ANNOUNCEMENTS
[Walter Driscoll asked to interview me in order to preserve on video some of the latest modifications and evolutions in the versions of the message offered here since 1989. He would label the discussion, "Unlearning with Floyd Henderson."
Please note: For those who have a problem hearing what is being shared, the video offers a fairly accurate set of closed captions which some listeners might want to activate.
The interview is available for viewing by clicking on video "NUMBER THIRTEEN" in the column to the right.]
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.
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." (See the details in the blue text after this post.)
4. Some prefer paperback books even if they have to wait a day or so to receive it and have to pay more for a printed book and its shipment. Now, 10 paperback books by Henderson are in print and available in two anthologies through Barnes and Noble, Amazon, and over 40,000+ booksellers around the globe including in the Americas, Germany, India, Italy, Poland, Russia, China, Spain, Brazil and South Korea. See the end of this post in red text for details.
5. Would you like to have us send to someone as a gift from you a copy of any ebook in our inventory? See the offer in purple text at the end of this post.
6. Or, you may purchase a Floyd Henderson Shopify Gift Card here for someone and offer recommendations for the books in Floyd's store which might be of assistance to them.
7. You may click here to visit Floyd's bookstore which offers both digital books and paperback books which deal with non-duality, non-duality-based fictional adventures, recovery, and financial budgeting.
MAHARAJ: SHIFTING FROM TWO STAGES OF “CLOSE BUT NO CIGAR” TO “SPOT ON”
So Maharaj - especially in his later talks, but occasionally even in some earlier talks - made clear that spirituality was not the treatment for the Ultimate (Mental) Sickness.
(In fact, spirituality is not “the cure” for anything and
is merely used to bring about an illusory replacement of old, “bad” roles with supposedly
new and improved “good” roles, such as “The Spiritual Giant”).
Thus, Maharaj’s comments regarding the fact that
(A) no god created humankind but that fearful and desiring humans “created” god - that is, dreamed up the concept of a god (or gods and goddesses) - and that
(B) you should “give up spirituality.”
Some look at Maharaj’s advice to seekers which was offered in his later talks
and dismiss those pointers completely, preferring to accept totally his earlier
comments which (1) seemed to support spirituality and the adoption of spiritual
identities;
such persons prefer to totally ignore the more evolved message which (2)
advised giving up spirituality and giving up the inventing of a god or gods and
goddesses.
Beyond that variance in messaging, there are other cases where people have
criticized Maharaj for inconsistencies and seemingly self-contradictory
pointers. All of that is discussed (and explained) in detail in the eBook “Sri
Nisargadatta Maharaj and His Evolution”:
This is offered in that book:
On some level, his evolution might be outlined in the following way, though
Maharaj never adhered to one type of yoga consistently until he finally settled
into what might be called an “all-nisarga” approach:
FROM
guru-bhakti and bhakti
TO
bhakti and jnana (and mention of “atma”)
TO
jnana and nisarga
TO
nisarga
So, yes, there were shifts in the focus of his talks as he shifted from one
yoga to another, and the same happened here over the decades. Such evolution,
in fact, can lead to a “mea culpa,” as was offered in “Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
and His Evolution”:
In the case of the first 8,000 or so who came to hear “floyd,” the fact is
this: the consciousness - yet blocked - was not able to speak (a hindrance to
those who listened).
As with “Early Maharaj,” some came for what they took to be “a religious message,” and they heard one. Others came later for what they took to be “a spiritual message,” and they heard that.
In both cases, those
early seekers were often hearing “Diet Floyd” or “Maharaj Lite” when compared
to the later offerings.
Both drinks were intoxicating for those who came for nothing more than
reinforcement of their bogus beliefs and who were actually content to remain
thirsty . . . totally dry . . . even parched.
Both “Maharaj Lite” and “Diet Floyd” were adulterated (or
at least “blocked”) and therefore unable to quench the thirst for truth or
understanding or realization which some were seeking.
Later, when the unadulterated versions of the drinks were offered, either (a)
more popular teachers were sought or (b) seekers left because their false
religious or spiritual or philosophical roles were not being reinforced.
Many who come now claim that they are placing an order for a “Big Gulp of a
BS-Free Beverage,” but when the order is filled and they receive their first
taste, it becomes clear that they really need a big dollop of “Super Sweet
Spiritual Cream” dropped on as a topping in order for that “Heavenly Splotch of
Sugary Syrupiness” to provide a more palatable taste, a flavor more like what
they are accustomed to. In the end, though, the “goal” of Maharaj (and in the
teachings as presented by this author) were to
1. remove ignorance, including the ignorance that inspires attachment to
religious or spiritual or philosophical concepts and exercises and
accoutrements and to
2. bring to an end all thoughts and words and deeds that support
unnatural / supernatural living, giving way to
3. living in an all-natural fashion as one’s Original Nature.
Moreover, the charge regarding Maharaj’s overall message being “inconsistent”
and “self-contradictory” is not a valid one. To understand why that is the
case, one must understand “level-appropriate pointers.”
That next.
It was noted that some people have criticized Maharaj for “inconsistencies” and seemingly “self-contradictory pointers,” especially from one talk to the next in the collection of transcripts in book “I AM THAT.” Those charges are addressed in detail in the eBook “Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj and His Evolution” in which this is explained:
Some have written that “Maharaj is constantly contradicting himself.” One read “I AM THAT” and then read some of the last talks and wrote that Maharaj “declined” over time, meaning that Maharaj’s abandonment of the earlier “ultra-spiritual” talks that reinforced the critic’s “Spiritual Giant” persona was no longer reinforcing the false identities of that “Judge / Critic / Super-Spiritual One / Super-Rigid One.”
Maybe pointing to the truth WILL set persons free, or maybe pointing to the truth COULD set persons free, but more often than not it is only going to really infuriate those who come seeking more rather than less or who come seeking reinforcement of their ideas and concepts and beliefs and attitudes rather than seeking a way to be completely rid of all ideas, concepts, beliefs, and attitudes.
Thus, persons who were reading Maharaj’s earlier talks that reinforced their beliefs were dismayed when he eventually said of the talks transcribed in “I AM THAT”:
“That book and whatever was expounded at that time was only relevant for that period. I am speaking differently today”
and
I am “emphasizing different aspects” now.
What he offered later differed considerably from his earlier “spirituality-focused” talks, making clear that the pointers in “I AM THAT” might take you to a certain point on “the path” but that his final talks point the way to “the end” (meaning, full realization).
Furthermore, it is also true that the “later Maharaj” or “Pure Maharaj” offered less and less tolerance for those “hanging out” at the third step to realization (that is, the step where religious AND / or spiritual personas are adopted and played).
Yes, the religious or spiritual or philosophical roles almost always have to be played for a time, but the longer Maharaj taught, the less tolerant he was of the tendency to fixate at a place on the “path” that is not even the halfway point of the “journey.”
That having been said, though, the charge that Maharaj’s pointers in “I AM THAT” were “inconsistent” and “self-contradictory” is not a valid one. To understand why that is the case, one must understand “level-appropriate pointers.” Thus, these questions were asked:
Rather than being contradictory, is it possible that Maharaj was able to detect where on the “path” any given seeker might be after hearing only a few statements from her or him? Certainly. Then, is it possible that what Maharaj offered would be level-appropriate for any given seeker? Yes.
And would that mean, in turn, that he might offer a certain pointer to a seeker at a certain place on the “path” that would differ from a pointer that he would offer to a seeker at an earlier point on the “path” or at a later point on the “path”? Yes again.
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.
