TODAY'S CONSIDERATIONS
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TO REVIEW:
"Heaven and hell are not geographic places but are states of mind, nothing more than concepts dreamed up by men."
--Pope John Paul II
"There is no hell."
--Pope Francis, the current pope
[in an interview with journalist Eugenio Scalfari,
the Pope's chosen "leaker"]
"No one shall ever see 'the kingdom of heaven.' It is within"
and
"Heaven and earth shall fade away."
--Yeshu'a (Jesus)
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.
REALIZING WITHOUT DOGMA, WITHOUT CONTINUOUS SPIRITUAL PRACTICES, AND WITHOUT A PREOCCUPATION WITH “THE NATURE OF REALITY AND THINGS NOUMENAL”
It was asked earlier, "So what is to be addressed?" and the answer was: "The psychological issues . . . the mind issues."
Were someone given some magical ability to change a totally ignorant person into a totally wise person or the ability to change a totally crazy person into a totally sane person by discussing only one topic, which of these topics might have the best chance of eliminating ignorance and insanity?
1. "So, you've seen that you have been rendered ignorant and insane as a result of ignorant and insane programming, conditioning, etc. To change that, let's talk about what some men wrote in one or another book about the way that powerful figures living in another world are able to control everything and everyone in this world. We need to make you an expert in understanding how the Power(s) which have reported to be all-powerful and all-knowing allow so much ignorant and insane and violent and sadistic and rancorous and cruel 'stuff' to happen without intervening and stopping all of that. Get that and then turn control of yourself over to a Power or the Powers which operate like that and then you'll be wise and sane."
2. "So, you've seen that you have been rendered ignorant and insane as a result of ignorant and insane programming, conditioning, etc. Let's talk about the things you can do that will change that. Some suggestions are:
"Sit with your legs crossed like this with your hands and fingers like this and hum this truly sacred sound: 'Om. Om. Om.' Now keep that up for a long time, maybe . . . forever"; or,
"Put this bowl on this pillow and hit it with this stick and listen to the sound. If you want, you can harmonize along by using the 'Om' sound"; or,
"Buy crystals and set them up like this and then do the following while sitting in their presence"; or,
"Become convinced that you are better than other people who are 'only religious' and judge all others and compare yourself to them and see how much more 'spiritually fit' you are than all others"; or,
"Always be 'positive' and always tell people, 'It's all good!"; or,
"Dissociate if the mood strikes you . . . you know, repress, evade, avoid, escape, and 'drop out'"; or,
"Abide supernaturally rather than naturally."
3. "So, you've seen that you have been rendered ignorant and insane as a result of ignorant and insane programming, conditioning, etc. To change that, see that your problems are centered in the mind and then let's treat your psychological problems with a plan which focuses on freeing you of all ignorant beliefs and which in some cases have actually restored persons to sanity (as opposed to claims by millions that dogma and / or spiritual exercises can do that)."
Today, for those who are willing to consider that "!" and "2" above have been tried for thousands of years but have failed miserably in their efforts to replace humankind's widespread ignorance and insanity and chaotic mind with wisdom and sanity and a quiet, peaceful mind (or no mind), more will be offered regarding Maharaj's suggestions about the mind and its psychological issues which are at the root of the Ultimate Sickness.
Consider:
Maharaj has been criticized by some who note that he was “irresolute” and “indecisive” in the version of the Ultimate Medicine which he offered over the years in order to try to address the Ultimate Sickness. After abandoning the use of a religious / non-dual compounded version of the Medicine and a spiritual / non-dual compounded version of the Medicine, certainly the charges of being “irresolute” and “indecisive” might seem valid.
Yet of all the criticisms aimed by some at Maharaj, he never wavered in terms of what he diagnosed as the source of humankind’s problems, namely, the dualistic thinking patterns of humanity which are rooted in their dualistic beliefs. His only "vacillations" came as he searched by experiment and experience for the most effective method of treating those duality-based problems.
The pointer “A dual-minded person is unstable in all ways” has been credited to a fellow named Yeshu'a (erroneously called “Jesus” nowadays) who offered certain non-dual teachings in his final years.
Maharaj also spoke of the instability and chaos which come with the Ultimate Sickness and with its dual-mindedness and with its “ignorance” and “insanity” which manifest as a result of ignorant and insane programming, conditioning, domestication, acculturation, brainwashing and indoctrination.
That humanity’s main problem has long been properly identified by many Eastern sages has seldom been debated. The problem with treating "The Problem" has been with properly identifying an effective method of treatment which results in an actual and lasting solution.
Dogma has long provided a temporary sense of relief for some (often by encouraging dissociation from problems or denial of one's problems); spirituality has provided a temporary sense of relief for some (often encouraging mental and emotional escapism from problems rather than addressing the actual psychological issues that are at the root of their problems).
Some say, "Temporary? Really? I don't think so." Well, look at the behavioral patterns of those seeking via dogma: they go to what they take to be a “special” place for treatment for what ails them, and they go once a week or three days a week or daily or even five times a day. That clearly indicates that dogma offers only a temporary break from one's problems.
Look, too, at the behavioral patterns of those seeking via spirituality: they go on a daily basis to what they take to be a “special” place for treatment for what ails them (many nodding their heads in their sleep as they blindly agree to settle for a treatment plan which they are told up front can only provides a daily reprieve . . . a treatment plan which is only effective for twenty-four hours, max. Really? That plan is acceptable?)
Eastern philosophical systems have done the same; cults and sky cults have done the same; ideological groups have done the same; self-help groups have done the same.
The "Grand Fallacy" of all of those approaches? The Sickness is rooted in what has been added to the minds of persons. All of those approaches above add even more to the minds of persons. The Medicine which Maharaj settled on in the end involves (a) seeing and acknowledging the real root of the problems of humanity which all center in the mind in order to (b) encourage seekers to take the necessary steps to be rid of the mind completely.
This was offered previously, before taking a respite from posting which was necessitated by having to undergo a series of cardiological tests.
Neither the solutions that Maharaj pointed to nor the solutions offered by the psychologist in the interview shared in recent posts had anything to do with religion or spirituality or finding “The Supreme Self.” What Maharaj and that psychologist both discussed had everything to do with the psychological roots of humanity's problems. That is what the psychologist focused on, and that is what "Maharaj the Psychologist" focused on after his failures with trying religious and spiritual methodologies to address the Ultimate Sickness.
What is to be addressed, therefore, are the psychological issues . . . the mind issues.
So if not the holy and spiritual plans which are being set forth by the persons who are leading / misleading the masses, then what should be focused upon, according to what Maharaj eventually came to understand as a more appropriate treatment plan? According to Maharaj, the mind. The Ultimate Sickness is a mental sickness, so only by addressing the mental issues can healing come. Thus, he said:
"All illness begins in the mind."
"Your confusion is . . . in your mind."
"Whatever is conceived by the mind must be false, for it is bound to be relative and limited."
"Distrust your mind, and go beyond."
"There is no chaos in the world except the chaos which your mind creates."
" . . . The mind obscures and distorts."
"It is the mind that creates illusion."
"There is no such thing as peace of mind. Mind means disturbance. Restlessness itself is mind."
"Don't rely on your mind for liberation. It is the mind that brought you into bondage. Go beyond it altogether."
"Beyond the mind there is no suffering."
So if the problem centers in the mind, and since a sick mind - obviously - cannot heal a sick mind, then what is the solution, per Maharaj?
"Stop making use of your mind and see what happens."
"Learn to separate yourself from the image and the mirror. Keep on remembering: I am neither the mind nor its ideas."
"There is no such thing as mind. There are ideas . . . ."
"Abandon the wrong ideas, for they are false and obstruct your vision . . . ."
"The death of the mind is the birth of wisdom."
"To know that you are a prisoner of your mind - that you live in an imaginary world of your own creation - is the dawn of wisdom."
So what was his state in the end, the state which ultimately freed him and led to the birth of his wisdom? It was a no-mind state:
"There is no such thing as a mind."
"I have no mind . . . ."
Want to be free of the mind? Maharaj advised:
"Reach a state of zero-concepts."
"As to my mind, I have no such thing. There is consciousness in which everything happens."
"I am double dead: not only am I dead to my body, but to my mind, too."
"I find I have lost the mind irretrievably."
It is the mind which is a storehouse for body and personality identifications.
It is the mind which is a storehouse for dualistic and, therefore, bogus ideas and concepts and notions and misperceptions (a.k.a., “beliefs”) which generate instability and chaos and misery and suffering.
It is the mind which is a storehouse of the ignorant and insane beliefs which were planted therein by ignorant and insane programming, conditioning, domestication, acculturation, brainwashing and indoctrination.
It is the mind which is a storehouse of all which imprisons persons.
[John Milton: "The mind . . . in itself can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven” and Richard Lovelace: “Stone walls do not a prison make, nor iron bars a cage.” So what did he identify as that which does make a prison? The mind.]
It is the mind which is a storehouse to all which results in a false sense of different-from-ment which – in turn – always leads to a subsequent sense of better-than-ment.
It is the mind, being the storehouse of beliefs about different-from-ment and better-than-ment, which leads to a false sense of separation which then sets the stage for arguments, nonsensical disagreements, fighting, conflict, killing, wars, chaos, pain, misery, and suffering.
It is the mind which is a storehouse of learned ignorance, personality disorders, and the neuroses and psychoses which can follow as personality disorders disintegrate into a state of severe psychic unhealthiness.
At every step, the long and arduous “path” which was followed here for decades involved dealing with persons who were all determined to use their dogma or exercises or beliefs or methods to add more to the mind, touting the need for more dogma, more spiritual exercises, more philosophy, more ideology, more (but different) beliefs, ad infinitum.
The long and arduous search ended when it became clear that (1) all of the stuff in the mind was the actual source of every problem, the mind being the origin of every problem; and that (2) the solution did indeed call for de-accumulation . . . that is, called for entering into a process of being un-taught all of it; called for entering into a process of un-learning it all;
and called for casting aside all of the nonsense which had been added to and stored in a part of the brain which would be called “the mind” and which would lead to decades of ignorant and nonsensical and insane actions which led to massive levels of misery and suffering that did not end until the mind came to an end.
How to end the mind, the entire content of which can all be summarized with the term, “one’s beliefs”?
Abandon all beliefs. No beliefs? No mind. No mind? No stone walls. No stone walls? Freedom.
As has been noted here, each belief, each assumed persona, and each scrap of learned ignorance which is all stored in the mind . . . each of those becomes one of the many bars which are used to form the prison of the mind.
Want to be freed from prison? Cut away the bars of beliefs; the bars of identifications (or Identification); and the bars of taught and learned ignorance.
Only then can you be free of dualistic thinking, and only free of dualistic thinking can you be truly free, and only if truly free can you be happy. (As Maharaj said, “It really is simple,” yes?)
To be continued.
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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 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."
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."
