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:
Body Pain vs. Mind-Induced Misery and Suffering, Part One
As mentioned on this site in the past, pain is of the body while misery and suffering are of the "mind" (rooted totally the ideas and distortions and concepts and emotions and false identifications / personas - a.k.a., "beliefs - stored therein).
While the realized have no attachment to the body or to the manifested consciousness, it would be both dualistic and unnatural to desire to terminate the manifestation and be rid of the body on one hand or to want to "live to be 200 years old, or longer" on the other hand.
In the U.S., the number of teenage females who are committing suicide has now reached an all-time high. Would you suspect those teen suicides are being driven by a desire to escape pain? Or more by a desire to escape misery and suffering?
Maharaj's view was quite objective: “Disease and suffering are not natural. There is noble virtue in unshakable endurance of whatever comes, but there is also dignity in the refusal of meaningless torture and humiliation.”
[Full discussions of the topic of suicide can be found on this site by using the search tool on this page - type in the word suicide. The 14 October 2014 post and others will provide more of what Maharaj had to say on the topic.
Many of the suicides in the U.S. nowadays involve cyber-bullying. That does not cause pain. It causes misery and suffering. Why? Because - as is the case with the non-realized adults among the masses who are trapped in duality - non-realized teens are similarly trapped;
thus, their fragile ego-states (which generate the use of egotism and other ego-defense mechanisms for "self" protection) inspire great concern about their image among their peers. When teased, made fun of, criticized, scorned, mocked, ridiculed and / or scorned, they care far more about what others think about them than they care about themselves. The irony and the insanity? They can care so much about "self" that they destroy themselves . . . their present "self-ness."
The all-high suicide rate is rooted in caring about image over substance, so the key factor involved with the current highest-ever suicide rate is . . . duality (which always inspires a preoccupation with a public image, with how one is perceived by "others," with form over substance, and with what other persons think about "you").
And caring about what the masses think is the surest way to become trapped in the "ignorance, stupidity, and insanity" which Maharaj identified as key symptoms of the Ultimate Sickness? Why?
Because the non-realized masses have and spread that Sickness and it three key symptoms which they do not work to be free of but which they actually shield, excuse, and justify. Accepting the opinion of the masses means accepting their ignorant, stupid and insane way of thinking and accepting their ignorant, stupid and insane way of seeing things.]
Here, there are no dualistic beliefs or thoughts, so neither "I want this body" nor "I do not want this body" can arise into the now-unblocked and sanity-friendly consciousness:
"The body is going to last another day?" Okay. "The body is done, totally worn out?" Okay.
Living naturally, food will be eaten spontaneously and digestion will happen automatically, and that pattern will continue until it all stops automatically.
Here, as far as the elemental plant food body is concerned, there is a position of neutrality because not only all fear of the inevitable death of the body but also all desire for continuity of the body have both been eliminated via realization; therefore, there is no desire that the body last forever and no delusion that it even could;
however, having been restored to sanity as a result of realization, there is no desire to harm the body or accelerate its return to the universal pool of elements.
What of "end of life options"? Would the realized say that no one has the right to decide what to do with one's own body? Never, but some "teachers among the realized" suggest that those options should be considered in light of the facts, specifically, the facts regarding pain vs. misery and suffering.
Certainly, it is understandable that
a. if someone is in physical pain 24 / 7 as a result of an incurable disease and that
b. if Realization has led to transition beyond any and all attachment to the body and to the consciousness
then
c. such circumstances could inspire one to want to "pull the plug" when whatever is happening with the body has become a constant source of pain which will not end as long as the consciousness remains and continues to register the pain.
A so-called "assault" on the body in such instances can be a logical and accurate means for addressing 24 / 7, uninterrupted pain which prevents any chance for enjoying relative pleasures (a.k.a., prevents "quality of life," as some might call it).
[NOTE: Maharaj managed in his case "the constant pain issue" by way of non-attached witnessing. That option might work for some as well.]
The possibility of endless pain without relief is why the last will and testament here states clearly that life-supporting equipment is not to be used to support "floyd's" body if it is racked with constant, incessant pain or if the body is in what is assured to be an interminable vegetative state.
Any action to sustain a body in either of those conditions would be unnatural. The deer that are dying a natural death are never "rescued" by an intervention.
But if misery and suffering are happening - instead of pain - then destroying the body and terminating the manifestation of the consciousness makes no sense at all. Such action would be non-Nisargan, would be unnatural.
So an assault on the body - if the body is the source of relentless, physical pain - can be logical and reasonable and natural if it is guaranteed that no happiness and joy or bliss shall ever register again for the remainder of the manifestation.
By contrast, an assault on the body when it is actually the "mind" which is the source of relentless misery and suffering, is totally illogical and unreasonable and unnatural, for it fails to address the addressable causes which - if addressed - could end the misery and suffering and would allow happiness and joy and bliss to register for the remainder of the manifestation.
It would be tantamount to someone cutting his arm so severely that stitches would be required to close the wound, to his going to an emergency room of a hospital to have the arm wound treated, and to the doctors there sewing stitches into his leg, bandaging his leg, and sending him on his way to "bleed to death."
If the actual source of the problem had been addressed, there would have been no reason at all for "the death." Later, the arm would have healed and an enjoyable existence could have continued.
Therefore, it is impossible to equate an assault on the body to end intolerable, physical pain with an assault on the body to end misery and suffering. As with the misplaced, misdirected treatment of a leg in the scenario above, persons are misguided and misdirected when they seek relief in a similarly-flawed manner instead of finding and targeting the location of "the actual problem."
In the first case with the diseased body, the problem is incurable. The pain will not cease. In the second case, when the "mind" is dis-eased and is the cause of misery and suffering, then that circumstance is "curable"; therefore, attacking the body or prematurely ending the manifestation of the consciousness would not be natural and would make no sense at all.
It would be unnatural, and therefore, insane, illogical, unreasonable, and unwarranted, relatively speaking.
In light of the distinction between pain on the one hand and misery and suffering on the other, consider again this comment from the two young teens referenced earlier who were practicing "cutting" several years ago: "Life sucks. How cruel are you to try to talk us into being exposed to any more of this crap?"
The teens had every reason, considering the levels of abuse that they had suffered at the hands of their truly sick father, to feel miserable and to feel as if the pressure within was so great that cutting could provide relief. Functioning at the level of body identification only, they attacked the body rather than the actual source of their misery.
The reason they are happy and free for the most part nowadays is because they found that their problem was rooted in the "mind" and not in the body; thereafter, they addressed (with professional guidance) the real and treatable cause of their misery and suffering.
Once their line of attack turned from the body to the "mind," relief began to manifest, but (as happened with those two) identification with the body can set the stage for persons who are suffering mentally and / or emotionally to strike out at the body rather than to seek treatment for the contaminated "mind."
That phenomenon is explained this way in the book FROM THE I TO THE ABSOLUTE in a passage which addresses the body-identification / attack-the-body connection that is rooted in misperception and misunderstanding:
Body identification can be chaotic and even fatal. Here's how: I once had a dog that, when it saw its reflection in a mirror, would go ballistic. He fought with that false self, biting at the mirror and trying to destroy himself / his own reflection.
In humans identified with their bodies, the deep-seated need to destroy the ego and false roles and to support authenticity is a subconscious, driving force can lead to self-destructive behavior or even suicidal assaults against the physical body. If I am my body and I am having overwhelming problems, then the way to be rid of those is to be rid of the body, so the unconscious, fallacious reasoning goes.
So, with hopeless and endless body pain? Go for the body if you like.
With misery and suffering? It only makes sense to go for the "mind," to address the faulty content of the "mind" which prevents persons from seeing what really ails them . . . to find and treat the actual source of one's misery and suffering.
The love of the body or the love of the content of the "mind" or the love of any false identities will eventually lead to hate . . . hating the relative existence, hating "others" whose beliefs do not align with one's own beliefs, and hating anyone who seems to be threatening one's false identities and / or interfering with the hidden agendas of those false personalities.
By contrast, freedom from love of the body and the "mind" and false identifications allows for an objective look at the actual source of one's misery and suffering.
Of that, Maharaj said, "First, your attitude to suffering must change. Suffering is primarily a call for attention, which itself is a movement of Love."
One's love of the false self / selves will eventually turn to disgust if the lack of authenticity registers . . . if living the lie grows old.
Suffering is not a call to "die"; suffering is a call to heal, be the suffering your own or that of "others." Here, the teacher suffered, determined to find the actual source or cause(s) of suffering, found the cause, eliminated the cause, and then become willing to share the solution with any that seek the Ultimate Resolution.
Is your body in 24 / 7 pain? That's one thing. Are you miserable and suffering? That is a totally different "issue." In the case of the latter, focus on the "mind," knowing that the misery-producing-contaminants therein can be eliminated painlessly and non-violently, with assistance.
One need not destroy the entire brain to address the suffering which is rooted in the information-storage-and-retrieval part of the brain (a.k.a., "the mind"). As the title of one book available here points out, THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS "PEACE OF MIND" (There's Only Peace If You Are Out of Your Mind).
To be continued.
Please enter into the silence of contemplation.
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