIDERATIONS
This series will first focus on the factors which affect and control the lives of more humans than any other influences, which, in fact, affect and control the thoughts and words and actions of over 99% of all humans; will, secondly, ask the question, "Why would humans allow that to happen?"; and will then offer an alternative perspective for consideration, a perspective which - if manifested - would allow humans to experience a level of freedom and unconditional happiness that most will never even imagine, much less experience.
Some humans are affected and controlled and driven by one thing which they are obsessing over, such as politics; some humans are affected and controlled and driven by other things, such as addictive substances, freedom from the use of addictive substances, sex, shopping, workaholism and wealth accumulation, etc.;
however, that which almost all humans have in common is this: being affected and controlled and driven by the one, same thing above all else, namely, a particular type of "belief" about "things otherworldly" which they all share. Their beliefs can fall into one of several - but still related - belief subsets and can be classified as either religious beliefs, spiritual beliefs, ideological beliefs, or philosophical beliefs.
Certainly those are not the only types of beliefs which persons hold dear, but they are the only types of beliefs which almost every human buys into. (Ninety-seven percent on the planet claim an affiliation with one religion or another. Millions more claim that they are spiritual.) And when humans buy into those types of beliefs, they all automatically become subsumed with the specific "path" or "journey" which those types of beliefs always generate.
Most people are at the mercy of doctors and gurus and religious leaders and spiritual leaders and cult leaders, many of whom are control freaks.
In some cases, those leaders may be well-intentioned but ignorant, such as was the case during Maharaj's early teachings and during Floyd's early teachings. Later, both would see (A) that the problems of humanity do, indeed, center in the mind which - in every case - has been pumped full of "knowledge" (which Maharaj identified as nothing more nor less than "learned ignorance") and that (B) no amount of additional teaching and learning can possibly solve a problem which involves what has already been taught and learned in the first place.
So if persons think they must seek to understand more dogma, such teachings will be seen as useless if seen in the light of objective witnessing; and if persons think they must seek to understand more spirituality and spiritual concepts in order to treat a "sick spirit" or "spiritual malady," such teachings will be seen as useless if seen in the light of pure, objective witnessing.
In both cases, however, seekers buying into such religion-or-spirituality-based advice may well spend an entire relative existence in the effort of seeking in those avenues and believing that their efforts will lead to some lofty and superior and soaring and elevated "realization" or "reward," both now and later and forever.
By contrast, Maharaj said in the end that "realization is nothing more than being free of ignorance." The failure to understand that, it can be seen, can lead one to enter onto "a path without end" and to "undertake a 'journey'" which will never reach an end. And both scenarios are just fine with them. Why?
Just as one who becomes known as "The Super Religious One" in the community, "The Super Saint," "The Most Wonderful Person Ever Met "and "The One With All the Answers Who Can Explain How All That Happens Is the Will of God," then there is no desire to do anything other than follow the "path" which got them all that praise and admiration in the first place. The result is this mindset:
"Am I committed to doing the 'stuff' that resulted in such affirmation and esteem and approval, and will I gladly do it forever? Damn straight! Most assuredly!"
The stroking of one's ego will block out any such notion as the one I had early on as a six-year-old in a Southern Baptist Church in a slum area of Louisiana.
That notion:
As early as the age of 6, after listening to those people trapped in their magical thinking and in ignorance and in their belief in ancient, pagan tales and myths and superstitions, and after watching them naively swallow all of the nonsensical stories which were (and which continue to be) told both inside and outside churches (and inside temples and mosques and monasteries and shrines and synagogues, etc.) this conclusion came:
"If I had to be exposed to this insanity for a lifetime, then I would either find some 'path' away from these people and their nonsensical beliefs or I would pick up a gun and blow my damn brains out!"
Why was I able to feel that way at the age of 6 while at the ages of 40 and 50 and 60 the adults there had not so much as considered the possibility of breaking the patterns which have always driven to them to accept unquestioningly the notion that they needed to make a lifetime commitment to what they had been programmed and conditioned to do even though they never consciously decided to do what they were doing and were, instead, merely mimicking what their parents had modeled for them?
As usual, per the non-dual understanding, personality was at the core of that blind functioning. Only 1/2 of 1% of all persons on the planet are Personality Type Fours like "Maharaj" and like "Floyd," the type who see how abusive and ignorant and insane authority figures can be and automatically rebel against their inauthenticity and ignorance.
On the other hand, 50% of all persons on the planet are Type Sixes who are unquestioningly devoted to authority figures, be they authority figures in business, in the home, in their societies, etc.
No wonder Maharaj estimated at first that only 1 in 100,000 will get the understanding which can lead to independence and freedom; no wonder he later modified that to "1 on 1,000,000"; and finally modified that to "1 in 10,000,000."
Next, these questions were offered for consideration yesterday:
So why do so many acquiesce and unquestioningly and unconsciously become willing to follow "paths" which have no end that will ever be reached in their lifetime? And why do so many acquiesce and unquestioningly and unconsciously become willing to take part in a life-long "journey" which never reaches its destination?
And why do so many acquiesce and unquestioningly and unconsciously become willing to follow a lifetime treatment plan for whatever ails them when they are told up front that that particular doctor or person or religious leader or spiritual leader admits that they have no real cure at all and that the seekers who come their way must continue to come for as long as they live?
Is any of that sensible and sane? Or is it totally senseless and insane?
Here are some of the reasons that persons nevertheless go for that deal:
1. Above all else, programming, conditioning, domestication, acculturation, indoctrination and brainwashing. Those guarantee that the masses will walk about and drive and work and do everything else they do from a platform of unconsciousness, totally unawake and totally unaware. AI notwithstanding, it's just like the computer I'm using this morning to prepare this post: once it is loaded with programming, it is not conscious or awake or aware. It functions on auto-pilot as a result of what is happening around it, as a result of the effects of my input and influence. So it is with humans.
2. A specific part of the programming, conditioning, domestication, acculturation, indoctrination and brainwashing involves parental modeling. Monkey see? Then monkey do.
3. Living under the influence of parents and programming, conditioning, domestication, acculturation, indoctrination and brainwashing, the masses have been lulled into a sleep state while thinking that they are awake; therefore, they become willing to listen to anyone presenting himself or herself as "An Expert" or "The Wise Knower" or "The True Authority." (Remember: 50% - Personality Type Sixes - are pre-wired for that kind of brain-dead, mind-driven manner of functioning.)
4. The masses continue to be misinformed, but being loyal to authority, they follow along on whatever "path" they are told to follow.
5. More than any others, the ones they are especially willing to listen to are their misguided and clueless guides, gurus, religious leaders, and spiritual leaders.
6. Most who are convinced they have "found" will never seek, but even those who seek often do not know what they really need to seek. The ego is much more comfortable when it's being told "You must find your Supreme Self" or "Unite with the Force of the Universe" or some other lofty goal rather than being told, "You are ignorant because of what persons trapped in ignorance told you, so all you need to seek is a way to be rid of that."
Maharaj said that "realization is nothing more than freedom from learned ignorance." What's to seek, then? Actually, nothing. Instead, there is much in the mind which is calling to be discarded, purged, abandoned. Less, not more, is the rule of thumb. Yet even Maharaj admitted, to his credit, that he had mislead seekers early on with his Hindu-based messages and his "spirituality-based messages." Same here.
The result? Most do not have a clue about what really ails them, so most will never understand what it is that they should really be seeking, namely, wisdom, freedom from learned ignorance, and sanity. Instead, they are being told, "You have not learned enough dogma, or "Your problem is that you have a 'sick spirit,' a 'spiritual malady,' so you must learn what we prescribe and then you must follow our directions exactly."
If you believe that your problems are being caused by some nebulous, vague thing inside you that is called "your spirit" which has been made "sick" somehow or the other, then you might as well also join the ancients such as those in Greece thousands of years ago who also taught that all problems are rooted in some "spiritual issue," that is, "in some behavior which is not pleasing to the gods";
or believe as other ancients did that sickness was caused by an imbalance of "the four humours" identified as blood, phlegm, black bile and yellow bile;
or believe as other ancients did that sicknesses were all caused by divine punishments being handed down to humans who had too little faith in the gods or who were not praying enough to the gods or who were not worshipping the gods enough;
or believe as other ancients did that sickness was caused by evil spirits or by persons being possessed by the devil or by some other god of evil (which many still believe to this day);
or believe as other ancients did that sickness was caused by a curse set upon persons by some witch or warlock or wizard;
or believe as other ancients did that sickness was caused by the breathing of foul-smelling air (hence, the criticism of persons or pets who passed gas);
or believe as other ancients did that sickness was caused by people with acne. (There are many accounts of instances in the past when persons with acne were put to death to prevent them from spreading their disease - whatever it supposedly was.)
If one were to witness objectively, it could be seen that humans have not come very far in the last 4,000 years when it comes to pinpointing the cause of sickness and being freed of ignorance and freed from their tendency to draw conclusions based in lies and nonsense rather than facts.
That being the case, what truly needs to be sought by those suffering from the Ultimate Sickness? Even more dogma than has already been learned? Even more spiritual and magical-thinking-based beliefs? Or . . . freedom from all of that?
Recently, a woman in Central Louisiana told me about one of her brothers who is abusing meth and whose resultant hallucinations have convinced him that he and his dog are being bitten by tiny - and therefore invisible - mites. He has open wounds all over his body where he has been scratching the itches caused by dreamed up mites, not at all unlike the kinds of things that people will dream up and identify as the source of your misery or suffering or discomfort.
When it was suggested that he get a high-quality magnifying glass and look for the mites so that he might see that there are no mites there at all and so he might be motivated to look for some other cause of his problem, he explained that her plan could not work because mites do not want to be seen so they burrow down beneath the skin.
Now his mother - a life-long player of the role of "The Super Catholic of Louisiana" - said that the cause of his problem is his sick spirit which came about because of his being separated from God and that he needs to get back into church, start praying, start tithing, etc.
See? The same old mental beliefs / mind crap that was around 4000 years ago: "Sickness and suffering and misery is a result of some deficiency inside me or something wrong with my divine spirit or . . . these damn meth mites."
Thus, like the masses, he follows a useless path. The result?
Because he does not know what truly ails him, he is like billions of other persons who do not seek that which they should seek, so they follow some other nonsensical "cause and cure path." In his case, he spread toxic powder all over his house, in his dog's sleeping areas, in his car, on his skin, and on the dog's skin. The result of that: the dog died and the man is as sick as a dog, having inhaled the poisonous dust he spread about to try to treat that which does not even ail him.
Similarly, billions believe that their problems involve an imaginary "spiritual malady" which is no more real than imaginary meth mites.
In the case of that man and in the case of the masses, what ails them is indeed inside, but it is in the mind . . . not the "spirit." To that end, the masses are as misguided and as delusional as a man who thinks his problem is being caused by mites that are crawling about underneath his skin.
Do you see why Maharaj declared that the suffering and the misery of the masses is rooted in the three key symptoms of the Ultimate Sickness, namely, "ignorance, stupidity, and insanity"?
And do you see that the masses - so sure that they are on "the right track," on "the right path," and involved in "the proper journey" - are as delusional as a meth addict with open wounds all over his body from trying to scratch out and scratch off imaginary mites?
If one does not find what the real source of her or his problem is, then a proper, viable treatment plan will never be found. Maharaj made clear that the problems of humanity center in the mind and that the mind - just as with cancerous cells - must go in order for persons to be healed.
To be continued.
Please enter into the silence of contemplation.
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