TODAY'S CONSIDERATIONS
ANNOUNCEMENTS
1. [See the offer following this post for details on how you can watch a retreat on video which includes a detailed discussion of all seven of the steps on the path as used by Maharaj]
2. 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.
3. A new video ("Number Ten: Awakening Together Satsang, March 2018") has now been added in the far right column of this page, offering the opportunity to view a recent 2018 satsang session with Floyd being interviewed by Regina and Jacqueline of "The Awakening Together Group."
To review:
An “overview” of non-duality and what all is involved is being offered, discussing the different methods of teachings that are used; the different types of yoga which may or may not be used along with those methods;
how Maharaj’s message evolved or was adjusted; the ways and means Maharaj used; how those varied from early on to later on; how the type of yoga he used with the Direct Path Method changed; what he discarded after seeing that the early forms of the Ultimate Medicine he offered were ineffective;
how and why he shifted from endorsing a four-step path rather than the seven-step path he had used earlier and why he shifted from endorsing “SELF-Enquiry to endorsing “self-inquiry” (that is, “false-self-inquiry”);
as well as why he abandoned the use of a religious / non-dual combination message and why he abandoned the use of a spirituality / non-dual combination message.
To review the teaching methods:
TEACHING METHODS:
Direct Path
Traditional Advaita
Neo-Vedanta
Neo-Advaita
Pseudo-Advaita
THE SPECIFICS OF “THE TWO PATHS” WHICH HE USED
Maharaj initially used a seven-step path approach.
Later, he made clear that it would be enough to complete only the first four steps.
THE TYPES OF YOGA MAHARAJ USED OVER THE YEARS
Yoga, meaning “union,” does not point - as some suggest - toward “a union of body and mind.” Some others claim that it refers to the union of “the individual” and “the divine consciousness”;
however, those that truly understand the non-dual message realize that there is no “individual,” understand that consciousness is merely a form of energy, and understand, therefore, that consciousness has nothing to do with anything deemed to be “divine.”
Instead, they understand that the validity of the Oneness eliminates the possibility of any “a” ever being joined with any “b” (which is just another of thousands of dualistic concepts).
That understanding distinguished between the two types of witnessing, namely,
1. “subject-object witnessing,” whereby someone can assert that “I (‘a’) see you (‘b’)”
as opposed to
2. “Pure Witnessing” which observes the Oneness at the core of all and sees all as it truly is.
To continue with the different types of yoga which Maharaj used throughout the early years:
Maharaj used the Direct Path Method of teaching in combination with different types of yoga over the years as he experimented with various combinations of the Ultimate Medicine.
Eventually, he would focus solely on his “namesake,” the Nisarga Yoga, but earlier he had used a variety of other yoga disciplines.
The detailed discussion of all of this is available in the book entitled Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj and His Evolution
[First, let it be clear that "Maharaj" / "maharaj" never actually "evolved." What he was - a temporarily-manifested composite unity composed of eternally-lasting elements and eternally-lasting (conscious) energy - is what he was. What actually evolved were the specifics of the message which he offered as well as the way he offered them.]
As noted in that book, he tried many different types of yogas in conjunction with the Direct Path Method as he shifted . . .
FROM
guru-bhakti and bhakti / god bhakti
TO
bhakti / god bhakti and jnana (and mention of "atma")
TO
jnana and nisargan
TO
the Nisargan Yoga only.
THE TWO TYPES OF “ENQUIRY” HE RECOMMENDED
Moreover, he came to understand that the process of completing just four of the original seven steps on the path to realization could in itself provide to the masses considerable degrees of freedom from the effects of the three key symptoms of the Ultimate Sickness which he identified as “ignorance, stupidity, and insanity.”
It was coming to that understanding which led to Maharaj’s shift from the use of the seven-step approach and to his concluding later on that it would be enough to complete only the first four steps (that is, to understand not What You Are but to see instead all that you are not").
That led him to begin suggesting that seekers focus not on what often turns into a lifetime (and often egotism-generating) process of SELF-Enquiry but to conducting a (false)-self-enquiry instead
and then
being done with enquiries and Enquiries once and for all
and thereafter
rejecting all notions regarding personal identifications or Personal / Noumenal Identifications
and then
simply abiding naturally
rather than
living unnaturally or trying to live supernaturally (a.k.a., "spiritually") and focusing only on what are deemed to be “the-supposedly-really-important noumenal issues” rather than phenomenal issues throughout the relative existence (which are often begging for attention, such as is the case with the need for treatment of personality disorders and the neuroses and psychoses which they can devolve into).
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 that is relevant is 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"
--Yeshu'a (Jesus)
and
"Heaven and earth shall fade away."
--Yeshu'a (Jesus)
and
"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,
a writer used by the Pope to issue off the record
teachings which become a part of the Papal Magisterium.
[That said, would that the popes who have shown the courage to reject a core concept of their dogma - namely, "hell" - would find the additional courage required to question the very existence of their institution in light of the centuries-long cover-up of their history of raping children and in light of the mental and emotional and psychological scarring of billions of their members past and present.
And that need for courage also applies as questions need to be asked about why so many other sky cults are still being supported and allowed to continue to exist as well. When certain types of programming and conditioning have been shown to blind the masses, they should end. Will they? Not likely. Why?
Because what the masses think and say and do is most influenced by the international crime families which hold sway over the masses as criminals conduct their planet-wide operations. What are the major international crime families and which are the most influential and have the largest memberships?
The Mafia / La Cosa Nostra; the Catholic Church (with it 1.2 billion followers); Protestant and Evangelical Churches (with over 1.2 billion followers) like the one I was raised in where the youth director molested and sexually assaulted young girls; big business which has long created environments in which people have been abused; powerful political bodies like the U.S. Congress, etc., etc., etc.)
With all of those crime families, neither the followers nor the leadership ever voluntarily step down or shut down their criminal activities. Be they gangs, organized crime families, religions, big business, politicians, etc., they all want control and they all want power and they all want money, and nothing internal will interfere with the driving forces at play.
The masses must demand that all those in charge must step down and their groups and institutions must shut down, and there's the real problem because the continuation of their crimes are enabled not as much by the people running such crime organizations as they are enabled by the masses of people who - wanting some perceived "payoff" - remain involved with them and give them money and support them and aid and abet the continued existence of those criminal enterprises and thus facilitate the ability of church criminals and political criminals and other types of criminals to continue to commit their crimes.]
Here's
the direct link to the VIDEO VERSION
of the "Awakening Together" satsang session with Regina and Jacqueline referenced earlier, 18 MARCH 2018
If preferred, here's
the direct link to the AUDIO VERSION
of that session.
