REALIZING NON–DUAL LIBERATION, ENLIGHTENMENT BY SELF-INQUIRY–pt71

[The Teaching  of Non-Duality has been adapted from Master Nome, disciple of Sri Ramana Maharshi.  Sections appended below derive from Sri Ramana's Teaching.]

What does this say of the idea of individually knowing something ? What does it say about the Individual, or Ego–"I" ?  What does it say about the entire Universe ?  Just One is all this because for the Self there is no creation, no World, no "this", no "other", or any such conception.  The same One Self is known as the Witness, which is infinite Consciousness, for those who are meditating in the Mind, & as the Self which alone exists, for those who have realized Reality.  There can be no difference in Thatt, ever.  Whether speaking of Pure Existence, or of "all this", still there is only One Existence. No change ever occurs for It.  We need never take the Experiencer, the Experiencing, & the objects of Experience to be real.  They are like images on a "Screen", they are Illusions. Such are artificial names given to the One Existence, as if it were divided among many things.

What is called “the mind" is only the combination of thought & Consciousness.  That combination is an Illusion.  It is the Illusion of combining the ever Formless with Form.  Consciousness is the Self & cannot truly be combined with thought, for the Self is Formless & will not change its Nature.  The Self is Infinite & will not be added to.  The Self is real Existence that cannot be combined with false appearances any more than the Rope can be combined with the imagined Snake, or the Sand with the Water of a mirage.

[Ramana]

The Ego-"I"-Self appears & disappears & is transitory, whereas the real Self is permanent. Though you are actually the true Self you wrongly identify the Real Self with the ego-self.

See if that mistake has actually come about.  The ego-self does not exist at all.  If you ask why does it give you trouble, ask: "To whom is the trouble ?"  The trouble also is imagined. Trouble & pleasure are only for the Ego.

The above themes & 2500 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 

short-cut: http://sdrv.ms/YPOgkX or http://tinyurl.com/nnyyr58  link directly to free E-book PDF files

www.jpstiga.com/

http://jstiga.wixsite.com/nonduality/

This blog is also available on:

jstiga.wordpress.com/

“There is no Creation, no Destruction, no Bondage, no longing to be freed from Bondage, no striving for Liberation, nor anyone who has attained Liberation. Know that this to be Ultimate Truth.”
–  the “no creation” school of Gaudapada, Shankara, Ramana, Nome – Ajata Vada
 for very succinct summary of the teaching & practice, see:  www.ajatavada.com/

REALIZING NON–DUAL LIBERATION, ENLIGHTENMENT BY SELF-INQUIRY–pt70

Master Nome

[The Teaching  of Non-Duality has been adapted from Master Nome, disciple of Sri Ramana Maharshi.  Sections appended below derive from Sri Ramana's Teaching.]

The One Reality alone has become both the Seer & the Seen. The emphasis is not so much that the One has changed its Nature, but the inquiry: "What is all this ?" is the point. In our experience, the Subject & the Object appear. The Power by which they appear, the Light by which they are known, the "Screen" on which they are displayed, the "Ground", or "Substrate", That which illumines, or knows, as well as that which appears  as "I", the Subject, & that which appears as the Object, the entire Universe, are all just One Reality, One Divine Essence. If we understand in this way, where is the room for believing that "the World is separate," "I am separate," & "“this is separate".  Just One appears as all this. To know the Reality, therefore, we must know that One, & that One as it is, not just as that One appears in this "picture", which is the Dream of this World. We must know the One's Existence as it actually is. To know the One's Existence, we need to know our own True Nature & realize our Nature to be that very One, the One of boundless Power, or God. When you have the idea, "I know this," "I experience this," the power of that knowing is the Self which is no small personal thing, but of boundless Power.

Thought, itself, is experienced as if all these things. All are only thought. Thoughts join only to other thoughts & affect only other thoughts. Thought appears as Ideas, & thought itself appears as the things that concern those Ideas. Thought cannot join with the Self & cannot affect the Self.  Therefore thought cannot bind.  Thoughts affect only thoughts. The preceding thoughts generally determine the succeeding thoughts.

[Ramana]

There is no "goal" to be "reached".  There is nothing to be "attained".  You are the Self.  You exist always. Nothing more can be predicated of the Self than that it exists.  Seeing God or the Self is only being the Self or yourself.  Seeing is being.  You, being the Self, want to know how to attain the Self.  It is something like a man being at some place asking how many ways there are to reach that place & which is the best way for him. All that is required of you is to give up the thought that you are this Body & to give up all thoughts of the external things or the not-Self.

The above themes & 2500 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 

short-cut: http://sdrv.ms/YPOgkX or http://tinyurl.com/nnyyr58  link directly to free E-book PDF files

www.jpstiga.com/

http://jstiga.wixsite.com/nonduality/

This blog is also available on:

jstiga.wordpress.com/

“There is no Creation, no Destruction, no Bondage, no longing to be freed from Bondage, no striving for Liberation, nor anyone who has attained Liberation. Know that this to be Ultimate Truth.”
–  the “no creation” school of Gaudapada, Shankara, Ramana, Nome – Ajata Vada
 for very succinct summary of the teaching & practice, see:  www.ajatavada.com/

REALIZING NON–DUAL LIBERATION, ENLIGHTENMENT BY SELF-INQUIRY–pt69

[The Teaching  of Non-Duality has been adapted from Master Nome, disciple of Sri Ramana Maharshi.  Sections appended below derive from Sri Ramana's Teaching.]

The Seer, the Subject, & also the Seen is all that is objective which in the Teaching of Non-Duality are like "images".  Reality as Existence is like the "Screen", the "Substrate" upon which all those "images" seem to be projected.  Reality as Consciousness is the Light" by whose illumination the Subject & Object can appear.  All of the forms, as an Effect, rest in the Cause, which is formless, but the Effect can never be different than the nature of the Cause. The Effect is the Cause appearing as the Effect.  The original Cause, which is God or the Supreme Self, is, therefore, all "this".

The Self is never an object & can never be the known. It is always Consciousness itself. Therefore, the Self is ever of the Nature that is Transcendent of thought.  The Self is not known by thought, which means it is ever un–defined by thought & cannot be bound by thought, no matter what the thought is.  

[Ramana]

True Knowledge does not create a new being for you, it only removes your ignorant Ignorance.  Bliss is not added to your Nature, it is merely revealed as your true Natural State, Eternal & imperishable. The only way to be rid of your grief is to know & be the Self.  How can this be unattainable ?

People say that they are not able to know the Self that is all–pervading. What can I do ?  Even the smallest child says, "I exist; I do this; this is mine."  So, everyone understands that the thing "I" is always existent. It is only when that "I" is there that there is the feeling that you are the Body, he is so & so, & so on. To know that the One that is always visible is one's own Self, is it necessary to search with a candle ?  To say that we

do not know the Real Nature of the Self which is not different but which is in one's own Self is like saying, "I do not know myself."

The above themes & 2500 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 

short-cut: http://sdrv.ms/YPOgkX or http://tinyurl.com/nnyyr58  link directly to free E-book PDF files

www.jpstiga.com/

http://jstiga.wixsite.com/nonduality/

This blog is also available on:

jstiga.wordpress.com/

“There is no Creation, no Destruction, no Bondage, no longing to be freed from Bondage, no striving for Liberation, nor anyone who has attained Liberation. Know that this to be Ultimate Truth.”
–  the “no creation” school of Gaudapada, Shankara, Ramana, Nome – Ajata Vada
 for very succinct summary of the teaching & practice, see:  www.ajatavada.com/

REALIZING NON–DUAL LIBERATION, ENLIGHTENMENT BY SELF-INQUIRY–pt68

Master Nome

[The Teaching  of Non-Duality has been adapted from Master Nome, disciple of Sri Ramana Maharshi.  Sections appended below derive from Sri Ramana's Teaching.]

If there is an Ego–"I", there must be a source or a cause of it, & for that which is before the "I", there originally was no "I".  If we consider the Universe as existing or appearing, & if we consider the Ego–"I" as existing or appearing, there must be a Cause, or Essence, that appears as these very "things".  The Cause appears as the Effect. The Effect is only the Cause in that guise.  The original Cause, which is before "all", is Undifferentiated & One.  What then is the nature of the Effect ?  As Reality was originally, so it is now and always. What Power is it that creates the "I" in everyone ?  What is the Power that can bring forth the entire Universe ?

The Ego-"I" knows thought; but thought does not know the "I"."  The true "I" is the unknown Knower of all knowing: this is true Knowledge. None of the attributes of thought are those of the Self.  How then can thought pertain to the Self ?  How then can thought define or confine the Self ?  The Self is free from thought.  Thought can never conceive of the Self.  The Self is never an object of thought.  Thought always has an "objective" element in it.  The Self is ever non–objective.  There is no such thing as a "non–objective " thought.  Since the thought itself is always known & it is always the "thought of something", be it gross (physical) or subtle (mental).  The Self is never an object & can never be the Known.  It is always Consciousness itself.  Therefore, the Self is ever of the Nature that is Transcendent of thought.  The Self is not known by thought, which means it is ever un–defined by thought & cannot be bound by thought, no matter what the thought is.

[Ramana]

You may take up this or that spiritual practice to transcend non-existent limitations.  But if your spiritual practice itself assumes the existence of the limitations, how can it help you to transcend them ?  You are really the infinite Pure Existence, the Self.  You are always that Self & nothing but that Self.  Therefore, you can never be really ignorant of the Self. Your Ignorance is merely an imaginary Ignorance, like the Ignorance of the 10 Fools about the lost 10^th man. It is this Ignorance that caused them grief.

The above themes & 2500 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 

short-cut: http://sdrv.ms/YPOgkX or http://tinyurl.com/nnyyr58  link directly to free E-book PDF files

www.jpstiga.com/

http://jstiga.wixsite.com/nonduality/

This blog is also available on:

jstiga.wordpress.com/

“There is no Creation, no Destruction, no Bondage, no longing to be freed from Bondage, no striving for Liberation, nor anyone who has attained Liberation. Know that this to be Ultimate Truth.”
–  the “no creation” school of Gaudapada, Shankara, Ramana, Nome – Ajata Vada
 for very succinct summary of the teaching & practice, see:  www.ajatavada.com/

REALIZING NON–DUAL LIBERATION, ENLIGHTENMENT BY SELF-INQUIRY–pt67

[The Teaching  of Non-Duality has been adapted from Master Nome, disciple of Sri Ramana Maharshi.  Sections appended below derive from Sri Ramana's Teaching.]

Everything derives its "light" & its reality from the Absolute, but That  does not derive its Light or Reality from anything else. The Absolute does not depend on the World. The Absolute does not depend on the Ego–"I".  The Absolute does not depend on anything else. Rather it, itself, has become all "this", without changing its Nature, for if its True Nature would change, it would not be all-powerful, & that which changed it would be all-powerful. One has become all this, & all this therefore is only that One.  You must know That as it is, within yourself.  It is the Reality in all that appears to exist. It is the Existence in all of the apparent Experiencers, or Seers.  It is the Consciousness in all the Knowing, Perceiving, & Cognizing. It is the only "thing" that there is.

The Self is change–less. Thought is change–ful.  How, then, can thought pertain to the Self ?  How, then, can thought define or confine the Self ?  The Self is singular, state–less & modeless. Thought is multiple, appearing as thoughts, modes, & states. How, then, can thought pertain to the Self ?  How then can thought define or confine the Self ?  The Self is homogenous.  Thought has many aspects.  How, then, can thought pertain to the Self ?  How then can thought define or confine the Self ?  The Self is continuous Existence-Consciousness.  Thought is sporadic & each thought is momentary.  How then, can thought pertain to the Self ?  How then can thought define or confine the Self ?  The Self does not rise & has no disappearance.  The rise & fall of thought can be observed by anyone who meditates with depth.  How then can thought pertain to the Self ?  How then can thought define or confine the Self ?  Thought, being objective, is the Known.  Thought has no knowing power of its own. The Self is the Knower, the silent Witness of all thought.  The Self is Consciousness, which is the Knower, & the Mind is among the Known. Since this is always so, how then can thought pertain to the Self ?  How then can thought define or confine the Self  ?

[Ramana]

In the parable of the "10^th Fool", from where was the 10^th man brought in ?

Was he ever lost ? By knowing that he had been there all the while, did they learn anything new ? The cause of their grief was not the real loss of anyone.  It was their own Ignorance, or rather, their mere supposition that one of them was lost. Such is the case with you. Truly there is no cause for you to be

miserable & unhappy. You yourself impose limitations on your True Nature of Infinite Existence, & then weep that you are but a finite creature. 

The above themes & 2500 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 

short-cut: http://sdrv.ms/YPOgkX or http://tinyurl.com/nnyyr58  link directly to free E-book PDF files

www.jpstiga.com/

http://jstiga.wixsite.com/nonduality/

This blog is also available on:

jstiga.wordpress.com/

“There is no Creation, no Destruction, no Bondage, no longing to be freed from Bondage, no striving for Liberation, nor anyone who has attained Liberation. Know that this to be Ultimate Truth.”
–  the “no creation” school of Gaudapada, Shankara, Ramana, Nome – Ajata Vada
 for very succinct summary of the teaching & practice, see:  www.ajatavada.com/

REALIZING NON–DUAL LIBERATION, ENLIGHTENMENT BY SELF-INQUIRY–pt66

The Watch-Magnifying-Glass Hologram seems to function like the Mind but it doesn't - it is seen by another (Consciousness)

[The Teaching  of Non-Duality has been adapted from Master Nome, disciple of Sri Ramana Maharshi.  Sections appended below derive from Sri Ramana's Teaching.]

Even in illusory Samsara, the perceived or felt sense of "vividness" comes from Reality. The Ego– "I" & the Universe both seem "real". The source of their seeming "reality" is Reality itself. The One appears, as "many", as "I", as "this", as the "Seer", & as the "seen",” & as "the light" – the illumination by which the "I" perceives "this". This One "thing" became the Knower, the Knowing, & the Known. Whether we comprehend that all this is really One or we comprehend that the One has become all this, the emphasis is not on "all this" but on the One. One Reality appears as you & as the Universe. One Reality appears as your apparent ability to know & to cognize the World, or Universe.  Yet that One has none of the limitations of the Subject or the Object.  Look for this One within you.  It is not a "thing".

The Self is silent & un–touched, endowed with the Supreme, solitary power of Reality.  The Self does not contend with thought, as if thought were an enemy with its own power. Self-Inquiry entails freedom from the pursuit of delusive thoughts that, in the form of tendencies (vasanas), form the Illusion (samsara).  Self-Knowledge is not merely a blank Mind in which thought activity is temporarily stilled.  For Self-Realization, one should know the Self's freedom from thought & the True Nature of the Mind.  Inquiring: "For whom is this thought ?"  "For whom is this Mind ?", one should seek Knowledge of the Self, beyond all mental modes & states.  Inquiring: "Who am I ?" one should know true Existence, interior to any thought, more Formless than any thought, Transcendent of all thought, & ever free from all thought.

[Ramana]

In the Parable, Ten Foolish Men forded a stream & on reaching the other shore wanted to make sure that all of them had in fact safely crossed the stream. One of the 10 began to count, but while counting the others left himself out. "I see only 9.  Sure enough, we have lost one.  Who can it be ?" he said. 

"Did you count correctly ?" asked another, & did the counting himself.  But he too counted only 9. One after the other each of the 10 counted only 9, missing himself.  "We are only 9" they all agreed, "but who is the missing one ?" they asked themselves.  Every effort they made to discover the "missing" Individual failed.  "Whoever he is that is drowned", said the most sentimental of the 10 fools, "we have lost him."  So saying he burst into tears, & the others followed suit.

Seeing them weeping on the river bank, a sympathetic wayfarer inquired about the cause. They related what had happened & said that even after counting themselves several times they could find no more than 9. On hearing the story, but seeing all the 10 before him, the wayfarer guessed what had happened.  In order to make them know for themselves they were really 10, that all of them had survived the crossing, he told them, "Let each of you count for himself but one after the other serially, 1, 2, 3, & so on, while I shall give you each a blow so that all of you may be sure of having been included in the count, & included only once. The 10^th missing man will then be found."

Hearing this they rejoiced at the prospect of finding their "lost" comrade & accepted the method suggested by the wayfarer.  While the kind wayfarer gave a blow to each of the 10 in turn,

he that got the blow counted himself aloud. "10" said the last man as he got the last blow in his turn. Bewildered they looked at one another, "We are 10" they said with one voice and thanked

the wayfarer for having removed their grief.

The above themes & 2500 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 

short-cut: http://sdrv.ms/YPOgkX or http://tinyurl.com/nnyyr58  link directly to free E-book PDF files

www.jpstiga.com/

http://jstiga.wixsite.com/nonduality/

This blog is also available on:

jstiga.wordpress.com/

“There is no Creation, no Destruction, no Bondage, no longing to be freed from Bondage, no striving for Liberation, nor anyone who has attained Liberation. Know that this to be Ultimate Truth.”
–  the “no creation” school of Gaudapada, Shankara, Ramana, Nome – Ajata Vada
 for very succinct summary of the teaching & practice, see:  www.ajatavada.com/

REALIZING NON–DUAL LIBERATION, ENLIGHTENMENT BY SELF-INQUIRY–pt65

[The Teaching  of Non-Duality has been adapted from Master Nome, disciple of Sri Ramana Maharshi.  Sections appended below derive from Sri Ramana's Teaching.]

The Ego who is supposedly "in–between", claiming the identity of Pure Existence, on the one hand, & the limitations of the Body form on the other, & who says, "I am undergoing this experience"  –  this is the one to be destroyed first, & he is destroyed by Self-Inquiry, by the Knowledge of his own non–existence. Objective knowledge, training, & application of physical skills does not require an Ego-entity who believes he is ¹/₂–Existence & ¹/₂–Body. All those things be accomplished quite well without the Ego.

With Self-Inquiry to know the Self, one can see that thought is a power capable of appearing in multiple ways with varied content.  The same power of thought may appear individually, in patterns, in modes, or as states of Mind.  Knowing this, one can take Sri Ramana Maharshi's direct approach of liberating the Self from the Mind all at once.  We free our selves from the Mind, from thought, realizing that all Duality, which is all experience other than the Self, is a creation of the Mind.  Such creation is due to thoughts & is composed of thoughts.  Remaining free from thought requires one to remain free of dualistic notions regarding the Mind itself. The un–moving Self does not travel through the Mind, & thought does not drag the ever-still, transcendent Self about.

[Ramana]

Self-Knowledge is not a knowledge to be acquired, so that acquiring it one may obtain Happiness.  It is one's ignorant outlook that one should give up. The Self you seek to know is truly yourself.  Your supposed Ignorance causes you needless grief like that of the 10 "foolish men" who grieved at the loss of the 10^th man  who was never lost.

The above themes & 2500 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 

short-cut: http://sdrv.ms/YPOgkX or http://tinyurl.com/nnyyr58  link directly to free E-book PDF files

www.jpstiga.com/

http://jstiga.wixsite.com/nonduality/

This blog is also available on:

jstiga.wordpress.com/

“There is no Creation, no Destruction, no Bondage, no longing to be freed from Bondage, no striving for Liberation, nor anyone who has attained Liberation. Know that this to be Ultimate Truth.”
–  the “no creation” school of Gaudapada, Shankara, Ramana, Nome – Ajata Vada
 for very succinct summary of the teaching & practice, see:  www.ajatavada.com/

REALIZING NON–DUAL LIBERATION, ENLIGHTENMENT BY SELF-INQUIRY–pt64

[The Teaching  of Non-Duality has been adapted from Master Nome, disciple of Sri Ramana Maharshi.  Sections appended below derive from Sri Ramana's Teaching.]

Further contemplating Immortality, identify with just that Pure Existence & not with the form of anything else. That is vitally important when Death is considered. In contemplating such an experience, you should also clearly distinguish between the natural motions for survival, the workings of adrenal glands & similar physical responses, & actual the fear of Death, which is the fear of going out of Existence. You can simultaneously have the same abilities to physically respond, for those are physical matters, & at the same time know your Self as the Truth. Nature's way of attempting to preserve the bodily form as long as it can may continue as normal, but your inner Peace as Existence remains transcendently detached from all of it.

What is thought of as "external" is entirely in Consciousness, which is free from the Senses. The "external World" is a mere notion in Consciousness. Within the notion there appears the whole external World. It is one notion fragmented into the imagining of endless objects that are assumed to exist.  The one notion depends on the false "I am the Body" belief.  The World is a mere notion, an illusory appearance in one's own Mind. Therefore it is called Maya, Illusion. Illusion is that which is not. Since the World is un–real, it can offer no Bondage. Being un–real, the World does not actually come to exist.  This is the reason that Maya is said to be "beginning–less".

[Ramana]

That which is continuous is also enduring, that is permanent. That which is discontinuous is transitory. Therefore the State of Pure Existence is permanent & the Body & the World are not.  They are fleeting phenomena passing on the screen of Existence–Consciousness which is Eternal & stationary.  The Deep Dreamless Sleep State is free from thoughts & the impression of thought on the Individual.  So Deep Dreamless Sleep cannot be altered by one's will because effort is impossible in that condition.  Although nearer to Pure Consciousness, it is not fit for efforts to realize the Self.

The above themes & 2500 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 

short-cut: http://sdrv.ms/YPOgkX or http://tinyurl.com/nnyyr58  link directly to free E-book PDF files

www.jpstiga.com/

http://jstiga.wixsite.com/nonduality/

This blog is also available on:

jstiga.wordpress.com/

“There is no Creation, no Destruction, no Bondage, no longing to be freed from Bondage, no striving for Liberation, nor anyone who has attained Liberation. Know that this to be Ultimate Truth.”
–  the “no creation” school of Gaudapada, Shankara, Ramana, Nome – Ajata Vada
 for very succinct summary of the teaching & practice, see:  www.ajatavada.com/