Sunday, May 26, 2013

This Weekends - Lessons Learnt

Go back to your essence being now!
No psychoanalysis here, just a pill-free freedom.
Nothing is a reading of what you are.
You are not this thing or that thing.
You are no-thing actually.
I wish to meet you, not your story.
It will be a beautiful meeting, a sweet union.
Come out of this fickle hiding place.
Don't keep hiding inside this human form and its dramas.
I know who you are.
You are a Buddha.
~ Mooji


Don't avoid anything that comes!
Don't invite anything you don't need!
Attend to circumstances as best you can,
and forget about it!
~ Papaji

14 comments:

  1. Great. For me personally the meditation revealed some insights. I am slowly starting to realize that every seeker is equal. The only 2 stages on this Path are- sleeping and being awakened. If you aren't awakened, you're sleeping. There are no stages within this sleeping. No one has progresses more or less. No one is better than another. Till we are not awakened, we continue to operate from our Ego-self. So ANY thought ( including this whole paragraph I am writing) that stems from this Ego is diluted, limited and untrue. Don't believe it and don't attach yourself to it. This is something my "spiritual Ego" feels now. I just have to be totally open to any of my thoughts or conclusions being called wrong by someone by remembering that thoughts coming from my Ego are as wrong as thoughts coming from someone else's Ego, no matter how logical or intuitive they seem. The spiritual Ego needs to be observed (not kept under check) too and not be confused with the true Self.

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  2. This is so apt and relevant.

    You can never find mind through the mind. Go beyond it, and find it non-existent- Sri Ramana Maharshi

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    1. We confuse our spiritual ego to be the awareness. You are not observing if you can see yourself observing. Beautiful :-)

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  3. A quote:

    "We are not aware of our past nor are we aware of our future. We do not know our origin and we do not know our end. We came from non-existence and we will go back to non-existence.

    We currently exist in the realm of four dimensions limited by our five senses. Many other dimensions and senses are closed beyond our perceptions - so that we can learn the value of some lessons, the value of which we will perceive when we are liberated from these limitations.

    To understand a theorem, we simplify the assumptions behind the complexity of the real world to get at the essence. So has the limited dimensions and perceptions been given to us to understand the essence of the lessons, the true value of which will be perceived by us when we are the non-existence.

    I remain I in every form of existence and non-existence, merging and de-merging with the dimensions and senses and identities.

    I am made of the Universe and I am You and You are I and the Universe is Learning in a trillion trillion ways simultaneously by existing in different times, , forms, dimensions."

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  4. i disagree slightly, my take on this is as follows: senses limit the mind's ability to perceive, but not the self's ability to perceive itself, for to sense yourself you do not need to sense anything at all. getting a control of the senses and distancing those senses from the self is the only way to experience the self in other words getting rid of the noise. I am not made of self, i am self..the one n the whole are actually the same, its only the perception is skewed due to the mind's projections. i don't need to understand the self, as i am the self..mind needs to understand the self (realize its existence..but does the self needs to care about explaining itself to the mind (which actually is just a projection to begin with) ? i think not, as with realizing the self the mind can wash away the doubts and the need to understand anything..as everything is self !!

    hope that makes some sense to the reader :)

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  5. A point to ponder:

    We consider the core of ourselves, the Self, pure and all pervading force in the universe.
    However, at the same time, we are laying the responsibility for our defects on senses and the mind, as if they are imposed on us by some exterior force.

    If I were to accept that this is fundamentally true, then I have to accept that there is, in this universe, a duality of forces. The pure versus the impure. God vs devil. And, by the same logic, currently the impure forces have overtaken our pure self to subjugate us to our unwanted desires and deceptions. The question therefore arises, from where does that powerful force arise? Is it a mere result of the non-pure activities in our past lives? If we were pure souls to begin with, how did we become impure or defective and covered with layers of self-deception? If we didnt originate as pure souls, then our origin is from the impure and aspiring to get rid of these aspects of impurity - but why did we originate like that ?

    If we believe in the singularity of forces in the Universe, that matter and consciousness are one and the same, that the Universe arises out of the Self ( The concept of Advaita, or non-duality as described in Vedanta ), duality gives rise to many narrow interpretations and prospects of infinite variations e.g duality, trialty, quadra-lity etc. Most of the Vedanta interpretations are from the concept of Advaita or non-duality.

    for additional info on read http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advaita_Vedanta

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  6. My interpretation of this is as follows: self (consciousness) is neither good nor evil, it is just as is, for who can observe the self and make that judgement. What we consider or think is irrelevant if one thinks about it, one is only stirring up more waves in an ocean where calmness is rare but is the only that is required to know the self (ocean). So our notions for us being good or bad are irrelevant in the same way a villain in a movie is not necessarily a bad person in daily life -it is just a role that we all play and that's our ego (mind). Our mind is not imposed on us but is developed by us from conditioning from the day we are born. The prevalent wisdom in society today is to confuse the self with the mind(ego), this misplaced identity gives rise to all misery by making us believe in something which is not real at all - and to find an equilibrium of sorts (peace) man resorts to all sort of tactics - which the mind itself classifies as good or bad. So you see how can something not real be good or bad. There is no good or evil, it only exists in perception of the mind(ego). The more I look at Hindu mythology the clearer it becomes that our ancestors knew about this reality very well and even tried to simplify this concept by way of stories with hypothetical beings (gods). But over time we just remembered the stories but the essence of the message was lost - in translation perhaps. The self did not originate nor does the self ever die, it is present. If we take this approach to objectively look at things we realize that there is no good nor bad, no dead nor alive, no duality whatsoever, only the self (consciousness) I.e. reality and everything else is only a perception of the mind (ego) and is as good as fluff. The ego ( not just in conventional sense but in its true sense by which it means everything in you other than the self) is a strong character but once tamed and controlled by virtue of self realization is not an enemy but a mere accessory/tool for the self to experience and enjoy perhaps but not to loose its identity in it.

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  7. I too believe in what you have just described above. Supreme immortal self, non-duality, continuity and Oneness of Super-Consciousness across life forms and matter.

    In our current life, Each human being is unique simply because we are not duplicates of each other. So, it follows, that the way we perceive life should also be unique. So before I go on, here is my basic philosophy of life ( unique to me in many ways):

    Personally, I am averse to ANY form of imposed disciplines, gurus and seers. Each one of the "gurus" seem to me to think that they have seen the WAY, they know the WAY and they can lead all other humans by guiding them trough that WAY which they perceive.

    Arguably, This kind of hand-holding does help.. but, if carried too far, ultimately blocks the perceptions and intellect of the so called "disciples" or "followers".

    The best way, to me, is to assimilate the teachings and observations of the seers, try to gather the essence, skirt the un-understandable ( till the time we are able to either understand or firmly discard those), and internalise and refine those inside our beings. Then first logicalise our understanding, then challenge them , then contradict those and THEN move beyond the realm of logic to feel and realise OUR OWN WAY - even if that way ultimately proves to be wrong or circuitous. (In the realm of unlimited time and boundless dimensions, "circuitous" and "delay" is hyperbole, anyway.)

    When some "guru" tells me to close my mind and just follow them and I will be shown the WAY - I mentally send a retort akin to "bullshit" because this is the modern version of "andha-vishwas" unfortunately. I just cant and wont ever digest that. Unless I have felt the wisdom internally, no one can shake me from what I have felt and perceived. That can lead to disasters in this life due to short-sightedness of the senses, but so be it..because that is the purpose why I am born with all these limitations - to learn certain lessons which will be crucial in my journey as well as the bigger transformations awaiting after this life.

    contd...

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  9. Contd...

    Coming back to our subject:

    As I have written before, Here are the contradictions in the traditional version of NON-duality which I will NOT accept unless I perceive otherwise, even if the Buddha/ Krishna etc came to me and try to brow beat me into submission:

    * Since we are a part of the SELF, the all pure all pervading consciousness, which causes this universe into being , therefore we / I / or an aggregation of that PURE SELF started as PURE.

    * What caused that PURE SELF to camouflage itself with senses and mind and "deceptions" and "Maya"?

    * If we started as pure, we should have remained pure, unadulterated forever.

    * If some "externality" caused it to be camouflaged at inception, then we are introducing duality, which I tend to reject as an axiom ( The original sin in Christianity is dual)

    * If it is non-duality which is prevalent, then the only explanation left is that pure self itself decided to don voluntarily this camouflage of senses / deceptions / maya at inception initially BEFORE cause and effect were born.

    * why would then the PURE SELF don the garb of senses, limitations of dimensions voluntarily? My hypothesis is that that PURE SELF is gathering learning through the manifestation of this universe and that we are just mere "anksh" or portions of that self. Analogy: like my Red cells think they have an independent existence separate from me even though they are limited in functions and maybe aspiring to become one with my self but will never be able to because that cell is getting an experience which I (kamal) can never get but I ( PURE SELF) is assimilating .

    I don't expect or want anyone to accept these beliefs because I am no seer nor can I claim to have had any visions or great revelations through meditation or concentration. These versions make sense to my unique self. I will, definitely, in time to come, refine this or discard this. But I just wanted to share with you an alternative view of this universe which runs contrary to the belief that we need to escape from our senses since those senses are somehow against our very existence.

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  10. My interpretation of this is as follows: is air good or bad ? One mind will say air is good as we are alive due to it, another mind can say air is terrible due to the tornadoes and hurricanes it forms. So by what is said in the comment above it would mean that if air had a mind it would say I am in kalyug in the tornado mode or why am I impure (in tornado mode) or what kind of deception/illusion am I part of. But it is not impure or pure, it just is and whatever the weather conditions dictate that translates into the form/state of air. That is precisely how everything works including us, due to limited perspectives we are only judging the cause/effects but not the actual nature of self. Again there is no hiding anything or any conspiracy or some self hiding act of the self; self is the self, only our perceptions are the ones that fluctuate on the basis of the various conditions affecting us. That is the folly of the ego again due to its inability to see the whole unless educated to do so or transformed by an experience. Like air our mind only judges the self as right/wrong by the effects which are out of control of the self just as with air which flows depending on the weather conditions and not by its choice. The question is why does mind behave in this fashion and the frank answer according to Vedas is we do not know but why should we worry about the past, we don't know a lot many things like what was before Big Bang or why does anything behave the way it does, so like those we don't know why mind behaves the way it does.

    In terms of experiencing the whole a lot many people have done it, we call them enlightened and it is in our grabs (within our ability) to do so. So that red cell might not be able to experience the body ( or maybe it can who knows), human form is said to have the ability to experience the whole and for that reason, humans are said to be the child's of consciousness as per the vedas. Self realization is the way to mukti from the viscous cycle of life and death, and as per the Vedas IRS everyone's foremost duty and responsibility to self realize as by doing so we can experience the whole and find the inner peace which everyone today is seeking outwardly/materially.

    On the note of the guru, I would strongly recommend listening to moji with an open mind and no Pre conceived notions and making your own logical conclusions, but just hear what the guy is saying with an open mind. A guru can only show the wAy by it is upto the individual whether to walk the path. It's an individual's path and no one les can walk it, no shortcuts here :))

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  11. Yes I will read and hear Mooji too. :)
    I have read a great many books on this when I was around your age. I practised a lot of meditation, felt nearness to the super consciousness. The philosophy of Advaita Vedanta appeals to me greatly. I have read, re-read and meditated on them many many times in my pre-married life.

    I have felt the call of the Self. There is no doubt in my mind that we are a part of the whole which is the SELF. What little excerpts I have read of Mooji, I have the impression that he is eloquent and poetic, has great control over language. His core message is the similar to the other seers. But seers like Vivekananda and Ramakrishna worked with all classes of society, whereas Mooji and his disciples appear to be focussing on the wealthy only - perhaps out of some necessity, which I do not fathom.

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  12. I have some says ants of moji, these are pretty long ones and I haven't seen them all so of you are interested we can watch some some of them together. I think given that moji is nt Indian and his medium is English that cuts off a lot of segments of the Indian populous. But I don't get the predation that he is targeting anyone, he is open to whoever approaches him, rather than him reaching out to anyone that's why his satsangs are much small lee compared to other gurus/Rishis. I would highly encourage to see one of his actual satsang talks and make a judgement for yourself rather than take anyone's word for it.

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  13. yes sure...that would be wonderful. We can discuss many things then :)

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