Ram: l’ll assume that you are trying to learn something and not just defend your political orientation.  The answer is both.  It is both mithya and dharma.  Dharma and adharma are mithya as the Gita says.  Do you know why?  You must not know because the question reveals the fact that you don’ know what the purpose of Vedanta is, which is to remove the necessary all-important satya/mithya teaching with reference to your identity, once it has done its job, which it obviously hasn’t, or you would not have asked the question.  Like Krishna in the Gita, I have been trying to get you to understand satya/mithya since you first came because it is crucial. 

Why do you fail to see its importance?  Because you see me as Ramji or James or whatever, and you think that person is teaching you.  It would be very different if you saw both the teaching and James as Isvara.  It makes sense, however, because that T…… person is getting a lot of benefit from Vedanta.  Good for him!

But the next thing that must happen to your understanding is to discover the downside of a much-improved T……  Now you are a good moral spiritual person with spiritual practice, but so what?  You are just back to normal, and suffering continues.  I’m sure you think it is illogical to be asked to master satya/mithya only to throw it away.   

I happen to agree with you that Trump is a very unhealthy demonic person and a very bad role model.  Society was deteriorating to the degree that he got elected in the first place.  He hastened the process. It seems to be disintegrating even with good old Joe at the helm.  The crisis in American democracy is a spiritual crisis masquerading as a social/political conflict.  The good news is that he would be a lame duck if elected and Republican knives would be out, and complacent arrogant liberals would be more highly motivated to elect a moral candidate.  The worst thing that could happen to him personally is re-election.  It should inspire tears of compassion in even hardcore liberal progressives.  Keep in mind that in a democracy both the right and the left need to wield the levers of power or there will be revolution.  In fact, democracy is alive and kicking. The Republican whiners are now taking power at the local and state levels as we speak and governance is log-jammed, which will make the bi-partisan legislation more attractive. Every cloud has a silver lining.

Anyway, the whole Trump issue is a non-starter for people like us.  The question of your obsession with politics and society raises the question of why you are interested in Vedanta apart from the self-improvement issue?  It’s fine with me if you aren’t.  It’s fine with me too as I have nothing to gain except the appreciation of seeing a dim bulb start to sparkle with Self knowledge.  But fixing yourself, which Karma Yoga does, is just a means to an end, which is freedom. 

I teach moksha, not Vedanta, T…….  Moksha is freedom from T……  The only way you are going to get free of that guy is to discover you aren’t him.  And to do that you have to stand in awareness as awareness, which you demonstrate by maintaining your freedom by constantly discriminating satya (yourself) from mithya, the conceptual person person named T……  Swamiji said, “Eternal vigilance is the price of freedom.”  Let others worry about the state of democracy or get into politics and put their money where their mouths are.  A Vedanta person is seeking freedom.

I don’t think I’m the right teacher for you.  I tell the truth, whether it is convenient or not, but I’m not itching to tell it…only when my duty as a teacher demands it.  One of our big donors…we were friends…left the sanga recently because I said a few very truthful things as his friendly guru.  And although he was a great karma yogi in theory, he was unable to take what I said to heart.  He steamed off in a huff, caught himself and parted company gracefully.  He is now looking for another Vedanta teacher who presumably will agree with him and prove me wrong. But any Vedanta teacher worth his salt will say the same thing.  One thing most people can’t see is the lies they tell themselves.  That’s why a guru comes with the rest of the package.

Perhaps my view that you don’t understand the purpose of Vedanta and the relative importance of the satya/mithya teaching will generate a similar reaction in you.  I hope not, but let’s see how you deal with it.  The only appropriate reaction is “OK, what should I do now?  I doubt that will be your reaction because I don’t see you as a particularly humble person.  You’re a bit Arjuna-like, a chip on the shoulder and looking for a fight. Apart from its value as a learning experience, a fight with me would definitely be humbling because I’m a lot more well-informed on both politics and Vedanta by Isvara’s grace. If you fall silent, I will understand the silence as a kind of tacit agreement that you still have something to learn. If you do, nothing needs to change.  Take advantage of the resources ShiningWorld provides (without donating of course) and soldier on.

I’m in an enviable position by no fault of my own.  I can pick and choose who I want to teach.  That would be humble people who are not afraid to acknowledge their Self ignorance.  Fortunately, there are plenty of them in the ShiningWorld sanga and growing by the day.  My posts are read daily by several thousand people.  One recent post garnered over 11,000 views with many upvotes, commentaries and shares.  Vedanta works, no doubt about it.  So, think about it and let me know.  I wish you well no matter what.

Love,
Ram

Here’s an example of the right attitude.  It just came in today.

Dear Ramji and Sundari,

 I wasn’t expecting anything to occur today in satsanga. I intentionally submitted a question in chat rather than verbalizing my question. I was attempting to fly under the radar asking about point (5) What is trust? Is it dangerous?.  As a result of my question, I was somehow initiated into the Shiningworld Sampradaya with Ramji’s ever present intuitive gaze and directed truth. It was miraculous to be told (in so many words) to settle down. 

Advaita Vedanta, as you teach it, provides the complete teachings. I love studying scriptures and am shining with what I know and what I don’t know. Shiningworld has been a foundational presence in my life for many years.

My ashram-life-guru is no longer my guru, for obvious reasons that I have shared with you. I never imagined being open to trust a spiritual teacher again. I have been content studying with many teachers. I hadn’t settled with you, Ramji, as my Guru. I hadn’t settled anywhere. I wasn’t looking to settle. I thought the guru-shishya tradition was behind me. 

Your teachings in the last three Snday satsangas, along with Sundari’s, and Rory’s, and the group dynamics, embraced my values and wrapped me in safety.  Honoring both of you, and my closeness with Rory, allowed me to receive your guidance open heartedly today. I am more aligned with Shiningworld than ever.  I believe a healing of a rift, a crack, a fissure, a schism occurred deep in my soul.

Thank you both for your impeccable values: attentiveness to Consciousness, to each other, to the teachings, to your students, and to the sampradaya. 

I am blessed.

Ishvara done me good today!

Edited by James

Dear Ben,

You say that we need Self knowledge for liberation but that the Self, which is beyond the known and the unknown, can’t be known by perception and inference, the only means of knowledge we have.  If it is beyond our means, then how can it be known?  Is there another means?  Please explain.  Is it like deep inner listening, quiet still mindfulness and waiting?

Mike

Ben:  There was a man named Gregor Samsa who was firmly convinced he was an insect.  Perception though his sense organs does not reveal him as a human being because the senses are controlled by the mind and the thought that he is an insect causes the senses to present him to himself as an insect.

He sees his skin as chitin and his body with the exoskeleton of an ant.  He likes leafy vegetables, which confirms his mistaken conviction.  He crawls along on the floor and hides under a couch when a bird looks through the window for fear of being eaten, so he can’t infer his humanness because he is completely focused on survival.  Perception and inference don’t solve his problem.  However, he has a doubt because his hidden human self is always present subtly informing his mind, so he concludes that he needs another opinion and goes to a psychiatrist, who says he is not an insect but a human being.  He doubts the shrink but is so tormented that he provisionally accepts the psychiatrist’s statement.  It does not help, however, because he still sees himself as an insect.

So, Gregor needs to do a lot of work to get his mind ready to see himself as he really is.  Using various psychological techniques—basically cognitive behavioral therapy—he works hard because he is industrious like the ant he thinks he is.  One fine day his therapist sees that he is ready for human knowledge so he starts with the only other means of knowledge available, the words “You are a Human Being,” which will reveal what is already present and always experienced—his Humanness.  His insect-ness is a projection from his Humanness, his fundamental self.  It is superimposed and needs to be negated with the steadfast understanding “I am a Human Being.”

Similarly, our perception of ourselves as people is a projection from our fundamental Self.  It is superimposed and needs to be negated by the hard and fast understanding, “I am existence shining as whole and complete ordinary unconcerned unborn consciousness.”  Consciousness is primary (satya) and cannot be negated; personhood (mithya) is secondary and can be negated or “cancelled.”  When you cancel a person, he or she doesn’t die; he or she is simply no longer “real” for you.  When you look at the sky you see blue but your know it is clear.  When the words of Vedanta are fully assimilated you know you are existence shining as whole and complete ordinary unconcerned unborn consciousness appearing (mithya) as a human being and your humanness is automatically cancelled.

Everyone in Gregor’s family thinks they are insects, as do his neighbours, acquaintances and  fellow citizens. In fact, insectness is the norm throughout the whole world.  Every country structures events large and small on all levels to celebrate insectness and protect insects from predators, particularly birds. The pharmaceutical industry makes bug spray capable of killing every conceivable type of creepy crawly stinging and biting insect and militaries constantly spray noxious chemicals on mother earth world-wide, not to mention that the global food chain has been treated to toxic chemicals for decades.  Different insect species zap each other with powerful lazers.  Even Olympic gold medallists achieve superstar insect status and are worshipped fanatically.  Insect religions abound as well.  The remote transcendental ANT and BEE Gods are propitiated daily by quintillions of ants and bees.

For secular insects, who are known as insectarians, an army of psychologists, psychiatrists, and their ilk—life coaches for instance—practice day and night to help resolve insect-related issues too numerous to mention so individuals can more effectively serve society.  Most insects want high insectesteem.  Naturally, anyone who has an inkling of their humanness is considered abnormal and may be persecuted, ostracized, and punished for thinking differently.  In some states their books are burned, and their children are bullied.  In some, humanness is a serious felony and convicted criminals are incarcerated in large insect prisons with re-education facilities where loudspeakers blare the truth of insectness day and night.

Once he is qualified Gregor listens diligently to his mentor and one fine day he is told that he is ready to go outside.  He thanks his shrink and walks out into the sunny afternoon.  A robin sitting on a branch hears a worm munching earth underground near Gregor, who is savoring his freedom, and flies in his direction.  Terrified, he rushes back to the doctor’s office.  The doctor asks what’s wrong and Gregor says, “I may be a human being, but the birds don’t know it!”  The doctor realizes that he isn’t ready and puts him back on his therapies until he can leave his office once and for all.

Unfortunately the human race, with few exceptions, remains, as always, in the dark about the capacity of the human mind to inquire into the truth of things, and is content to accept the perception of the senses without realizing that it is trapped in a collective web of inadequacy, mortality, vulnerability and insecurity.  As the great Buddhasect said millenia ago, “All life is suffering.”

Although it is taken for granted, humanness is not normal. We have been blessed with the capacity to think, which, guided by the perennial wisdom of Vedanta, introduces us to our identity as suffering-free non-dual ever-present ordinary awareness and provides the therapies—karma yoga particularly—that transform our lives into shining reflections of our perfect creator.  

What a blessing for the few who fully appreciate the value of Vedanta, which sages have  chanted since the beginning of time.  May we all recognize the reality of our true nature and revel in its ever-present bliss!!!  

I really enjoyed the Videos from Trout lake and hopefully someday I’ll join you in one retreat. So here are my questions about Trout Lake lectures: 

Does the self need the experience of objects?

Ram:  No.  It is whole and complete and it is not an experiencing entity.  It is just existence shining as ever-full consciousness.  It is experience itself so it has no needs.

Why does the self, I, experience Maya?   

Ram:  I doesn’t experience Maya, unless it is apparently deluded by ignorance of its completeness.  It is being, experience itself.  Nobody knows why.  And you can’t experience Maya like you experience and object.  However, if you are not experiencing complete satisfaction you are experiencing Maya, meaning ignorance of your nature.  The I is always satisfied.

Ram:  Nobody knows why.   We only know that it thinks it needs to experience things when bliss is its nature.  If you say you want this or that because it will make you happy, without knowing that happiness is your nature, then you are experiencing ignorance, which Vedanta calls Maya.   

Ram: You are satya, the self.  Mithya doesn’t affect you.  If it does you are ignorant of your ever-free nature.  Freedom means that nothing affects you.  If mithya, experiences, affected you, you wouldn’t be free.  Free means free of experiences.  There are not two or more experiences unless you are under the spell of Maya.  

What is the propose of mithya and the relation of the self?

Ram:  Mithya…the world…hides the self.  It depends on the self but the self doesn’t depend on it.  But the question isn’t right because fascination with what is hides keeps your attention away from your self.

If I am already free, what is the whole point of experiencing the apparent reality?

Ram:  There is no point.  It is just entertaining, like a movie.

Can you explain the idea that “experience and the self are the same”?

Ram:  When you experience something you are just experiencing your self.  There is nothing else to experience.  Maya/Mithya/ignorance makes it look like you are experiencing something different from you.

Experience is a limited situation, right?

Ram:  No.  Experience is limitless existence shining as consciousness.  It is sat, being. It seems to be limited situations when ignorance is present.

So how can it and experience be the same as existence?

Ram:  See the sentence above.

At least it’s part of existence as jiva is part of the self and Maya part of Isvara…?

Ram:  Yes, if you think that experience is limited, meaning a lot of different experiences that are different from you.  But all the different experiences you have are different in name only.  They are just experience experiencing itself, which is statement that you shouldn’t take literally.  Experience is consciousness so it is not an experiencing entity.  .

If action creates ignorance and vice versa

Ram:  Action doesn’t create ignorance.  Ignorance creates action.  Action reinforces ignorance, meaning it make the self think it is a doer doing actions.     

How can I remove ignorance of the self without doing sadhana?

Ram:  You can’t by doing sadhana, unless the sadhana is listening with a clear mind to Vedanta unfolded by a qualified teacher.  Other sadhanas than those recommended by Vedanta reinforce ignorance.

Is there some kind of balance between ignorance/knowledge and action?

Ram:  Ignorance causes action.  Knowledge removes ignorance of your wholeness. Action can make the mind ready for knowledge. 

What’s your definition of experience, how do you define it, is it momentum or out of time?

Ram:  Experience is Awareness plus a thought in the mind.  Awareness is out of time, thoughts are in time.  Experience is satya and mithya but mithya isn’t real so it is just satya.

I’m asking because you’ve told us that an experience is finite from the jiva point of view, but the self is experience itself.

Ram:  I said individual experiences are in time.   They happen one after another.  Some are short and some are long.  Experience is Being, what is, so it is out of time.  It doesn’t change.

Regarding the difference between the voice of the self and the voice of jiva, is there any tool or advice that you could share about how to differentiate them?

Ram:  The tool is Vedanta because it makes the difference clear.  The jiva thinks it is small and incomplete so it tells you that you are small and incomplete.  It makes you worry.  It is not your friend.  The self is your best friend.  It loves you so it tells you that you are wonderful, that you don’t have to worry, that it has your back. 

Thank you so much, I don’t know how many times have you answered these  questions but I really really appreciate your time.

Ram:  It’s OK.  It is my duty.  I really appreciate you, Linda.  🙂

I am listening to the teaching of the clay and the pot  and the steps to be clear about reality. 

The clay is causeless causality because the pot is only a form and name. If you remove the pot, clay remains.  But clay has no causality (so) it’s just clay …it seems so but clay ‘needs’ nothing to be clay

Ram: Yes.  So far so good.  I would write it like this,  “The clay is causeless causality because the pot is only a form and name. If you remove the pot ..clay is unchanged by the subtraction.”  If you just say, “clay remains” a person may think that only a part of the pot has been removed, not all of it. Or you could say, “No pot remains.”  I know what you mean because you said, “it seems so.”  The word seems is very important because it means that there is no actual pot. 

..the pot is a form..it can be a sculpture… the world is a name and form ..awareness is the uncaused cause 

Awareness is causeless causality, right ? 

Ram: Yes, but I have a doubt because you left out some important information.  So my final answer is yes, but no. 

Here is how I would explain it, “For example, if there is a sculpture of a person made out of clay, there is actually no person who is separate from the clay even though it seems as if there is, because the clay is ignored when the viewer focuses on the person.  He or she is actually seeing clay and a person but identifies only the person because he didn’t come to the gallery to look at clay.

Similarly, the world is only existence shining as unborn ever-complete consciousness but the consciousness is ignored by people because they focus only on the information coming through the senses: the color, shape, movement, etc. that are responsible for the appearance of the world.  If there are no senses this is no world.  In this case, the person will say, “the world is a wonderful, interesting place” without understanding that the world he or she is seeing is projected by the senses which interpret the properties of the five material elements. 

Finally, saying that awareness is the uncaused cause is correct, but you need to explain what uncaused cause means.  To explain you need to point out that awareness can’t cause anything because it can’t change.  It cannot produce a product, which is to say the world. 

At the same time, you need to explain how it comes from ignorance.  Ignorance makes it seem as if awareness is causing the world.  Ignorance hides awareness because awareness, the self, doesn’t realize that the senses are producing an image of the world which it is taking to be an actual, not a seeming world. When Vedanta explains to awareness how ignorance confuses it, awareness is freed of apparent ignorance.

Finally, you can point out that awareness does cause the world because without awareness it is impossible to ignore the world.  So in that sense awareness “causes” the world without actually causing it!

Much love,

Ram

Sorry, I was busy with that mithya shit, because my brother is married to a Russian and that war is a big topic everywhere.

You said one sentence that really went in:  “The I am should be enough for you”.  I stick to that like hell. My new mantra now.  Maybe it really as simple as that. Just stay in the I am.

Ramji:  Yes, it is as simple as that.  If people knew how simple it was, the world would be a very lovely place.  But even though just being always makes us want to live another day even when life is painful, people seem to be attached to their suffering and focus on the future, imagining that relief will come someday.   But relief that comes, goes.  Perhaps suffering gives them an identity that brings some kind of support. 

I need some kind of sadhana again. Without sadhana, my mind is not controlled.

You said to just look at what is present every minute, in your mind.  It totally pulled me back to that being here, now, that instant which is me, I, consciousness.

Ramji:  Good.  But you are not an instant.  You are the eternal knower of all instants. People are in such a hurry to fix the world when their own minds need fixing.  

I started also with meditation again. There is so much shit to clean up in my mind which is far away from sattvic or pure. But your satsang, since that interaction with you, I am so quiet and peaceful.  Feels like I just don’t care anymore. Nothing ever can happen to me.

Ramji:  Good for you, Hendrick!  It means that you are assimilating the knowledge of who you are.  Keep up the meditation, karma yoga, etc. 

And, yes, I will not bring that mithya shit to your satsang again. I just was very unaware and, honestly, wanted to hear what you think about Putin, the bomb, and all that. And you reaction made me very happy and made me laugh out loud, loved it!  Hope to see you again in Berlin soon, or lets go to heaven together! 😉

Ramji:  It’s OK. I got the feeling that you were just a bit tamasic.  What pisses me off is the people who write because they want to argue with me.   Some want to make sure I have the “right” view, meaning how they see things.  I’m kind of glad the war has taken the virus/vaccine issue more or less off the internet.  Of course the die-hards will keep pontificating.  War, particularly this kind of war, is not good news, although the upside will become clear eventually, but at least it’s new news.  It’s fine to have well-reasoned opinions but it’s not fine to identify one’s self with one’s opinions and create duality thereby.  Now the rebels have a better cause to rally behind.  The vaccine issue was a complete non-starter.  Billions of doses have been delivered and the human race continues to thrive.  So you are forgiven. 🙂

Much love,

Ramji 

Question:  I get that Maya is part of Satyam (of course it is, everything is!) and mithya is the result of maya acting on behalf of Satyam. Why make a separation between satyam and maya?

Reply:  Because Knowing the Difference Between them is Freedom

Most people don’t separate their material selves, the Maya or Mithya portion, from their spiritual selves, the Consciousness/Satya portion.  Knowing the difference between them frees us from depending on our material selves for fulfillment.  The Satya/Mithya teaching is a higher level of understanding reality, an expansion from a more rudimentary understanding.

Take the example of water.  In primary school, we learn water is a liquid to be careful with. In secondary school, we learn water is made up of two gases. At university, we learn the atomic structure of water. At post-grad level, we study the quantum aspect of water. Each level is an expansion which supersedes the previous level, which is acknowledged and dropped. Similarly, with the understanding of reality. As our ignorance is reduced through knowledge, the understanding of reality and the distinction between reality and non-reality expands and our mistaken notions are dropped.

For spiritual maturation, to satisfy one’s spiritual thirst, one needs to know that Consciousness is satyam while matter is mithya, and know what those words mean and recognise Consciousness, not matter, as one’s inherent and primary nature.

The Sanskrit word for universal, all-pervading capital C Consciousness is Brahman, while the same Consciousness within an individual form is called Atma.  Vedanta teaches that Brahman and Atma are identical, just two words for the same Reality seen from different angles.  It is not obvious, because the bodies associated with the two are different.   The whole universe is the body of Brahman, whereas only the human body is associated with Atma. The word for universal matter, both subtle and dense, is prapanca, while the word for an individual subtle body or an individual dense body is shariram. The word for consciousness (small c) in a living form is cidabhasa. To gain spiritual maturity, one must know the meaning of these words.

The Spirit/Matter (Consciousness/Maya) Conundrum 

How do we get matter from non-matter?  Consciousness is not matter, it is immaterial. But we observe, describe and experience matter, both dense and subtle (in the form of energy), and we give names for the various forms of matter. How does matter arise from formless, non-material Consciousness?

The explanation from scientists is that consciousness arises from matter. Being material scientists, they start from and analyse matter and have many hypotheses about consciousness, including those based on quantum physics. But none have been proven nor accepted. There is still much debate among neuro-scientists. In a past issue of Time magazine, there was an article from some scientists who stated that consciousness maybe an illusion arising from matter!

Something Can’t Come From Nothing. 

On the other hand, all spiritual traditions take the opposite view, that matter arises or manifests from Consciousness. Each tradition has its own teaching on cosmology. Vedanta, quite distinctly, states and explains how matter arises from Consciousness; it is through a power in Consciousness called Maya.

Maya is Consciousness Plus Matter  (Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 7)

Maya acts like a catalyst. A catalyst drives a chemical reaction and is discarded after the reaction is completed. In biological systems, the catalyst is called an enzyme. The other example is the 18^th horse, which is used to solve an insoluble problem and then removed.

Maya is a potential power or force, present in with Consciousness.  Maya is different from Consciousness, yet is not separate from Consciousness. For example, fire and its power to burn, or fire and its ability to light up, are different but not separate. The sun and sunlight are different, yet not separate. It is sunlight which triggers photosynthesis, not the sun per se. If the sun moved any closer, the Earth would be scorched. Similarly, Consciousness and Maya are different but not separate.

The words satyam and mithya refer to ‘status’, the ‘status’ of Consciousness and the ‘status’ of matter respectively. The word ‘status’ means order, position, standing, rank, and in this case, applied to reality, the status of reality and the status of non-reality or apparent reality.  Matter is seemingly, not actually real.  

A status is different from the ‘thing’ present in that status. For example, the status of President is different from the person who is President. The status has a certain position and function. The person has individuality and personal qualities. When the person is President, the status and the personal qualities, while different are not separate. The person brings his/her personal qualities to the status of President. That is why there is the danger of superimposing one on the other. Some Presidents think the status is theirs for life, as part of their persona. Others are realistic enough to know that they occupy the status of President only for some time.

The Satya Status

The word satyam refers to status … the status of being always present, self-existent, causeless, eternal, never changing, real, absolutely still, only one, a seamless whole, no parts, undivided, indivisible like space, present everywhere, all-pervading, omnipresent, absolute. The status of satyam is a “higher order” of reality.  Only Consciousness, your true Self, has this status. That is why the word satyam, indicating status, is applied only to Consciousness. Most importantly, this Consciousness is what I am, here and now.  As Consciousness, I enjoy the status of satyam.

In its status as satyam, the nature of Consciousness (comparable to ‘personal qualities’ of the President) is pure Presence of Be-ing, unconditioned Awareness, complete Fulness, permanent Stillness, absolute Happiness. (In Sanskrit, sat cit ananda). That is its nature, which is the nature of all sentient entities and material objects.

The Mithya Status

The word mithya indicates the status of being temporary, not always present, changing, showing movement, evolving or deteriorating, disintegrating, undergoing entropy, a seeming reality, a relative presence, a transient appearance, a semblance, simulation, ‘pretence’, relative, of being inert, dependent for its existence, inherently lifeless, intrinsically dead. The status of mithya is a “lower” order of reality and is diametrically opposite to the status of Consciousness. Matter has this status. This is why the word mithya, indicating status, is applied to matter (in Sanskrit, prapanca).  The body-mind-sense complex is the material portion of human beings.

In its status as mithya, the nature of matter (like personal qualities) consists of the three gunas and five elements. From matter, both subtle as energy like stardust, we get all the different forms in the macrocosm and the microcosm.

Is There a Connection between Satya and Mithya?

Matter is permeated, pervaded and enlivened by Consciousness. A living form looks conscious, looks alive, looks sentient, looks functioning, even doing action as thought, word, deed. It is like the sun lending light to the moon making the moon look bright and attractive. But it only looks so, seems so, appears so; the moon remains inert, dead and has no light nor brightness of its own. Similarly, in its status as mithya, matter remains inert, lifeless, dead. If a form looks conscious and alive, it is because of the presence of Consciousness giving that form consciousness and movement, the sign and symptom of life.

To sum up, the associations must be clear: Consciousness with its status of satyam, and matter with its status of mithya. Status and nature are different. The nature of Consciousness is Presence, Awareness, Fulfilled, Peace, Happiness. The nature of matter consists of the three gunas and five elements.

Maya is present with Consciousness, is not Consciousness, yet is not separate from Consciousness whose status is satyam. The activity or movement of Maya leads to the appearance of matter with its status as mithya. An effect shares the same nature as its cause. Since matter, as effect, is mithya, Maya, as cause, is also mithya.

Ultimately, there is only Consciousness.

There is only I, Consciousness …

… pure Presence … unconditioned Awareness … complete Fulfilment.

I abide as Myself, Consciousness …

… I, by Myself … I, alone am … I, ever am.

Then, what is everything else?

Name them … it is I … only I.

OM

Playing the role of source, substrate, matrix …

… I seem to appear … seem to take the form of whatever is named.

I seem to appear as them … I seem to un-appear as them.

It is My play … My magic show … My lila.

In reality … ultimately … in finality …

… there is only I, Consciousness … nothing else.

I abide as Myself, Consciousness …

… I, by Myself … I, alone am … I, always am …

… forever and ever

Dear James,

We are obviously on opposite sides of the fence on this one. But this is bound to happen at the relative level.  It feels like I offended the not-James. For that I genuinely apologize. And if I came across as if I was saying that you are a fool, I sincerely apologize for that as well.  That was not my intention. The intention was to inform. But I can see, and I admit that I do get a little feisty on this topic.

James: I wasn’t actually offended, just surprised that you didn’t realize that I wouldn’t be interested in political issues.  Here’s my view in a nutshell, based on your statement, “This world is an illusion. But because there is ultimately only one Reality, the world and it’s problems are also real in that sense – how could it be “outside” of the one Reality? Can there be Oneness, and then something outside of Oneness? only Brahman is real. The world is an illusion. Brahman is the world.”

If the world is an illusion then both the virus and the cure are illusions. Both the “truth tellers” and government dissemblers are illusions.  Knowledge and ignorance are only apparently real, which means not real at all.  if Brahman is the world then you and I are Brahman, which means immortal, so we needn’t worry about the world and the problems that ignorance of our true nature as limitless existence shining as awareness generates.   

Luke:  Thank you for your input, James. I appreciate you taking the time to respond. And thank you for your take on what I had said in the email below.

I know that I am the awake living presence inhabiting this body. I am not the body experiencing the Self; only the Self can “know” the Self. Another way to say it: only God sees God…. there is no “little me” to see or know anything. This Knowledge has been confirmed by direct experience here.

And at the same time, I fully concur with what you said: “Knowledge and ignorance are only apparently real, which means, not real at all.” They are co-extensive in this manifest realm. In my understanding, true Liberation is beyond both Knowledge and Ignorance. I can only know That which is beyond Knowledge and Ignorance – i.e. the One Reality – by Being It.

James:  I wasn’t sure that you understood this fact when you wrote that letter hectoring me about my views on the virus and the mendacity of politicians.

Luke:  As for the other issues again I apologize for the tone I took with you. I have absolutely no business lecturing you, or anyone else, on whether they should take a certain medical treatment or not. 

It’s interesting what can happen to one’s attitude when you turn it back on yourself. I asked myself, would I want someone telling me what I should or should not be putting in my body? No. I would not.

I know as well that there are still particular vasanas hanging around in “me” that can make an appearance now and then, regardless of what’s been realized spiritually. To be blunt, I can be arrogant, critical, and condescending (and I’m sure there are other traits that my long-suffering wife could add to this list  ;o).

For all of that I apologize…. unreservedly. I truly do wish you (and Isabella) all the best whichever direction you go.May you be well. May you be healthy. May you be happy.

James:  If you enter the social media world without a good sense of irony and indifference, you will unconsciously pick up the dissatisfaction that keeps that world spinning.  Before you know it you will cede your spirituality to cynicism and probably anger.  You will start to imagine that you are very wise because you are nobody’s fool.  You may become grandiose and imagine that you would never find yourself on the wrong side of “history.”  And although you may intellectually know that the media world is not real, some part of you believes it is real and imagines that you have been chosen to set it right. 

When the sages say that the world is perfect as it is, most people can’t understand.  When Krishna says that karma yoga produces no unwanted results you don’t connect what you’ve heard from Vedanta with your dissatisfaction with the state of Isvara’s play.  Everything that exists serves the Self in some way.  It has to be that way.  And it is the duty of an inquirer to discover the upside in the apparent downside and remain settled in wisdom, not to lecture others on their apparent shortcomings.  The only solution to the problems any generation faces is the Golden Rule, in so far as a solution is required.

Every generation thinks civilization is tottering on the brink of destruction and in a frenzy of masturbatory moral self-regard fancies itself as its savior.  But Isvara has it all under control. It knows what it is doing.  If the world needs to be “saved” it will be saved.  If not, not.  Wise people keep their heads down and cheerfully do the small duties they are assigned by the merciful creator.  They question why they question Isvara’s wisdom.  The most us small creatures can hope for is the grace to accept what is, not rail against it. 

I understand that mine is not the majority’s view, but this virus and the fear it engenders is perfect.  I welcome it.  I am dedicated to supplying the world with the only reasonable solution that works, based on Isvara’s words as enshrined in scripture.  In the fullness of time we will look back and laugh at our folly. 

I´m happy…like I always say, thanks to the teachings….cause this year has been a constant test, my do-gooder still there, trying to help people and all my samskaras bubbling up, trying to stay focused on the good ones…also, my mother’s death and family issues still feel heavy, but again, the teachings keep me on point and I accept and I stay grateful for everything…

Ramji:  Sorry it took so long to write but I’ve been very busy.  Everything is going very well.  I’ve been to America and am on my way back to Spain after a seminar in Berlin this weekend. 

It sounds like you are about ready to settle down.  Going back and forth from the US to India gets tiring after a while, but as you say, it’s not too bad.  Still, not too bad is still bad.   If you’re trying to stay focused on the good samskaras, it might be easier to see both good and bad samskaras as mithya and stay focused on “I am blissful existence shining as consciousness.” That ever-present “I” is samskara free.  Knowing yourself in this way neutralizes all the trying, the going back and forth between good and bad thoughts and feelings. 

Anyway, It is lovely to hear from you.  On your way pay us a visit.

Much love,

Ramji

RamjI:  I’m glad you put a question mark after “deflate a tad”  so I can indulge my guru vasana and pop the bubbles.    Here’s the issue.  The one who inflates and deflates isn’t you.  It has no neck and back.  The you bubble is inflated and deflated by Isvara.  The inflatable one sees the inflation as Isvara’s grace and the deflation as Isvara’s will but they are neither grace or will.  Inflation is.  Deflation is.  You are satya.  Therefore inflation and deflation are you, the common denominator, and thankfully you aren’t them.  

I love it when you indulge your guru vasana.  Got it! Thank you!

ABSOLUTELY.

I made a mistake understanding the location of objects teaching – the assimilation part. When I said I am not in the objects, they are in *me*, I kept on thinking that me is the mind (unconsciously). The problem with that is if the jiva’s mind goes – as it does with death – there will no longer be objects.  But as you said, the objects continue. The only way this is possible is if me is not the equipment, the body-mind-sense complex, but consciousness. Mithya, the objects we experience, is thoughts:—a separate mind is a thought, Isvara is a thought—in consciousness.

The thoughts are in me, consciousness, I am not in them. The logic is not complicated but living this way is something else. It can be tough to catch the reversal of identities (viparaya) brought about by Maya because the mind is so used to verifying truth with experience.  But that approach only works for the apparent (mithya) order of reality, the world of experiences i.e. thoughts. Thoughts can’t verify the thoughtless.

Ramji:  That’s right.  Thoughts about one’s self are there because we are born ignorant of our self, which are only useful…or not…in the apparent order of reality.  And they are hard-wired, which is to say that one is completely situated in them them for a long time, sometimes one’s whole life.  So it is not easy to identify with What one actually is.  It seems hollow and false to assert one’s identity.  So the only solution is to consistently discipline the mind to think from the non-dual platform, until it becomes second nature.

Much love,

Ramj