Friday, December 11, 2009

The Seeker of truth should not believe blindly in traditional orthodox non-duality without verifying all the facts from every angle.



Sage Sri, Sankara says in commentary in Vedanta sutra that what is accepted without proper inquiry will not lead a person to the final goal. On the contrary, such acceptance will result only in evil, in something which is detrimental to our spiritual progress.  

The Seeker of truth should not believe blindly in traditional orthodox non-duality without verifying all the facts from every angle. One has to reflect through reasoning over and over again without getting tired of the process. 

Yoga Vasishtha: - "Teachers, interpretations of sacred texts, the force of religious merit--none of these lead to the realization of that Ultimate Truth which is revealed in the clear reflection of the heart, engendered from contact with the good." 

Without the ego the world ceases to exist. Without the world the ego ceases to exist.  You are the ego. Without the ego you cease to exist.   Thus you cannot be your own servant.  Without realizing 'what is what' one will not be able understand. Assimilate and realize non dualistic truth.  

The ego, body and the experience of the world appear together and disappear together. The ego + body= waking entity (person).  On the Nondualistic perspective the ego, body and the experience of the world are one in essence.  That essence is consciousness. Thus there is no second thing exists other than consciousness.  Thus there is only oneness.  There is no division in consciousness in Non-dualistic reality. Till one is egocentric all sorts or doubts and confusion arise. If one is soul-centric then there are no doubts and confusion because everything is consciousness.

In a dream there are dream ego, dream body and dream world. The whole dream disappears when waking takes place. Similarly the whole waking disappears in deep sleep and also when wisdom dawns. The wisdom dawns when the waking entity realizes it itself is not the self.   The dream is a parallel waking experience and waking experience is parallel dream.   The one that witnesses the coming and going of the three states is not the waking entity (ego) but the soul, the innermost self.  Till one hold the ‘I’ or ‘I AM’ as self all the confusion will go on. The ‘I’ is not the self. The ‘I’ is the whole universe in which your body, ego exists. The ego cannot be killed because the ego and the world appeared to gather and they disappear together. Who has to kill the ego? How can the ego kill itself when it is the very basis of the physical existence (universe)?

You are present in the form of ego. You have an inborn conviction that: - you are an individual apart from the world. And the world existed prior to you and you are born in this world and you are living in this world.

Even In the dream one has the same inborn conviction that: - he is an individual apart from the world. And the world existed prior to you and he is born in this world and you are living in this world.

Till this conviction is there the duality prevails.  The illusory nature of the dream is exposed when waking takes place. Similarly the illusory nature of the waking will be exposed when wisdom dawns.  The wisdom dawns when the waking entity (you or ego) realizes it itself is not the self but the self is the formless soul, which witnesses the coming and going of the three states, in the midst of duality.

The ego cannot be killed. It is a foolish venture to kill or destroy the ego. There is no need to kill the ego to get self-realization. Perfect understanding of ‘what is self ‘and ‘what is non self is very much necessary.  The discrimination between the self and non-self leads to Non dualistic self-awareness.  

Holding some teacher or teaching as a yardstick leads to all types of doubts and confusion and unnecessary argument. An argument fuels the ego. The argument is possible only when one trying to grasp the Non-dualistic truth on the dualistic perspective.  One has to unlearn what he has learned. Without mentally burning the accumulated dross it is impossible to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.