TODAY'S CONSIDERATIONS
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DE-AWESOME-FYING NON-DUAL TERMINOLOGY
More on the rationale for this series:
1. Among the 7+ billion non-realized persons on planet earth, 97% reported in a survey that they limit their “search area” to the space beneath the roof a church or basilica or cathedral or temple or the meeting room of a “spiritual group” or a wat or mosque or synagogue or gurdwara. Actually, they seldom seek because they are convinced that they have found. They are taught to “question nothing” and to “accept with blind faith” whatever they are taught.
2. The same applies to the millions supposedly seeking in particular rooms or a loft or a home or a borrowed gathering space or via a particular ideology, cult, philosophy, or theory.
3. Of those seeking via a system of pointers which included the invitation to “question everything,” few question it all.
4. Here, “non-dualists” are encouraged to “question it all” and then an expanded caveat is added: “even question every non-dual pointer you’ve ever heard or read.”
5. Long before Maharaj shared pointers on the bogus beliefs regarding body and mind and personality identification; and long before he advised seekers to abandon their religious and spiritual role-playing; and long before he advised them to give up their spiritual workaholism and merely abide naturally, he laid the groundwork for all the pointers to come by saying, “Question everything.”
He meant with those words that every belief accumulated by listening to others and by reading the words of others and by going to gatherings (where those he derided as “Big Name Teachers” were collecting millions of dollars a year from seekers) must be questioned.
6. There have been millions of religious and spiritual and philosophical and ideological and Eastern and, yes, even non-dual concepts / beliefs which billions of humans have taken to be “awesome.”
In addition to “awesome,” so many simple and basic parts of the non-dual understanding have been “elevated in status” in a most supercilious, pompous fashion, reporting that various elements of the message are “noble,” “other-worldly,” “extraordinary,” “exceptional,” “distinctive,” and “exclusive.” None of them were, and none of them are.
7. This series is offering a different perspective about those concepts / beliefs / pointers / whatever.
So far in this series, it has been shown that - far from being “awesome concepts or teachings” - there is actually no validity or logic at all to such concepts or teachings as . . .
continuity
and
WHO-ness and / or who-ness
and
“SELF-Actualization”
and
“SELF-Realization”
and
“self-realization” (unless referring to the fact that one has realized that all assigned or assumed selves are illusions as are all assumed Selves as well)
and
liberation
and
enlightenment, awakening, and spiritual awakening,
and
“the Spiritual Malady”
and
higher consciousness
and
noble truths
and
how to know God
and
finding your life’s purpose
and
how to find peace of mind
and, relatedly,
mindfulness
and
becoming who you are
and
having an ageless body and timeless mind
and
karma
and
“Infinite Self” and “Supreme Self” and “Eternal Self”
and
birth-death-rebirth cycles
and
“The Universe.”
Today, the discussion moves to . . .
“THE WORK,” “SPIRITUAL WORK,” “SPIRITUAL WORKAHOLISM”
Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj offered three different version of the Ultimate Medicine:
Med version 1 was a hindu / non-dual compounded version of the Ultimate Medicine;
Med version 2 was a spiritual / non-dual compounded version of the Ultimate Medicine;
and
Med version 3 was a psychological / non-dual compounded version of the Ultimate Medicine.
Especially during the Med version 1 days, Maharaj spoke of the use of sadhana and expanded spiritual practices which included listening, bhajans, chanting, dancing and meditation.
[Sadhana is said to refer to a daily spiritual practice which is to include “awareness, discipline, and the intention of spiritual growth” which is to be practiced alone and solely for the sake of “the individual.”
“Daily?” “Yes.”
“Forever? “Yes.”
“Spiritual Growth?” “Yes.”
“An 'individual' growing spiritually?” “Yes.”]
Of course he would explain to the wisest among his visitors that "There is no question of elevating to a higher level,” (that is, no question of “growing spiritually”). He said, “Here, it is only a question of understanding.” He would also point out often that “there is no individual.”
Moving further into the Med version 2 days, Maharaj talked more about “spiritual work” because his Western audience demanded it. Later, he would become free of their influence and “tell it like it is” and stop teaching all of that nonsense and invite his visitors to abide in a nisargan / natural manner (as does every other living thing on planet earth except for ignorance-driven and programming-driven and conditioning-driven humans.)
Later, he would advise seekers to . . .
“Give up spirituality”
and
“Follow your normal (natural) inclinations"
and
"Forget spirituality.”
Yet far more “teachers” today are like the man who says that he teaches seekers the spiritual tools which are necessary to help them with meditation, with astral projection, and with consciousness expansion.
Let’s avoid the requirement to write three more posts by offering the consideration right now that spiritual tools and astral projections and consciousness expansion should not be taught. To do so merely adds to the high volume of nonsense which already calls for being un-taught and un-learned (as if anyone needs to project astrally or as if anyone can expand conscious-energy.)
Maharaj would eventually invited
seekers to abide naturally (in a “nisarga” manner), and if seekers would
abide naturally, then they must consciously determine that will stop abiding unnaturally
and / or supernaturally / spiritually.
If one follows the four-step “path” as Maharaj did in the end, and if one
includes with that a study of the yoga which allows seekers to understand how
to abide in a "Nisargan" (or "natural" manner), then all .
. .
unnatural (i.e., ignorance-based and insanity-laden) living
and . . .
supposedly supernatural (i.e., so-called "spiritual,"
magical-thinking-based) living which were both being driven by the impure / blocked
consciousness
will come to an end and, only then, can natural living begin.
To emphasize: Natural living happens with every living thing on the planet
except for humans (or for living things that have been programmed or
conditioning or driven insane by humans).
For
most of the years that humans or human-like beings walked the planet, they
lived in a natural, non-supernatural manner because there was no language by
which they could be taught that myths and superstitions are true.
Written language developed a little more than 5000 years ago, at which time the
dreamed-up tales of gods began to be recorded in texts that would someday be
considered "holy."
So
out of all the years that humans have walked the planet, all but the last few
thousand years were lived quite naturally and quite successfully without any holy
texts discussing supernatural beings and teaching supernatural concepts.
Additionally, happenings throughout those years were lived without any oral
tales being told and circulated about supernatural concepts and supernatural
beings.
How
can that be known? Science proves without a doubt that it was only about
100,000 years ago that, anatomically, humans developed hominid vocal tracts
that were of a shape that would permit a range of speech sounds.
Even then, it would have required thousands of years for the development of
vocabulary and thousands more to develop supernatural concepts that could be
verbalized.
So
natural living prevailed for millions of years whereas the human effort to try
to live supernaturally is a recent phenomenon in terms of the overall human
experience;
moreover, the relative existence was a fairly simple existence prior to efforts
by controlling men and women to overlay supernatural concepts onto the
previously all-natural existence.
The
Nisarga Yoga approach offers a direct route to the understanding which results
in a natural way of AS IF living (that is, a natural way of functioning). That
means living / functioning spontaneously for the remainder of the
manifestation, knowing that the "world" is illusory but living as if
any of "all this" matters. (Thus, employment can happen even without
the assumption of an "employee" persona.)
The realized move through the relative existence in a manner that is fixed by
nature even though they appear to be moving as they please.
Rather than trying to exert any force, they accept that happenings happen.
Among the realized, nature has “priority” over efforts to control or
manipulate. The realized abide within the framework of the natural laws, understanding
that all is to happen per the natural order and understanding that all is to
happen in “proportion.”
On the other hand, persons (i.e., the “non-realized) seek to control and
manipulate so that they will not have to accept “proportion.” They work to
accumulate and to have more and to appear to be greater than what is
proportional. They imagine that they have an actual need for more than is
proportional and more than the basics that are necessary.
The realized move along lines that are “customary” rather than along paths which
are unnatural or supernatural. To think supernaturally is to think magically,
and magical thinking is delusional.
Human’s “paying work” can occupy enough of the hours in a day without then adding on a load of “non-paying (spiritual) work” throughout the remainder of the day. Why do humans do that?
Because they have been programmed, conditioned etc., to believe that there is a payoff for all of their spiritual work (which leads them to become trapped in “spiritual workaholism.”)
Abiding naturally will allow one to eliminate their “non-paying workaholism.” How can that be known? By witnessing.
By witnessing what?
By witnessing the fact that deer and birds and fish and all other living things except for humans do quite well by abiding in a natural fashion without sacrificing an iota of time or energy to trying to become better via doing spiritual work.
[That “doing quite well” happens with deer and birds and fish, etc. as long as they can avoid the hazards to their health and safety which human industry and business and human busy-ness generate.]
Still obsessed with spiritual workaholism? Rock and roll. Becoming free of being attached to spiritual workaholism? Ah. Then, relax and enjoy the extra time and saved energy.
To be continued.
Please enter into the silence of contemplation.
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THE EXPLANATION
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
"There is no hell."
teachings which become a part of the Papal Magisterium.
