Your Attitude and Identity Matters in Spiritual Pursuit

In the pursuit of Enlightenment or spiritual practice, whatever you may want to call it, your attitude and your identity matters. You currently identify yourself with the body and the mind. However, you may intellectually understand that you are also the spirit or the Self. At different times, you identify with different aspects of your self. You may at times identify with the body and yet at other times get carried away by the thoughts and identify with the mind and yet at other times on introspection, briefly identify with the deeper aspect of your being.

As an analogy, let us look to the famous Indian Epic called the Ramayana. In it, the character, Rama, who represents the eternal Self, has a monkey-assistant, named Hanuman, who represents the mind (or intellect). In the story, at one point, Rama asks Hanuman, "How do you regard me?". And, Hanuman replies, "when I regard myself as the body, I am your servant; when I regard myself as the soul, I am part of you; but when I regard myself as the Universal Self, I am one with you."

The message from this anecdote is that your approach to spirituality or search for the Self or God, is entirely dependent on your attitude of who you identify yourself with. Or, who you believe yourself to be.  If you identify yourself with the body and mind, then the Self is someone else. There is duality in this instance. More like the subject and object relationship in which you are the subject and Self or God is the object. In the story above, in the first two instances of how Hanuman relates himself to Rama, there is a distinct separation between himself and the object of his reverence, Rama. In the first two instances, Hanuman relates to Rama as either a servant or a part of Rama, but in the third instance, he SEES himself as no different from Rama (Self).

Depending on your attitude about who you think yourself to be determines how you approach spirituality. If you consider yourself to be a separate individual, separate from God or Self, then the path of Bhakti or devotion is what you actually end up pursuing.  Although, you as a soul are not different from God or Self, you feel you are and hence you suffer.  It is just an imagination that you are separate but yet you believe it to be true. In this instance, you long to be one with God or Self and you sing songs of praise of God or Self. You repeat the name of God or Mantra (or Japa) to avoid getting distracted from the thought of God.  You meditate on God or Self in an effort to close the gap between your imagined identity as a separate self, and God. As an analogy, if a wave thinks itself to be separate from the Ocean, it prays to the Ocean to reveal itself for it longs to be one with the Ocean at some time. This is despite the fact that it has never been separate from the Ocean to begin with. Or like the rays of the Sun are no different from the Sun, and yet if the ray feels or thinks of itself as a distinct entity, it longs to be one with the Sun. In the same way you believe yourself to be a separate entity and in desperation pray, meditate, sing bhajans, do japa, in the hope that one day God will reveal Himself to you.  At long last, the clouds of your self imposed ego clear, and the clear Light of the Self shines through in all its glory, and you exclaim in joy " I am the Self and I have never been anything but the Self".

On the other hand, you may be told by your Guru that you are none other than the Self, and because of your complete faith, trust and conviction in the teachings of the Guru you accept His words as such. Or else, you analyze and question the teachings of the Guru and reach the conclusion through direct experience of being the clear Awareness without attributes. You arrive at the conviction that the Guru is indeed correct in saying that you are the SELF and have never been anything but the SELF. This is the path of Jnana or Knowledge.

Why Worship the Guru or God with Attributes

The seeker may come to the correct conclusion that Knowledge is the surest way to Self Realization. Of all the methods prescribed by the scriptures, the Path of Knowledge (jnana yoga) is the surest and shortest means of Self Realization.  You have all heard the message of Non-Duality and how the visible is not real. Having heard the message of Advaita from his Guru, the seeker comes to the correct conclusion that all that is visible or destructible or has attributes is unreal.  What surprises the disciple is when the Guru encourages and endorses the worship of the God with attributes (saguna Brahman). In fact, the Guru says that worship and devotion to God, with or without attributes (saguna or nirguna) is a must even for the disciple who has Realized, to stay established in the Knowledge of Non-Duality.

Nothing is more superior to Knowledge as you know by now. The disciple wants to know why after having experienced the Truth, should one continue along the path of Worship (Bhakti).  Having come to the realization that the Truth is without any attributes, why should one continue to worship that which has attributes? In fact, having attained the Ultimate Knowledge, why should one bother to pursue any spiritual practices at all, like worship of the Guru or God with attributes?  Why should one with Knowledge of That which is without attributes (which is the Reality), bow down to an idol or photograph or an idol of a God or Guru and accept that which is unreal?

In a previous essay, this author has discussed about devotion after realization (please refer to that essay).  Let it be clear, that there should be no doubt that the teachings of the Guru are the final authority. This is called faith and devotion to the Guru. Without this there is no hope for any seeker or disciple to attain Liberation.

Having said that, the seeker has a right to have his questions and doubts cleared. Now, please consider this carefully. Having acquired Knowledge and Realization, are you still doing things in life including your work, taking care of your family, their needs, your finances, your friends, and are you still participating in the activities of your family and society? Are you still eating meals, taking a bath, drinking water, cleaning the house, and taking care of your personal needs? If the answer is yes to all of the above questions, then why is it that you want to only exclude worship of the God with attributes? How come all other aspects of your life is accepted as real but not worship of the unreal God with attributes?

With your knowledge of discrimination, you know that all that is perceived is false, and yet you do not give up any of your activities.  You listen to and obey the orders of your boss at work, which is the same as bowing down to the boss. So, why is it that you want to give up the worship of God with attributes? What is wrong with bowing down to the photograph of a God in human form or a Guru in human form or for that matter any form including one with multiple arms and legs, or with an elephant head? Please answer this question with sincerity. Has the mortal Guru who is one with attributes,  not given you access to the Ultimate in Knowledge?  Why then would you not want to bow down to this mortal Guru? What kind of knowledge is this?

One who has pride in attaining the Knowledge and feels " I am great" does not have the True Knowledge. He is one who is still identified with the body.  Mind you, if there is no worship, there is no Knowledge (jnana). It is an indication of one who is still suffering from body-mind-identification. It is an identification of one who thinks "I am the doer".

So, never give up the worship of the Guru or the God with attributes. Start every action by remembering your God or Guru. Remember that God is the doer of all actions. By leaving all actions to a God with attributes, one slowly but surely becomes identified with That which is attribute-less and eventually realizes his True Nature, which is without any attributes whatsoever. May God bless you.

In Search of God

What is the seeker actually seeking? Is he or she not searching for God? The search begins by looking for God and the search ends in one's own Self.  One goes out in search, only to return back to one's own Self. God Realization and Self Realization are one and the same.

The search is not outside but within. Saint Kabir has made this so clear in this simple but profound couplet. No need for any further discussion. As simple and as clear a pointer as can be.

Jab Mein Tha Tab Hari Nahin, Jab Hari Hai Mein Nahin
Sab Andhiyara Mit Gaya, Jab Deepak Dekhya Mahin

Translation

When "I" was, then Hari (God) was not, Now Hari (God) "is" and "I" am not
All the darkness (ignorance) got erased, When I saw the Light within.

For God's Sake

The message that is published in this blog is nothing new. The same message has been dished out by thousands, if not millions, of mystics and ordinary people from all around the globe over the past many many centuries. This is not a message restricted to a few cultures, religions or race or geographical location.  The message has come out spontaneously in all who have made the simple effort to look within. It may have been spoken in many different languages but the language of love for God is the same.  Just so that one does not get the impression that Advaita is from the East, this author has selected some poems and brief excerpts from the Western mystics who have spoken the same message of Non-duality or Advaita.  For those of us who have an unquenchable thirst to know God and be in union with God, these simple and succinct messages will hit the message home.  These are not messages from  individuals. These are messages from Consciousness as there is nothing apart from Consciousness.

This is just a small sampling of some of the poems and brief messages out there. The earnest seeker will understand the simplicity and bluntness of these messages.

GOD WHOSE LOVE AND JOY

God, whose love and joy
are present everywhere,
can't come to visit you
unless you aren't there.

          --Angelus Silesius


GOD IS A PURE NO-THING


God is a pure no-thing
concealed in the now and here:
the less you reach for him,
the more he will appear.

       --Angelus Silesius


EFFORTLESSLY


Effortlessly,
Love flows from God into man,
Like a bird
Who rivers the air
Without moving her wings.
Thus we move in His world
One in body and soul,
Though outwardly separate in form.
As the Source strikes the note,
Humanity sings--
The Holy Spirit is our harpist,
And all the stings
Which are touched in Love
Must sound.

       -- Mechtild of Magdeburg


THE SUM OF PERFECTION


Creation forgotten,
Creator only known,
Attention turned inward
In love with the Beloved alone.

      --Saint John of the Cross


UNSOPHISTICATED TEACHERS SAY


Unsophisticated teachers say that God is pure being.
He is as high above being as the highest angel is above a gnat.
I would be speaking as incorrectly in calling God a being,
as if I called the sun pale or black.
God is neither this nor that.

          --Meister Eckhart


AND THEREFORE I AM UNBORN


And therefore I am unborn, and
in the manner in which I am unborn
I can never die.

In my birth all things were
born
and I was the cause of myself
and of all things; and
if I would have wished it,
I would not be nor would all other things be.
And if I did not exist,
"God" would also not exist.
That God is "God",
of that I am a cause;
if I did not exist, God too
would not be "God".
There is no need
to understand
this.


          --Meister Eckhart       



YOU WHO WANT


You who want
knowledge,
seek the Oneness
within

There you
will find
the clean mirror
already waiting.

        --Hadewijch II
     

The Paths of Knowledge and Devotion are Inseparable

As already mentioned previously by this author and others, the path of Jnana (Knowledge) and the path of Bhakti (Devotion) are one and the same. In fact, they are inseparable. True Devotion means complete surrender to God. The word "complete" means that there should be no vestige of a "me" anymore. A true Bhakta (Devotee) would say "I have surrendered everything to God including myself. There is no "me" to perform any action". A true Bhakta Realizes that all there is, is God. In surrendering, the Bhakta has Realized the True Peace and Bliss, which is the nature of God/ Self. He is one with the Knowledge of his own Being.

The Jnani (Realized) has essentially surrendered to God through Knowledge. The Jnani also has come to the same Realization that all there is, is God. There is no thing apart from God. The Jnani is also a Bhakta, since his attention is always focused on God. Devotion is none other than attention to Self or God. In essence, the Jnani and Bhakta are one and the same. The Jnani cannot not be a Bhakta and vice versa.

Differentiation and discussions regarding the same, between these two so-called paths is merely for the ignorant. A true Bhakta and Jnani know that there is no question of a path since there is absolutely no question of any entity or thing apart from Self (or God). All is ONE and ONE is All.

No Questions About IT

"I clearly understand all that is taught in Advaita philosophy, but.....". This is perhaps the most common comment from a true seeker and most will admit that while this teaching in some way resonates with them, they still continue to have doubts and as a result continue to suffer.  Why is that? The reason is quite simple enough.  Almost all seekers look at this teaching as something to attain. They somehow have this notion that once they intellectually understand the teaching, then everything will automatically fall in place. The problem is that they have started out with the wrong belief of being an individual, an entity that has some substance and is independent of the world around them. They look at themselves as being separate.  To them, THAT is some 'thing' that can be attained and added to their list of achievements. To them, God is a separate entity, an entity that can be KNOWN. They fail to realize that anything that is known is an object.  And all objects can exist only if there is a SUBJECT that can know them.  They have failed to understand the very foundation of the entire teaching of Advaita or Non-Duality.  Instead of turning their ENTIRE ATTENTION TOWARDS THE SUBJECT i.e. "I", they look to the world of objects, reading material, talks, and sensual experiences for an answer.  As long as there is this feeling of being a separate entity, there is no way that one can REALIZE one's True Nature.  Give up this concept of being a conceptual entity. Enquire into the nature of this concept called 'me'.  Giving up all concepts, what and who are you?  Without a form or name or a label, can you please describe your self?  Any description has to be related to a concept.  Because you believe your True Self to be also a concept, you look for conceptual understanding.  You are not a concept. YOU ARE THAT!  How can THAT which is beyond all concepts be ever described or grasped?

So, what can one do to REALIZE?  One can only let this Knowledge sink in deep within, without trying to conceptualize. Thereafter, the intellect is given up in favor of intuition. Intuition comes from the Heart. Heart is what one has to rely on to Realize one's True Nature. Heart is where the Grace is.  When one gives up the intellectual battles and relaxes, leaving everything to Grace, then Grace takes over and Self-Realization is natural. In fact, you can never be apart from Grace. All struggle, including the struggle for Realization is by the ego. Giving up the struggle means giving up the ego.

One who has REALIZED will never say " I understand IT!".  He or she will just keep quiet. When there are no further doubts or questions, then one can be sure that there has been UNDERSTAND-ING.  The one who has questions dissolves as soon as Realization occurs.  Who is there to have any questions? There can be no questions about IT.

Faith-the Link Between Man and God

 This is a story that this author recently came across and wanted to share with you all.  It goes as follows:

An atheist Professor of Philosophy speaks to his class on the problem science has with God, The Almighty.

He asks one of his new students to stand and.....

Prof: So you believe in God?

Student: Absolutely, sir.

Prof: Is God good?

Student: Sure.

Prof: Is God all-powerful?

Studen: Yes.

Prof: My brother died of cancer even though he prayed to God to heal him. Most of us would attempt to help others who are ill. But God didn't. How is this God good then? Hmm?

(Student is silent.)

Prof :You can't answer, can you? Let's start again, young fella. Is God good?

Student:Yes.

Prof: Is Satan good?

Student: No.

Prof: Where does Satan come from?

Student: From...God.. .

Prof: That's right. Tell me son, is there evil in this world?

Student:Yes.

Prof: Evil is everywhere, isn't it? And God did make everything. Correct?

Student: Yes.

Prof: So who created evil?

(Student does not answer.)

Prof: Is there sickness? Immorality? Hatred? Ugliness? All these terrible things exist in the world, don't they?

Student: Yes, sir.

Prof: So, who created them?

(Student has no answer.)

Prof: Science says you have 5 senses you use to identify and observe the world around you. Tell me, son...Have you ever seen God?

Student: No, sir.

Prof: Tell us if you have ever heard your God?

Student: No, sir.

Prof: Have you ever felt your God, tasted your God, smelt your God? Have you ever had any sensory perception of God for that matter?

Student: No, sir. I'm afraid I haven't.

Prof:  Yet you still believe in Him?

Student:Yes.

Prof: According to empirical, testable, demonstrable protocol, science says your GOD doesn't exist. What do you say to that, son?

Student: Nothing. I only have my faith.

Prof: Yes. Faith. And that is the problem science has.

Student: Professor, is there such a thing as heat?

Prof: Yes.

Student: And is there such a thing as cold?

Prof: Yes.

Student: No sir. There isn't.

(The lecture theatre becomes very quiet with this turn of events.)

Student: Sir, you can have lots of heat, even more heat, superheat, mega heat, white heat, a little heat or no heat. But we don't have anything called cold. We can hit 458 degrees below zero which is no heat, but we can't go any further after that. There is no such thing as cold . Cold is only a word we use to describe the absence of heat. We cannot measure cold. Heat is energy. Cold is not the opposite of heat, sir, just the absence of it.

(There is pin-drop silence in the lecture theatre.)

Student: What about darkness, Professor? Is there such a thing as darkness?

Prof: Yes. What is night if there isn't darkness?

Student :You're wrong again, sir. Darkness is the absence of something. You can have low light, normal light, bright light, flashing light....But if you have no light constantly, you have nothing and it's called darkness, isn't it? In reality, darkness isn't. If it were you would be able to make darkness darker, wouldn't you?

Prof: So what is the point you are making, young man?

Student: Sir, my point is that your philosophical premise is flawed.

Prof: Flawed? Can you explain how?

Student: Sir, you are working on the premise of duality. You argue there is life and then there is death, a good God and a bad God. You are viewing the concept of God as something finite, something we can measure. Sir, science can't even explain a thought. It uses electricity and magnetism, but has never seen, much less fully understood either one. To view death as the opposite of life is to be ignorant
of the fact that death cannot exist as a substantive thing. Death is not the opposite of life: just the absence of it. Now tell me, Professor. Do you teach your students that they evolved from a
monkey?

Prof: If you are referring to the natural evolutionary process, yes, of course, I do.

Student: Have you ever observed evolution with your own eyes, sir?

(The Professor shakes his head with a smile, beginning to realize where the
argument is going.)

Student: Since no one has ever observed the process of evolution at work and cannot even prove that this process is an on-going endeavor, are you not teaching your opinion, sir? Are you not a scientist but a preacher?

(The class is in an uproar by now.)

Student: Is there anyone in the class who has ever seen the Professor's brain?

(The class breaks out into laughter.)

Student: Is there anyone here who has ever heard the Professor's brain, felt it, touched or smelt it? No one appears to have done so. So, according to the established rules of empirical, stable, demonstrable protocol, science says that you have no brain, sir.  With all due respect, sir, how do we then trust your lectures, sir?

(The room is silent.. The professor stares at the student, his face
unfathomable. )

Prof: I guess you'll have to take them on faith, son.

Student: That is it, sir... The link between man and God is FAITH.  That is all that keeps things moving & alive.

This is a true story, and the student was none other than.........Swami Vivekananda.

God is the breath of all breath- Kabir

O servant, where dost thou seek Me?
Lo! I am beside thee.
I am neither in temple nor in mosque: I am neither in Kaaba nor
in Kailash:
Neither am I in rites and ceremonies, nor in Yoga and
renunciation.
If thou art a true seeker, thou shalt at once see Me: thou shalt
meet Me in a moment of time.
Kabîr says, "O Sadhu! God is the breath of all breath."

Kabir was a Saint and a weaver by occupation born in 1440 A.D. in medieval India. His poems are an expression of the simplicity of non-traditional Advaitic teachings. In this poem, he extols the simplicity of SEEING your True Nature. He emphasizes the fact that discovery of your True Nature is not in the acts of renunciation or yoga or some ritual or ceremony. For a true seeker, the Truth is at NO distance from your own self. There is no involvement of time in discovering your True Nature. True devotion is the hallmark of a true seeker.

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?'