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1. [See the offer in gold text 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 green text after today's post for the full meaning and implications of that.
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MORE CLARIFICATIONS FROM MAHARAJ ON THE AM-NESS FROM HIS LATER TALKS
Yesterday:
Maharaj did not say, “Be devoted to the THAT-ness only.” Instead, he said, “Be devoted to that “I AM-ness” only.”
“Devoted to” in what way? That term can mean “dedicated to,” “dutiful about,” “constant,” “caring for,” “loving of,” “kind to,” “attentive to,” or “dedicated to.”
It does not mean “attached to,” “dependent upon,” “identified with,” or “paying excessive attention to.”
So, “Be devoted to that “I AM-ness” only.”
He continued: “When you do that, all other rituals become redundant, useless [including both religious rituals and spiritual rituals]. When at that level, you will envision everything as useless; therefore all these talks, including my own, will be reduced to illusion.”
Thus, it may be inferred from those subsequent pointers that “Be devoted to that “I AM-ness” only” means “Pay attention to the AM-ness only, not to the THAT-ness, both understand that neither is anything special (much less ‘Special’)”.
Here's additional information on Maharaj's take on the I am / AM-ness and the temporarily-manifested consciousness:
Now what is it that we are concerned with? We are dealing with the physical form, which is made up of, and fed by, the five elements. In that form are operating the life force (the vital breath) and this consciousness that is the knowledge “I am” or the sense of being, the sense of existence. The latter is the sentience, which is the gift of the consciousness.
This knowledge “I am”, this consciousness, has come out of the prior state when there was no consciousness. The consciousness is a state which is now with us and because of which we suffer; and before this consciousness came, a state prevailed when we were not conscious of.
Is it necessary that you should remember that you are (“I am”)? No. Spontaneously you know and remember that you are. That is why you have come here, have you not? Because you are. Stay put there.
In order to not mistakenly hold on to something as “I am”, don’t say “I am” this, “I am” that; just hold on to yourself; you are, just be.
The one who abides in that principle by which he knows “I am”, he is the manifest.
You are sitting here: you are. Prior to words. Now the hearsay goes “I am”. “I am” means the flow of the mind has started. Now whatever you say with that “I AM-ness” through the mind about you, you have represented as yourself. But that is not so.
The capital we have is the knowledge “I am”. But what have we done? We have handed over that knowledge to the body and we say “I am” the body. Thereby we have reduced the totality, the limitless, to the limited, a specified insignificant body. And that is why, being unable to give up this association with the body, we are afraid of dying.
The vital force carries out all the activities. The knowledge “I am” is merely a witness; this is the actual state of affairs.
It is very simple. The body and in the body it is like a coin. On one side, you have the vital breath for making possible all activity; and on the other side is the knowledge “I am”. Only when the vital breath is there, the knowledge “I am” is present.
When the vital breath leaves the body, the knowledge “I am” also disappears. And both of these are the product of the food essence body. “I am” not that; this entire composite, “I am” not.
First of all, this knowingness appeared, the knowingness “I am”; later on you embraced the body.
Your fall started with the appearance of that beingness, “I am”. With the appearance of this knowingness “I am”, the next fall was embracing the body as “I am”. And then you gathered so many things onto yourself. Hold on to the state of knowing yourself as “I am” as the truth. All other things you have gathered to yourself are unreal.
From the no-knowing state, the first veil I took was that of “I am”. That was formless, nameless, but I embraced the body. I got a form for myself; I got a name for myself. This was the fall. Therefore all sages advise: Give up the shackles of the body!
Focus your attention only on that consciousness “I am”. Don’t be led astray by all the so-called spiritual disciplines and rigmaroles.
You are not the personality or the individual. The quintessence of this food, which in turn is the outcome of the five-elemental play, is the taste “I am”. “I am” is not a personality or an individual. “I am” addresses that principle, that touch of “I am”, that consciousness which is the product of the food essence body.
This primary concept, “I AM-ness” is dishonest because it is still a concept only. Finally one has to transcend that also the concept-free state.
With the arrival of the consciousness, it occurs to you that you are; simultaneously, “I am” occurs to you or in your attention. So when the consciousness is not there, attention is also not there. Subsequent to the arrival of consciousness and attention, everything else crept in. The Absolute state is prior to consciousness; it means the unborn state. As the unborn state, prior to consciousness, can it have an iota of knowledge?
How can you retain the pride that “I am” like this? This “I am” business depends entirely on the food essence.
Once you reject what you are not, whatever finally remains, the leftover, is yourself your true nature. Presently, whatever you know is “I am”, this “I am” is the product of the five elements. Out of the elements comes the food body and because of the food body, that “I AM-ness” is sustained. “I am” is the taste, the fragrance of this food body.
The scriptures say that we have our karma and our sin and that is why we are here, but this is for the ignorant masses. Those who have realized the self-knowledge “I am”, for them these stories are of no use.
You must analyze “death”, the meaning of this common parlance. At the time that “death” occurs, the vital breath quits the body, gradually leaves the body. At the same time as the vital breath, the mind and the language also go out. Simultaneously, this quality of “I am” also departs or goes into oblivion.
So what is left of the various parts of the temporarily-existing composite unity? Nothing as far as ever being together again. What was “in unity” – what was “joined together in a particular space, forming that notion of 'one'” – was a composite of elements, air / vital breath, and conscious-energy which allowed for a mind and language and which allowed for the mind to be filled with nonsense via programming, conditioning, etc.
But when mahasamadhi is taken – or as the masses say, “when death comes” – the elements return to the universal pool of elements, the air returns to the universal pool of air, and the conscious-energy returns to the universal pool of conscious-energy. They do remain, but they do not remain together anymore than they did previously.
They were always coming and going: the elements were replaced regularly (such as the skin being replaced every 28 days or so, such as the stomach lining being replaced every few days, etc.); the air constantly came and went; and the conscious-energy was regularly being replaced directly by way of eating plant food or indirectly by way of eating something that had eaten plant food.
Furthermore, the mind “goes out” and all of the nonsense stored therein fades away with the rotting away of the natural, elemental brain (which the unnatural, non-elemental mind had become a corrupted part of).
Where once there was that which was called “floyd,” and where once there was that which was called “you,” what remains? The elements which “went out” in one direction, the air which “went out in another, and the conscious-energy which “went out” in another. Along with those remaining - but not remaining together and not ever being "re-united" again - the content of the mind also faded away.
So what could possibly be left to “go anywhere” as one form or another of some previously-existing “entity” or composite unity called “maharaj” or “floyd” or “you”? Nothing.
The elements will continue to exist wherever they are; the air goes where it goes; and the conscious-energy goes where it goes, but none of those three “go together” and none of any previous entity’s mind or previous composite unity’s mind will remain at all.
Some believe in “an afterlife” in some place where they will know / recognize all of the people they loved and will be re-united with them after an exact quantity of elements and air and conscious-energy are first re-united along with the contents of a mind where images of “others” were stored.
But following the act of mahasamadhi, the various parts which had made up “them” and “you” and "me" - all temporarily-manifested composite unities - became either scattered about the planet (as is the case with the elemental parts) or scattered into the universal space (as is the case with the air and conscious-energy).
So Maharaj's point was this: if “devoted to the AM-ness" and if realization happens, then all angst and worry and concern about “the future” and “heaven or hell” (or whatever terms were used to match those) as well as “all other rituals” will become “redundant . . . useless.”
Then, the AM-ness can happen without all the preoccupation with rewards vs. punishments, without all the preoccupation with fears vs. desires, and without all of the distortions and illusions and ignorant beliefs which mark the existence of the masses.
Consider:
Questioner: “And what is death?”
Maharaj: “It is the change in the living process of a particular body. Integration ends and disintegration sets in.”
He said: “Just as the knower of the body appears at birth, so he disappears at death.”
End of story, and with an awareness of what the end of the story entails (the understanding of which frees one of worries and obsessions and anxiety and concern and fixation with the so-called “past” and the so-called “future”) that allows for freedom from all debilitating illusions to happen, followed by the ability to relish “now.”
Ergo, he concluded, “Once the illusion that the body-mind is oneself is abandoned, death loses its terror; it becomes a part of living”
and
“Life and death, self and not-self — abandon all these ideas. They are of no use to you.”
To “be devoted to that I AM-ness only” is to be willing to undertake whatever is required to reach the understanding that the focus should not be on the end of body and mind but should be on facilitating “the death of the mind” which is, in turn, “the birth of wisdom.”
The death of the mind will allow for the remainder of the manifestation to happen in a no-ignorance, no-stupidity, no-insanity manner, after which wisdom will allow all happenings during the remainder of the manifestation to be seen in proper perspective and will allow for mere witnessing without the instability of unsustainable emotional high’s and guaranteed emotional low’s marring the remainder of the manifestation.
With the end of all beliefs, all ignorant and stupid and insane beliefs which generate misery and suffering shall, necessarily, also end.
Consider:
If the process of realizing did nothing more than bring about an end to the masses being driven by ignorance, stupidity, and insanity, would that not be enough reason to realize?
What a significant different that would make for the remainder of the relative existence of every human and every non-human as well as planet earth itself, all of which are being adversely affected by humans driven by ignorance, stupidity and insanity.
Would not that alone be reason enough to realize?
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 their god / their 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) whose Vatican Bank worked for decades with the Mafia while laundering mob earnings (for a 15% all-profit charge by the Bank); 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
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or
You can click on video "Number Ten" in the upper right-hand column on this page.
If preferred, here's
the direct link to the AUDIO VERSION
of that session.
