“INSTITUTIONALIZED DUALITY”

FROM A SITE VISITOR: As you should know by now, I ordered a copy of Board of Directors and look forward to reading it. I have a general idea, but what exactly does your term institutionalized duality mean? Ive read a lot of books on nonduality and have never heard of that. PS Thanx for the site--I read it every day.

F.: A pointer offered regularly by Advaitin teachers is that “the consciousness is corrupted by programming, conditioning and enculturation.” The corrupting of the consciousness happens when dualistic concepts are taught. Eventually, the bastardized consciousness blocks the ability of the remaining remnant of pure consciousness to be aware of itSelf and prevents it from Realizing…from Realizing what is Real and what is false.

The programming and conditioning which corrupt the consciousness generally come via parents and teachers and relatives and friends. The enculturation which corrupts the consciousness generally comes via spokespersons for institutions; thus, “institutional duality” is the duality that is taught in institutions. The four dominant purveyors of institutionalized duality are organized religion, for-profit business, government, and private, public, and parochial schools.

INSTITUTION ONE: Organized Religion
Dogma is so rooted in duality that religions are a major contributor to the corruption of the consciousness via dualistic teachings that focus on “moral vs. immoral,” “heaven vs. hell,” “good vs. bad,” "right vs. wrong" and “punishment vs. reward.” They teach relative concepts as if they are absolutes. The enculturation which corrupts the consciousness via that institution generally comes via preachers and priests and imams and ayatollahs and rabbis. It also comes via organizations and institutions that claim to be “spiritual rather than religious” but whose practices and tenets all evolved directly from religious dogma.

INSTITUTION TWO: Many For-Profit Businesses
Many businesses generate a sense of duality as they are organized into hierarchies with clearly defined pecking orders. Employees are often ranked and "separated" (both dualistically and illegally) by performance, gender, pay, perks, religious and/or political affiliation, age, nationality, race, “connections,” and personality.

Many for-profit businesses further generate duality by fostering a sense of separation with their “me vs. you” notion. They generate new ego-states such as “Salesperson of the Year,” “Top Producer of the Year,” “Top Company in National Sales,” etc. Some businessmen and CEO’s, driven by such dualistic beliefs as “I want to be rich and not poor” and “I want to be the best…better than all ‘others’,” have lied, cheated, stolen and embezzled in order to “gain” rather than “lose.” For-profit businesses (1) nurture environments that create and sustain ego-states (2) generate fears and desires among employees and owners alike, and (3) teach duality via procedures, policies and practices.

INSTITUTION THREE: Government
Government “leaders” use their public forums to foster dualistic beliefs: “We Are the Best” and “They Are the Enemy” and “We Are Noble and Decent but They Are Evil” and “Their Ruler is Wicked and Much Be Overthrow” and “Our Party is Right and Their Party is Wrong.” The dualistic concept of “Us vs. Them” has been promoted for millennia by monarchies, so-called "democracies," theocracies, chosen “leaders,” and self-appointed “leaders.”

INSTITUTION FOUR: Education
In most nations, education has become an extension of religion and therefore fosters duality in the same fashion. In the U.S., church schools have reached an all-time high in number and now indoctrinate students not only with religious teachings but also with teachings that foster support of policies dreamed up by the government. The curricula in many public schools in Christian nations have been expanded to include “values units”; the programming of children to pledge allegiance to a country and to a religious diety; the conditioning of children to “respect all authority figures”; the programming of children with history lessons that are total distortions of truth; the conditioning of them to be willing as adults to follow unquestioningly all orders issued by governmental leaders and authority figures; and programming them to be willing to “fight and even die for their country or god.”

Many U.S. public educational facilities, supported by public funding, nevertheless close their doors to observe religious holidays. In many Islamic schools, the curricula include lessons that teach children that Christian and Jews are corrupt infidels and must die. Most educational systems now are teaching dualistic concepts that reinforce an “Us. Vs. Them” mentality.

SUMMARY
Therefore, the term “institutionalized duality,” which is addressed in the non-duality novel entitled THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF WARS, refers to the dualistic concepts that are taught particularly by those four institutions which are the sources of most of the darkness that exists. And that darkness is not limited to what persons called “the nighttime.”

Persons stand and talk and walk about in the noonday sun yet remain in that same darkness as if in a deep state of sleep. The four institutions that contribute to that darkness have not functioned separately for thousands of years. Long ago they were morphed into one “mega-entity” with a duality-based agenda, all marching to the beat of a single drummer. As persons walk about in their sleep and talk in their sleep, they are merely repeating concepts that are rooted in the programming, the conditioning, and the institutional duality that is being disseminated via those organizations. The non-Realized are all marching to the beat of the drum of their programmers and conditioners.

Realization is not for those who march to the beat of anyone’s drum. Realization happens to the few who march to the beat of a different drummer…called the “True Self.” No one can ever be free, independent, and liberated if they defer to the mass-marketed beliefs and concepts that are accepted as truth by the masses. Persons love their concepts, but the Realized have zero concepts. With Realization comes an end to all false identities. With an end to the assumption of false identities, there is no “one” to cling to any concepts, including those which the masses cling to with such attachment.

Realization, (a.k.a., liberation, actualization, de-personalization, full awareness, or enlightenment) results in a manifesting—during the relative existence—of logic…of reason…of wisdom. And what are logic and reason and wisdom except tools of enlightenment—tools that supply the light by which all is seen in an accurate fashion. After Full Realization, there is no darkness and there is only Pure Witnessing; then, no tools (including logic or reason or wisdom) are employed. Why?

Because there is no “do-er” to do anything with any tools or to employ any tools. The understanding of the functioning of the totality brings about an end to the need for any tools or any doingness. For the remainder of the manifestation, there is only the abidance as the Absolute that happens. Please enter the silence of contemplation.
THE FEATURED ITEM FOR THIS WEEK’S SALE IS A NOVEL FEATURING A REALIZED COUPLE AND A NON-DUALITY MESSAGE: THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF WARS. The pro-peace thesis of this 480-page book uncovers the sources of separation and conflict in relationships on all levels, from couples to countries, all wrapped in a fast-moving mystery/adventure that covers many decades and many continents. A Realized couple is at the center of an intrigue that will expose the ways that institutionalized duality has impacted the citizens of the world for decades. It also shows how Realization can impact the relative existence in a way that can generate peace on a planet where businesses, governments and religions have historically generated separation and conflict because their non-Realized leaders are driven by self and have no clue at all about the unicity...the Oneness.

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SOME OBSERVATIONS FROM JERRY KATZ

[First a follow-up on the proselytizing series. One, at least, begins to awaken:
From K.E.: Ouch! You are totally correct on the subject of proselytizing. I do it all the time and always always get burned. I read about all the great ideas in the world and totally get them wrong when I try to explain them to others. I am utterly totally trapped in my ego and cannot get out. I do not have the money or the resources to buy any books or tapes or travel to anyplace. Any suggestions? K.E.

F.: So, K.E., you've taken "Step A," which precedes "Step One" of the seven-step journey to Reality: admitting that you're trapped in ego, that what you are currently doing in not working, and that (in your case) you're proselytizing without having even learned the Teachings yourself/YourSelf. That places you in the ranks of "the rare ones" who are able to see and to admit that much. You mentioned before that you have a job. If you can't afford the price of a book such as FROM THE I TO THE ABSOLUTE, then save up and buy THE FINANCIAL SET from the website in order to restore financial sanity first. It seems that creating a budget and living within your means might be a more immediate priority than Realization, though all of that is linked, relatively speaking. Regards on "the journey."] Now, on to observations by Jerry Katz.

F.: Those who study Advaita for any time at all typically come across the name of Jerry M. Katz. Jerry maintains a highly popular non-duality website and authored the book ONE: Essential Writings on Nonduality. Recently, a regular visitor to this Advaita blog found and forwarded some words that Jerry wrote regarding the novel which happens to be the featured sale item on this site this week. Though his comments were not solicited, they are appreciated on a relative level. The complete posting he made will be repeated here, including the excerpt from the novel that he chose to share with visitors to his site:

Jerry Katz: “I think we may be seeing the emergence of the first literary nonduality novel. Not of all times, but the first one fed by the teaching of nonduality as set forth in the last ten years. That kind of fiction is going to be different from any other kind of nonduality fiction. Here are a couple of tastes. Excerpt from a nonduality novel: The Board of Directors of Wars, by Floyd Henderson.”

[NOTE: Dustin LindenSmith included the same excerpt on his site and offered these comments to his readers in regards to the same passage in another unsolicited review:
Dustin LindenSmith: “My old friend Jerry (Katz) has never been a fan of fiction that tries to be nondual. Too often, it's written by people who may have nondual insight, but who are terrible writers of fiction. The two don't have to be mutually exclusive, but anyone whom he'd read that had tried to meld the two had been unsuccessful. Until now, maybe. In "Issue #2800" of "The Nondual Highlights," Jerry provides an excerpt from a novel by Floyd Henderson called The Board of Directors of Wars. It's a passage of dialogue, but the portion I'm including just has one character making a little speech to another. When taken out of context like I've just done, the passage sounds a bit like the proverbial discourse between a spiritual teacher and a student. I think this speech is quite good.]

Thanks are extended to Jerry for the words in his review and to Dustin for his take on the passage. Here's the excerpt from THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF WARS which Jerry and Dustin shared with their site visitors:

“You seem at peace in the middle of this chaos. I want that peace,” Brett almost demanded.

“Brett, you’ve been shown the answer all your life. It was there for you to see in every play, in every movie, in every mystery you’ve ever read. Shakespeare borrowed the dramatic technique from the Greeks,” Kirk began. “Today, it’s the basis of all mystery and suspense stories, and it’s also the basis of realization.”

“I’m lost,” Brett confessed.

“Well look at every drama you’ve ever seen. The main character, who represents you and me and everyone, runs around like a chicken with its head cut off. He is confused and in the dark. Those who are in a position to sit back and witness the drama objectively can see that he’s just an actor on the stage and that none of the drama is real. But for entertainment’s sake, he and the witnesses can pretend it’s real. Both, in fact, can get so absorbed in the role that they take it to be the real for a time.

“But even amidst all of the drama, a time comes, that moment in the play when even the actor finds out the truth. It is called the peripetia in drama—that moment in the play or the movie when the lead actor finds out that everything he thought to be true is really false; when he sees that he was being misled at every turn; when those he thought he could trust the most, and who thought they were telling him the truth, were also wrong.

“It’s the moment of freedom that comes when one finds out that everything he ever thought or believed or held sacred (or thought worth fighting for) was a lie. The freedom comes when he gives up all of the concepts he bought into, drops his head in relief and amazement, shakes his head back and forth, wonders for a moment at how he had bought into all their crap, smiles at how easily he was duped, watches how all of the rest of the play unfolds automatically until its end, and leaves the stage after saying to himself, ‘Well, sonofabitch. I’ll be damned.’ And then he laughs. He laughs at it all. And then he’s done with it, once and for all.”

Now, you are invited to consider the pointers in the passage from that book that Jerry and Dustin quoted. Next, if time allows, pick up pen and paper and go back to the beginning of the excerpt and write a note about every point offered that you can relate to if you study objectively the way each pointer can be applied to your relative experiences. List what applies to you. Then, list what applies to You. Please enter into the silence of contemplation.
THE FEATURED ITEM FOR THIS WEEK’S SALE IS A NOVEL FEATURING A REALIZED COUPLE AND A NON-DUALITY MESSAGE: THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF WARS. The pro-peace thesis of this 480-page book uncovers the sources of separation and conflict in relationships on all levels, from couples to countries, all wrapped in a fast-moving mystery/adventure that covers many decades and many continents. A Realized couple is at the center of an intrigue that will expose the ways that institutionalized duality has impacted the citizens of the world for decades. It also shows how Realization can impact the relative existence in a way that can generate peace on a planet where businesses, governments and religions have historically generated separation and conflict because their non-Realized leaders are driven by self and have no clue at all about the unicity...the Oneness.

Click FOR INFORMATION ON THE BOOK

Click TO ORDER THE BOOK

Click “Book Order” at the top of the website.
FOR INFORMATION ON THE GUIDE FOR TAKING THE SEVEN-STEP JOURNEY TO REALITY (or to see: How to Guide Seekers through the Process)

Click FROM THE I TO THE ABSOLUTE (A Seven-Step Journey to Reality)

NOISY PROSELYTIZING vs. A SILENT VIGIL, Part Five, The Conclusion

[Out-of-town to share the Teachings on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Postings will continue on Friday, 13 July ’07. Please review recent posts or visit the archives.]

F.: To move someone along the “path,” a teacher must be able to examine a seeker’s words instantly, discern exactly where on the path that seeker is, and thereafter offer the pointers that will move that seeker to the next step. How could one who has not taken each step to Full Realization have any idea about where on the path a seeker is and what pointers would be appropriate for moving that seeker to the next step? In that regard, the Realized Advaitin Dennis Waite noted accurately:

“It is the perennial problem of the teacher to be able to judge where the student currently is in his or her understanding and lead them onwards from there. This is why a living ‘guru’ is really needed, so that questions may be asked and answered face to face.”

Those operating from entrapment in an ego-state and who are playing games with the Teachings might consider focusing on their own awakening and leave others alone unless or until Realized Fully. If one is not Realized Fully, he/she cannot diagnose the level of a seeker, nor can she/he know the levels that must be transitioned. Dennis offered this pointer in that regard:

“As ever, in the philosophy of Advaita, the teaching is graded to suit the level of understanding of the student, and it is no use trying to ‘jump levels’ if we have not yet grasped the lower level principles.”

He also addressed the clearly-defined, step-by-step process by which the Teachings should be presented:

“In reality, there is no karma, no saMskAra, no puruShArtha because there is no person who could have them. They are all teaching devices used to bring the student to a realization of the truth by means of carefully gauged, progressive levels of understanding.”

How could persons who are only beginning to walk the “path” think that they have even the slightest clue about what the “carefully gauged, progressive levels of understanding” are (much less how to guide someone through the various levels if one hasn’t moved through all of the levels first)? How? Only by being driven by arrogance and egotism and the desire to play a phony role. It is their inability to teach (since they do not have the full understanding) combined with a desire to create an image and be seen as "The Deep Thinker" or "The Wise Philosopher" that drives them.

While those types need not engage in their noisy proselytizing, they need not stand by on a silent vigil either. Why? Even if a seeker arrives, those types will not possibly “be able to judge where the student currently is in his or her understanding”; will not possibly know anything about how to grade their presentation to suit “the level of understanding of the student”; will be unable to “carefully gauge” the protégé’s requirements; and will know nothing about “the progressive levels of understanding.”

So their assumed ego-states and egotism inspire them to try to share their uninformed views about Advaita in public venues with others. In truth, such types care not a whit about others. Embroiled as they are with self, only the corrupted consciousness can speak, yet they are totally enamored by the sounds that happen when they can find a captive audience and can give voice to their personas and ego-states.

Finally, the follow-up e-mails that were written this week in defense of proselytizing will not be answered. Why? There are those who are using a captive audience to support one or more ego-states; there are those who are disturbing the peace and interrupting the silence in order to fulfill their need for attention and their need to be heard. Such nonsense will receive no response since it would only reinforce their ego and would play into the hands of those who are (narcissistically) begging to be noticed.

Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj welcomed thousands to his tiny loft, but for those who came with an agenda to show off their knowledge rather than to seek the understanding, he threw them out, promptly. Similarly, the consciousness which speaks here will not engage in the games that such persons are playing in their efforts to support their false identities. Here, a silent vigil is happening unless contact is initiated by seekers or unless pointers can be offered to potential seekers as invitations to abandon their attachment to myths and superstitions and lies and illusions and distortions. Such is the manner in which all Realized teachers function.

Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday of this week, the Teachings will be shared with 40 or so seekers by their invitation, not by any solicitation. They were not sought out; instead, they are seeking to move further along the “path” via satsanga.

To those driven by ego-states and who are using the Advaita philosophy in their public game-playing in an effort to create and sustain an image, to gain an audience so they can be heard by others, and to be the center of attention, the invitation is to stop generating noise and to stop clouding up the waters by sharing uninformed views. The invitation is, “Physician, heal thyself.”

Once the Self, and that which is beyond the Self, is understood, then only will the silence be appreciated and then only might the silent vigil begin…or not. [NOTE: For those who choose to move along the seven-step path to Realization, or for those who seek to understand the seven-step process and want to know how to guide protégés through those steps in an exact sequence, a guidebook is offered below.] Please enter the silence of contemplation.
THE FEATURED ITEM FOR THIS WEEK’S SALE IS A NOVEL FEATURING A REALIZED COUPLE AND A NON-DUALITY MESSAGE: THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF WARS. The pro-peace thesis of this 480-page book uncovers the sources of separation and conflict in relationships on all levels, from couples to countries, all wrapped in a fast-moving mystery/adventure that covers many decades and many continents. A Realized couple is at the center of an intrigue that will expose the ways that institutionalized duality has impacted the citizens of the world for decades. It also shows how Realization can impact the relative existence in a way that can generate peace on a planet where businesses, governments and religions have historically generated separation and conflict because their non-Realized leaders are driven by self and have no clue at all about the unicity...the Oneness. (Sale price of $18.66 is $11.29 less than the price for a new copy of this book on amazon.com.)

Click FOR INFORMATION ON THE BOOK

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FOR INFORMATION ON THE GUIDE FOR TAKING THE SEVEN-STEP JOURNEY TO REALITY

Click FROM THE I TO THE ABSOLUTE (A Seven-Step Journey to Reality)

YES, WE SHIP INTERNATIONALLY. New rates by the USPS went into effect on 14 May 2007. You may visit http://ircalc.usps.gov/ to calculate rates and view options. (Select your country, then in the “weight” box, estimate 1 pound per each book ordered.) Add $5 to cover package preparation, the assistant's trip to and from the PO, and the time for completion of international shipping forms.

NOISY PROSELYTIZING vs. A SILENT VIGIL, Part Four

F.: A surgeon would not try to operate on a patient until the surgeon has a full understanding of the exact order in which each step of an operation must be conducted. Anyone choosing to operate on someone without that skill set would be ignorant, insane, or incredibly egotistical. Similarly, only the ignorant, insane, or incredibly egotistical would try to show someone how to follow a seven-step “path” to Realization without knowing the steps, without having taken and completed all of the steps, and without knowing the exact order in which the steps must be taken.

Ultimately, there is no benefit at all in talking about the Advaita Teachings or in talking about the steps. Realization only happens if the steps are taken and if they are taken in an exact order. That applies to any process, plan, philosophy or program that has clear-cut steps.

Some who find the Advaita Teachings focus on the pointers until Full Realization happens. Many receive guidance from a Realized teacher who then sends them into the silence to contemplate the pointers offered until Total Liberation happens. On this site, a seeker's words are studied to find where on the "path" that seeker is; then, a response is offered that can lead that seeker to the next step. Others, however, find the Teachings and assume the role of “Instant Teacher,” sharing what they think they know while having truly grasped only a fraction of the Teachings at best.

Then, they begin to quote or paraphrase what they have read in an effort to impress others with their “pseudo-wisdom” or “deep thoughts.” They are the ones who would look at a guide book on Switzerland and then tell people how much they are enjoying the view from atop Mt. Pilatus even though they have never been anywhere near Luzern.

That is happening among those who wrote to this site and whose words indicate that they have not Realized Fully but have decided that they are going to approach persons and “initiate discussions about Advaita Vedanta.” They have not taken all of the steps to Realization and have no clue at all about how to guide others along the “path,” yet those facts do not curb their ego-driven actions in the least.

No Realized Advaitin teacher has ever told protégés who are on the “path” that they can start sharing “at least the part of the Teachings that you understand so far.” If one wants to try that, he can visit a Sunday school class at a church. The persons there will welcome him to share his religious views in an expert-like fashion that very same day.

Or, one can be a newcomer to a 12-Step group, can join one day, and then will be allowed—even encouraged—to share his “knowledge and experience” with a newcomer the very next day (an act, by the way, that their founders never permitted). Many who have tried religion or “self-help” programs before “finding” Advaita are allowing their conditioning in their former venues to affect the way they function now. The result is that the same type of nonsense is happening among many who are like the three who wrote to describe their attempts to introduce the Advaita Teachings en masse.

Eventually, those ego-based efforts will fail (but only after having muddied the waters for those who might have someday sought the Teachings in the way that they are presented by a teacher who truly understands the Teachings and knows how they are to be presented.) Eventually, the listeners will start ignoring the games being played by the “Instant Teacher.” Why? Because no one with any degree of sanity is going to listen for long to anyone who says, “I can’t help me but I can help you.”

Furthermore, no one with any degree of reason or logic is going to listen to anyone whose words and deeds finally reveal his phony personas and his delusional state since he is really saying, “I cannot swim but I can save you from drowning.” The process of guiding seekers along the “path” to Realization in not a hit-and-miss procedure but is instead one that must follow an exact order. For the non-Realized to expose seekers to their version of the Teachings that do not follow a clear-cut sequence could ruin any chance a seeker might have at grasping the Full Understanding. Please enter the silence of contemplation. (Tomorrow, The Conclusion)
THE FEATURED ITEM FOR THIS WEEK’S SALE IS THE NEWEST RELEASE: There’s No Such Thing As Peace of Mind (There Is Only Peace if You’re Out of Your Mind). The book Regular price after today will be $14.99 + S&H. 15% off today = $12.74 + S&H)

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(Click “Book Order” at the top of the website. On the book order page, complete all billing and shipping information and then indicate in the “Special Message” box that you are ordering the PEACE OF MIND book.)
FOR INFORMATION ON THE GUIDE FOR TAKING THE SEVEN-STEP JOURNEY TO REALITY

Click FROM THE I TO THE ABSOLUTE (A Seven-Step Journey to Reality)

YES, WE SHIP INTERNATIONALLY. New rates by the USPS went into effect on 14 May 2007. You may visit http://ircalc.usps.gov/ to calculate rates and view options. (Select your country, then in the “weight” box, estimate 1 pound per each book ordered.) Add $5 to cover package preparation, the assistant's trip to and from the PO, and the time for completion of international shipping forms.