The Simple Truth of It All

You want to know your True Nature and hence it is assumed you are reading this message. Is that enough?  Reading this blog or any message on Advaita or Vedanta literature is certainly not enough.  People spend hours reading and discussing this subject without ever LISTENING to the message therein. After listening, the next step is to follow the pointers. Yes, there is a feeling of peace and calmness on reading these messages and literature or on discussing this subject. But are you really getting anything out of it other than mental entertainment? Be honest with your own self. Is it not true that once you are immersed back in your work or other activity, the feeling of happiness or peace that was present when reading or discussing Advaita or spirituality, passes away just as quickly. You are then left longing for the same feeling once again. That is called suffering- when you are longing for something or some feeling that you do not have currently and are constantly longing for or are in search of it. What does that tell you? That no state is eternal as all states are changing. Why are you still running after some "state" which you hope to achieve at some future time and place? Why not Realize that you are THAT STATELESS STATE- your TRUE NATURE- and you are ALREADY THAT. Would that not make more sense than running around in circles chasing any transient state ( for all states are transient)?

So, what is the solution to all this suffering? It is utterly simple. Simple when one makes a sincere, honest and concerted effort and yet extremely difficult if one is not sincere and does not have the desire to do so. All it needs is for you to inquire into your own self. Inquire into who is this "I" (the ego). Where did this "I" come from? Obviously, this "I" was not there in my sleep and there was no suffering or longing in my sleep. Now that there is an "I" in my waking state, I am suffering. You have to do the work of inquiry for no one else can do it for you. Upon inquiry you must have the firm conviction, that in fact, the "I" (the ego) does not have any independent existence nor does it have any substance. It is but a thought only (the I-thought). Unless and until one does this investigation into one's own self, all other efforts are entirely futile. Just try it and see how simple this whole process is. For there is nothing new to be gained here. Only the false has to be removed to reveal the REALITY which is already there.

Once this TRUTH is realized, then by all means do whatever you like including discussions about it or writing about it (like this author!).

Why Am I Suffering?

Question: I seem to understand all that is said about Non-Duality or Advaita, but I am still suffering. Why?

Advaitin: That is a fairly common question that arises for a seeker. It is essential that one must understand what is suffering and what are the components of suffering. It is essential that for one to claim that he/she is suffering, there has to be a 'me'- the individual that suffers i.e. the Subject of this suffering. There has to be an event or occurrence or Object that causes suffering to this subject. And lastly, the process of suffering itself.

Let us first start with the Subject. Who is this ‘I’ that claims to suffer.  Leaving the two other components, if one concentrates only on this ‘I’ and solves the puzzle of this ‘I’, it would automatically resolve the other two components namely the object and the process.  Therefore, question your self as to who is this ‘I’ or ‘me’ that is claiming to suffer. LOOK FOR THE SUFFERER.  Were you suffering in your deep sleep? Why not?  Is it not because there was no ‘me’ to suffer? So what happened to this ‘me’ or ‘I’ during deep sleep?  Since there was no ‘I’ in deep sleep, there was no suffering either.  That means that the appearance of the ‘I’ is concurrent with the appearance of suffering (or for that matter any other feeling).  On investigation, it becomes obvious that this ‘me’ or ‘I’ is nothing but a thought, the thought of being an independent and separate entity called 'me' or 'I'.  Can a thought really suffer? On sincerely looking for this ‘me’, the ‘me’ vanishes, leaving behind the state of pure thoughtless Being. In this state of pure thoughtless Being, there is no entity ( a 'me' or 'I') to claim suffering.  In this state of pure thoughtless Being, there is neither the sufferer, the suffering, or the object causing the suffering.  With the disappearance of the false ‘I’ or the ‘me’, there is no one to make the claim to suffer. So, it becomes obvious, that it is imperative to seek out the seeker for an end to suffering. The loss of individuality is the end of suffering.

You are NOT the Do-er

When one reads these teachings, the response usually is "so, what can I do to attain the Natural State or my True Nature?".  The fact that this question can arise, indicates that the Understanding has not yet occurred. There is still the sense that one is the Do-er of the action of the body-mind entity.  So, who is the Do-er of action? Is it really a 'you'? If so, can you without any doubt locate this 'you'? Where exactly is this 'you'? Is it anywhere in the body in particular?  If so, where exactly are 'you' located in the body? Is it not true that the 'you' or the 'I' is nothing but a thought? Can a thought be a Do-er of action? Can a thought actually see, or hear, or taste, or smell? Is it not true that actions are happening spontaneously without any Do-er that can be located? All actions and movements are an appearance in consciousness.  The supposed Do-er, the "I-thought", the ego,  the 'me', is actually a phantom with no substance, and when looked for disappears immediately!! This 'I-thought' cannot exist apart from consciousness since all thoughts are appearing in consciousness. Can 'you' exist without consciousness?

Instead of just reading and doing an intellectual exercise and playing the game of spirituality,  is it not more important to sincerely answer these questions for yourself?  And does the answer not come up spontaneously? Who gave 'you' the answer?

The God in the House

Why is it that many a seeker or aspirant is unable to grasp or apperceive (have conscious perception of or comprehend) what is repeatedly told on this subject of non-duality? The main problem or obstacle is that most seekers approach this subject from a perspective of an individual. An individual who wants to 'attain' or 'gain' something like Self-Realization or Nirvana or Enlightenment. While it is understandable that at the stage of the seeker, it is natural to still identify oneself with the body and the mind, one must be prepared to leap on to the next stage of an advanced seeker- a seeker who is totally convinced and has the conviction of NOT being the body or the mind, but is still unsure as to who he or she really really IS. While, for the purpose of relative description, the language of time and process is used, there is actually no such thing as stages of a seeker. When understanding occurs, it is usually almost instantaneous.  Therefore, it is imperative to approach this subject with no preconceived notions or concepts and just an open mind, so that the knowledge can percolate all the way down to the deep level of consciousness without any effort from the seeker. Just let the Knowledge flow in.

The other problem is that the seeker is unwilling is lose himself/herself.  Meaning, the seeker is still hanging on to the identity that he or she is some body with a name and form.  When the seeker is ready to give up everything including the identity with a name and form, then the 'Enlightenment' happens naturally and effortlessly!

Here is an analogy.  What an average individual notices in a house is four walls, a roof and contents of the house. What the individual ignores is the fact that the house is actually an enclosure of space.  There was space first and then in that space, four walls and the roof were built to enclose a portion of the space and then it is called 'my house'.  One is so engrossed in the contents of the house that the fact that it is nothing but preexisting space is forgotten. The space inside the house is the same as the space outside the house. There are no boundaries or margins for space.

You are looking for God. You have looked everywhere outside, in the temple, church, mosque, and in the caves and mountains and all to no avail. You give up and come back home, disappointed that God could not be found despite your extensive search outside.  In your state of desperation, you ask God to reveal himself as all your efforts so far have been unfruitful. At this point, God in the form of a Guru's sayings appears to you. The sayings are 'God is already in the house. All you need to do is step out of the house'.  What the Guru means is that unless you vacate this house, God will not come out of hiding to occupy the house. How can God occupy the house when you are currently a resident?  Nobody wants to live in a house which is already occupied (including God)!  But the fact is that God is already in the house, but not visible (or perhaps in the basement?!).  Once, you step out of the house and give up ownership of the house, the house automatically becomes a House of God and also very obvious. What has changed? God was already in the house and is now in the house and will be in the house.  The only difference is that you have vacated the house and the rightful Owner just took over. Your search ends with you returning to the house and handing over the house to the rightful Owner.  You return home to the home you never left!

What this analogy reveals is that unless you are willing to completely give up all your identities, there is no way the Truth will reveal itself (Truth being God itself). When you are willing to lose your self (the little self-your ego- note the small 's'), the True Self (note the capital 'S') will reveal itself automatically and effortlessly, for the Self( or God or whatever name you want to give IT) is already there and always there. Just like space.  God is like space, without form or boundaries, and is everywhere, both inside and outside.  The space inside the house will be obvious only when you empty the house of all of its contents including yourself (empty the mind of all its contents including the ego- which is nothing but the thought of being the body and the mind).  When the little self (the ego) surrenders completely and without any conditions, the Real Self (or God) who is already present and all there IS, becomes obvious.  No one actually attains God, or Godhood, for God is all there IS.  Where is the question of a 'you' or a 'me' to attain or know God?  Once 'you' have completely surrendered to God, who is there to claim " I have become Enlightened" or " I know God "?

The question is 'ARE YOU READY TO VACATE THE HOUSE?'

Want Eternal Bliss?

Come on! Who doesn't? Seeking of any kind is actually a search for peace and happiness.  One searches for happiness in various pursuits. Whatever your pursuit, whether it is meditation, chanting, praying, hatha yoga, rituals, or visiting holy places, it is eventually all a search- a search for that elusive eternal or permanent bliss. Even your reading this page is an indication that you are in search of peace, or happiness or bliss. However, happiness in most cases is equated with something that one attains. Something that one hopes to attain and thereafter one hopes will be a life of perfect peace and happiness. When one thinks of happiness, it is a relative term. Relative to unhappiness or absence of happiness. The mind can only think in opposites- good versus bad, superior versus inferior, big versus small. All objective thinking is relative.


Suppose one does attain a feeling of happiness, how long do you think it will last? A few moments, a few minutes, maybe a few days or months or maybe years?  Doesn't matter. Eventually, this feeling must end.  All pursuits to attain bliss, however successful, cannot bring about permanent eternal bliss or happiness. Why is that? Because the bliss that one is trying to attain is a state of mind, a relative state compared to a state of unhappiness or absence of happiness or bliss. All states of mind are bound to change. All states of mind are transient by nature.  Even the state of absence of thoughts, however blissful, must come to an end.  Suppose, you do attain a state of fairly consistent and prolonged period of bliss by undertaking an intensive period of meditation or yoga or whatever, what happens when you come out of that state?  That state of bliss is gone and you are back to whatever state you were in before the state of bliss began.  Is that not a common experience of mankind? And because you like that state, you want to prolong it somehow. Not realizing the ephemeral nature of this experience, one falls into a trap seeking constantly to replicate this experience of bliss- a state of mind.

So you may ask, then how can one attain eternal bliss?  For that one must understand that anything relative is bound by time. Whatever you attain you will eventually lose.  What comes and goes is not real- so said Ramana Maharshi. The only way to eternal bliss is to realize that you are Bliss itself.  Not an objective state of bliss but the subjective Bliss itself. Bliss, not in the relative sense, but in the absolute sense. The dictionary definition of absolute is 'something that is not dependent upon external conditions for existence, something that is free from any restriction or condition, something that is perfect or complete'.  What could the bliss in the absolute sense be? Your own Self, which is self shining, Eternal and ever Present.  To realize that bliss is your True Nature is to realize Eternal Bliss.  Eternal Bliss is not a state of mind for as we have seen, all states of mind are transient and hence cannot be therefore eternal. 

One cannot get eternal bliss, one can only BE ETERNAL BLISS!

Jnana versus Bhakti- Knowledge versus Devotion

Eventually, there are two ways to Self-Realization- if that term can be used in the first place.  The path could be Jnana (Knowledge) or Bhakti (Surrender). Let us assume for matter of this discussion that there is an entity called "me", who wants to know what is the way or path to Self Realization.

A person who is a true Bhakta (devotee of God), eventually reaches a state of complete surrender to God.  The Bhakta has given up all and says that there is nothing that he does, can do or ever done without God.  He surrenders himself completely to God, including the idea of being a separate individual.   In surrendering his ego, or the sense of a "me", he Realizes his True Nature to be none other than the God that he is praying to.  So, eventually, the Knowledge dawns on the Bhakta.

The one who embarks on the path of Self Enquiry or Jnana, continuously questions the validity and existence of this sense of "me" or the ego or "I-thought".  When the Realization dawns on him/her, the sense of a "me" vanishes. There is only the Self and no question of a "me' apart from the Self. That is,  he Realizes his True Nature to be none other than the Self.

The end result of both paths is the same. Therefore, Bhakti and Jnana are one and the same.  The one who has surrendered to Jnana is a true Bhakta.

The World is like a Mirage

The World and the Universe are like a mirage. This statement raises eyebrows when a seeker or non-seeker hears it.   An object looks different depending on the distance and the angle from which it is viewed. In the same way, this statement may sound preposterous to many but to a tiny minority there is complete truth in this statement. It all depends on the perspective.

Let us take this example.  A man and his goat were walking back home in the desert one hot sunny afternoon.  He had taken his goat with him to see if it could be sold in the market place. It was a long walk back from the market that they had gone to visit. On the way home, they are fairly tired, hungry and thirsty.  The sun was shining brightly and it was a hot day.  Out in the distance, they both see what appears to be an oasis. The water in the oasis looks real to both the man and his goat.  Unfortunately, it is only a mirage. The goat thinks it is water and rushes out to the mirage. The man uses his knowledge and the power of discrimination (his intellect) and knows it is only a mirage. He cannot deny that the appearance of the water in the mirage is very realistic. Yet, because of his intellect the man can differentiate the real from the unreal and hence he does not run towards the mirage.  The goat on the other hand, does not have the intellect to differentiate or discriminate and rushes towards the mirage.

From the point of view of the goat, the mirage is real. From the point of view of the man, he knows that the mirage is unreal. From the point of view of the sun, where is the question of real or unreal, mirage or no mirage, man or goat, world or no world?  The sun shines regardless of anything.

The non-seeker is like the goat, not using the power of discrimination and intellect that nature has given him.  He takes the world to be totally real and does not even question it.  He suffers with the ups and downs that the world presents to him.

The man who has heard and understands the Truth, is one who uses his intellect to discriminate between the real and the unreal.  Yet, he believes that 'he' has understood and uses the statement " I understand the Truth" and needlessly argues about the reality or non-reality of the world.  He has not yet given up on the idea of being an individual.

The Jnani (the Realized) on the other hand,  is like the sun. Just the self shining Self, with no question of reality or non-reality of the world. The Jnani has merged in the Absolute, where there is no question of knowledge or ignorance. The Jnani just IS.