TODAY'S CONSIDERATIONS
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CONSIDER:
"Heaven and hell are not geographic places but are states of mind, nothing more than concepts dreamed up by men."
-- Pope John Paul II
"No one shall ever see 'the kingdom of heaven.' It is within"
and
"Heaven and earth shall fade away."
--Yeshu'a (Jesus)
Here, "God," the "Son of God," the "Holy Spirit," "Buddha," "Krishna," etc., etc., etc.: are viewed as verbs, not nouns. See the end of the post for the full meaning and implications of that.
THE RATIONALE FOR CHOOSING SCIENTIFIC FACTS OVER THE EMOTIONAL INTOXICATION GENERATED BY RELIGIOUS / SPIRITUAL FANATICISM:
While Religion and Science Are Not Always Incompatible, Logic and Reason and Wisdom Make Clear That If a Choice Between The Two Is To Be Made, Only One Choice Is the Sane Option
Yesterday, this was asked: So why did Maharaj’s treatment plan for the Ultimate Sickness shift away from the use of religion and away from the use of spirituality and away from “Self-Inquiry” and toward addressing the issues with the mind and addressing (via “self-inquiry”) the issues with the multiple personalities which are assigned and assumed as real identities?
The shifts happened because he came to understand that humankind's problems are centered in the mind (a "mind" being nothing more than a storehouse of the fiction and nonsense and delusional beliefs which are accumulated and stored in a part of the brain after persons are exposed to ignorant and insane programming and conditioning and acculturation and domestication and brainwashing and indoctrination).
Some have asked recently, "So that being the case, why did it take Maharaj so long to make the shifts?" The answer: because of certain elements of his guru’s programming and his guru’s indoctrination which drove Maharaj to linger until his own experiences and observations led to a new understanding and to the courage and willingness to share what was eventually revealed to him even though it differed from what his guru had told him.
Thus, he went from this:
"My guru told me, 'although you are realized, you will have to expound knowledge only'"
to this:
"The quintessence of the talk is clear. Your most important asset is the 'knowledge' that 'you are' prior to emanation of mind. Hold on to this 'knowledge' and meditate. Nothing is superior to this, not even devotion to a guru (guru-bhakti) or devotion to God-Ishwara-bhakti."
He went from this:
"My Guru asked me to do these five bhajans daily, and he never cancelled his instructions before he passed away. I don't need to do them anymore but I will carry on doing them . . . because this is the command of my Guru. I continue to obey his instructions, even though I know these bhajans are pointless, because of the respect and gratitude I feel towards him"
and this
"My Guru has authorised me to give out this mantra to anyone who asks for it . . . .”
to this:
“. . . but I don't want you to feel that it is necessary or important. It is more important to find out the source of your beingness."
After more Westerners came, he responded to the fact that they were not interested in Hinduism or Eastern religion and that they were more interested in what they took to be “the spiritual."
[It has been observed since 1989 that the Western obsession with things “spiritual” or “lofty” or “mystical” or “only-with-other-worldly-things” still remains the key roadblock on the so-called “journey” to being freed of all learned ignorance, to coming to the understanding, to being freed from the machinations of dual-mindedness, to being restored to sanity, and to abiding naturally.]
From the eBook SRI NISARGADATTA MAHARAJ and HIS EVOLUTION: “So early on, he was so into guru-bhakti that he gave out a mantra that he felt was neither "necessary" nor "important." Hardly evidence of the "maverick Maharaj" that would emerge later on, yes?
Also, the “old” message would be offered when he determined that a seeker was not ready for an algebra lesson because the seeker had not yet even mastered addition and subtraction.
In that regard, this was offered for consideration in that same book:
Is it possible that Maharaj was able to detect where on the "path" any given seeker might be after hearing only a few statements from her or him? Certainly. Then, is it possible that what Maharaj offered would be level-appropriate for any given seeker? Yes.
And would that mean, in turn, that he might offer a certain pointer to a seeker at a certain place on the "path" which would differ from a pointer that he would offer to a seeker at an earlier point on the "path" or at a later point on the "path"? Yes again.
Yet the fact remains that this was the case with Maharaj and was the case here and has been the case with countless persons for centuries: the movement beyond the third of seven steps - the third step being where religious and spiritual roles are played and control the thoughts and words of actions of persons, seekers and non-seekers alike - can (A) take an inordinate amount of time to transition and (B) will usually never happen at all.
That is a testament to the "clout" and "might" and "capability" of programming and conditioning and acculturation and domestication and brainwashing and indoctrination to fill a mind with nonsense; to drive persons to accept assigned and / or assumed false identities as real;
to drive persons to be driven unconsciously by the hidden agendas of personalities; and to assure that the fiction which fills minds (and which allows the agendas of personas to determine and control persons’ every thought and word and action, even as persons think that they are making conscious choices) will prevail.
Yet the fact that Maharaj eventually worked free of the clout and might and capability of programming and indoctrination and eventually moved beyond the third step explains why, after he abandoned the religious / non-dual version of the Ultimate Medicine and abandoned the spiritual / non-dual version of the Ultimate Medicine, that he said of the book I AM THAT:
"That book and whatever was expounded at that time was only relevant for that period. I am speaking differently today" and I am "emphasizing different aspects" (namely, the mental / mind aspects). That final understanding, which was completely different from what he had offered early on, is the basis of pointers here.
Early on, Maharaj's pointers involved a Hinduism / non-dual combo message; in the mid-stage, his pointers involved a spirituality / non-dual combo message; but it was later on - after he had transitioned beyond his guru-devotion phase and the religious phase and the spiritual phase - when he realized the following about the key symptoms of the Ultimate Sickness, which he identified as “ignorance and stupidity and insanity”:
1. “Ignorance and stupidity and insanity” have nothing at all to do with one’s level of religiosity (except that high levels of religiosity have been observed to exacerbate those symptoms);
2. “ignorance and stupidity and insanity" have nothing to do with a dreamed up “spirit” or a “sick spirit” or a “spiritual malady” (except that “spiritual giantism” can exacerbate those symptoms, leading Maharaj to declare to those playing the role of a “spiritual giant”: “Next to you, I am but a spiritual pygmy”); and
3. “ignorance and stupidity and insanity” have everything to do with . . . the mind.
The mind is the seat of humanity’s problem, and neither religion nor spirituality offer any effective means by which psychological problems can be addressed. Ninety-seven percent of all persons on the planet claim an affiliation with one religion or another, and such affiliations have been going on for 5000 years. Have those affiliations addressed humanity’s mental problems? In light of such widespread affiliations, are humankind’s mental problems decreasing, or increasing?
Millions brag – yes, brag – this: “I am not religious. I am spiritual!” Such claims have also been happening for thousands of years. Yet, in spite of those claims, are humankind’s mental problems decreasing, or increasing?
The mind is humanity’s problem, and the requirement for addressing the mind problem is, according to Maharaj, to end it by purging it of all concepts and beliefs. To reach a state of "zero concepts," he said. To be un-taught all that you have been taught. To unlearn all that you have learned. Is it the goal of religion or spirituality to un-teach, or do both work endlessly to teach you more and more?
Also from the eBook referenced above:
Some might quote Maharaj's earlier spiritual pointers while some might quote his later pointers that dissuaded seekers from being spiritual; or, some might quote Maharaj's early pointers about using the mind while some might talk of his late pointers about being rid of the mind (again, the variation likely being determined by level-appropriateness).
Many worshiped Krishnamurti and his talks even though what he shared was just so much emotionally-intoxicating “mind stuff.” When asked about him, Maharaj replied, “Krishnamurti is a great thinker.” Ha! Most nodded in agreement and took Maharaj's tongue-in-cheek assessment to be a compliment. The few who understood that the content of the mind is useless and that it must be cast aside entirely understood the veiled implication.
So ultimately, Maharaj’s focus was on that which is at the root of humankind’s problems: the mind. Yes, speaking to seekers at the “wet charcoal stage,” he offered level-appropriate pointers about the subject, but his teaching about the “mind” - for those whom he deemed potentially ready to hear - included these pointers:
“There is no such thing as a mind”
and
“I have no mind . . . . ”
So much, then, for those nowadays who say they understand what Maharaj was talking about and who claim that they also teach non-duality now. If so, how could they possibly talk about “changing your life by changing your thoughts”; about using thought-up “intentions” to “empower yourself”; about a mind that is "timeless"; about “fulfilling the dreams” in one's mind; and about “altering bad thinking patterns”? That's all just more mind stuff, just more mind-generated nonsense. Were he here to observe them, Maharaj would dismiss them all as "great thinkers."
So consider the implications of this pointer which he offered: “There is no such thing as ‘peace of mind’."
Relatedly, this pointer is shared here: the “mind” is the source of your lack of peace; therefore, the Ultimate Sickness cannot be healed by the very repository of the Sickness.
To be continued.
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Here, "God," the "Son of God," the "Holy Spirit," "Buddha," "Krishna," etc., etc., etc. are viewed as verbs, not nouns.
THE EXPLANATION
If looked at as nouns, they point to illusions and are, therefore, a total waste of time to even discuss; if looked at as verbs which are resulting in certain sane but rare behaviors among humanity, then they are worthy of some attention during the relative existence.
Meaning? There are members of certain groups who say things such as "My concept of God in the past was of a weak God, an absentee God, A Santa Claus-type God, a mean, punishing, vindictive God, etc. Today, I am in close contact with a loving and caring God whom I worship and praise and glorify and give thanks to."
The reply to that usually goes like this: "If you are in contact with a God that wants to be worshipped and praised and glorified, then you're dealing with someone like yourself - a narcissist - and hanging out with narcissists will never bring an end to your narcissism. Next, in the phrase 'loving and caring God,' any supposed God that truly had her or his act together would tell you that the totally irrelevant part of that phrase is 'God' and that the only part to be focused on should be the 'loving and caring' part.
"That is, a non-narcissistic god / goddess would say, "I care not an iota about being worshipped and praised and glorified by you or anyone else. How arrogant and insecure and needy would I have to be to want that? Forget the man-made, dreamed up noun 'God' and focus on the 'God as a verb' understanding and then go forth and let loving and caring be verbs - not adjectives - and let them generate the act of love and the act of caring and let those actions manifest through you."
Both Yeshu'a (Jesus) and Pope John Paul II were spot on:
"No one shall ever see 'the kingdom of heaven.' It is within" and "Heaven and earth shall fade away."
and
"Heaven and hell are not geographic places but are states of mind, nothing more than concepts dreamed up by men."
