Mary: Hi, James! One more time I start by telling you how much I am appreciating your teachings and savoring the knowledge. Hidden layers and layers are now being shown to me every time I listen to your teachings. The presence of God in every situation is recognized. I’m having less trouble finding the information necessary for me in every given situation, as well as my dharma.
In the practice of self-inquiry, new perceptions are happening and a clear change in perspective. It is suddenly so much easier to detach from the subtle-body identification. Yesterday I had a breakthrough on that subject, taking advantage of what appeared to be a great sadness and seeing it from the perspective of awareness… and for the first time I could see the change in perspective allowing me to “feel” this nothingness. Hard to describe what it was, because suddenly as I was discriminating, putting my focus on the awareness perspective and away from the identification with the sadness feeling and the story that was creating it, I started to “see” a detachment that was not even a sensation, it was more like an absence of preferences/objections, more like a void… and I understood that all suffering comes from the identification with the subtle and gross body. Is it correct? (and in that situation, it was like I could see your chart and the mind/intellect/ego words were totally calling for my attention. And there was a thought… “right now there seems to be an ‘I’ suffering from identification with the subtle body. But I’m not the subtle body…” and this sensation that I told you above took place. And I felt peace at last.
Wow, James, this Vedanta thing really, really works! Thank you.
James: Lovely to hear from you. I am so glad that Vedanta is working for you. You deserve it. You have been dedicated to the truth for a long time. Yes, suffering is the result of identification with the subtle body.
Mary: Another interesting thing happened this week. I am finishing what seems for me to be my last assignment helping with the organization of this teacher’s upcoming satsang. Through that a lot of people are coming to me and they all seem to be exact clones of my previous state of mind before Vedanta came into my life: hungry seekers of the Truth, all fed up with the seeking, the gurus, the bullshit. You get it.
And even though I was supposed to be representing this teacher, I can’t help telling them how Vedanta has changed my entire perspective, how they can benefit by starting to know the knowledge (I’m already directing them to your videos/site) and inviting them all to know Vedanta through your perspective, James, and it’s being amazing. People are feeling completely inspired by the freshness of this new perspective that you bring, just like I am.
So a lot of them are not familiar with the English language, and an idea came to me today, so I would like to share it with you: would you allow me to create a page on Facebook on your behalf (with your name/logo, website address, etc.), using your lineage’s view of the Vedanta teachings, starting from scratch?
I thought about translating your one-year course from the newsletters and do as you did, publish one part a month so people can understand and follow the logic, get to know the qualifications and start with self-inquiry.
One of your disciples will already be here in Brazil, and even though I didn’t speak with him about it, since I had the thought only today, I’m pretty certain that he would love to help people with their doubts and the ideas that will rise from self-inquiry. Or if you prefer I could even translate the questions and direct them to the ones you consider are ready to answer.
James: It’s great that you are sharing what you know with others. Keep it up. Yes indeed, create a Facebook page. Use any of the resources on ShiningWorld website. Translate the course based on my book too. Do whatever you feel inspired to do. If you have any questions or doubts, please write. Anyway, may Isvara bless you in everything you do.
~ Much love, James
