REALIZING WITHOUT DOGMA, WITHOUT CONTINUOUS SPIRITUAL PRACTICES, AND WITHOUT A PREOCCUPATION WITH “THE NATURE OF REALITY AND THINGS NOUMENAL”: Realization Does Not Require Fanaticism, Obsessiveness Or Compulsions

TODAY'S CONSIDERATIONS

[See the offer following this post for details on how you can watch a video which includes a discussion of all seven of the steps on the path as used by Maharaj] 

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 end of the post for the full meaning and implications of that. 

Realization does not require fanaticism, obsessions or compulsions; thus it should be clear why Maharaj eventually advised seekers to avoid those, leading to this totally different option: 

REALIZING WITHOUT DOGMA, WITHOUT CONTINUOUS SPIRITUAL PRACTICES, AND WITHOUT A PREOCCUPATION WITH “THE NATURE OF REALITY AND THINGS NOUMENAL”

Before continuing, understand that the seven-step “path” offered here is the same offered by Maharaj, though he never enumerated the steps. In both cases, the third step is the same: it is the step where religious or spiritual roles (either assigned when young or assumed later on) are played for a time; 

therefore, Maharaj did not end up “at war” with religion and spirituality as some claim. Here, too, there is no one who could be at war with either religion or spirituality. Yet Maharaj did make clear that the religion / spiritual step is to be transitioned, and that can only happen if all religious and spiritual identities (or Identity) are transitioned. 

So Maharaj eventually came to understand that. . . 

the Ultimate Sickness is a mental sickness; 

that it is marked by – among other traits – “ignorance, stupidity and insanity” (Maharaj's words); 

that "ignorance, stupidity and insanity" all involve the mind and mind illnesses / mental illnesses; 

that the mind and mind / mental illnesses are the seat of humankind’s problems; 

that the mind is formed via the use of ignorant, stupid and insane programming, conditioning, domestication, acculturation, brainwashing and indoctrination; 

that ignorant, stupid and insane programming, conditioning, domestication, acculturation, brainwashing and indoctrination can only result in a mind that is dominated by and controlled by and driven by the influence of ignorance, stupidity and insanity; and that the sages had long focused on eliminating personality identification; and he understood why, namely, because personality assignment and assumption is also at the root of humanity’s problems. 

He also came to understand – by way of experience – that none of the following (all of which he used at one time or another) provided an effective version of the Ultimate Medicine): 

guru-bhakti; 

bhakti; 

jnana yoga; 

a religious / non-dual compounded version; and 

a spiritual / non-dual compounded version. 

Eventually, after looking at all that he came to realize over the years of working with seekers, he saw that nothing he had used was providing the necessary treatment for the Ultimate Sickness; then, he eventually realized that all of the aspects of the Ultimate Sickness had one thing in common (including its mental nature; including “ignorance, stupidity and insanity”; 

including programming, conditioning, domestication, acculturation, brainwashing and indoctrination; including the fact that personality disorders can disintegrate into neuroses and psychosis). And was do all of the aspects of the Ultimate Sickness have in common? 

All aspects of the Ultimate Sickness (which perpetuate the Sickness and which pass down that Sickness to one generation after another), all of those aspects involve things mental . . . all are seated in the mind. 

Why did he abandon all other yoga methods and religious methods and spiritual methods and “SELF”-Inquiry methods and then focus on the mind, that is, on identifying and sharing and focusing on recommendations for addressing the mental issues which are common to all of humanity and which lead to all of humankind’s pain and misery and suffering? 

He saw that none of the methods tried earlier actually worked to eliminate the Sickness once and for all. The locals who criticized Maharaj for his “shifts” in methodologies and for his “evolution” in the methodology preferred his early offerings which included religious activities and teachings; 

those during the “middle years” of his evolution preferred the spiritual talks he offered when Westerners began showing up in the loft and making clear they were not interested in Hinduism but were interested in lofty, spiritual talks; and 

those attached to their “Supreme Self” identity preferred that he continue to use the “SELF”-Inquiry method exclusively instead of telling seekers that it is enough to complete a personality inventory (that is, to complete a “self”-inquiry, or more accurately, a “false-self-inquiry”) and instead of telling them that it is enough to know, by use of that method, who you are not. 

And two other key facts were realized after trying a religion / non-duality mix, after trying a spiritual / non-duality mix, and after trying a “SELF”-Inquiry approach: 

In addition to the fact that none of those treated effectively the Ultimate Sickness, he also came to see that (A) all of those methods lead seekers to assume new personality identifications (or a new “Supreme Identity”) rather than leading them to discard all identities; and that (B) they all trigger the use of the ego-defense mechanisms of egotism and arrogance; and that (C) ego-states being driven by egotism and arrogance always lead to a third key problem, namely, fanaticism. 

Offered earlier: 

None of that could ever even be conceived except for the fact that dual-minded persons assume false roles that then drive their every thought and word and deed (rendering them unstable in all ways after having assumed the roles of "Super Political Leaders," "Super Proud Xenophobes," "Super Religious Knowers," "Super Patriots" and - most arrogantly and delusionally and divisively - "Those Who Believe That They Are Living in 'The Greatest Nation on Earth'.") All dualistic, arrogance-based, hierarchy-inspiring, separatist nonsense. 

Such is the relative existence when it is being controlled by duality, that is, by dualistic thoughts, dualistic talk, and duality-driven actions; by religious fanatics fomenting a false sense of separation and different from and better than; by political fanatics fomenting a false sense of separation and different from and better than; by political fanatics; by big businesses who are co-opting control of elections and using their billions to foment a false sense of separation and different from and better than; by political fanatics; ad infinitum. 

Witness objectively those all around the globe who have assumed the identity and are now playing the role of “The Super Politicians” or “The Great Reformers” or “The Super Religious Ones” or “The Spiritual Giants” or those who have assumed the identity of “The Supreme Self” or even “God” or even “The Super Sports Fans.” Then, because it applies to all of those role players, consider the root word of the latter’s title: fanaticism. 

“Fanaticism” = “wildly excessive or irrational devotion, dedication, or enthusiasm” 

and 

“a mode of living which is marked by irrational and extreme and unwarranted perceptions which lead to irrational and extreme and unwarranted behaviors, especially as exhibited by excessive enthusiasm, unreasoning zeal, or wild and extravagant notions on anything" (including politics, drugs, alcohol, religion, spirituality, realization, whatever). 

Synonyms for “fanatic” = devotee, extremist, maniac, addict, zealot, believer, fool, and monomaniac. 

Krishna suggested that those who do not know “Who They Are” (or “What They Are”) are fools. 

Maharaj, coming to understand the psychological nature of the Sickness, might have disagreed. He might have said, “Those who think what they are is someone or Someone or something or Something which they are not, those are the fools (and they are all going to be wildly excessive and irrational and unreasoning and fanatical and extremists and maniacs and addicts and zealots and believers and monomaniacs). 

Entire series have been offered here in which the most active of the “modern” sources of duality (those of the last 5000 years) are discussed. Among those major contributors to dualistic thinking are the three religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam (which have far more in common than they sometimes admit, having all evolved from the words of one man, Abraham). So consider their current dualistic natures: 

Jews have divided and separated themselves dualistically into Orthodox Jews and Reform Jews and Conservative Jews and Hasidic Jews and those adhering to the Kabbalah viewpoint and others. 

Muslims are steeped in duality, dividing themselves dualistically into “Sectarian Muslims” (Sunnis and Shias) and “Sectarian Missionary Muslims” and “True Muslims” and - Allah forbid! – "Secular Muslims" and “Moderate Muslims" and "Liberal Muslims.” 

But it is the Christians who have taken duality to a whole new level: 

While some give lip service to the concept of "ecumenism" - the aim of promoting unity among the world's Christian churches – the fact is that the number of identified Christian denominations by which they separate themselves from each other now exceeds 38,000. 

Remember the five blind men trying to describe an elephant by only being aware of one part of the overall picture? 

Well, 38,000 denominations would equal 38,000 elephants with 7,600 groups of blind persons – five to a set - touching elephants and trying to describe them by only knowing a small part of the big picture. 

In the end of such examinations of elephants, there is no accurate definition of “what an elephant is” and there in no unified agreement regarding “what makes an elephant an elephant.” The same applies with a religion which had now been dualistically subdivided into 38,000 parts and sub-parts. 

As far as the Eastern teachings go, there are scores upon scores of what the “True Self” is which – according to many – is what one is supposed to find via “SELF”-Inquiry. 

Does anything involved with those religions or with that SELF-Inquiry process address the central issue of the Ultimate Sickness, namely “the mind” and the mental disorders which evolve as a result of the content of the mind? Will any of those lead to freedom from all of the concepts / beliefs stored in the mind, as recommend by Maharaj, by flushing out of the mind all of that which is stored therein and which is calling every minute of the day for a thorough flush? 

Hardly. All of those fanaticism-inspiring institutions and methods have one aim: teaching more, having you learn more, and stuffing even more concepts and notions and ideas and precepts, etc. (a.k.a., “beliefs”) into your mind. 

Only via the ultimate method (the psychological method) which Maharaj settled on can one have any chance at all of being truly free of all of the concepts and notions and ideas and precepts, etc. (a.k.a., “beliefs”) which combine to rob persons of their freedom. Specifically, only that method can uncover and address the beliefs which are stored in the mind and which subconsciously drive persons to think ignorant and dualistic and insane thoughts which lead to insane behaviors. 

Such freedom does not manifest by adding more beliefs to a mind but occurs via un-teaching all so that a person can un-learn all. 

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, a non-narcissistic god / 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" 

and 

"Heaven and earth shall fade away." 

and 

"Heaven and hell are not geographic places but are states of mind, nothing more than concepts dreamed up by men" 

and 

 

"There is no hell."

REALIZING WITHOUT DOGMA, WITHOUT CONTINUOUS SPIRITUAL PRACTICES, AND WITHOUT A PREOCCUPATION WITH “THE NATURE OF REALITY AND THINGS NOUMENAL”: Abandoning ALL identifications and "Identifications"

TODAY'S CONSIDERATIONS

 [See the offer following this post for details on how you can watch a video which includes a discussion of all seven of the steps on the path as used by Maharaj]

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 end of the post for the full meaning and implications of that.

Offered yesterday for consideration: 

I one would realize - that is, per Maharaj, be free of all of the learned ignorance and insanity which generated dualistic thinking and dualistic talking and duality-based behavior and the dual-mindedness which leads persons be "unstable in all ways" - then a reasonable and sane and logical seeker would see that the last place to seek such freedom from dualistic beliefs would be in the place which has generated most of the dualistic beliefs which have long plagued humankind by storing duality-based nonsense in the minds of humans. 

Thus it should be clear why Maharaj eventually advised seekers to avoid those, leading to this totally different option: 

REALIZING WITHOUT DOGMA, WITHOUT CONTINUOUS SPIRITUAL PRACTICES, AND WITHOUT A PREOCCUPATION WITH “THE NATURE OF REALITY AND THINGS NOUMENAL”: 

Abandoning ALL identifications and "Identifications" 

If Maharaj was so dedicated to abandoning all religious personalities and all spiritual personalities, then for the sake of honesty and consistently, he also had to abandon all other personal self-identities and Self-Identities as well. 

The self-identities had to go because they trigger the use of ego-defense mechanisms which generate arrogance and thoughts and feelings and desires and fears. Recall that Maharaj said of arrogance that it "pollutes and dulls the psyche." 

And what inspires self-identity assumption or even Self-Identity assumption? He said: When it comes to thoughts and feelings, desires and fears you become acutely self-conscious." Yes, both self-identifications and Self-Identification are rooted in "thoughts and feelings, desires and fears." 

Both 

(1) Reality and (2) natural abidance NOW 

happen beyond any religious identification and role-assumption and role-playing; happen beyond spiritual identification and role-assumption and role-playing; and happen beyond any self or Self or Supreme Self-identification and role-assumption and role-playing. 

There in the loft and here as well, the invitation has been to abide naturally, to abide as Your Original, pure awareness nature. And what - according to Maharaj - is the evidence if one is abiding as that original nature of pure awareness? He said that the abidance happens “without the least trace of self-consciousness.” 

He said: “Freedom happens when self-consciousness is no more” (and when “Self”- consciousness is no more, too, saying: “Self-remembering is a mental state" and "reality is beyond” that). 

He said: "The basic unity operates in spite of all. At the root of it all lies Self-forgetfulness; not knowing who I am." But he clarified that point later: "Self-remembering is a mental state and self-forgetting is another. They alternate like day and night. Reality is beyond both." 

Thus, Maharaj made clear that seekers were to be rid of all self-identification, asking, “Are you a person during the gaps in self-consciousness?” The answer is, of course not. Yet he also said: “You cannot possibly say that you are what you think yourself to be! Your ideas about yourself change from day to day and from moment to moment. Your self-image is the most changeful thing you have” 

and 

“Self-identifications are patently false and the cause of bondage.” 

But he did not stop there. Speaking of what some term “the True Self,” Maharaj said: “Get rid of all ideas about Your Self, even of the idea that You are God. No Self-definition is valid.” 

A name familiar to most who have studied the pointers offered by Maharaj, Douwe Tiemersma, said: “Most people live in the world of self-consciousness and do not have the desire or power to leave it.” 

Maharaj: “Selfishness is always destructive. Desire and fear, both are self-centred states. Between desire and fear anger arises; with anger, hatred; with hatred, passion for destruction.” 

A man named Mark has been mentioned in this series. It was he who shot his wife in the back as she was trying to run away from him. That came after he had assumed multiple self-identities which felt threatened, including "The Husband," "The Father," "The Homeowner," "The Finance Man," etc. When the false identities he desired to maintain felt threatened, that first triggered fear. Then, “between desire and fear, anger arose; with anger, hatred; with hatred, passion for destruction.” 

Another person discussed in this series, Dylann Roof, shot nine black people in a church. He wrote in his online “manifesto” that he had been “inspired by a national ‘white rights’ group that opposes the mixing of the races.” That is, his assumption of multiple self-identities was inspired by a group which arrogantly believes in and spreads their beliefs about the concepts of “separate from,” “different-from” and “better-than.” 

Roof then wrote: “We have no skinheads, no real KKK, no one doing anything but talking on the Internet. Well someone has to have the bravery to take it to the real world, and I guess that has to be me.” 

“I am ‘The Brave One’” and “We need a race war and I am “The One To Start A Race War” and "I Am The One to Get Done What Skinheads and KKK Members Are Not Getting Done." In his case also, “between desire and fear, anger arose; with anger, hatred; with hatred, passion for destruction.” 

Maharaj: "The realised man is egoless; he has lost the capacity of identifying himself with anything" 

and 

"Your burden is of false self-identifications -- abandon them all." That must include all personal identities, all religious self-identifications, all spiritual self-identifications, and all Supreme Self-identities as well. 

Maharaj ran out of the loft those who came and who were subsumed in their Supreme Self Identity. Those playing that role do not come here, either, and if they do happen to show up, the case has always been that they do not stay here long. 

Neither a self-conscious one nor a Self-conscious one can tolerate even the slightest exposure to the kind of authenticity which results from a no-identity and no-Identity state. It is anathema to them. Only the counterfeit feels "right" to them. Only the false feels comfortable to them. Only a "righteous" or "lofty" or "supreme" image feel good to them. So it is. 

To be continued.

NEW OFFER: 

Watch an updated seven-hour streaming video of a retreat with Floyd Henderson which can be viewed by anyone with internet access. (In this video; all seven of the steps on "the path" as taught by Maharaj are explained and discussed.) 

If interested; click the button below to pay the fee via PayPal. You will then receive an email which includes the link for you to view the private, unlisted video via an arrangement we have made with YouTube, Inc. You do not have to have a YouTube account to watch this privately streamed video. 

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Please enter into the silence of contemplation. XX [NOTE: The four most recent posts are below. You may access all of the posts in this series and in the previous series and several thousand other posts as well by clicking on the links in the "Recent Posts and Archives" section.] 

In addition to the five non-duality books made available without charge by Andy Gugar, Jr. (see “FREEBIES” above), you can now access nearly 3,300 posts for any topics of interest to you. 

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, a non-narcissistic god / 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" 

and 

"Heaven and earth shall fade away." 

and 

"Heaven and hell are not geographic places but are states of mind, nothing more than concepts dreamed up by men" 

and 

"There is no hell."

REALIZING WITHOUT DOGMA, WITHOUT CONTINUOUS SPIRITUAL PRACTICES, AND WITHOUT A PREOCCUPATION WITH “THE NATURE OF REALITY AND THINGS NOUMENAL”: The Number One Source of Storing Dualistic Beliefs in the Mind and Spreading Dualistic Beliefs for Thousands of Years

TODAY'S CONSIDERATIONS

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 end of the post for the full meaning and implications of that.

How can one determine what has been - and what continues to be - "the worst offender" in terms of generating dualistic thinking and talking and behavior?

Simple. Ask: 

"Where can you go to have the difference in "good" vs. "bad" defined for you and discussed and explained in detail?" 

The answer for over 5000 years had been and continues to be: 

"Church" (or "the temple" or "the mosque" or "the synagogue," etc.) 

And if asked: "What can you turn to have the difference in "right" vs. "wrong" defined for you and discussed and explained in details?" 

The answer for over 5000 years had been and continues to be: 

"In our holy texts" (or "in the Torah" or "in the Bible" or "in the Quran / Koran," etc.)

If one would realize - that is, per Maharaj, be free of all of the learned ignorance and insanity which generates dualistic thinking and dualistic talking and duality-based behavior and the dual-mindedness which leads persons be "unstable in all ways" - then a reasonable and sane and logical seeker would see that the last place to seek such freedom from dualistic beliefs would be in the very place which has generated most of the dualistic beliefs which have long plagued humankind by storing duality-based nonsense in the minds of humans. 

Thus it should be clear why Maharaj eventually advised seekers to avoid those, leading to this totally different option: 

REALIZING WITHOUT DOGMA, WITHOUT CONTINUOUS SPIRITUAL PRACTICES, AND WITHOUT A PREOCCUPATION WITH “THE NATURE OF REALITY AND THINGS NOUMENAL” ALLOWS ONE TO AVOID THE RELIGION-AND-SPIRITUALITY-BASED DUAL-MINDEDNESS ABOUT WHICH YESHU'A (JESUS) WARNED

[Continuing from yesterday] 

Consider: Maharaj has been criticized by some who note that he was “irresolute” and “indecisive” in the version of the Ultimate Medicine which he offered over the years in order to try to address the Ultimate Sickness. After abandoning the use of a religious / non-dual compounded version of the Medicine and a spiritual / non-dual compounded version of the Medicine, certainly the charges of being “irresolute” and “indecisive” might seem valid. 

Yet of all the criticisms aimed by some at Maharaj, he never wavered in terms of what he diagnosed as the source of humankind’s problems, namely, the dualistic thinking patterns of humanity which are rooted in their dualistic beliefs. His only "vacillations" came as he searched by experiment and experience for the most effective method of treating those duality-based problems. 

The pointer “A dual-minded person is unstable in all ways” has been credited to a fellow named Yeshu'a (erroneously called “Jesus” nowadays) who offered certain non-dual teachings in his final years. 

Maharaj also spoke of the instability and chaos which come with the Ultimate Sickness and with its dual-mindedness and with its “ignorance” and “insanity” which manifest as a result of ignorant and insane programming, conditioning, domestication, acculturation, brainwashing and indoctrination. 

That humanity’s main problem has long been properly identified by many Eastern sages has seldom been debated. The problem with treating "The Problem" has been with properly identifying an effective method of treatment which results in an actual and lasting solution. 

Dogma has long provided a temporary sense of relief for some (often by encouraging dissociation from problems or denial of one's problems); spirituality has provided a temporary sense of relief for some (often encouraging mental and emotional escapism from problems rather than addressing the actual psychological issues that are at the root of their problems). 

Some say, "Temporary? Really? I don't think so." Well, look at the behavioral patterns of those seeking via dogma: they go to what they take to be a “special” place for treatment for what ails them, and they go once a week or three days a week or daily or even five times a day. That clearly indicates that dogma offers only a temporary break from one's problems. 

Look, too, at the behavioral patterns of those seeking via spirituality: they go on a daily basis to what they take to be a “special” place for treatment for what ails them (many nodding their heads in their sleep as they blindly agree to settle for a treatment plan which they are told up front can only provides a daily reprieve . . . a treatment plan which is only effective for twenty-four hours, max. Really? That plan is acceptable?) 

Eastern philosophical systems have done the same; cults and sky cults have done the same; ideological groups have done the same; self-help groups have done the same. 

The "Grand Fallacy" of all of those approaches? The Sickness is rooted in what has been added to the minds of persons. All of those approaches above add even more to the minds of persons. The Medicine which Maharaj settled on in the end involves (a) seeing and acknowledging the real root of the problems of humanity which all center in the mind in order to (b) encourage seekers to take the necessary steps to be rid of the mind completely. 

This was offered previously, before taking a respite from posting which was necessitated by having to undergo a series of cardiological tests. 

Neither the solutions that Maharaj pointed to nor the solutions offered by the psychologist in the interview shared in recent posts had anything to do with religion or spirituality or finding “The Supreme Self.” What Maharaj and that psychologist both discussed had everything to do with the psychological roots of humanity's problems. That is what the psychologist focused on, and that is what "Maharaj the Psychologist" focused on after his failures with trying religious and spiritual methodologies to address the Ultimate Sickness. 

What is to be addressed, therefore, are the psychological issues . . . the mind issues. 

So if not the holy and spiritual plans which are being set forth by the persons who are leading / misleading the masses, then what should be focused upon, according to what Maharaj eventually came to understand as a more appropriate treatment plan? According to Maharaj, the mind. The Ultimate Sickness is a mental sickness, so only by addressing the mental issues can healing come. 

Thus, he said: 

"All illness begins in the mind." 

"Your confusion is . . . in your mind." 

"Whatever is conceived by the mind must be false, for it is bound to be relative and limited." 

"Distrust your mind, and go beyond." 

"There is no chaos in the world except the chaos which your mind creates." 

 " . . . The mind obscures and distorts." 

"It is the mind that creates illusion." 

"There is no such thing as peace of mind. Mind means disturbance. Restlessness itself is mind." 

"Don't rely on your mind for liberation. It is the mind that brought you into bondage. Go beyond it altogether." 

"Beyond the mind there is no suffering." 

So if the problem centers in the mind, and since a sick mind - obviously - cannot heal a sick mind, then what is the solution, per Maharaj? 

"Stop making use of your mind and see what happens." 

"Learn to separate yourself from the image and the mirror. Keep on remembering: I am neither the mind nor its ideas." 

"There is no such thing as mind. There are ideas . . . ." 

"Abandon the wrong ideas, for they are false and obstruct your vision . . . ." 

"The death of the mind is the birth of wisdom." 

"To know that you are a prisoner of your mind - that you live in an imaginary world of your own creation - is the dawn of wisdom." 

So what was his state in the end, the state which ultimately freed him and led to the birth of his wisdom? It was a no-mind state: 

"There is no such thing as a mind." 

"I have no mind . . . ." 

Want to be free of the mind? Maharaj advised: 

"Reach a state of zero-concepts." 

"As to my mind, I have no such thing. There is consciousness in which everything happens." 

"I am double dead: not only am I dead to my body, but to my mind, too."

"I find I have lost the mind irretrievably." 

It is the mind which is a storehouse for body and personality identifications. 

It is the mind which is a storehouse for dualistic and, therefore, bogus ideas and concepts and notions and misperceptions (a.k.a., “beliefs”) which generate instability and chaos and misery and suffering. 

It is the mind which is a storehouse of the ignorant and insane beliefs which were planted therein by ignorant and insane programming, conditioning, domestication, acculturation, brainwashing and indoctrination. 

It is the mind which is a storehouse of all which imprisons persons. 

John Milton: "The mind . . . in itself can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven” 

and 

Richard Lovelace: “Stone walls do not a prison make, nor iron bars a cage.” 

So what did he identify as that which does make a prison? The mind.

It is the mind which is a storehouse to all which results in a false sense of different-from-ment which – in turn – always leads to a subsequent sense of better-than-ment. 

It is the mind, being the storehouse of beliefs about different-from-ment and better-than-ment, which leads to a false sense of separation which then sets the stage for arguments, nonsensical disagreements, fighting, conflict, killing, wars, chaos, pain, misery, and suffering. 

It is the mind which is a storehouse of learned ignorance, personality disorders, and the neuroses and psychoses which can follow as personality disorders disintegrate into a state of severe psychic unhealthiness. 

At every step, the long and arduous “path” which was followed here for decades involved dealing with persons who were all determined to use their dogma or exercises or beliefs or methods to add more to the mind, touting the need for more dogma, more spiritual exercises, more philosophy, more ideology, more (but different) beliefs, ad infinitum. 

The long and arduous search ended when it became clear that (1) all of the stuff in the mind was the actual source of every problem, the mind being the origin of every problem; and that (2) the solution did indeed call for de-accumulation . . . that is, called for entering into a process of being un-taught all of it; called for entering into a process of un-learning it all; 

and called for casting aside all of the nonsense which had been added to and stored in a part of the brain which would be called “the mind” and which would lead to decades of ignorant and nonsensical and insane actions which led to massive levels of misery and suffering that did not end until the mind came to an end. 

How to end the mind, the entire content of which can all be summarized with the term, “one’s beliefs”? 

Abandon all beliefs. No beliefs? No mind. No mind? No stone walls. No stone walls? Freedom. 

As has been noted here, each belief, each assumed persona, and each scrap of learned ignorance which is all stored in the mind . . . each of those becomes one of the many bars which are used to form the prison of the mind. 

Want to be freed from prison? Cut away the bars of beliefs; the bars of identifications (or Identification); and the bars of taught and learned ignorance. 

Only then can you be free of dualistic thinking, and only free of dualistic thinking can you be truly free, and only if truly free can you be happy. (As Maharaj said, “It really is simple,” yes?) 

To be continued. 

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Please enter into the silence of contemplation.

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In addition to the five non-duality books made available without charge by Andy Gugar, Jr. (see “FREEBIES” above), you can now access nearly 3,300 posts for any topics of interest to you.

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, a non-narcissistic god / 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" 

and 

"Heaven and earth shall fade away." 

and 

"Heaven and hell are not geographic places but are states of mind, nothing more than concepts dreamed up by men" 

and 

"There is no hell."

REALIZING WITHOUT DOGMA, WITHOUT CONTINUOUS SPIRITUAL PRACTICES, AND WITHOUT A PREOCCUPATION WITH “THE NATURE OF REALITY AND THINGS NOUMENAL”:Duality-Based Conflict

TODAY'S CONSIDERATIONS

[See the offer following this post for details on how you can watch a video which includes a discussion of all seven of the steps on the path as used by Maharaj] 

To review the key pointers being discussed at this point: 

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 end of the post for the full meaning and implications of that. 

The most influential obstacles of all to realizing and being free have come via dreamed up myths and superstitions and via "religious" and / or "spiritual" sources, including religious and / or spiritual thoughts, ideas, concepts, notions, views, theories, inklings, perceptions, a.k.a., "beliefs." 

A man who was abused as a child by a priest. man approached and asked for a way "to be guided to a state of realization and freedom without their having to buy into dogma." 

The popular venues where seekers seek (or don't) have a 5000+-year history of failing to set persons free of their distorted and delusional and freedom-blocking and independence-blocking belief systems. venues. 

Thus it should be clear why Maharaj eventually advised seekers to avoid those, leading to this totally different option: 

REALIZING WITHOUT DOGMA, WITHOUT CONTINUOUS SPIRITUAL PRACTICES, AND WITHOUT A PREOCCUPATION WITH “THE NATURE OF REALITY AND THINGS NOUMENAL": Duality-Based Conflict

[Continuing from yesterday] 

Today, many nations are split right down the middle with their populations divided along duality-based identifiers: 

Syria is divided along dualistic, religious, sectarian lines, for example.

Somalia, Kenya, Nigeria, Sudan and Libya are engaged in civil wars. 

And the U.S. remains divided by these dualistic identifiers: 

“conservative” vs. “liberal"; 

“highly religious” vs. “less religious” or “not religious"; 

“northern” vs. “southern” geographic identities; 

white supremacists and neo-nazis vs. the tolerant;

those willing to work to address issues which need to be addressed vs. those addicted to chaos who want to "tear the whole thing down";

“progressive types” vs. "the regressive types" and “the opponents of all change and innovation.” 

History offers many lessons of what can happen when duality rules a nation: 

1. Abraham Lincoln, speaking of the U.S. in the mid-1800's, observed in a non-dual fashion that "a house divided against itself cannot stand," a non-dual message that adumbrated a pointer also offered by the Advaitin Yeshu'a many centuries earlier and by Maharaj later. 

2. An even earlier example of a case where a national house was divided against itself happened when a city-state known as Florence (Italy) had a formerly-united populace that became divided 50 / 50 along religious and social and political lines. 

Those differing political and social and religious-based beliefs split Florence right down the middle after the monk Girolamo "The Bonfires of the Vanities" Savonarola entered the city of Florence. With a hidden agenda to overthrow the government and create a theocracy in its place, he attacked the ruling Medicis as "humanists" and "non-Christians" and chastised them for supporting science. 

Like many current counterparts in the U.S., Savonarola was a demagogue of the highest order, able to incite half of the population with emotionally-intoxicating, evangelical-preacher-like-rhetoric while spreading ignorance and fanaticism. Eventually, he was able to foster enough discontentment that the city-state became split 50 / 50 by the divisiveness of their political and social and religious-based, dualistic concepts. 

Savonarola inspired a puritanical fervor, declaring passionately that Florence would become "the world center of Christianity" and "more powerful, more glorious than ever" once Christians gained total control of the city-state. During the four years that he was the religious / political ruler of Florence, the city-state sank into utter chaos as he converted it from a self-governed, independent state into a theocracy. 

Post-Savonarola's influence, fifty percent of the population longed to return to being a self-governing, independent state; fifty percent preferred his plan: to live in a theocracy - a religious state where God is considered the head of the government and where a human ruler is deemed to be God's spokesperson on earth. Rather than a written constitution serving as a guide, scriptures deemed to be "holy" are the written guide for a theocratic nation. 

As in the days of Lincoln, the U.S. is again providing an example for the entire planet as opposing forces - totally trapped in dual-mindedness - are playing out in a real time drama and in their Theater of the Lie exactly what it looks like when duality runs amuck with a present populace that is once again divided 50 / 50 along religious, social, political (and yes, racial) lines. 

The 1860's version of a dual-minded "United" States is alive and active, the divisiveness never really having ended in many parts of the nation. 

Today, what is happening in the States provides an example for all seekers of the non-dual understanding of what happens when dual-mindedness prevails. In the U.S., the trappings of duality in national politics is at play with demagoguery and hyperbole and histrionics and ignorance and stupidity and insanity (Maharaj) and duality-inspired destruction having become exceedingly popular among the fifty percent or more who prefer those. Their zeal to build a Biblical-based government is all-consuming, inspiring their full-blown monomania. 

As far as the non-dual understanding is concerned, Florence in the late 1500's, the U.S. in the mid-1800's, and the U.S. currently can provide examples of what happens when "dual-minded persons become unstable in all ways" and then seek power and control in order to assure that their dualistic beliefs are forced upon an entire population. 

Of course, the histories of most nations provide similar examples: the U.K. when Henry VIII broke from the Catholic Church and formed a state religion that to this day functions alongside the government; South Africa under apartheid; other African nations that have been torn by regional wars; 

the present-day theocracies that are at war with all who do not belong to their particular religion and sect; and a history of other religious wars that are rooted in the opposing agendas of Judaism, Christianity, Islam and other religions that would have a "faith-based, God-fearing government" in order to guarantee that their nations have a "faith-based, God-fearing populace." 

None of that could ever even be conceived except for the fact that dual-minded persons assume false roles which then drive their every thought and word and deed (rendering them unstable in all ways after having assumed the roles of "Super Political Leaders," "Super Proud Xenophobes," "Super Religious Knowers," "Super Patriots" and - most arrogantly and delusionally and divisively - "Those Who Believe That They Are Living in 'The Greatest Nation on Earth'.") All of that is dualistic, arrogance-based, hierarchy-inspiring, separatist nonsense. 

Such is the relative existence when it is being controlled by duality, that is, by dualistic thoughts, dualistic talk, and duality-driven actions; by religious fanatics fomenting a false sense of separation and different-from-ment and better-than-ment; by political fanatics fomenting a false sense of separation and different-from-ment and better-than-ment; and by a few big business fanatics who are co-opting control of elections and using their billions to foment a false sense of separation and different-from-ment and better-than-ment. 

And so the cycles go, for over 500 years in some of the examples offered. Is should indeed be clear that "There is no chaos in the world except the chaos which your mind creates” and that “A dual-minded person is unstable in all ways"? 

To be continued.

NEW OFFER: 

Watch an updated seven-hour streaming video of a retreat with Floyd Henderson which can be viewed by anyone with internet access. (In this video; all seven of the steps on "the path" as taught by Maharaj are explained and discussed.) 

If interested; click the button below to pay the fee via PayPal. You will then receive an email which includes the link for you to view the private, unlisted video via an arrangement we have made with YouTube, Inc. You do not have to have a YouTube account to watch this privately streamed video. 

(If you do not receive the link promptly, your computer or email provider may have high filter settings. Check your spam and trash folders because some providers automatically transfer emails containing links to those folders.) 

To access the seven-hour streaming video of a retreat and begin watching right away, click this "Buy Now" button: 

 

Please enter into the silence of contemplation. 

[NOTE: The four most recent posts are below. You may access all of the posts in this series and in the previous series and several thousand other posts as well by clicking on the links in the "Recent Posts and Archives" section.] 

In addition to the five non-duality books made available without charge by Andy Gugar, Jr. (see “FREEBIES” above), you can now access nearly 3,300 posts for any topics of interest to you. 

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, a non-narcissistic god / 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" 

and 

"Heaven and earth shall fade away." 

and 

"Heaven and hell are not geographic places but are states of mind, nothing more than concepts dreamed up by men" 

and 

"There is no hell."