 |
|
Regardless of what you think, say or do, Absolute Freedom was, is and always will be Who and What you really are.
|
Although the twilight causes the appearance of a snake before you,
regardless of what you may think, say or do about it, it is really never
anything other than a rope. So it is with the Mind and its World of [inner and outer] forms and events, desires and dilemmas...being naught but a projection from the Ineffable Reality, which is Itself unmodified, unalloyed and, thereof, utterly free.
FIRST PRINCIPLESIf we hope to make any sense out of what it is that thrives not only within but also without us (i.e. the ego and the world, respectively), we have to be capable of reaching the agreement that there exists an underlying primal condition or state of Being which is omnipresent and eternal (i.e. everywhere and permanent). This state of primal Being, for convenience sake, we shall refer to as 'the Absolute', representing the pure undifferentiated essence of Existence or Pure Being. Now, since the Absolute (Pure Being) is everywhere and permanent, each ego (or individual) must naturally have primary and continuous access to It; It must be the permanent factor behind the ego. Furthermore, as it should become evident, It must be what the ego itself has been projected out of, or born from. If we will now observe the immediacy of the ' I ' essence, we will notice that such experience is raw and pure (and in this sense, perfect) IF we can do so without add-on thought colorations (modifications). For, such add-on thought modifications are a direct byproduct of the hub of all thought modifications: the essential ' I '-thought or ego. This is undoubtedly the most vital and central idea that the Vedanta seeks to convey. It is not a simple one in terms of presentation; when it's grasped however it's recognized to be profoundly simple. So try your best to get a clear handle on its basic premise. Thereof, basically, the pure experience of the Self or the 'I am' registers as a steady state of awareness or consciousness, in the form of a clear flow of ' I ',' I ',' I '. However, the common influx of 'I am this [such way] or that [such thing]' is the interfering realm of the ego. And this realm, if investigated, is found to be a false overlay on the truth or the Natural Reality--which is the state of pure, unmodified awareness. That is, the ego, being a modification or superimposition on the otherwise natural state of pure consciousness, is a contrived [albeit well-orchestrated] falsehood. And it can be proved so by the fact that it's nothing more than a temporary phenomenon. The ego is subject to phases of waking, dreaming and sleeping. In the sleep mode, it, along with its cohort, the mind, is non-existent. Yet the substratum Self is continuous throughout these phases, because, upon awakening, the ego recognizes that somehow, something that was all along 'backing it' experienced a blissful sleep. This is the common experience of everyone: the identity of the individual remains intact. Therefore the ego (again, considered, as such) is maya. And the Self is the only Reality; in fact, the Self is Existence Itself. This is Yoga, Samadhi, Moksha and Jivanmukthi.
In any approach there are contradictions in evidence. Oddly enough, in the way of Vedanta contradictions are even more pronounced (because of the explicitness of the philosophy). For example, the assertion that Brahman is the only reality in existence, and yet constant reference is made to an ego that must be abandoned. However, if the matter is investigated, this will be acknowledged to be a necessary strategy. Moreover, it's only a means to an end. (And nowhere is the saying more appropriate, "The end justifies the means"!) And, 'the end' implies a condition that abandons BOTH concepts. That is, not only the concept of ego is eventually dispelled, the concept of Brahman is ALSO released, because these are merely concepts and not the "thing-in-itself." The point here is not to be discouraged when you see such contradictions because neither side is the truth, per se, but rather the purpose of this (or ANY spiritual philosophy) isn't the concepts it wields, for they only POINT the way to the Reality. Whereas, the Reality has no philosophy, no concepts, no ideas or ideals. It merely is. We can further elaborate by saying that a given spiritual philosophy uses an untruth (in the form of a method or system of thought) to dislodge an untruth, like a thorn is used to pluck out another thorn from under the skin, and after the job is done, both are thrown away.
EVERY BEING IS THAT I AM
Whether or not you're taken by the angry pain, or tour Life's roadway through sorrow/fear, etc, is simply without consequence...because it's only maya. Like when you wake up from a dream in the morning, where within that dream just minutes ago its 'reality' and 'power' were unchallenged in the face of your vital essence--yet, it remains truly without substantial Reality, afterall. So also does this Life spectacle, as such, resolve itself to be thus upon the Greater Awakening (Self-Realization) what it's really been all along: nothing more than a highly sophisticated realm of pure dream! Thus, when the final disintegration of the Ego Commander is achieved, it's also immediately realized that the past involvements of this alleged 'ego' have amounted to so much dust and smoke...
Except for the thought or series of thoughts that
Consider: If and when some philosophy gets developed to answer the Mind's many urgent questions, are we to then uphold such battery of answers in every moment in time? Or, are these answers supposed to create a certain transformation within us in order to elicit a living state of being (viz. enlightenment), enabling us to release our involvement with such throng of answers? The fact is, there is a transformation forthcoming, yet it is the result--not of an abstract/intricate philosophy gradually built-up and indexed in vast mental files and directories--but rather delivered through an extraordinarily SIMPLE means: by asking oneself "Who am I?"...and allowing merely this SINGULAR and PRIMAL question--the question of ALL questions--to re-define the constitution of our Mind, permitting it to become what it has ever already been: a clear and characterless conduit that transmits the Totality of Self, being otherwise unfiltered, unmodified, or uncompromised by thoughts or ideologies.
Relative Illusion vs. Absolute ConsciousnessAll these are Mind contrivances. Some will argue, heatedly, that this kind of philosophical negation is a cop-out. Others will remind us that responsibility and steady involvement in matters of the world are vital and inescapable. Still others will further point out that survival itself would be impossible without due process of daily mundane attention and commitment. The response is: By all means, act on the requirements for life's sustenance--but without attachment and without reflection. Don't talk or even think about it. Most of all, don't philosophize about it. Just DO it! For, beyond this, there is in reality no 'doing' to be had, for there is no-one, as such, in existence to begin with. And without anyone in existence, how is so-called "doing" at all possible? Is this madness? No. Dreaming causes us to swear to things that aren't there. Dreaming is [obviously] purely a product of the mind. Likewise, the waking phase of the mind causes the same phenomenon. But it can only be so proven at the advent of Liberation [or the freeing of the awareness] of the ego from its outbreath of the hypnotic mode of the waking world. (Note: Regarding the non-existence of the individual: Only the false and temporary reflection of the true Self--being the limited ego (i.e. that individualized entity who considers itself real apart from its Source in the brahman Self)--is claimed to be non-existent...not the Self Itself.) Listen: Prior to moksha there is a similar distrust that the waking world, as such, could ever be merely a dream. In this unique case, seeing isn't believing; rather, BEING renders seeing irrelevant(!), and is simultaneously its own automatic proof...testifying to what Really IS. Once achieved, all questions and philosophies crumble into thin air. This is what's meant by "the destruction of the mind." What remains in its wake is what was ever its substratum: Absolute Pure Consciousness.
::: MOKSHA : Liberation :::
It's so clean : transcendental : like hovering above clouds/problems/thoughts :
Letting go perfectly : of all conceptual/perceptual organizations :::
Objects : realms : judgements : left wondrously behind : along with
these psycho-philosophical : relentless systems of morality : that sterile
angry thunder of Logic = all clearly : perfectly : effortlessly
abandoned Once for all Time ::: Yes even the glue and magic heat of commitment :
the strict strength of Reasonable Conscience : Yea! the Cosmic Love Magnet
that inspires and exalts the very Stars and Eternity : All transcended
Trumping the Death CardNo Enemy__No Horror__No Tragedy__
There's ever only one enemy that anyone
There's only One I AM in existence.
The Atmavichara (Self-enquiry)Now, regardless that the Self is all-pervading (ie being that It yet also is these very bodies, sheaths, and states), the problem still lies in the fact that these egoic components (bodies, sheaths, states) cause a fundamental distraction in one's awareness. That is, they cause a severe contraction of Consciousness...jailing, as it were, our otherwise free and [naturally] Absolute Being. This is why we're instructed in the vichara marga to bypass or deny that these components have anything to do with our real Self. And then, eventually, what becomes finally left over, is nothing but the pure ether of Self. Yet, technically, It's ALREADY HERE RIGHT NOW!
nothing hence to add or subtract from what is. this is IS-ism. everyone's naturally enlightened. maya never was for even a second in time. time never was. was never was. deadmind. NITYAMOUNANANDA IS ALL THERE IS. OM SHAANTHI SHAANTHI SHAANTHI. | |||
|
THAT Which IS Embraces Yet Transcends Every Imaginable Thought And Attribute Unto Eternal Infinity. And, As Such, Its Unified Being Yields Not A Singular Idea, Color, Or Sound Save The Spectrum Of AUM |
Who are you?
Find it out!
The Mind (Maya) is so complex.
The Self (Nishta) is so simple.
(Maya is the World-appearance. Nishta is the Reality or the Truth in Existence.)
As long as the World-appearance is left uninvestigated, Ignorance prevails...
causing Suffering.
If the World-appearance is, however, investigated, in due course it's found to
to be evanescent and inconsequential, causing [innate] wisdom to surface.
Here's the sole root-cause of the World's manifest Illusion:
the ego/desire-Mind.
And yet, paradoxically, it doesn't even exist(!)
Therefore, based on the information here provided, what is, in turn, the
root-cause of this ego/desire-Mind?
Answer: Nothing is the cause of Nothing.
Here, the Mind is confirmed dead. And what remains over cannot be in any wise conveyed, only "experienced" (which is also a grave misnomer, insofar as how it may be registered--viz: who or what entity can possibly be [manifested] separate from It [or in addition to It] to be capable of recording the event?).
The Unreal: It's ever only a [non-existent] device called the Mind
that can seem to divert our attention from the Natural State.
And yet, this whole process is an utter dream. Nothing more. Nothing less.
(Therefore, these very words are hieroglyphs without any meaning whatsoever.
Yet, a certain measure of patience needs be exercised in this apparent web of maya...)
So, what is this Natural State?
It has no Relative characteristics. No definitions. Therefore, no limitations.
It simply is. And to try to understand it is an act that immediately destroys
your otherwise natural inclination to BE IT(!)...for It is your own
Self-nature alone.
That very feeling that one has of BEING (Self) is the absolute,
essential and final Truth of Life. There is nothing beyond It to strive for. All
that's required is to eliminate that which seems to distort,
discolor, divert, and/or
even destroy our otherwise flawless, direct connexion to the Self.
Only the most ardent and devoted sadhus would have reached this point in the text [of this linked website], and therefore are capable of utilizing perhaps the most authoritative source on Advaita Vedanta (which is itself nothing less than the core essence of the Knowledge that is foundational to not merely Life but Consciousness and Being Itself):
Arunachala Ashrama
66-12 Clyde Street
Forest Hills, NY 11374
718 575 3215
Ask for their catalogue.
Suggested reading:
MAHA YOGA
ERASE THE EGO
TALKS WITH SRI BHAGAVAN
TRIPURA RAHASYA
The world is full of jnanis. There is no such thing as Ignorance... Nor suffering, bondage, tragedy, fear, hatred. Nor Death, Time, Karma, heaven, hell. For these are Thoughts... egocentric relationings... relative Judgments... YES. The Final Realization thunders home [like the sound of worlds colliding] that the immediacy of the 'IS' experience lives ever without characterizations or colors or strokes of attitudes or needs/desires--neither vacuums necessitating forms to fill or fulfil-- NO!--merely the flow of some unfathomable Trend that cannot be touched, heard, or seen, and is yet all that is or can be touched, heard, and seen, For It is the Permanent existential Pulse of BEING that defies all Thought that deifies All Heart which Eternalizing IS.
Notice that when someone points to or refers to themselves, they point to their heart and not their head. This is because everyone ALREADY knows that they're not their brain full of thoughts [or ego].
 |
"Consciousness is pure knowledge. The mind arises out of it and is made up of thoughts. The essence of mind is only awareness or consciousness. However, when the ego over-shadows it, it functions as reasoning, thinking or perceiving. The universal mind, not being limited by the ego, has nothing outside itself and is therefore only aware. This is what the Bible means by 'I am that I am'. The ego-ridden mind has its strength sapped and is too weak to resist thought, whether distressing or happy.
"The mind is nothing but the stream of thoughts that pass over consciousness. Of all these thoughts, the first one is the thought 'I am this body'. This is a false thought; but because it is taken as true, it is possible for other thoughts to arise. So the mind is just an outgrowth of the primary ignorance, and is therefore unreal."
Here's a Field Manual for doing battle in the trenches. It contains somewhat advanced terms and concepts, yet will hopefully provide valuable assistance for whoever may be serious and desirous to conquer the Mind-beast.
Forward to:
Back to:
Contact: f maiello