TODAY'S CONSIDERATIONS
[See the offer following this post for details on how you can watch a video which includes a discussion of all seven of the steps on the path as used by Maharaj]
Here, with those who are still driven to talk about "God," the "Son of God," the "Holy Spirit," "Buddha," "Krishna," etc., etc., etc., the invitation to them is to view those as verbs, not nouns. See the end of the post for the full meaning and implications of that.
Realization does not require fanaticism, obsessions or compulsions; thus it should be clear why Maharaj eventually advised seekers to avoid those, leading to this totally different option:
REALIZING WITHOUT DOGMA, WITHOUT CONTINUOUS SPIRITUAL PRACTICES, AND WITHOUT A PREOCCUPATION WITH “THE NATURE OF REALITY AND THINGS NOUMENAL”
Before continuing, understand that the seven-step “path” offered here is the same offered by Maharaj, though he never enumerated the steps. In both cases, the third step is the same: it is the step where religious or spiritual roles (either assigned when young or assumed later on) are played for a time;
therefore, Maharaj did not end up “at war” with religion and spirituality as some claim. Here, too, there is no one who could be at war with either religion or spirituality. Yet Maharaj did make clear that the religion / spiritual step is to be transitioned, and that can only happen if all religious and spiritual identities (or Identity) are transitioned.
So Maharaj eventually came to understand that. . .
the Ultimate Sickness is a mental sickness;
that it is marked by – among other traits – “ignorance, stupidity and insanity” (Maharaj's words);
that "ignorance, stupidity and insanity" all involve the mind and mind illnesses / mental illnesses;
that the mind and mind / mental illnesses are the seat of humankind’s problems;
that the mind is formed via the use of ignorant, stupid and insane programming, conditioning, domestication, acculturation, brainwashing and indoctrination;
that ignorant, stupid and insane programming, conditioning, domestication, acculturation, brainwashing and indoctrination can only result in a mind that is dominated by and controlled by and driven by the influence of ignorance, stupidity and insanity; and
that the sages had long focused on eliminating personality identification; and he understood why, namely, because personality assignment and assumption is also at the root of humanity’s problems.
He also came to understand – by way of experience – that none of the following (all of which he used at one time or another) provided an effective version of the Ultimate Medicine):
guru-bhakti;
bhakti;
jnana yoga;
a religious / non-dual compounded version; and
a spiritual / non-dual compounded version.
Eventually, after looking at all that he came to realize over the years of working with seekers, he saw that nothing he had used was providing the necessary treatment for the Ultimate Sickness; then, he eventually realized that all of the aspects of the Ultimate Sickness had one thing in common (including its mental nature; including “ignorance, stupidity and insanity”;
including programming, conditioning, domestication, acculturation, brainwashing and indoctrination; including the fact that personality disorders can disintegrate into neuroses and psychosis). And was do all of the aspects of the Ultimate Sickness have in common?
All aspects of the Ultimate Sickness (which perpetuate the Sickness and which pass down that Sickness to one generation after another), all of those aspects involve things mental . . . all are seated in the mind.
Why did he abandon all other yoga methods and religious methods and spiritual methods and “SELF”-Inquiry methods and then focus on the mind, that is, on identifying and sharing and focusing on recommendations for addressing the mental issues which are common to all of humanity and which lead to all of humankind’s pain and misery and suffering?
He saw that none of the methods tried earlier actually worked to eliminate the Sickness once and for all. The locals who criticized Maharaj for his “shifts” in methodologies and for his “evolution” in the methodology preferred his early offerings which included religious activities and teachings;
those during the “middle years” of his evolution preferred the spiritual talks he offered when Westerners began showing up in the loft and making clear they were not interested in Hinduism but were interested in lofty, spiritual talks; and
those attached to their “Supreme Self” identity preferred that he continue to use the “SELF”-Inquiry method exclusively instead of telling seekers that it is enough to complete a personality inventory (that is, to complete a “self”-inquiry, or more accurately, a “false-self-inquiry”) and instead of telling them that it is enough to know, by use of that method, who you are not.
And two other key facts were realized after trying a religion / non-duality mix, after trying a spiritual / non-duality mix, and after trying a “SELF”-Inquiry approach:
In addition to the fact that none of those treated effectively the Ultimate Sickness, he also came to see that (A) all of those methods lead seekers to assume new personality identifications (or a new “Supreme Identity”) rather than leading them to discard all identities; and that (B) they all trigger the use of the ego-defense mechanisms of egotism and arrogance; and that (C) ego-states being driven by egotism and arrogance always lead to a third key problem, namely, fanaticism.
Offered earlier:
None of that could ever even be conceived except for the fact that dual-minded persons assume false roles that then drive their every thought and word and deed (rendering them unstable in all ways after having assumed the roles of "Super Political Leaders," "Super Proud Xenophobes," "Super Religious Knowers," "Super Patriots" and - most arrogantly and delusionally and divisively - "Those Who Believe That They Are Living in 'The Greatest Nation on Earth'.") All dualistic, arrogance-based, hierarchy-inspiring, separatist nonsense.
Such is the relative existence when it is being controlled by duality, that is, by dualistic thoughts, dualistic talk, and duality-driven actions; by religious fanatics fomenting a false sense of separation and different from and better than; by political fanatics fomenting a false sense of separation and different from and better than; by political fanatics; by big businesses who are co-opting control of elections and using their billions to foment a false sense of separation and different from and better than; by political fanatics; ad infinitum.
Witness objectively those all around the globe who have assumed the identity and are now playing the role of “The Super Politicians” or “The Great Reformers” or “The Super Religious Ones” or “The Spiritual Giants” or those who have assumed the identity of “The Supreme Self” or even “God” or even “The Super Sports Fans.” Then, because it applies to all of those role players, consider the root word of the latter’s title: fanaticism.
“Fanaticism” = “wildly excessive or irrational devotion, dedication, or enthusiasm”
and
“a mode of living which is marked by irrational and extreme and unwarranted perceptions which lead to irrational and extreme and unwarranted behaviors, especially as exhibited by excessive enthusiasm, unreasoning zeal, or wild and extravagant notions on anything" (including politics, drugs, alcohol, religion, spirituality, realization, whatever).
Synonyms for “fanatic” = devotee, extremist, maniac, addict, zealot, believer, fool, and monomaniac.
Krishna suggested that those who do not know “Who They Are” (or “What They Are”) are fools.
Maharaj, coming to understand the psychological nature of the Sickness, might have disagreed. He might have said, “Those who think what they are is someone or Someone or something or Something which they are not, those are the fools (and they are all going to be wildly excessive and irrational and unreasoning and fanatical and extremists and maniacs and addicts and zealots and believers and monomaniacs).
Entire series have been offered here in which the most active of the “modern” sources of duality (those of the last 5000 years) are discussed. Among those major contributors to dualistic thinking are the three religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam (which have far more in common than they sometimes admit, having all evolved from the words of one man, Abraham). So consider their current dualistic natures:
Jews have divided and separated themselves dualistically into Orthodox Jews and Reform Jews and Conservative Jews and Hasidic Jews and those adhering to the Kabbalah viewpoint and others.
Muslims are steeped in duality, dividing themselves dualistically into “Sectarian Muslims” (Sunnis and Shias) and “Sectarian Missionary Muslims” and “True Muslims” and - Allah forbid! – "Secular Muslims" and “Moderate Muslims" and "Liberal Muslims.”
But it is the Christians who have taken duality to a whole new level:
While some give lip service to the concept of "ecumenism" - the aim of promoting unity among the world's Christian churches – the fact is that the number of identified Christian denominations by which they separate themselves from each other now exceeds 38,000.
Remember the five blind men trying to describe an elephant by only being aware of one part of the overall picture?
Well, 38,000 denominations would equal 38,000 elephants with 7,600 groups of blind persons – five to a set - touching elephants and trying to describe them by only knowing a small part of the big picture.
In the end of such examinations of elephants, there is no accurate definition of “what an elephant is” and there in no unified agreement regarding “what makes an elephant an elephant.” The same applies with a religion which had now been dualistically subdivided into 38,000 parts and sub-parts.
As far as the Eastern teachings go, there are scores upon scores of what the “True Self” is which – according to many – is what one is supposed to find via “SELF”-Inquiry.
Does anything involved with those religions or with that SELF-Inquiry process address the central issue of the Ultimate Sickness, namely “the mind” and the mental disorders which evolve as a result of the content of the mind? Will any of those lead to freedom from all of the concepts / beliefs stored in the mind, as recommend by Maharaj, by flushing out of the mind all of that which is stored therein and which is calling every minute of the day for a thorough flush?
Hardly. All of those fanaticism-inspiring institutions and methods have one aim: teaching more, having you learn more, and stuffing even more concepts and notions and ideas and precepts, etc. (a.k.a., “beliefs”) into your mind.
Only via the ultimate method (the psychological method) which Maharaj settled on can one have any chance at all of being truly free of all of the concepts and notions and ideas and precepts, etc. (a.k.a., “beliefs”) which combine to rob persons of their freedom. Specifically, only that method can uncover and address the beliefs which are stored in the mind and which subconsciously drive persons to think ignorant and dualistic and insane thoughts which lead to insane behaviors.
Such freedom does not manifest by adding more beliefs to a mind but occurs via un-teaching all so that a person can un-learn all.
To be continued.
NEW OFFER:
Watch an updated seven-hour streaming video of a retreat with Floyd Henderson which can be viewed by anyone with internet access. (In this video; all seven of the steps on "the path" as taught by Maharaj are explained and discussed.)
If interested; click the button below to pay the fee via PayPal. You will then receive an email which includes the link for you to view the private, unlisted video via an arrangement we have made with YouTube, Inc. You do not have to have a YouTube account to watch this privately streamed video.
(If you do not receive the link promptly, your computer or email provider may have high filter settings. Check your spam and trash folders because some providers automatically transfer emails containing links to those folders.)
To access the seven-hour streaming video of a retreat and begin watching right away, click this "Buy Now" button:
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 3,300 posts for any topics of interest to you.
Here, with those who are still driven to talk about "God," the "Son of God," the "Holy Spirit," "Buddha," "Krishna," etc., etc., etc., the invitation to them is to view those 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 (that narcissism evidenced by the fact that you think you are "godly").
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
"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."
Yeshu'a (Jesus) and Pope John Paul II and Pope Francis 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"
and
"There is no hell."
