NMT, No-Me Teaching 6

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 ]

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 ]

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 ]

Ashtavakra & warnings 2

                                                                                                                    Ashtavakra "vivarta"

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.

Ashtavakra Gita selections

3.2 – Just as imagining "silver" [nacre], in a shell’s "mother-of-pearl" may cause desire for such "treasure, so does Ignorance of the Self lead to cause desire for objects of mistaken Perception.

3.3 – Having realized yourself as That in which the waves of the World rise & fall,

why do you run around like a suffering creature, anxious about mere things ?

3.7 – Strange that knowing lust as an enemy of knowledge, one who is weak & nearing death should still crave sensual pleasure.

3.8 – Strange is it that one who is unattached to the things of this World & the next, who can discriminate between the transient & the timeless, & who yearns for Liberation, should yet fear the dissolution of the Body & the loss of Individuality that comes with Release.

3.9 – In either praise of blame, the serene Sage abides in the Self.  He is neither pleased nor angered by what others may think or say.

3.10 – A great soul sees even his own Body in action as if it were another’s.  How can praise or blame disturb him ?

3.11 – Seeing this World as pure Illusion, having lost all interest in it, how can the strong-minded one feel fear, even at the approach of Death ?

3.13 – Why should a strong–minded person of, who sees the nothingness of objects, consider attachment to one thing & rejection of another ?

3.14 – He who is unattached, untouched by opposites [hot – cold, etc.], free of desire, experiences neither pleasure nor pain from events that come of themselves.

4.3 – He who knows That is untouched by good deeds or bad, just as the sky is not touched by smoke, even if it seems to be.

4.6 – Rare is he who knows himself as the One-without-a-Second — Lord of the Universe.  He does what seems worthwhile & no fear occurs to him who knows this.

5.1 – You are not bound or touched by anything.  What is there to renounce ?  Letting go of the complex Mind — know the Peace of dissolution into Consciousness.

5.2 – The Universe arises from you like bubbles in the Sea.  Know yourself as the One & enter the Peace of dissolution into Consciousness.

5.3 – Like an imagined Snake in a Rope, the Universe appears to exist in the stainless Self.  But it does not truly exist.  Seeing this you know: “There is nothing to dissolve.”

6.1 – I am like an infinite Space in which the phenomenal Universe is but one small jar. Know that there is no World to be either renounced, accepted. or negated.

6.2 – I am like a shoreless Ocean; the World is like a wave.  Know this & there is no World to be either renounced, accepted. or negated.

6.3 – I am like an oyster shell’s nacre, "mother-of–pearl".  The Universe is like the Illusion of "silver". Know this & there is no World to be either renounced, accepted. or negated.

6.4 – I am in all beings; all beings are in me. Know this & there is no World to be either renounced, accepted. or negated.

7.1 – In the shoreless Ocean of the Self, the Universe is like a ship wandering here & there, driven by the winds of its nature.  This has no effect on me.

7.2 – Let the wave of the World, by of its own nature rise or fall in the shoreless Ocean of the Self.  I am neither enhanced nor diminished.

Given again that the Asthavakra Gita is such a wealth of expedient, practical spiritual advice amidst transcendent proclamations, here’s a 2nd installment of  warnings found in certain Sanskrit terminology encountered in spiritual texts.  These are the "unreal" obstacles which are best addressed so long as they seem to be real.  A sample list [with simple rather than complete scholarly explanations] of some of the "obstacles" includes:

Apurva – unseen effect of a past act

Bhava – supposition, opinion (some have positive meanings too)

Bheda – differentiation

Jiva – individual soul

Kara – change

Karma – Prarabdha past, Agami current / Sanchit all past

Loka – world

Mithya – unreal (not just "myth" Greeks used the cognate)

Papa – sin

Pasu  – individual

Pasa – bondage

Varnam – caste

Vasana – re-incarnated or more recently acquired tendencies

Vikara – change in nature

Vivarta – superimposition

stula sarira – physical body – "food sheath" Anna – maya – kosa

sukshuma sarira – subtle body – Prana – maya – kosa  – "energy sheath" ; Mano – maya – kosa  – "mind sheath" ; Vijnana – maya – kosa  – "intellect sheath"

karana sarira – causal body –  Ananda – maya – kosa  – "bliss sheath"

[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 ]

Ashatavakra, Illusions, etc.

[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.

Ashtavakra Gita selections

1.2  –  To attain Liberation, turn away from experience of the Senses like poison.

1.6  –  Right & wrong, pleasure & pain, are modes of the Mind. They are not your concern. You independent of those modes, neither the Doer or Enjoyer [experiencer of pleasure or pain], nor do you reap Karma [consequence of actions], so you are always free.

1.7  –  You are the one Witness of all that is & always totally free. Your only Bondage is not knowing this.

1.8  –  The thought: “I am the Doer” is the bite of a poisonous snake.  Drink the antidote of knowing “I am NOT the Doer” & be happy.

1.9  –  Burn down the forest of Ignorance with the fire of the Knowledge: "I am Pure Consciousness" & be happy & free from sorrow.

1.10  –  You are unbounded Consciousness — Bliss, Supreme Bliss, in which the Universe appears like the Illusion of a Snake in a Rope, so be happy.

1.11  –  If you know your self to be free, you are free.  If you know your self to be bound, you are bound. It is like the sayings, “You are what you think” or “thinking makes it so.”

1.12 –  You are Self—the Solitary Witness, perfect, all-pervading, One. You are free, desireless, at Peace.  The Universe is but an Illusion within you.

1.13  –  Meditate on this: “I am Consciousness alone – Non-Duality itself.”  Give up the idea that you are separate, a person, that there is anything external or internal.

1.14  –  You have long been bound thinking: “I am a person.” Let the true Knowledge: “I am Consciousness alone” be the sword that frees you from Mis-identification.

1.18  –  That which has Form is not real.  Only the Formless is permanent.  Once this is known, you will not return to Illusion.

1.19 –  Just as a mirror exists both within & without the reflected image, the Supreme Self exists both within & without the Body.

2.4  –  Just as waves, foam, & bubbles are not different from water, so the Universe emanating from the Self is not different from the Self.

2.5  –  Look closely at cloth & see only threads.  Look closely at the World & see only the Self.

2.7  –  From Ignorance of the Self, the World is appears, just as from Ignorance about a Rope, it may appear to be a Snake.  In true vision, no Snake appears but only the Rope.  Likewise in true Knowledge no World appears but only the Self.

2.9  –  The Illusion of a Universe appears in me as Consciousness just as does "silver" [nacre] in a shell’s "mother-of-pearl", or a ""snake" in a "rope", or "water" in a "mirage".

2.10 – As an earthen pot returns to clay, a wave to water, a bracelet to gold, & so is the Universe resolved into Me as Consciousness.

2.15 – In Reality, Knowledge, the Knower, & what is to be Known do not exist.  I am the stainless Reality, the Self, in which they appear, only through Ignorance.

2.16 – Duality is the root of Suffering.  The only remedy is to realize that what is seen does not exist & that I am the one, stainless, blissful Reality which is Consciousness.

2.17 – I am pure Consciousness, without the attributes which are only imagined.  Continually reflecting on this, I "abide" in the Absolute beyond imagination.

2.18 – For me, neither bound nor free, there is neither Bondage nor Liberation.  Illusion has lost its basis & come to an end.  In my Self all things exist, though ultimately, they do not truly exist.

2.19 – Having seen for certain that the Universe & the Body are without form or substance I am revealed as Consciousness alone where Imagination has no place to hold on.

2.23 – On the limitless ocean of my Self, in the wind of Consciousness, there arise the myriad mind–waves of a World.

2.24 – In the limitless ocean of the Self, the wind of thought subsides & the great vessel of a World & its Individual captain both lie "ship-wrecked".

2.25 – Wondrous is it how in the limitless ocean of the Self, waves of beings arise, collide, play for a time, & then disappear according to their nature.

Given that the Asthavakra Gita is such a wealth of expedient, practical spiritual advice amidst transcendent proclamations, we might institute a first installment of  warnings found in certain Sanskrit terminology encountered in spiritual texts.  These are the "unreal" obstacles which are best addressed so long as they seem to be real.  A sample list [with simple rather than complete scholarly explanations] of some of the "obstacles" includes:

Antahkarana –  "internal organ" of perception the Mind: including Ahankara, Buddhi, Chitta, Manas

Bheda – difference

Buddhi – Antahkarana’s organ of intellect of discrimination & determination (mostly helpful)

Abhasa – projection

Abhimana – attachment

Adhasa –subjective positive illusion of individuality

Ajnana – not-knowledge, i-gnorance

Aropa – objective positive illusion of the world of objects

Avarana – veiling part of Avidya ignorance or Maya (God’s "ignorance")

Avidya – not-seeing, ignorance

Bandha – bondage

Chitta – Antahkarana’s organ of mental impressions, memory, feelings, emotion

Dosa – defect

Guna – binding “rope” or quality: Sattva, Rajas, Tamas

Kama –craving

Klesha – 5-fold vershion of the "7 deadly sins"

Manas – Antahkarana’s organ of will (sankalpa) & doubt (vikalpa), image forming mind, desire

Maya – cosmic Illusion

Moha – dense delusion

Pasa  – bondage

Rajas – restless Guna, fantasy projection & craving

Samsara – cycle of birth & death, re-incarnation, smaller cycle of non-spiritual life

Samskara – persistent tendencies, some from previous lives (serial waking state dreams)

Sankalpa – unquestioned assumption

Sattva – attachment to static order, but also harmony & balance, the best Guna

Tamas – dull Guna, attenuation of discriminative intensity

Upadhi – modification, what absolute Consciousness does NOT have

Vijnana – Buddhi

Vikalpa – doubt

Vikshepa – projecting part of Avidya ignorance Vivarta superimpose

Vritti – mental mode, wave, vibration, restless patterns of thought

[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 ]

Introduction to a new review of Vedanta Analogies & Vedanta–like Analogies

[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 classic Vedanta Analogies in brief:

"The 10th" is about10 ignorant fools who forded a stream & on reaching the other shore counted themselves to be nine only. They grew anxious & grieved over the loss of the unknown 10th man. A wayfarer, on ascertaining the cause of their grief, counted them all & found them to be 10.  But each one of them had counted the others leaving himself out. The wayfarer gave each in succession a blow telling them to count the blows. They counted 10 & were satisfied. The moral is that the 10th man was not got anew. He was all along there, but ignorance caused grief to all.

"The Necklace" is about a woman who wore a necklace round her neck but forgot it. She began to search for it & made enquiries. A friend of hers, finding out what she was looking for, pointed out the necklace round the seeker’s neck. She felt it with her hands & was happy. Did she get the necklace anew? Here again ignorance caused grief & knowledge happiness.  [more about these & other such analogies to follow]

[Selections from Michael James’ Happiness & Art of Being]

Happiness lies deep within us, in the very core of our being. Happiness does not exist in any external object, but only in us, who are the consciousness that experiences happiness. Though we seem to derive happiness from external objects or experiences, the happiness that we thus enjoy in fact arises from within us.

Desire and fear agitate our mind, and obscure from its view the happiness that always exists within it. When a desire is satisfied, or the cause of a fear is removed, the surface agitation of our mind subsides, and in that temporary calm our mind enjoys a taste of its own innate happiness. Happiness is thus a state of being – a state in which our mind’s habitual agitation is calmed. The activity of our mind disturbs it from its calm state of just being, and causes it to lose sight of its own innermost happiness. To enjoy happiness, therefore, all our mind need do is to cease all activity, returning calmly to its natural state of inactive being, as it does daily in deep sleep.

The science of being is incredibly simple and clear. The science of being begins with observation and analysis of something that we already know but do not fully understand.  This science does not study any object of knowledge, but instead studies the very power of knowing itself – the power of consciousness that underlies the mind, the power by which all objects are known.

[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 ]

NMT, No-Me Teaching 5

a short Satsang with Master Nome – "Meditation"

One absolute Being forever is. It manifests as the Existence of all things & of all beings.  It manifests itself as the Consciousness that knows in all beings.  It manifests itself as the perfect, omnipresent Grace that shines as Happiness in the hearts of all beings.  To know oneself as completely this absolute Being is the purpose, the essence, & the very substance of meditation. _

Meditate in a manner of dissolution so that there remains the Grace that is present everywhere, yet there is no recipient of it.  Meditate in a manner of dissolution so that the Mind is absorbed in the Real Knowledge, which is Consciousness, like a piece of salt dissolves in water.

Meditate in a manner of dissolution of the false Individuality so that the Identity, once imagined to be located in the reflection in the mirror returns to the original Existence which is this Absolute Being.

Dissolve.  Be absorbed.  True Knowledge is the way to accomplish this completely.  With the dissolution of the false identity, absorption of the “I” in the Self, all perplexity disappears, all confusions are resolved, & all Bondage vanishes.  For this true Knowledge of your Being, the Self of all, inquire, “Who am I?”  Inquire & thus dissolve & be absorbed.

The ever-shining Existence, the perpetually-existing Consciousness, & the perfection of Grace are what remain.

If you truly ask the question, “Who am I ?” there is no particularized thing called "I",  yet all that there is thoroughly "I".  There is nothing other than the one Self.  Dissolution, or absorption, is only in Knowledge.  In truth, there is no distinct, separate thing, with its own form, to dissolve, but only the Knowledge that recognizes this is called “dissolution.”

Nothing prevents you from meditation from beginning with the same intensity to which you are accustomed to end.  The ability & the source are there all the time.

Even if something were to be made up that appeared as a Veil, still, it would not depart from being within the Consciousness that knows it.

[responding to a question about awakening from a daydream to waking]

Then next perceptions or ideas arise, & they seem as if real.  The "reality" seems equal, thought after thought, experience after experience, & state of Mind after state after Mind.  The "reality" does not diminish.  It is constant.  That which is constant is "you".  

All of the forms that are illumined or taken to be real are not constant.  Not only does the sense of reality derive from you, but the reality, just the Existence, is "you".  If there is a Thought, the Existence in that Thought is "you", though you are not a Thought.  If there is a daydream, or if the daydream appears as if solidified or crystallized, the Existence of all that is "you".  There is no state in which the Existence ever becomes other than what it is.  It cannot go out of itself [out of existence]. 

The Thought & the crystallized daydream never depart from being within that Existence. The Existence, itself though, is entirely without Differentiation.

The very existence of Illusion is your Existence.  Once Illusion is imagined, it is your Reality that is lent to it.  When you lend Reality to Illusion, Reality, as it is, is not seen. 

So, dissolve Illusion.  Since Illusion consists entirely of imagination & your belief in it, there is no difficulty in its destruction, or Liberation from it.

When in Illusion, the Reality is still so close that it seems as if the Illusion cannot he separated from that Reality.  The Wise know that this is only indicative of the immediacy of the Reality & its homogeneous nature.

Even though Illusion so appears, you can still easily discern what is true & what is not, what is Reality & what is only a mere Illusion.  Discern what is self-existent versus what is entirely dependent on your belief in it.

If you profoundly notice from where Happiness comes, you remain peacefully detached from all of the Illusion.  You identify as the undivided Oneness that pervades all forms, but you are not attached to any of them.

The Thought is that objective confused happiness will make something seem more real, but it doesn’t.   Confused happiness makes it less real.

The Thought makes true Happiness seem less real & veils it.  Knowing the source of happiness yields detachment from all of the unreal appearances. You remain as their undivided Existence but not entangled with the appearances.  There is a great, unmatched fullness in this.

Comparison of Ribhu Gita selections (Sanskrit & Tamil by Master Nome):

S8.2 [meaning Sanskrit version chapter 8, verse 2]

I am the same as Brahman, I am the Self.  There is no doubt of this. One who is firm in the conviction that I am Chaitanya (the Conscious Self) is called a Jivanmukta (liberated while alive).

S8.3

I am the Self, which is Consciousness. I am Param-Atman (the Supreme Self).  I am attributeless (including absence of Gunas, "binding qualities"), I am higher than the highest.  One who has this certitude is called a Jivanmukta (liberated while alive).

S8.3

I beyond the Self triad of Bodies (gross physical, subtle dream astral, & Deep Dreamless Sleep causal), I am Brahman, Consciousness. One whose final conclusion is that I am Brahman is called a Jivanmukta (liberated while alive).

S8.4

One who has no Body or such (mind & ego), who is certain that he is Brahman, & who if filled with the highest Bliss, & who revels in Bliss is called a Jivanmukta (liberated while alive).

T8.2 [meaning Tamil version chapter 8, verse 2]

One who has the certitude "I am the Supreme Brahman, without the 3 Qualities (gunas) of (illuminating) Sattva & the others (agitating Rajas & Tamas dullness), the Truth transcending the highest, of the nature of Consciousness–Bliss" – this is a Jivanmukta (liberated while alive).  One who certitude "I am the Eternal Supreme Self without the 3 Bodies (gross physical, subtle dream astral, & Deep Dreamless Sleep causal), of the nature of Knowledge, the mass of Bliss, the One, the Eternal" – this is a Jivanmukta (liberated while alive).

T8.3

One who ever abides in Bliss, with no trace of attachments to the Body or such (mind & ego), in the certitude "I am the Supreme Brahman", the One, is a Jivanmukta (liberated while alive).  One who is all Silence & in great Bliss, rid of Delusion, & is of the nature of Consciousness alone, without a trace of the sorrow-ridden Ego, is a Jivanmukta (liberated while alive).