HINDU BY “BIRTH,” BUT INVESTIGATING ADVAITA, Part Nine

RECEIVED YESTERDAY FROM SITE VISITOR GINNY: Jnana yoga traditions were an intoxicant for me and I'm far from Hindu by birth so I can imagine Vignesh's surprise at your response to his queries. I assume many are "put off" by the bluntness of Truth. So many years of study must, has to be, worth something? But, no. Today I laughed at length about my irrelevance and enjoyed the freedom that "knowing" this brings. There are no words-of course-but there is the wink of understanding that lifts me out of all this miasma / mind. "I" just don't matter and can get out of my own way. Light dances too! Ginny

THE RESPONSE: During the early stages of this 18-year period of offering pointers, a certain “almost celestial sweetness” seemed to characterize the approach. At the point when doctors began predicting the end of the manifestation, a shift occurred, as with Maharaj. “Time” became “of the essence.” Delay was no longer an over-abundant “commodity.” Now, it is known that persons who are deeply asleep must be shaken if they are to awake. Who that is in deep sleep, though, wants "floyd" or anyone else to come along and shake them and disturb their sleep? Few. Yet that is the direction the re-purified consciousness has taken, and “i” just sit back and witness.

Too, the “bluntness” is in pointing out the lies rather than in pointing out the Truth. Once belief in lies comes to an end, the Truth, as You know, is made clear via the re-purified consciousness. Your observation is factual, though: most are surprised when they first hear that their sacred cows are just generators of so much ca-ca. Offense usually follows, so pointers are ignored. So it is.

The joy and freedom after seeing “irrelevance,” You have clearly explicated. What can also be seen is an evolution in the observations that are flowing from that speck of consciousness called “ginny.” No real surprise, since it happened with that speck called “Maharaj” and with this speck called “floyd.” Enjoy. Peace and Light and (now that it can be understood) Love, f.

FROM A SITE VISITOR: [Please see the 02 November 2007 post for the e-mail which is being responded to today]

F.: (The exchange continues): Next, the suggestion is to forget what “floyd” knows or what any “guru” knows or what any self-professed religious or spiritual person claims to know or what Vignesh think he knows. Instead, consider the invitation to start anew; to use sane, sound, logical reason this time around; to see all that is false and to reject it. Then the Truth—which cannot be stated—will spring forth via the re-purified consciousness.

To accept that there are some writings that are “holy” and many that are not is dualistic. To accept that some men were “holy” writers and most are not is also dualistic. Anyone can write anything and can claim anything. None of what is claimed or written and labeled as “holy” bears any significance at all.

The understanding is within You, not within “holy” books, and You can access it via the inner resource or inner guru. All that an Advaitin teacher can provide are pointers that invite the removal of the obstructions that prevent accurate seeing. Those obstructions are actually concepts and beliefs which are often printed in books considered “holy” or “different” and that followers are requested (or required) to accept as “truth.”

In the absence of all factual evidence, and quite to the contrary of reason, persons are programmed to accept such concepts and beliefs based on “faith.” To claim that “I believe this based on faith” or “I believe that based on faith” is not to say that you have intuitively accessed your beliefs. (In fact, there are no “your” beliefs. There are only “their” beliefs which you have adopted and then took to be your own.)

Instead, to profess that you believe anything by faith is not to say that you believe what you have always known intuitively but that you have faith in the words of other people who dualistically claim that they are “holy” or “different” and know something that you do not know but that you need to know and believe.

The Advaitin teacher will never invite you to know what she/he knows. The Advaitin teacher will never tell you that there is “so much more that you need to know.” The Advaitin teacher, if Fully Realized, will never tell you that he/she is “spiritual” or “holy” or that his/her words are holy or spiritual words.

Instead, that teacher will suggest that all of your spiritual knowledge is learned ignorance and will invite you to de-accumulate what you have accumulated (including all beliefs and ideas and concepts).

Further, if there were a God or Divine Spirit or anything else that created and arranged this universe and the humans that have populated this planet, then the logical question would have to be:

“If the people of planet earth and their conduct (both historical and current) were observed objectively, could you possibly be impressed with a supposedly all-powerful god that nevertheless allowed the decimation of 150,000,000 people in order for his worshippers to establish a nation in his name?

Who allowed inquisitions and torture and murder in his name? Who allowed a holocaust involving two groups of his worshippers? Who allows such widespread disease and genocide and torture and suffering during an existence that is forced upon persons by no choice of their own? Who tolerates continuing wars among his followers, all of whom are killing in his name?”

In fact, there is no god that allows that, so there is no god that can stop that. Nor is there any teacher or prophet or preacher or priest or rabbi or imam or guru or religion or movement or philosophy that will put an end to all of that either. Freedom and peace come to one seeker at a time, not to one planet at a time.

Therefore, no wholesale change will ever happen that alters the human condition which, when driven by ego and fear and desire, will result in such happenings as those referenced above. The historical pendulum will swing in a way that allows dark ages to occur with intermittent periods of enlightenment, but that pendulum will always continue to swing as long an humans walk the earth.

At best, only a very small fraction of the planet’s population will ever be awakened at the same time. Thus, the invitation is to focus less on any cosmic understandings that might be derived from a study of the Advaita Teachings, to transcend the spiritual and religious stage, to reach a state of Full Realization, and then to enjoy the peace and freedom of the remainder of the manifestation.

Such peace and freedom can only be known during the relative existence, so if it is peace and joy and freedom and happiness that is being sought, find it and enjoy it NOW, for NOW is the only chance that exists for that to happen. Please enter the silence of contemplation. (To be continued)

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IDENTIFICATION: Something, or No thing? Part Six

[EXCERPTS from the soon-to-be-released book FROM THE ABSOLUTE TO THE NOTHINGNESS. The pointers in this book are only for the most advanced seekers. The reading of this book should follow a reading and an understanding of the pointers in FROM THE I TO THE ABSOLUTE and CONSCIOUSNESS/AWARENESS]

FROM A SITE VISITOR: No identity at all? Everybody is SOMETHING, and whatever that SOMETHING is, is our identity.

F.: All identities are limiting. Limitations restrict freedom. Restrictions of freedom prevent the manifestation of happiness during the relative existence. Preoccupation with finding identities and assigning labels has the same effect.

Nothing other than space is limitless. Should you identify with anything other than the limitless nothingness, then you will never enjoy the happiness that can only happen NOW, during the manifestation. If happiness is to happen, you must reach the space.

Bodies are limited; minds are limited; planets are limited; galaxies are limited; the boundaries of the universe, though expanding, are nevertheless limited; the self and the Self are limited. Even the Absolute is infinitesimal when compared with the limitless space. You may have reached the Absolute, but have you reached the space?

Planets are finite and their form will end; all stars and suns are finite and their forms will end; galaxies are finite and their forms will end. Only space is limitless. Only nothingness is pervasive. Emptiness abounds, and during the relative manifestation, you will never feel “more full” than when you are truly empty: empty of identities…empty of preoccupation with self…empty of preoccupation with Self.

Yet that can be understood only after years of being imprisoned as a result of having been programmed to accumulate; after years of accumulating; after seeking “something” beyond the emptiness of collecting “stuff”; after years of serving self; after years of seeking Self; after de-accumulation; and after enjoying the freedom of less-ness. Only then can one understand the irony of this paradoxical teaching: the bliss which manifests after being aware of the fullness can only happen after understanding the reality of the emptiness.

Consider the moon and the surrounding space. Is the moon suspended in darkness and emptiness? Not at all. There is as much light surrounding the moon as is reflected from its surface. The surrounding light is not seen because it is not being reflected off a surface. That which appears to be the emptiness is really the fullness.

So it is during the manifestation: the non-Realized miss out on understanding the reality of the fullness, focusing as they do on their nagging sensation of misconceived emptiness. The sense of "emptiness" that they think they are experiencing results when their false selves believe that they have not gained something they have always wanted or when their false identities think that they have lost something that they wanted to have forever. Meanwhile, both gain and lost are illusion; therefore, their misery is illusion-based as well.

In contrast, the Realized enjoy a sense of fullness though there is no longer any body or mind or personality that is reflecting anything. Being emptied of the false, the fullness of being unencumbered and free results in a sense of freedom (as exhibited by the man mentioned in the post yesterday who was going to be free over the weekend because he had nothing lined up).

If you would be free, line up with the nothingness as well. Reach the space.

Next, "If there is no post-manifestation self or Self," some ask...(continued in the book)

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Please enter the silence of contemplation. (To be continued)
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YOUR DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE, Part Five

[NOTE: Out of town on July 3rd. “Part 6, The Conclusion” will be posted on July 4th.)

F.: In the example yesterday, a man was seen to give great value to the image of his country (and, thereby, great value to his own false self/selves) as he publicly devalued health care insurance for him and his wife. In that example, he demonstrated all three of the sources that rob persons of freedom, independence, and rationality: the child within was exposed, expressing its immature beliefs; the “mind” was exposed, illustrating how bastardized the consciousness can become; and several personas were revealed, using a body to verbalize the totally irrational beliefs and illogical concepts in which all personalities are based.

Just as it is the ventriloquist behind a dummy that drives everything that the dummy appears to be saying and doing, it was the “mind” and the false personas behind the man's words that were really doing the talking (even though the words appear to be coming from his body). If you always ignore the words of the non-Realized and see the actual source that is generating those words, several possibilities follow: (1) You will begin to ignore the nonsense that persons speak because you will know that their personas, not the people, are doing the talking. (2) You’ll also ignore the words you hear because you will detect the real message behind the words, such as:

“Speaking for my wife and me, having our nation bragged about is very important, but having decent medical care is not important at all. I am calling to declare that what is really important is not hearing about what can be improved but hearing about how this country is the greatest country on earth.”

(3) It will become obvious that persons who are trapped in their false identities and personality/personalities live out their relative existence in a state of ignorance or weariness or denial or stupidity or, very often, in a state of one emergency after another. Seeing that, the relative-existence argument for Realization will become clear. (4) You will start ignoring nonsense when you hear it, recognizing which ego-state is functioning as the ventriloquist behind the dummy. (5) You will stop allowing others to rob you of your independence by allowing their words to control how you feel and by allowing them to use their words to trigger emotional responses from your ego-states/personas. You will have discarded the child within, you will have discarded the “mind,” and you will no longer take any of your former false identities to be real.

(6) Having seen how all of the noise that persons put out is rooted in what is false, you will give no value to their ego-generated talking and will arrange to enjoy the silence instead. (7) You will see why so many persons in the West will be celebrating “freedom of speech” this week, but you will understand why the Realized, to the contrary, will be enjoying the freedom of silence. (8) Arrogance based in religion or race or nationality will disappear, once You Realize Fully.

How prevalent is that nationalistic arrogance in the only nation on earth where leaders habitually boast in national broadcasts that theirs is "the greatest country on the planet?" Quite prevalent. In a session last month where many of the males in a group were stalled at the third step on the “journey” to Realization because they wanted to cling to the ego-state of “The Proud American,” this tact was tried:

It was shown how words can be generated from “The Internalized Parent,” from the level of “The Child,” or from the level of “The Mature Adult.” Then, they were asked to write on a piece of paper whether it was Parent, Child or Adult that was behind each of the following statements: (1) “My daddy is stronger than your daddy”; (2) “My daddy can beat up your daddy”; and (3) “The United States is the greatest country on earth.” Thirty of the men agreed that in the first case it was “The Child” that was speaking. All thirty also agreed that in the second example it was “The Child” that would come up with that comment.

However, when it came to the third example, twenty-six of the thirty in the group said that it was “The Adult” that claimed his country was the greatest. When asked why they would think that, most answered, “Because it’s expressing a fact. It’s the truth.” When they were asked, by show of hands, to indicate how many had ever lived in another country, no hands were raised. When it was asked, by a show of hands, how many had spent any time in another country, visiting and coming to know what that country and its citizens were really like, no hands were raised.

That is the power of programming and conditioning. Educated people, claiming to be seeking truth, were so blinded by years of conditioning and programming that they could not detect an obvious lie. Their arrogance and their assumed ego-state of “The Proud American” would not allow them to see that the childish, persona-based belief expressed in statement #3 was generated by the same childish, persona-based beliefs as expressed in statements #1 and #2. This week, as they appear to be celebrating their belief that their country is the greatest, they will actually be reinforcing their belief that they are the greatest. They will also be reinforcing their dualistic sense of separation and "better than."

The author of The Long Goodbye wrote, “There is no trap so deadly as the trap you set for yourself.” With all deference to the relative problems that are generated by self, the most deadly trap was not set by you, it was not set by the man in yesterday's example, and it was not set by those people trapped in a nationalistic ego-state.

The trap was set by programmers and conditioners (including parents, relatives, teachers, preachers, priests, ayatollahs, rabbis, politicians, entertainers, friends, partners, panderers in the media, etc.). The pointer here is that you need not wait for those programmers to come and to release you from their trap. They will not. If given the opportunity, they will try to reinforce the hold of their trap. They will try to reinforce the concepts they used during your original programming, if you are willing to listen to their words which are generated by their child within, by their warped “minds,” and by their ego-states.

Consider the influence that programmers can wield over the masses, and then see the influence that they have had over you: by appealing to nationalistic pride, individual arrogance, or religious/spiritual fervor, a handful of leaders can arrange the establishment of “colonies”; can bring about an Inquisition that killed hundreds of thousands; can bring about an American Indian Holocaust that killed millions; can inspire a Jewish Holocaust that eventually cost 55,000,000 lives in a world war; can manipulate populations to endorse the invasion of other countries; can continue to destroy “personal relationships"; can trigger regional conflicts; and can perpetuate the cycle of world wars that mark the relative existence. Please enter the silence of contemplation. (The Conclusion, July 4th)
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DISCARDING “KNOWLEDGE” WHEN IT IS ACTUALLY LEARNED IGNORANCE, Part Five

Why do so few Realize? (1) Pride in worldly knowledge and attachment to religious and/or spiritual knowledge. (2) Use of a "backwards" approach, namely, knowledge accumulation vs. ignorance de-accumulation. And that is why worldwide ignorance has not been stamped out and will not be stamped out, because persons believe that the planet-wide epidemic of ignorance could be solved if only people would acquire more knowledge. The Advaitin understands that the knowledge is the ignorance and that the ignorance is the knowledge. The ignorance is that which the masses have been taught and have learned, and their ignorance will only be compounded if more of the same type knowledge is injected into the equation. Ignorance could be stamped out if persons were to forfeit their revered beliefs and ideas and concepts and dogma. Since that happens so rarely but is a prerequisite for Realization, only a few will ever Realize (that is, be in touch with reality...be restored to sanity). Among religions and philosophies, there is no other means that can produce the necessary brain-flush save completion of the entire Advaita “journey” which invites the dissolution of all of the contamination that is “the mind.”

From a site visitor: I’m totally westernized--gulity as charged--so I’ve been trained to give great value to knowledge, which you’ve been knocking. I’m at least willing to listen to you and see if I can get your point, but looking at your bio info, you obviously attended university, acquired enough knowledge to convince someone that they should pay you to use that knowledge, and then paid your bills through use of that knowledge. Your vast knowledge in many subject areas is obvious. So, what’s the deal? Larry

F.: In yesterday’s example of a curtain blocking the witnessing of the lilies, take the lilies to represent Reality and the curtain to be the learned ignorance that blocks seeing Reality. To remove the curtain of ignorance does not require more knowledge as much as it requires seeing ignorance as ignorance and seeing most "knowledge" as ignorance as well. Take the curtain’s removal and the witnessing of the lilies to represent that “Oh my gosh!” moment of Realization when (after preparation happens, after envisioning and reading happen, after discussion with a Realized Teacher happens, and after the readiness thereby comes about) all of the knowledge/learned ignorance fades away, body-mind identity ends, the influences of personality end, and Full Realization happens. Yet nothing prevents Realization more than assuming personas (be they “The Perfectionist,” “The Controller,” “The Religious One” or “The Spiritual Giant.” And nothing supports those last two ego-states more, and nothing perpetuates entrapment in the ignorance of concepts more, than the all-time leading source of concepts: religion (or even philosophies such as Advaita when they are distorted into religions).

The Advaita process will reveal to you the ignorance of believing in concepts, dogma, and ideas that (1) were dreamed up ages ago by shrewd men with an agenda to control the ignorant masses (especially females), that (2) have been passed down as “religious or spiritual knowledge” for millennia, and that (3) must be removed if truth is be seen. Advaita is based in reason and logic, so no Realized Advaitin would insult seekers (especially “females”) by suggesting they learn the chauvinistic tales in the “holy” writings of the three dominant religions. Why accept teachings that pass on an irrational, subliminal message about how much “worse” women are than men, such as Eve who tempted a formerly “good” man; such as Lot’s wife who (unlike her “good” husband who did not look back) was turned into a pillar of salt because she did; or such as Mary Magdalene who was revamped as “a whore” when the Christian Bible was totally re-written, and its message further distorted, in the 4th century.

Advaita would never reinforce such vilification of females, portraying them (in religious texts that are described as “the inspired word of God”) as the “bad” influence on pitiable men who were previously “good” before dealing with “evil” women…women such as Jezebel, Rahab, Potiphar’s wife, and Delilah. Females would never be encouraged by an Advaitin to accept teachings in “holy” texts that denigrate women (or men). Curiously, three billion women on the planet do go right along with all of that sexist nonsense, evidence of the degree to which programming and conditioning can result in causing some otherwise intelligent people to be totally blind and totally fooled. And the fact that so many women continue to honor those beliefs and align themselves with the billions of men who adhere to such prejudicial, dualistic dogma is a wonderment as well. So it is on the “Planet of the Programmed.”

To the contrary, Advaita erases, rather than reinforces, such dualistic belief in “bad women vs. good men,” in "good men vs. bad men," in "God vs. bad people," in “differences,” in “better than,” and in “evil vs. moral.” You will never be asked by a Realized Advaitin to stretch the imagination, to start thinking magically, and thereafter believe that a human egg was once miraculously fertilized sans sperm. You would never be asked to accept that the (supposed) mass-murder-by-drowning of every inhabitant on the planet except for eight people (resulting in an act of genocide that made Hitler’s efforts look like child’s play) was a “perfectly understandable and acceptable” act that should not be questioned.

These are but a few examples of the type of fictional knowledge that currently trap over six billion persons in the imprisonment of their so-called “minds.” They do not need more to believe in--they need far less. Thus, the Advaita approach deals with “the removal of knowledge which is merely learned ignorance,” not with “acquiring and accumulating more knowledge.” There is no other means that can produce the necessary brain-flush save completion of the entire Advaita “journey” which invites the dissolution of all of the contamination that is “the mind.” And that is why Christ, after understanding the Advaita message, left organized religion and used the Advaita method not to add more beliefs but to try to remove beliefs: "A dual-minded person is unstable in all ways"; "no one will ever see the kingdom of heaven...it's within"; "heaven and earth shall fade away"; "when you speak of me, speak of me as I AM"; and "Before Abraham was, I AM." Please enter the silence of contemplation. [Tomorrow: The Conclusion]

DISCARDING “KNOWLEDGE” WHEN IT IS ACTUALLY LEARNED IGNORANCE, Part Three

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From a site visitor: I’m totally westernized--gulity as charged--so I’ve been trained to give great value to knowledge, which you’ve been knocking. I’m at least willing to listen to you and see if I can get your point, but looking at your bio info, you obviously attended university, acquired enough knowledge to convince someone that they should pay you to use that knowledge, and then paid your bills through use of that knowledge. Your vast knowledge in many subject areas is obvious. So, what’s the deal? Larry

F.: Some defending their propensity for acquiring (and even gloating) over their accumulated knowledge have argued one of two arguments: (1) “I convert my knowledge into money. I use it to make a living.” The response: “If you were to measure all of your ‘knowledge’ and then detemine how much of all of that is actually used or required for you to ‘live,’ it would be so microscopic—so fractional—as to be undetectable. Your egotism regarding how smart you are has once again resulted in “you” fooling your self."

(2) “Well, you learned to read, Floyd. Now, you use that worldly knowledge when you travel to satsangs to find your way.” The response: The ability to witness highway markers and to follow the path they mark in order to arrive at an intended destination happens, but once at the destination, the markers are neither prized nor revisited nor fixed in thought nor discussed (unless a seeker wants to follow the same path to reach the same destination). More to the point, there is no "one" to believe that "he" has knowledge of all those markers. Signs can be witnessed, but why store away any knowledge of signs, why remember the signs forever, or why cherish them as another part of some cumlative knowledge base that becomes a source of false pride? If not being used on the path, not another second is spent in paying attention to the signs. There is no "I" that "knows" the signs. The signs are merely witnessed...and without attachment.

The confusion comes (a) because a seeker at one level is not told the same thing as a seeker at another level and (b) because the very nature of the Advaita Teachings involves paradoxes. Thus, it seems one must accumulate Advaitin "knowledge." (Even the most basic expression of the non-dual Teachings appears to be a paradox: "I AM THAT; I AM and that is not two." The further paradox is that the consciousness can only know that it is while in that I AM-ness and cannot know anything in the THAT-ness. Thus, if You abide as THAT, how could any "knowing" happen?)

Because of both “a” and “b” above, it is suggested to site visitors or to those who attend retreats here that they tap into the “inner guru,” yet some time with a “guru” is often required for most to receive the full and final understanding. Why? If one is asleep and wants to wake up but is surrounded only by other sleepers, who can be depended on to awaken that one? Only one that is not among that circle of sleepers. So is "knowledge" of the Advaita Teachings needed or not for Realization? What is needed are the pointers that are offered to seekers by the Realized "teacher," pointers intended to remove erroneous beliefs in all of the distortions and illusions and learned ignorance that block access to the pure consciousness. "Teacher" is in quote marks because "teaching" involves the transmission of knowledge; that is not the same as removing false knowledge (learned ignorance).

To the contrary of the Advaita approach which focuses not on acquiring knowledge but on being free of learned ignorance, all other “paths,” religions, spiritual movements, and philosophies require (a) accumulating “their” ideas, dogma, beliefs, knowledge, and concepts as well as (b) practicing their practices…“for life” or, in the case of those who do not understand what cycles and what does not, “for multiple lives.” Before Advaita, no other had ever said (during those decades of intensive seeking by “floyd”), “Not only can You be free...You already are free, and if you grasp that Understanding, you’re done. You’ll not have to attend meetings or sessions; you’ll not be required to give us a percentage of your money. You will not have to genuflect nor sing nor intone nor pledge nor recite creeds or oaths or prayers in unison with others who are genuflecting and singing and intoning and pledging and reciting creeds and oaths and prayers in unison.” No one else had ever said that, other than an Advaitin teacher.

No one else, other than an Advaitin teacher, had ever said: “You will not have to know our chants. You will not have to learn special drumbeats or to know when to ring a bell or how to burn sticks, and you will not have to pay us to burn our candles. You will not have to buy our special holy book and read it forever in order to gain knowledge and truth.” No one else said, “You will not have to read every day forever to gain more wisdom and knowledge. You will not have to work to gain or to maintain anything. You will not be called upon to learn the inner workings of our organization so that you will know how to serve on a committee or board. Whatever happens with you will just happen from the moment of Realization on, and it will happen spontaneously. Peace will not have to be sought any more, knowledge will not have to sought anymore, and you will not have to work to ‘get it’ and ‘keep it.’ It will just happen.” No one else had ever said that, other than an Advaitin teacher.

No one else, other than an Advaitin teacher, had ever said: “You will not have to know how to heat rocks so you can sweat in a lodge, and you will not have to learn ancient chants or foreign languages or to know how to hum our special hums because this Understanding is assessible to all. And you will not have to give your money to build special buildings or to buy special furnishings or special accoutrements and then know the special significance of them all. You will not need to know which days are 'separate' and ‘different’ and ‘holy’ and ‘more important’ than other days or years. You will neither have to wear your hair in a special way nor shave your head completely, and you will not have to wear any special clothing.” No one else had ever said that, other than an Advaitin teacher.

Everyone playing a religious or spiritual role wants others to have knowledge of their doctrines, to have knowledge of their theories, to have knowledge of their learnings, to have knowledge of their beliefs, to have knowledge of the intricacies of their dogma, to have knowledge of the content of their letters, to have knowledge of the content of their special book, and to have knowledge of when to do exactly what everyone else does in hypnotic, robotic synchronization (which keeps persons asleep rather than awakening them). For them, “spirituality” is about “spiritual growth” or “growing in knowledge.” For the Advaitin, anything pointed to with the term “spiritual work” would involve removing knowledge (learned ignorance), not about attaining knowledge. Is preparation required, even for receiving the Advaita Teachings? Yes. Does that involve reading certain books? Usually. Does it involve developing the ability to sit in the quiet and contemplate a pointer? Yes. Does it involve sitting for a few days or weeks with one that is Realized to understand the final clarifications? Usually. Is a lifetime of work, reading, meditating, and considering necessary? No.

Ultimately, it is seen via Realization that (a) anything a person calls a “spiritual experience” is nothing more than a perceived happening in “their world” and that (b) their "world" is a fraud. It is also seen, therefore, that any so-called “experience” which supposedly happens to “a fictional person” in “a fictional world” must be…fictional. There is no experiencer, so there are no experiences. All "experiences" are assumed to be real by false identities only. Anything labeled as such is just an imagining, an emotion-based belief or reaction triggered after the assumption of an ego-state. To advance along the seven-step "path" and to transition beyond the third step, therefore, it must be seen that “The Spiritual Man” claiming "spiritual knowledge" and "spiritual experiences" is just another ego-state, not one iota different from “The Mass Murdering Man.” And those two personas are no different from the hundreds of thousands of other roles that persons accept as identities, all of which are supported not by factual knowledge but by learned ignorance instead. Please enter the silence of contemplation. [To be continued]