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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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REALIZING WITHOUT DOGMA, WITHOUT CONTINUOUS SPIRITUAL PRACTICES, AND WITHOUT A PREOCCUPATION WITH “THE NATURE OF REALITY AND THINGS NOUMENAL”
To continue with the discussion of more of the effects of seeking via religions, spiritual movements, Self-Inquiry, or any other mythical or mystical manner, namely, upgrading illusions and downgrading illusions]:
In 2006, the comments and questions in an e-mail from a man in India, Vigneshwar, were addressed and the response is still relevant to the current topic under discussion. Vigneshwar had written the following:
Dear Floyd, I am going through the website. A few things arose this morning and there was this urge to pose them to you. The worshiping of the "I Am" has just started and it’s being worshiped with the name of Lord Rama. Now, upon entering into the witnessing state all of a sudden, it tells me "The worshiper is imaginary, he is not real. Now, who is worshiping who and who wants continuity?" Who wants to get the answer “It’s no use. Goodbye"?
In this state, the mind starts to interpret and talk in this way: ”They” have all been deceiving me since ages. Every temple looks now like a source of deception where something that's imagined prays to something that's imagined to be powerful. Then I feel a bit hurt, because I want to believe that it’s only these prayers that had delivered me to this witnessing state.
After seeing the "me" as imagined entity, even reverence to the Guru who told me all this is questioned. This is really hurting. What do I do with the Guru now? With what thought should I view my Guru from now on? What did Nisargadatta Maharaj and Floyd Henderson do to me? Why did they erase me and themselves in the process?
Of course, these questions are asked by the "assumed" existence. Mind likes fairy tales and it wants a nice and finishing story that tells the "why" of all this. You may choose to answer me or not. But not showing reverence is not something that's acceptable to a "me" that's still present. Please help me comprehend things in the right perspective. How should the One who told me all this be viewed? Vigneshwar
The reply:
F.: So, Vigneshwar, you are still taking certain mirages to be real. Question: How would you witness a mirage accurately? The answer: with understanding. The awake and aware know that a mirage is merely an appearance in light. Once you see that a mirage is a mirage, you will never again attempt to upgrade an illusion or undertake to downgrade an illusion.
To review, when an assumed identity wants to pay “reverence” to a “guru” or “priest” or “preacher” or “spiritual adviser,” it is trying to upgrade not only the illusion of “guru” or “priest” or “preacher” or "spiritual adviser" but also the illusion of self. When one looks at a picture of “Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj,” what should really be seen? Nothing other than a grouping of elements with a nervous system that was used by consciousness for a limited period of manifestation.
When one looks at a picture of “Floyd Henderson,” what should really be seen? Nothing other than a grouping of elements with a nervous system which is currently being used by consciousness for a limited period of manifestation. That’s all that happened “with Maharaj” and that’s all that is happening “with Floyd Henderson.”
To say that Maharaj was a “great teacher” or an “enlightened guru” is merely an effort to upgrade that which was nothing more than an instance where conscious-energy manifested for a period by using a space of elements with a functioning nervous system. Wherefore any “reverence” for dust-to-dust, for ash-to-ash, for a space that happened because an orgasm occurred during an act of friction between two people who would be called “his parents”?
[Presently in Mumbai, there are certain persons who on a daily basis enter a room to view - and to stand in the presence of and to show reverence to - a handful of ashes (mixed with the ashes of wood as well). The ashes were gathered by a man from the remains of Maharaj's funeral pyre and are now displayed in a see-through case in that room.
Every day, certain persons go there to chant and clap and praise and heap adoration on a handful of ashes, some of which are now associated by the visitors with their earlier image of Maharaj upon whom they are now also heaping adoration via the use of some ashes. What would you suspect Maharaj would say to them if he could speak to them about what he would surely view as their nonsensical actions?]
Every day, certain persons go there to chant and clap and praise and heap adoration on a handful of ashes, some of which are now associated by the visitors with their earlier image of Maharaj upon whom they are now also heaping adoration via the use of some ashes. What would you suspect Maharaj would say to them if he could speak to them about what he would surely view as their nonsensical actions?]
If you are dealing with anyone who desires praise and awe and respect and reverence, then you are not dealing with one that has realized. There is no difference in you and your guru or in you and me or in your guru and me except for what is understood, and if there are yet desires - for praise and awe and respect and reverence or for anything else - then the understanding has not happened.
Maharaj made clear that their orgasmic pleasure became his relative pain. In the same way, the pleasures of two people became your pain - that “hurt” you mentioned in your e-mail, along with many other pains - and set the stage for "them" to delude you with beliefs that were blindly handed down to them and that they, in turn, have blindly passed on to you. The simple thing that really happens is this:
I - a composite unity with specks of temporarily-manifested conscious-energy circulating into and out of - "used" the nervous system of a plant; I later "used" the nervous systems of two humans who were called “mother” and “father.” I the conscious-energy am also presently "using" the nervous system of a space called “floyd.” Were I to have “reverence” for Maharaj, why would I not also have reverence for a puddle of mud or a pile of ash or for any other temporarily-manifested combination of elements?
The relevant facts are these:
--nothing deserves praise and awe and respect and reverence,
and
--only an ego-state being defended by ego-defense mechanisms would desire to have praise and awe and respect and reverence heaped upon it
and
only an ego-state being defended by ego-defense mechanisms would desire to offer praise and awe and respect and reverence to some "one" or to some "thing."
Maharaj was nothing more nor less than that which I am and that which, for a temporary period, has also "used" those same types of groupings and nervous systems. The same applies to you. Since reverence is a concept, no reverence is held for anyone or anything as abidance is happening from a "zero concepts" stance.
The relevant facts are these:
--nothing deserves praise and awe and respect and reverence,
and
--only an ego-state being defended by ego-defense mechanisms would desire to have praise and awe and respect and reverence heaped upon it
and
only an ego-state being defended by ego-defense mechanisms would desire to offer praise and awe and respect and reverence to some "one" or to some "thing."
Maharaj was nothing more nor less than that which I am and that which, for a temporary period, has also "used" those same types of groupings and nervous systems. The same applies to you. Since reverence is a concept, no reverence is held for anyone or anything as abidance is happening from a "zero concepts" stance.
This perceived "I" is a combination of elements and energy. The perceived "you" is a combination of elements and energy. Do you show reverence to the energy which rests behind an elemental plug in your elemental wall, which moves into your computer, and which allows its programming to work? Of course not. And no other form of energy deserves any reverence, either.
Just as the energy will vacate that computer someday, and just as the elements which make up that computer will return to their original state someday, so it happened with what was misleadingly called "Maharaj," and so it will happen with what is misleadingly called "Floyd," and so it will happen with what you now misleadingly refer to as "Your Guru," so it will happen with what is misleadingly being called "Vigneshwar."
When this composite unity is no longer manifested, the nervous system that I am temporarily using will no longer have a space in which to function; also, no space will be available for circulating the air or the energy. The elements will merge again with the universal pool of elements, the breath will merge again into the surrounding pool of oxygen, and the energy will merge again into that pool of energy from which it manifested.
Regarding "Of course, these questions are asked by the 'assumed' existence. Mind likes fairy tales and it wants a nice and finishing story that tells the 'why' of all this. You may choose to answer me or not. But not showing reverence is not something that's acceptable to a 'me' that's still present. Please help me comprehend things in the right perspective. How should the One who told me all this be viewed?"
F.: As for a “nice end” to the story, there is no end to the story of cyclings. There is only an “end” to a particular space which came about as a result of what was nothing more than a temporarily-organized set of elements. Furthermore, there is no end to the elements, to the breath, or to the energy. That which will not experience such continuity is the body-mind-personality triad. Be free of those three illusions and you can merely be for the remainder of the manifestation.
As it is, with your talk of “reverence” and “a lord” or “a guru” or “a Maharaj” or “a Floyd,” you are still trying to upgrade an illusion. See the efforts to upgrade or to downgrade illusions for what they are:
1. “The guru” is an illusory interpretation that you are applying to a space using a nervous system; you are upgrading that illusion to something supposedly but erroneously worthy of reverence.
2. Buildings are illusions (to the degree that they are not what they appear to be, either literally or in theoretical terms of being perceived as "different" or "holy"). Temples and churches and mosques and synagogues are upgrades of that illusion.
3. Talk is a lie; preaching and praying and bhajans or singing of hymns are upgrades of that illusion.
4. “This world” is an illusion, so the “next world of rewards” is an upgrade of that basic illusion and the “next world of punishment” is a downgrade of that basic illusion.
5. To believe that “I am this body and mind and personality” is an illusion; the belief that one can come back as a higher being is an upgrade of that illusion; the belief that one can come back as a lower being is a downgrade of that illusion.
6. Spouses and lovers and children are illusions; “my wonderful spouse” or “my wonderful lover” and “my brilliant children” are upgrades to the illusion, just as “My former spouse is a bitch (or a bastard)” is a downgrade of a former spousal image.
7. The do-er is an illusion; doing noble or worthy or reverent or helpful things is an effort to upgrade the illusion.
8. The body-mind-personality is an illusion; to believe that the triad can be "a worshiper," "a devotee," "a religious person," "a spiritual person," a "better person than before," ad infinitum, is a result of trying to upgrade the illusion. Some have asked, “But in the absence of religion or spirituality, what is going to hold the potential beasts called ‘humans’ in check and prevent them from doing ‘bad’ or ‘immoral’ things?”
First, when mere beingness is happening, then doing “bad” or “immoral” things cannot happen. Second, does religion or spirituality really hold persons in check worldwide, or do both the historical evidence and the current evidence clearly show that they more often than not generate bestial conduct instead, relatively speaking?
You should now see your pattern, which is the pattern of all persons prior to full realization: you are being driven in your efforts to upgrade or to downgrade illusions. However, to try to eliminate - one at a time - each of the thousands of upgrades and each of the thousands of downgrades (all of which have been dreamed up by men) could never be accomplished even in a thousand years; instead, see the primary illusion; then, all of the secondary illusions involving upgrades and downgrades shall fade away.
Then you will know that no one erased you, "you" being nothing more than a temporarily-manifested composite unity. What was “erased” was only a mirage called “you” that had been seeking to upgrade all his wistful illusions in a quest that was quixotic to the core.
An art restorer can strip away the layers of paint which have been added to a canvas and which prevent persons from seeing what had originally been observable. Similarly, realization (the result of being able to differentiate between the true and the false and, therefore, being restored to sanity and being wise as well) can erase away the layers of concepts and lies and tales and dogma and "spiritual beliefs" which had been added and which formed the collection of learned ignorance and illusions which have been distorting your perspective.
To be continued.
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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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of the "Awakening Together" satsang session with Regina and Jacqueline referenced earlier, 18 MARCH 2018
or
You can click on the picture link which has now been added for video "Number Ten" in the upper right-hand column on this page.
If preferred, here's
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