It-is-so Sutra, part 2

 

Guidance from the Guru, as was mentioned before may be essential if one is to realize in this lifetime–dream or reincarnation.  Of teacher–Sages who did so without a Guru, only a couple of women and a couple of men come to mind – Buddha and Ramana, and then Anandamayi Ma and Brahmagna Ma.  One could start with hints found here, but search we must, forsaking near missed along the way, but search we must.  If one cannot see the Absolute Self, Atman, as oneself, one is helped by seeing it clearly in the Guru first.  Books, etc, can help but the Guru (you true self) can be found in this lifetime–dream if we seek him/her and are fortuante enough to have evolved far enough to "try out" the surprising Teaching of Non-Duality.  Considering the minimal "risk" by any measure, and on the other hand, the limitless reward promised, it would seem logical to attempt the path to Enlightenment.  Aware that even well-meaning "false" teachers requires our discriminative faculties, so as to stay or try another, no imperfect experiment need be feared, for we grow through these experiences as well – so long as we keep an open mind free of dogmatic acceptance or rejection.

 

As mentioned previously, it is only by "reference" to the Ego (0,0) Origin that any entity or principle takes on "relative" meaning for us.  Only Brahman is Absolute and knowable absolutely, and then only by the Brahman that you are.  In the case of physical Perception, and at time mental Concepts as well, the Body is the striking "relative" Reference Origin or reference point.  This holds all the way up to the World itself.  Likewise, "now" is the Origin for the passing Relative thoughts about Time, while "here" is the striking "relative" Reference Origin / reference point.  One layer deeper, we see the Body, Here, and Now to be Relative concepts in themselves. 

 

Applying any such Contemplation against reality for a World, and thereby the Body, the brain, other people and things may not succeed early in anyone's spiritual; practice, but whenever, if ever this is accomplished, can foster Self-Realization.  But dis-identification  with the Body is a must, dis-identification with the Mind is also necessary, while dis-identification with the Ego id Liberation. Turning inward to the source of the Ego and/or its "source" which is the true Non-Dual Self, Atman, leads to dis-identification with the Ego which is Enlightenment.  Such is the goal of the Self-Inquiry, "Who am I ?" and again, not just mantra-;ole repetition.  Such is Sri Ramana's prescription for Meditation, so long as Meditation continues as much as possible, all the time as it were.  As Descartes declared, only ones own Existence is certain. And all that is found in Self-Inquiry is the Non-Dual Consciousness that seems to "play host" to that Self-Inquiry and all thought processes. Bliss is ever the goal, I seek greater Happiness or the decrease of un-happiness in every thought and action.  This reveals the steady background goal for all thought, again our identity as Existence-Consciousness-Bliss, Brahman.  We seek Happiness in order to seek the Self.  Herein lies the clue that Love, which is Bliss as well, can launch s spiritual path, in terms of Devotion and Surrender to God and Guru.  And yet, Self-Knowledge is ever the final step, "Who am I ?" 

 

Awakening to Reality brings release of the fear of Death, and likewise Reincarnation for cultures that think in thise terms.  Even most Christians foresaw Reincarnation for the first few centuries before the great "councils" voted out that dogma in order to foster more immediate obedience to church and state, all by the same patriarchs who adopted the insane invention Eusebius, namely "eternal" Hell.  Many in the East fear no Hell, but only the Suffering of human life prolonged by Reincarnation.  But release of the Ego is also the release of Individuality, Objectivity, Reference, Suffering, the Body and Mind.  So how now to proceed ?  For Meditation, select books (or other media) can help, but remain open to finding the Guru, or vice versa. The Guru is one's True Self appearing in the dream-world.  But in the meantime, where to put initial emphasis: Self-Inquiry or Devotion/Surrender ?  Devotion to God is ever beneficial, and the Guru can guide one further.  Anyone can read about Self-Inquiry and get started.  Where should emphasis to placed?

 

One analogy-scenario by which seek and answer to the last question places one in a plane about to crash.  With minutes to live, where in one's heart would you find the intuition that chooses your last ditch Meditation, for this lifetime ?  Whatever direction spontaneously wins our trust is the same path: Self-Inquiry or Devotion–Surrender, proceed with that one now, while free to let the other contribute along the way. 

 

In concluding for the moment, a few observations can be added to the prior Reference analogy for mediation on the unreality of the World, and thus the Body and Individuality.  As with release of the Ego-notion, trust in the wise Sages, trust in the Guru's Teaching can carry those meditations through to completion.  But to include with the Reference Meditation some historical context, it can be noted that Anglican Bishop George Berkeley reasoned out that thought-bound Sense experience alone cannot prove or even validly suggest a World.  Such Contemplation can support Meditation about the unreality of the World, and thus the Body and Individuality.  The Madhymika Buddist Nagarjuna had completed the same Contemplation through to Meditation as Consciousness and Realization.  The 20^th  Century Sage, Krishna Menon, Sri Atmanda followed the same line of Meditation as found in the works of Shankara.  More academically, the philosophical implications of Quantum Mechanics and Relativity can in themselves spur initial Contemplation as to the unreality of the World, given that to be the "containing space" of the waking-dream, a dream whose structure seems to include some rules that Science seeks to understand and apply. 

 

Firstly, we can try to visualize and impossible-to-visualize size or dimension issues.  What we conceive as "atoms" are so small that we might first imagine hollowing out the Earth and stuffing it with grapes, for instance.  How man grapes would that be ?  (Buddhists and Taoists carried on this exercise with grains of sand.)  Atoms are small enough that about this same number of them make up some familiar structure, like a thumb for instance.  That many because they are so tiny.  Now take one atom to be a large sports stadium.  Note a candy wrapper in the middle of the field, and on that small paper place a pencil point dot.  That dot compares to the atom's nucleus, in size that is, but it contains 99.9% or more of the atom's mass.  Now scrutinize one of the nucleons, a proton or neutron.  Any one of those could be imagined as is a solar system in itself.  Now visualize our relatively tiny moon dwarfed within the size of that "solar system".  Three of these constitute the nucleon, as three quarks, again between them constituting all of the nucleon's mass – so small is the atom and its central nucleus.  The "moon" can stand in, not only for each quark, but for any other lepton quantum particle such as any of the "orbiting" electrons.

 

Now lets direct a dilute stream of such tiny electrons through a "double slit" scattering equipment.  Experiments reveal those quantum particles to be non–"solid" mathematical probability entities, wavefunctions.  These wavefunctions can be found to be in "two or more places" at the same time, and even to "sense" micro-events in the future, thus confounding all our everyday intuitions about a World of distinct objects in Space and Time.  Relativity furthermore denies the micro-causality-sequence of Cause / Effect. and of "ordinary" Time and Space.  For any spiritual practitioner inclined explore these apparent patterns, or the incredible vastness of the containing Universe, the possibility of the World being unreal may not be too far a leap of Contemplation.  Thereupon direct Self-Inquiry Meditation can continue to dis-identify from the Body, brain/Mind, and Individual Ego. 

 

With or without the other various World–denying Contemplations, one can harness humility to dis-identify from the Mind and Body,   and thereupon the Individual Ego, all my means of Self-Inquiry. Fathoming "Who am I ?" we turn inward from all objective Percept and Concept, to "know" Consciousness to be the sole Reality, the one True Self.  Experiencing a falling away of all the Objective, merge one's Being in that Consciousness.  "Mantras" can be utilized for initiation of Meditation by Devotion and Surrender to Brahman.  Some comparable "verbal cues" can similarly be "warm-ups" for Self-Inquiry.  Here we close with a few:

 

"I am not the Body, not the Ego-Mind, no Senses, no Prana (life-force). no World."

"No 'my' (World, Body, Mind, Ego) –  One Self."

"Who am I ? – Consciousness"

"Lose the 'reference', no World."

"To that Guru, again I bow."