James’ reply to a friend about a successful YouTube teacher of awareness.
Yes, he’s dedicated, sincere and blissful. Perhaps he could use a complete teaching but I don’t think he’s open to it and there is no way to actually know; the knowledge stays with the person. However, one can infer certain things by what the person doesn’t say. Usually, when people get to the Self realization point, they stop inquiring because they can’t imagine that there is anything more than the bliss of knowledge (*jnanananda*). The idea that the bliss of knowledge is the loss of ignorance escapes them but it is an important point. So they often ring the bell to get ignorant people to come to church. If it works and people start listening, there isn’t enough wiggle room to add to the teaching so they stagnate in spiritual success. “I know who I am, I am blissfull” is good but there is more. The Gita says that moksa is complete knowledge, not just knowledge of satya. Satya/mithya are teaching tools, which need to go at some point. The teaching tools will only be discarded if the bliss has been completely transferred to the original Self, during the Self actualization phase. If Self knowledge is the source of an individual’s bliss, he or she has just begun the spiritual life, but having concluded that it is the end, they’re screwed. Mind you, personal bliss isn’t the kiss of death, but personhood is still the primary identity, which means the knowledge is supported by ignorance, the zero-sum nature of the apparent reality being what it is.
### BlissBunny Mode
### The next step is no-sum reality…transferring the bliss from the reflected knower to the unknowing knower, which is to say, I don’t have bliss, I am bliss, meaning unborn, whole and complete. Thus, the personality is not trapped in blissbunny mode. It’s free to be real, meaning comfortable with all emotions, which entails understanding Isvara and letting one’s reflected self truly be an instrument of Isvara’s will. Although it seems like hair splitting (I suppose it is!) the bliss needs to be attributed to the loss of ignorance once the knowledge is gained because there is still room for the reflected self to peck out a nice comfortable sattvic niche and nest on it. Why not write him and suggest “I am ordinary awareness” once it is published, which should be very soon.
