TODAY'S CONSIDERATIONS
To review:
That which is natural is rooted in non-duality; all which involves unnatural thinking and / or supernatural thinking is rooted in duality.
Whether speaking of Maharaj's lesser focus on the Nisarga Yoga in the beginning or discussing his near-total focus on abiding naturally in the end (as opposed to trying to live supernaturally and / or unnaturally), it is granted that all of that is relevant only to the AM-ness, but presently, what happens in the AM-ness impacts every person far more than anything to do with the THAT-ness.
So, to continue with excerpts from the book Why NISARGA YOGA in addition to the Advaita Teachings? as considerations about the Nisarga (natural) fashion of abidance are offered:
What Else the Direct Path Method and the Nisarga Yoga Are About
(Finding and Fixating in that Elusive but Nirvana-Like "Middle Ground" of Neutrality Which Brings Peace)
To be free of attachment to the AM-ness is not to be free of the basic responsibilities of the AM-ness: providing food, clothing, shelter, etc. The invitation here with Nisarga Yoga is not to live aloofly, loftily, philosophically, apathetically, unconcernedly, or distantly.
The invitation is to live naturally instead. Non-attachment does not require detachment. [You may use the search feature to find other discussions on this site that distinguish between those two.]
The deer, not humans, are the model: deer do not become frustrated, then eat fermented berries to "escape" their frustrations by becoming "high" and killing brain cells, then race down a path through the woods, then miss a curve, and then run headlong into a tree and kill themselves;
spontaneously, both mundane and not-mundane events happen: they find shelter at night or in the heat of the day; they forage for food; they care for their offspring; they enjoy sex; they procreate; however, what they do not do is become so tired of their mundane tasks that they commit suicide and miss out on the fun of relating to a mate;
of playing with their offspring; of having sex; of finding an especially tasty plant to eat in order to break the monotony of a grass-only diet.
What the Direct Path teachings and Nisarga Yoga are about, ultimately, is shifting to a position of neutrality around all things and then abiding naturally, as do all other life-forms except humans.
That does not mean you will not care about anything, for not-caring is one extreme while excessive caring is the other extreme. That would still involve dualities. The deal is to avoid developing or sustaining any attachment to any dualistic, extreme beliefs:
"I am not going to clean and straighten my room, or even myself, for that matter. It all means nothing." (That is a pro-dirty stance, not a position of neutrality.)
or,
"I am not going to enter into the corporate world and work for those non-realized people" does not evidence a position of neutrality. (It evidences an anti-work, anti-non-realized people stance.)
A position of neutrality combined with a Nisarga style of living preempts any and all self-defeating, self-destructive behaviors throughout the post-realization relative existence.
If the position of neutrality manifests and becomes fixed as one's new modus operandi, then what might have been a sandpaper approach with persons in the past can become a very soft and tranquil and relaxed movement when dealing with any type of person.
Any prior disposition toward conflict gives way to witnessing rather than engagement. With the exception of those addicted to control and chaos, or those who are unstable or suffering from severe mental and emotional disorders, the potential of moving through the relative existence in a calm and easy and stable and steady manner will be appealing.
So the invitation is:
a. to overlay Reality on reality . . . on the relative;
b. to use the understanding of THAT to enhance the enjoyment of the "this," the Am-ness; and
c. to keep your head in the clouds for the time that you are moving along the "path," if you like, but to eventually remove your head from the clouds and plant your feet firmly on the ground.
Since realization here, some might say that "floyd's relative existence has been marked by certain delights and marred by certain most unpleasant happenings." The actual fact is that the relative existence here has simply been a series of random events and happenings that are of the type that always have, and always will, mark the relative existence. In the end, it is as the Advaitin William Shakespeare wrote: "It's all much ado about nothing."
It has been twenty-eight years since realization happened.
["Since realization" meaning what? Per Maharaj's definition of realization, since seeing that everything I had been taught was a lie; since seeing that everything that I has learned up to that point had been a lie; since seeing that every role which I had assumed and and since seeing that every identity which I had allowed the culture to assign had been false;
since seeing that I had paid an excessive and unwarranted and insane price - in terms of money, yes, but more so in terms of forfeited stability and happiness and peace and in terms of needless misery and suffering;
since seeing that I had paid an excessive and unwarranted and insane price - in terms of money, yes, but more so in terms of forfeited stability and happiness and peace and in terms of needless misery and suffering;
since not erroneously believing that I could differentiate between true and false but reaching a point where the differentiation between true and false has actually and accurately happened, spontaneously; since seeing that the excessive and unwarranted and insane price was driven by unnatural and supernatural living and the delusions and distortions and lies which drive those lifestyles;
and
since seeing that everything which I had ever thought and said and done which ran contrary to
(a) my initial sense of the Oneness
and contrary to
(b) all of the non-dual sharings which I had heard coming from that storehouse of wisdom which I called "my Cherokee Grandmother."
All of that contributed to aggravating the mind-based Ultimate Sickness which I contracted and which trapped me in the ignorance and stupidity and insanity which had been normalized by the masses in the family and in the culture and in the nation which had all joined together to program and condition me to abandon the original sense of authenticity which I knew and then accept as truth the lies they told - and still tell - which were all based in the same ignorance-and-stupidity-and-insanity-based mental Sickness.]
Now, to continue:
During the last twenty-eight years here since the realization of the above, there have been thousands of happenings. As with certain meals where some taste better than others, so it is with the happenings here:
there was the house that was taken away and a relocation into an enjoyably-small condo; then years later there was a movement into the house now occupied after the formerly-peaceful condos attracted some most chaotic occupants;
there was an expectation that Real Love was going to be known and shared for the entirety of the relative existence, but that was not the case; yet an unwavering sense of Oneness and Real Love remain;
there have been a child's accomplishments and a child's setbacks and now more accomplishments by the child as a young adult;
there have been moments of quiet at the lakeside or respites passed after anchoring a boat in a quiet cove, and there have been periods of activity and work interspersed with periods of play.
At times, neither work nor play happened; there have been times when nothing happened other than the witnessing of the solitude and the silence; there have been occasions when a few among the many who have come here to seek actually found that which they had been seeking for most of their lives.
Again, Maharaj said that, if realized, you can "live your life as it comes, but alertly, watchfully, allowing everything to happen as it happens, doing the natural things the natural way, suffering, rejoicing — as life brings."
It is now understood that it is natural that throughout a relative existence that there will be some suffering and some rejoicing but it is further understood that the majority of the happenings will fall between those two extremes.
Yes, there have been certain sweet tastes of the nectar, and here, that included a taste of the sweet nectar of immortality but has provided far more tastes of the nectar of mortality which can only be tasted during the brief period of what is called "life."
Thus there have been numerous occasions of vacation nirvana and more occasions of stay-at-home nirvana; of fine dining nirvana and eating-something-bland nirvana; of beautiful scenery nirvana and not-so-beautiful scenery nirvana; of delightfully-temperate days nirvana, of cold days nirvana, and of hot days nirvana;
of finally-having-the-opportunity-to-meet-certain-Advaitins-who-have-been-known-for-years nirvana but also feeling at One with those not met nirvana; of the-ability-to-decline-offers-of-pleasure nirvana and the-ability-to-accept-pleasure nirvana . . .
. . especially when pleasure is offered not only with love but also with a sense of Oneness and an understanding of Real Love so that the pain part of the pleasure-pain combo so typical among the non-realized does not manifest;
there have been instances of facing-economic-setbacks nirvana; of economic victories nirvana; of facing medical issues nirvana; of feeling-wonderful-on-certain-days nirvana and not-feeling-so-wonderful-on-other-days nirvana.
And it was all either "delighted in" or "endured" just as it was - without judgment or opinion or angst or a triggering of emotional intoxication or reaction; it has all been seen for the way it is, all merely witnessed from a platform of neutrality.
Where the "extremes" cited above might appear to be dualities, overlaying nirvana on it all negates any chance for dualities to manifest. With no "one" to have thoughts or to make words or to do actions, wherefore any dualities?
That is what Direct Path Realization and Nisarga Yoga are about, and none of that has anything to do with "putting a spin" on what is "bad" and mentally warping that into the opposite with the "It's all good!" BS statement that some use to deny what is really happening or to deny the way that they actually feel.
No, the nirvana flavoring manifested because, here, there was no "one" to experience anything or to desire anything that would be to the contrary of whatever has happened; whatever has happened, post-realization, has always simply been witnessed.
Seek robins' nests on the bottom of the sea before seeking to wish into existence something other than whatever has happened the way it happened.
But no "one"? Exactly. No "one." Here, instead, there has only been that specialized energy which manifests for a time as Pure Witnessing; fixated there, all that the relative has tossed this way for more than two decades has been witnessed, felt, registered, sometimes processed, and sometimes not processed.
Yes, feelings have most assuredly been felt, but emotions have not been emoted. Hurts have registered, but they have not resulted in any reactionary thoughts or words or deeds. Joys have registered as well. So it is.
That is what Direct Path Realization and Nisarga Yoga are about:
1. peace
2. freedom from identities which would interrupt that peace
3. natural living
4. sane living
5. stable living
6. reasonable living
7. logical living
and
8. enjoyable living.
In the end, THAT is not about THAT at all. It is all about "this," right NOW, because later, "THAT Which Is" will not and cannot even be known to be.
To be continued.
Please enter into the silence of contemplation.
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