Thursday, January 19, 2017



Self Knowledge part 1:

[selections based on Master Nome’s Self Knowledge]

The one, Absolute, Non-Dual Self alone exists Eternally.

The Self neither begins nor ends, neither expands nor reduces, has no phase or condition, & is ever just as it is. The Self alone is present always.

Knowledge of the Self is based upon the seeker having a firm conviction in the Identity, or Non-Duality, of That & thou as expressed in the Upanishadic Mahavakya: “Thou art That.” This reveals the Identity of Self & the Absolute (Brahman).  Seeking Realization of the Absolute, Brahman, seek to realize the Self  as it truly is [not the apparent, personal individual "self" based on the Body]. The Realization of the Self is our only true, natural state. Any other state is Illusion (the Perceptions that fool us into feeling limited to the apparent, personal individual "self" based on the Body) & the product of Delusion (fooling ourselves into identifying with the apparent, personal individual "Mind" based on the Body).  The ultimate nature of Illusion is non-existence (that is, it does not really exist).

[The above themes & 1600 pages more are freely available as perused or downloaded PDF’s, the sole occupants of a Public Microsoft Skydrive “Public Folder” accessible through  www.jpstiga.com ]



Sunday, January 8, 2017

Ramana Maharshi Vedanta Analogies, & Ashtavakra part 2

[for a while, the following will preface all these blogs – so please skip over if seen before]
100 Billion
In order to hint at how serious this Blog is, let the author unequivocally state that the Knowledge here imparted, none of it original, none to be credited to the author, that Knowledge is THE MOST VALUABLE treasure that exists. If hypothetically offered 100 Billion dollars to forgo this Knowledge, that offer or any other would be disregarded in the blink of an eye.  Even with all the good that might be accomplished with $100B, this Knowledge is beyond the World & comes from beyond the Mind. This is no hyperbole.
[reprise of the prior Maharshi analogy in his own words]
Consciousness is the Screen on which all the pictures come & go. The Screen is real, the pictures are mere shadows on it.  Because by long  habit we have been regarding the 3 states as real as if the Real that we call the state of mere Consciousness.
[a similar "Panchadasi" analogy quoted by Sri Ramana   Maharshi]
A light that is kept on the stage of a theatre. When a drama is being played, the light is there, which illuminates, without any distinction, all the actors, whether they be kings or servants or dancers, & also all the audience. That light will be there before the drama begins, during the performance & also after the performance is over. Similarly, the Light within, that is, the Self, gives light to the Ego [ahamkara], the Intellect [buddhi], the Memory [chitta]. & the Mind [manas] without itself being subject to processes of growth & decay.
[Maharshi comments about Consciousness as the "Witness" & the "3 states"  of Mind]
Actually, the idea of the Self being the Witness is only in the Mind; it is not the Absolute Truth of the Self.  Witnessing is relative to objects witnessed.  Both the Witness & his object are mental creations.  There is only 1 state, that of Consciousness or Consciousness of Existence.
Although during Deep Dreamless Sleep & other states ["unconsciousness" of various kinds] there is no feeling of the Ego, that Self remains attributeless, & continues to shine of itself.
The 3 states of Waking, Dream & Deep Dreamless Sleep cannot be real. They simply come & go.  The Real will always exist. The True "I" or Existence that alone persists in all the 3 states is Real. The other 3 are not real & so it is not possible to say they have such & such a degree of Reality.  We may roughly put it like this. Existence or Consciousness is the only Reality.  Consciousness plus waking, we call Waking. Consciousness plus sleep, we call Deep Dreamless Sleep. Consciousness plus dream, we call Dream.
There is no difference between Dream & the Waking State except that the Dream is short & the Waking long.  Both are the result of the Mind.  Because the waking state is long, we imagine that it is our real state.
[Ashtavakra selectioms]
15.1 – The pure-hearted man fulfils the supreme purpose of Life through the instructions of his Guru, even though they be casually imparted.
15.4 – You are not the body. You do not have a Body.  You are neither the Do-er nor the Enjoy-er [includes sufferer].  You are Consciousness only – the timeless Witness & ever free, so live happily.
15.5 – Attachment & aversion are attributes of the Mind. You are not the Mind & the Mind does not belong to you. Free from scheming & doubting, know yourself to be Consciousness itself, changeless, undivided, free.
15.6 – Knowing that the Self is the Self of all beings, & that all beings "abide" in the Self, be free of Ego – personal identity & the sense of “mine”.
15.7 – You are That Consciousness in which the Universes rise like waves in the Sea.
15.11 – In the infinite Ocean of the Self, universes rise & fall like waves.
15.14 – Whatever you perceive is your Self & you alone. How can bracelets, armlets, & anklets be other than the gold they are made of ?
15.15 – Renounce all sense of distinction, such as: “I am this one,” & “I am not that one.”
15.16 – Your Ignorance alone creates the Universe. In Reality you are the One that alone exists.  There is nothing other than yourself.
15.17 – One who knows for certain that the Universe is Illusion, one becomes desireless, Pure Consciousness itself, & finds Peace as if nothing else existed.
15.19 – Do not disturb your Mind with acquiring or releasing anything. Abide at peace the bliss of the Self.
16.5 – When the Mind is free of opposites like: “This I have done” & “This remains to be done,” one becomes indifferent to merit, wealth, pleasure, & also Liberation.
16.6 – One who is averse to Sense objects avoids them. One who desires them becomes attached. But he who neither rejects nor desires is neither unattached nor attached.
16.7 – Desire & Aversion, Attachment & Non-attachment – all derive from an absence of discrimination. 
16.9 – One who is attached to the World thinks renouncing it will relieve his suffering.  One who is attached to nothing is free & does not feel miserable even in the World.
16.10 – He who retains the feeling of "I-ness" even in regard to Liberation, is neither enlightened nor a true seeker.  He suffers his own misery.
17.2 – The knower of Truth is never troubled in this World nor inwardly in any way, for he knows the Self fills the whole Universe.
17.4  – Rare is the one with not attachment to things he has enjoyed, nor hankering after things he has not enjoyed,
17.5 – Those who desire pleasure & those who desire Liberation are both common in the World. Rare though is the great soul who desires neither enjoyment nor Liberation.
17.6 – Only the enlightened has no attachment to what is admirable, prosperous, pleasure, Life or Death.
17.7 – The man of Knowledge neither cares for the Universe nor desires its dissolution.  He lives happily on whatever comes his way.
17.8 – Knowing the Self, with Mind empty & at Peace, the Sage lives happily while seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, or eating.
17.9 – There is no attachment or non-attachment for one in whom the Ocean of the World has dried up. His gaze is withdrawn inward, his actions are without motive, his Senses seek nothing.
17.12 – Whether seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, eating, taking, speaking, or walking, the great soul is beyond action & non-action, & truly free.
17.13 – The liberated soul is free from desires & attachments to objects everywhere.  He does not blame or praise, give or take, rejoice or become disappointed, ever free.
17.14 – Whether he meets a women full of love, or death approaching him, the great soul remains undisturbed, centered in his own Self Nature.  He is truly free.
17.15 – The Sage of equal vision sees no difference between happiness & suffering, man & woman, adversity & success.  Everything is seen to be the same.
17.16 – Having transcended his role as an individual person, the liberated Sage has neither aggression nor compulsion to show compassion, neither arrogance nor humility, anxiety nor wonder.  His Worldly life is exhausted.
17.17 – The liberated man has neither aversion toward nor craving for Sense objects, With his Mind ever detached, he is unconcerned with what is attained & what remains un-attained.
17.19 – Desires extinguished, free of thoughts of “I” & “mine,” & “This I am”, knowing for certain that there is no objective thing that exists, for the knower of Truth, though he appears to act, he in truth performs no actions.
[The above themes & 1600 pages more are freely available as perused or downloaded PDF’s, the sole occupants of a Public Microsoft Skydrive “Public Folder” accessible through  www.jpstiga.com ]

Saturday, January 7, 2017

Ramana Maharshi Vedanta Analogies, & Ashtavakra
[for a while, the following will preface all these blogs – so please skip over if seen before]
100 Billion
In order to hint at how serious this Blog is, let the author unequivocally state that the Knowledge here imparted, none of it original, none to be credited to the author, that Knowledge is THE MOST VALUABLE treasure that exists. If hypothetically offered 100 Billion dollars to forgo this Knowledge, that offer or any other would be disregarded in the blink of an eye.  Even with all the good that might be accomplished with $100B, this Knowledge is beyond the World & comes from beyond the Mind. This is no hyperbole.
[some Ramana Maharshi quotes]
Since you are Consciousness there is no need to attain or cultivate it. All that you have to do is to give up being aware of [misidentified with attached to  ] other things, that is of the not-Self. If one gives up being aware of them then pure Consciousness alone remains, & that is the Self.
Your present knowledge is due to the ego & is only relative. Relative knowledge & memory requires an object & subject.
The state of Self-Realization is not attaining something new or reaching some goal which is far away, but simply being that which you always are & which you always have been. All that is needed is that you give up your Realization of the not-true as true,    regarding as Real that which is not real.
That stage transcends the Seer [subject] & the Seen [object]. There is no Seer [subject] there to see anything. The Seer [subject] who is seeing all this now ceases to exist & the Self alone remains. 
Realization is simply being oneself, not knowing anything or becoming anything. If one has realized, one is that which alone is & which alone has always been. One cannot describe that state. One can only be that.
If the idea "I am the Body" is accepted, the selves are multiple. The state in which this idea vanishes is the Self since in that state there are no other objects. It is for this reason that the Self is regarded as one only.
The Body itself does not exist in the natural outlook of the real Self, but only in the extroverted outlook of the Mind which is deluded by the power of Illusion [Maya, avidya, ajnana],
[a Ramana Maharshi analogy]
The 3 states [Waking, Dream, Deep Dreamless Sleep ] come & go, but you are always there. It is like a cinema. The Screen [~ Consciousness ] is always there but several types of pictures appear on the Screen & then disappear. Nothing sticks to the Screen, it remains a screen. Similarly, you remain your own Self in all the 3 states. If you know that, the 3 states will not trouble you, just as the pictures which appear on the Screen do not stick to it. On the Screen, you sometimes see a huge ocean with endless waves; that disappears. Another time, you see fire spreading all around; that too disappears. The Screen is there on both occasions. Did the Screen get wet with the water or did it get burned by the fire ?  Nothing affected the Screen. In the same way, the things that happen during the Wakeful, Dream & Sleep states do not affect you at all; you remain your own Self.  All these 3 states come & go. The Self is not bothered; it has only 1 state.
[more Ashtavakra Gita selections]
7.3 – In the shoreless Ocean of myself, a World is imagined. I am peaceful & formless.  In this alone I “abide”.  
7.4 – The Self is not in objects, nor are objects in the pure & infinite Self.  The Self is Free of attachment & desire, ever tranquil, in this Truth alone I abide.
7.5 – Truly I am Pure Consciousness & the World is like a passing magic show. In my Self there are neither thoughts of acceptance or rejection.
8.1 – When the Mind desires or grieves over anything, accepts or rejects anything, feels joy or anger, is pleased or displeased by anything – such is Bondage.
8.2 – When the Mind does not desires or grieves over anything, accepts or rejects anything, feels joy or anger, is pleased or displeased by anything – such is Liberation.
8.3 – If the Mind is attached to the experience of any Sense Perception, this is Bondage.  When the Mind is not attached to the experience of any Sense Perception, this is Liberation.
8.4 – When “I” appears, there is Bondage.  When there is no “I”, there is Liberation.  Knowing this to be the Truth, neither accept or reject anything.
9.8 – Renounce desire through deep detachment.  Renounce the objects of the World, & renunciation of desire will follow.  Now you may live as you like.
10.1 – Give up desire, the main enemy, along with gain, itself full of loss, & all earnest efforts that give rise to the other two. Practice indifference to everything.
10.2 – Look upon friends, lands, wealth, houses, wives, gifts, … & all apparent good fortune as a magic show or dream lasting some 3 or 5 days.
10.3 – Know that where desires prevail, there is the World’s Samasara.  Establish yourself in firm non-attachment, & be free of desire & be happy.
10.4 – Desire constitutes the only Bondage.  To be free of desire is Liberation.  Cultivate non-attachment to Worldly objects & joyfully realize the Self.
10.5 – You are One, pure Consciousness.  The World is inert & unreal.  Even Ignorance is unreal.  So what is left to desire or know ?
10.6 – Possessions, children, wives, bodies, pleasures – these have been lost to you, life after life.  However attached as you have been, still they are now lost forever.
10.8 – For how many lifetimes have you done hard & painful labor with body, Mind, & speech ?  Why not bring all that to an end ?
11.3 – One who knows for certain that adversity & success come & go according to Karma controls his Senses & has neither likes nor dis-likes.
11.4 – Knowing for certain that birth & death, happiness & suffering, come & go in accord with Karma, one sees that it is not possible to accomplish desires.  He favors "non-action", so that even when engaged in actions, he remains unattached.
11.5 – Anxiety produces misery & nothing else.  Dropping all desires, he is free, happy, serene, desireless, & at peace everywhere.
11.6 – Realizing: “I am not the Body, nor is the Body my possession – I am Consciousness itself”, one attains the Absolute & no longer thinks of things done or left undone.
11.7 – “Truly all is my own Self.” This conviction brings freedom from desire & imagination, One who knows this is no longer concerned with what he has done, what he has not done.
12.2 – Having relinquished attachment to objects of Sense Perception, & not expecting Perception of the Self to be possible, my Mind remains free from agitation & distraction, I remain at peace.
12.8 – He who has achieved this has achieved the goal of Life.  He who is of such nature is has done what has to be done.
13.6 – Losing nothing by either sleep nor effort, abandoning all thoughts of winning or losing, I live as I please.
14.2 – When desire has been eliminated, of what use to me are wealth, friends, learning, scriptures, & philosophy, or those Senses that rob us ?
14.4 – The inner condition of one whose doubts have ended, who acts outwardly like one still ignorant – his actions can be understood only by like souls.
[The above themes & 1600 pages more are freely available as perused or downloaded PDF’s, the sole occupants of a Public Microsoft Skydrive “Public Folder” accessible through  www.jpstiga.com ]