Ramji and I were talking about a statement Shankara made with reference to Vedanta and self-inquiry – basically, he said that it is all a setup. A way to fool the mind into doing something useful. That can be a confusing statement, looked at from the perspective of a genuine inquirer. It seems to trivialise the whole process of inquiry, which most of us know that if we are doing it right, is not easy. What did Shankara  mean, and if that is true, why bother? We might us well just go off and enjoy ourselves and forget about all the hard work! Well, firstly we know that we bother because the hypnosis of duality, ignorance of our true nature, causes suffering in the form of mental and emotional stress and anxiety. And this makes enjoying ourselves – having joy in ourselves – elusive at best and downright impossible at times.

It is suffering that drives the mind to seek solutions. There are not many available in mithya, the apparent reality. I have been having some wonderful discussions with a psychologist about what she calls the ‘psychology industry’, and it is mind-blowing what goes on there. Most people who seek therapy don’t want to be helped, they just want quick fixes.  And if the therapist dares suggest, even in the most indirect way, that they need to be objective about their own minds, he or she could land up in front of a disciplinary panel threatened with malpractice.  Maya is indeed a wonder. It’s no wonder we all must be so PC and ‘nice’ if we want to avoid blowback karma.

While I am all for being kind and considerate, someone once said that being nice is the last resort when all else has failed. And I believe that very often ‘niceness’ is a compensatory response when we are not willing to be authentic and honest.  It is often a cover for passive aggression, which is the other face of niceness. The fact is, self-inquiry takes guts and honesty to be ‘real’, which is not always nice.  This is why the qualifications for it are so important – more on this further on.

All the same, while therapy is in no way equal to inquiry, it has its place to prepare the mind for inquiry, providing some dispassion and the ability to be honest has developed. There are not many people who are qualified to make much progress even with that model. We are the lucky ones who have found Vedanta as we have in our hands the keys of the Kingdom – the only way out of the hypnosis of duality. Self-inquiry is no trivial matter.  It is hard, but it is a life saver. 

That said, what Shankara meant by his statement that it is all a setup is that you are, and have always been, free. You cannot gain moksa because moksa is your true nature.  And if you think that studying Vedanta is the way to go – you are simply adding a more refined ignorance to your ignorance. The truth is that the methodology of Vedanta as a means of knowledge to remove ignorance is just that – a means to an end.  It is not the end. But to ‘get there’, where you know that and live it, is the crux of the matter. So here we are, in satsang.

I asked you in my introduction to the Newsletter this week to share with us tonight what, if anything, prevents you from experiencing the bliss of Self-knowledge, consistently and naturally. Not when or if moksa obtains, sometime ‘in the future’. Right now. I spoke about how outer circumstances are ideally incidental to our wellbeing., and should not have the power to throw us off course.  But that is not always quite so simple, given the ever-changing nature of the field of life, the complexity of the body mind system, and the fact that everything we experience is just a thought in the mind.

Nothing we experience is ever truly due to an ‘outer’ circumstance but an inner subjective response to outer stimuli.  Many things can and do impact the body which challenge our peace of mind, and vice versa. How we see life is how we experience it. Our lives are nothing other than a field of experience that intersects with and is inseparable from, the field of life. There is always something going on in the field to torture or challenge us.  Life is relentless, Isvara never stops coming at us. How do we meet it so that we do not get thrown about? 

Take for instance, here in Spain, it’s such a beautiful place. A paradise, you could call it. But the scorching dry heat has arrived, without mercy.  With it came an invasion of nasty biting insects which drive us nuts on a daily basis. If that’s not enough, we have loads of lingering dense clouds of desert dust blown in from Africa that have settled in and seem to have no intention of leaving. The concoction of dust and pollen coats everything, stings our eyes and sinuses, irritates our lungs.  The locals call it a ‘Calima’, which sounds just like calamity…and it is. It feels like the hungry desert is coming for this place!

I am sure you are all similarly challenged by what life brings your way daily, aside from the usual slings and arrows of fickle fate. So, how well do you live with the daily pin pricks of life? If the scripture does not help you here, what use is it to you? That’s the million dollar question, isn’t it? Are you waiting for the time when you ‘get it’ to have a good life? That time will not come. It’s now or never. If you think you still need a lot of work and therefore cannot take a stand in Awareness as Awareness right now, forget it. You are not listening because there is nothing wrong with you. Take heed from Shankara’s statement. You are always the Self. Nondual vision, if it is firm, changes how and why we contact objects, which will not be for happiness. 

Similarly, Self-knowledge should remove most of our self-doubt, uncertainty and fear. This is huge. But though even a little Self-knowledge is enough to upgrade your personality, Self-realization is not going to change you much as a person. It doesn’t need to . Unless you are breaking dharma in some way, or need a lot of work on your qualifications. Which is why you cannot escape examining what’s in the driver’s seat of the unconscious – your likes and dislikes.  Nor will Self-realization instantly resolve the karma that made you seek freedom. You still have to cope with who you are as a created being, flaws and all, and whatever is in your prarabdha karma account will play out. No way to stop that, even though Vedanta offers the way to manage everything for peace of mind.

This is where the rubber hits the road. Are you, as a created person, still your main problem?  Does your confidence in Self-knowledge last as long as the satsang lasts on a Sunday, or at any other time your mind is exposed to the teachings, and then you go back being chained to the same problematic ego identity who is thrown about by life?

As a friend of mine who is going through some very difficult life karma recently said to me – you can’t outrun the jiva. She is correct. But Self-knowledge can negate its power to capsize your boat. When big or small mithya waves hit our lifeboat, it’s only Self-knowledge that can keep us on an even keel. There are therapies, practices and pills that mitigate and help. But they are all palliative. Meaning, they help with the symptoms but they do not root out the cause of all our malaise: lack of qualifications, doership, identification with the body/mind and what it experiences, insufficient understanding and non-surrender to Isvara. 

Thus, whether we stand firm in the knowledge that we are the Self or not, life inescapably involves mind management. As wonderful as hearing and contemplating the scriptures is, we always come back to the basics. Which requires understanding Isvara, and examining what stands in the way of us fully appreciating our true unborn ever free nature as the Self – in the day to day living of our lives. Moment by moment, thought by thought, right now.

If not now, when? You will never be any happier than you are right now. Do you know that, truly know it? There  will never be a better day than today to put Self-knowledge into practice. Self-knowledge is the lubricant that makes everything life brings to us move through us without resistance, with graceful ease. Nothing sticks to us. Is that true, for you, every day? If not, why not? This question is at the heart of nididhysana. You need to know the answer to it, and trust that the scripture has the solution. But there is still ‘ work to do’ if access to Self-knowledge comes and goes. Make sure that ‘work’ is not undertaken as a doer.

I am pretty sure that if I had to ask all of you, one by one, another simple question: do you or do you not know with certainty that your true identity is the Self, most of you would reply in the affirmative. Even though some of you may be tentative about doing so. Does anyone here not agree with this? You attend every Sunday satsang, and I am sure, are dedicated to your sadhana. Why? Isn’t it enough to know who you are and to put the nondual teachings into practice? What more can we as teachers give you? 

Assuming qualifications, if you stick to contemplating the scripture and living it, you will give your mind the most noble work possible. The nondual teachings of Vedanta give you all you need to live a stress free happy life. Not a perfect life, but a fail-proof one. Yes, that is true. A fail-proof life. As a person we remain flawed, with our God given nature, when moksa obtains. But we will not fail at anything when we know our true identity is the Self. And by not failing I don’t mean as a person we achieve perfection or will always get what we want. We won’t fail because we are what we want. Striving for perfection, gain or loss does not drive or define us anymore. We stand steadfast and unchanged through the storms and the calm of life. It’s all the same to the Self.

Nobody can help you to assimilate or to live the teachings, I am sure you all know this. On this score, it is up to each one of you how happy you want to be. I would wager that the reason most of you are here is not because you are unhappy or have doubts about your true identity, nor do you have a problem with the scripture, nor with dedication to your sadhana.  Maybe most of you who attend regularly don’t need teaching anymore, you just like to be part of the sangha, which is great. But If you still have trouble with applying the nondual teachings to your life at times, it is most likely because the tricky mind with its likes and dislikes blocks clear access to Self-knowledge and capsizes your life boat, dumping you in the ocean of samsara, and causing what feels like failure.

Maybe you know how to get back in the boat, but there is still an ego in the way preventing the full transference of your identity to the Self. Self-doubt and uncertainty still holds sway at times, causing confusion and agitation.  This is not a fault nor a flaw in you as a person or as an inquirer.  It is the way ignorance works on the mind, making it extremely difficult for Self-knowledge to obtain permanently and to be completely free of avidya, personal ignorance.

The Double Edged Sword of Certainty

Don’t feel bad about this as the other side of uncertainty is the sin of the complacency of certainty.  James spoke about this – how easy it is for the ego to co-opt the teachings and seemingly confer ‘specialness’ on the ego identity, which often unwittingly, causes spiritual pride.  It is hard to avoid and something we all fall into at some point, even if you are not inclined to pride and spiritual arrogance. I am not, yet in the past I have had to overcome the feeling of being different as a teacher of Vedanta. And you are. But only because Vedanta is flawless, not you. You are just a mouthpiece for Isvara.

I see this tendency to be complacent and the identification with certainty in other teachers and some inquirers.  A level of smugness sets in because Vedanta is the King of all teachings. There is nothing like it. But the problem is, if it is your ego that is certain and feels powerful, you have missed the mark, which is the true meaning of ‘sin’, or ‘failure’. Therefore, along with the supreme self-confidence that is the effect of Self-realization, what must be present for true liberation for teacher and student alike is genuine humility. And by that, I mean the kind of humility that surrenders everything to Isvara, without a shadow of a doubt. Such a mind claims nothing even though it knows it is everything.

Self-knowledge does not confer specialness. Being the Self is ordinary. And it does not confer omniscience, either. Though you know the essence of everything is you, there will always be something you don’t know as a jiva, even when you know for sure you are not one.  In mithya, nothing is certain. In fact, if you are certain about anything, you are probably wrong.  It has been said, and I agree with it, that the greatest sin in life is certainty, because when we are certain of anything, we cannot accept being wrong.  Pride and arrogance are at work (rajas and tamas) and have blinded us.

This is what all wars and all manner of human aggression and greed is based on since time immemorial. People who are certain they are right and will stop at nothing because they believe they have the right to impose their ideas on others. Mithya certainty cuts out discrimination and dispassion. It puts an end to accommodation, co-operation, and compassion. It is the ultimate pursuit of a point of view based completely on the idea of separation, fear and desire. Certainty is a sin in mithya because by its very nature, anything can be true or false, depending how you look at it. Nothing in mithya is real, so what do you base certainty on? 

Only Isvara is omniscient and knows all the factors in the field. We cannot have the mind of Isvara as a jiva, enlightened or not, and we don’t need to know everything, thank goodness! Imagine what hard work that would be. Isvara has our back. Yet, the irony is that if you look at mithya through the eyes of satya, there is only certainty.  It is true that nondual vision makes you clairvoyant because you see everything with crystal clarity. That is why, when Self-knowledge obtains and vanquishes all doubts about everything, particularly self-doubt, someone who is ignorant of the Self may mistake your self-confidence for arrogance. It looks like arrogance, but it is far from it.

There is nothing like the supreme confidence of nondual vision. It’s not black and white. It is colourless because the Self simply sees what is without adding to, subtracting from, or seeing separation in anything.  There is no longer a subject/object split because there is no longer avidya in your mind. Such a mind never confuses the subject with the object because the nondual mind knows that the world is there because I see it, not the other way around.  You have no problem with the world anymore. The deluding power of Maya, which reverses the truth duping you into believing you see the world because it is there, is no more. That is called moksa, freedom from the limiting power of Maya, duality.

Only Self-knowledge stands on its own and cannot be argued with.  When nondual vision is active in the mind, it is like a laser cutting straight to the truth.  If the mind finds an argument with what is, you can be sure that is the litmus test revealing that Maya and avidya are back again. Simple! You can track yourself on this and it will never fail to reveal where ignorance lies. Of course the ego does not like it to hear this, but what a relief it is when you know. Just leave it all up to Isvara and the scripture.  No need to carry anything. It puts an end to all arguments and the need to be right, permanently. It’s not that you can’t be right about anything in mithya, you just know it’s all relative, so what difference does it make? None. Who cares?

Ok, great news.  But you are here because nididhysana is still in play, and there is work to do on rendering binding likes and dislikes nonbinding. So let’s take a quick look at what that entails.

Qualifying the Mind: The Key to Non-Duality

In Brief the Values and Qualifications for Self-Inquiry

This may be old hat for many of you, but it is surprising how often a problem with values and qualifications keeps even advanced inquirers stuck. As you all probably know, the entry level qualification, even before any of the others, and that starts off the search for meaning for most people, is the realization has finally dawned on you that life is zero sum. You have come to understand that there is no point to chasing, and no joy in, objects. That nothing brings lasting happiness or satisfaction.  In fact, chasing objects (which is anything known to you), be they material, a relationship or an experience, is the path to dissatisfaction, keeping you stuck not wanting what you have and wanting what you don’t have. Binding likes and dislikes, doership. Zero karma yoga, lots of stress, zero true satisfaction.

Though this stage can be ‘the dark night of the soul’ for some doing battle with the habitual mental/emotional programs run by the demons of fear, self-doubt and lack, it is a good sign that you are ready to find answers to life’s most existential questions. However, as much as the ego will resist, there are several more essential values and qualifications required for inquiry into nondual wisdom, which if not present, must be understood and developed.

In Brief, the Main Values and Qualifications

1.) The deep value and desire for liberation – mumukshutva. Is it all-consuming, middling or piddling? If liberation is what you are truly after, it has to be all-consuming. No fine print. 

2.) Faith in the teachings, which requires the value of humility to surrender your own ideas, pending the outcome of your nondual investigation into the true nature of life.

3.) Nondual discrimination based on the identity between the changeless (Consciousness), and the changing (the person/world), which requires the value of freedom from bondage to the ego identity – i.e., all objects.

4.) Nondual dispassion or surrender of results, as well as likes and dislikes, which requires the value of surrendering doership for peace of mind above all else – i.e., karma yoga.

5.) Discipline, the value of committing to and sticking with your sadhana, and forbearance, enduring life’s ups and downs, managing likes and dislikes, which requires the value for accommodation to others and what life brings to you.

6.) Control of the senses and the organs of action, which are all primed by your likes and dislikes and the desire for reward, be it food, sex, sleep, entertainment or anything else. And also very importantly, control of speech.

7.) Good karma, or grace. This is earned, not a given.

You should all be very familiar with the qualifications required for self-inquiry.  If you are not, you need to be.  Copy the qualifications as set up by the scripture, or in James’ recent book, and track yourself on them.  It is almost guaranteed that wherever you consistently slip up, breaking dharma and not putting the teachings into practice, there will be a failure in values and/or qualifications that need work.  Or, it will be a weakness in the application of karma yoga. If it is, take a look at the entitlement behind unexamined and active likes and dislikes.  They are almost without fail the culprits behind residual doership and mental agitation.  

See where you fail to manage rajas and tamas to keep them in balance with sattva. Where you allow rajas to run away with the mind, tamas to dive deep into indulgence and denial, or sattva to confer spiritual pride. If none of those are the problem, how consistent are you with devotional practice?  If you are not, the childish ego is probably responsible. Maybe you think you are good with all of the above. But discipline is essential to gain control over the mind, which often operates independently from the conscious self, the doer-enjoyer entity. This is because most of our conscious volition is run by unconscious programs – i..e, the Causal or macrocosmic Unconscious.

As our most powerful tool, the mind influences every aspect of our lives. Conflict frequently arises between one’s ingrained habits (likes and dislikes) and one’s will, leading to inefficiency, uncertainty and mental emotional disturbance. Unwanted, involuntary thoughts can stealthily invade the mind, leading to distraction, agitation, and an inability to observe, listen, or act effectively. These thoughts can induce aggression, fear, regret, depression, and loneliness, confusing the doer-enjoyer, who may then erroneously blame itself. In addition, most of us have our own resident internal judge and jury in the form of the voices of diminishment, or aggrandizement. Inflation or deflation – the ego makes use of both to keep control.

Is stopping the mind the solution? Thoughts are running all the time, and they are not the actual problem, though the type of thoughts we allow to dominate the mind can be. When the mind is dominated by negative thoughts like complaints, comparison, bitterness, worry, hatred, or feelings of persecution, it cannot harness the benefits of Self-knowledge. The ancient yogic discipline of chitta vṛitti nirodha addresses this issue. While “nirodha” is often translated as “stopping thoughts,” in Vedanta, it refers to disciplining or directing thoughts rather than stopping them entirely. 

To value a controlled mind is to understand the way the mind thinks and to bring it in line with the way the Self would think if it was a person living in the apparent reality.  It means that although the mind is capricious I need not fulfil its fantasies, yield to its caprices, or give in to negativity.  It means that I am the boss, not the mind. But to get there, we need to understand the four different ways of thinking, three of which are necessary to understand and master if we want to prepare the mind for Self-knowledge. 

Four Types of Thinking:

1) Impulsive. Unexamined thoughts born of instincts dominate the mind.  I do what I feel without thinking about it. 

2) Mechanical.  Thoughts of which I am conscious but have no power to control because they are produced by binding vasanas.     

3) Deliberate.  Thoughts subjected to discrimination that are accepted or dismissed with reference to my value structure. 

4) Spontaneous.  Without evaluation my thinking automatically conforms to universal values and my actions are always appropriate and timely.  This kind of thinking only applies to those for whom Self-knowledge has destroyed binding vasanas and negated doership.   

The Role of Discipline in Vedanta

Vedanta as a means is ultimately a throw away, once it has done its job. But if you want to benefit from Vedanta, discipline is crucial to manage involuntary thoughts. There is no fast track or short cut to freedom. Forget about it. While involuntary thoughts will arise and we cannot stop them from doing so, they should only be allowed to continue with our conscious permission. You do not have to entertain any thought – you do can train your mind to say no. Many involuntary thoughts are benign, but many are not. And disturbing thoughts and emotions can and will hinder the assimilation of the nondual teachings. Without the discipline of focusing the mind and avoiding disturbing involuntary thoughts, Vedanta remains merely academic. 

Many seekers attempt to attain Self-knowledge without first mastering the mind, and even if they become enlightened, they might not fully benefit from their realization. Freedom is not that free. Thus, learning to manage involuntary thoughts is critical. Next time I teach on Zoom, I will address the major universal mental and emotional blocks and inherent biases that make up our seemingly unique personalities. 

Sundari

“The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of hell or a hell of heaven.”

The purpose of this article is to bring together all the tools I’ve found helpful and effective in dealing with and managing the vasanas; those binding thoughts, compulsions, emotions, behavioural patterns and belief systems that cause so much agitation to mind and body.

Vasanas can be ‘positive’ or ‘negative’ in nature; or it might be better to term them ‘healthy’ or ‘unhealthy’. Healthy vasanas are those habits and patterns of thought and behaviour that have a beneficial effect on the mind and body; which bring peace, harmony and balance. Examples might include a commitment to self-inquiry, study of the scriptures, meditation, yoga, good eating, the steady practice of karma yoga and the ability to question and reframe agitating thoughts. Unhealthy vasanas are those compulsions, addictions and self-destructive patterns of thought and behaviour that have a deleterious effect on the mind and body — of which there are too many to mention.

Mind management is an essential component of Vedanta because, as Krishna states in the Bhagavad Gita:

“Without a peaceful, stable mind, contemplation on the Self is impossible. When one lacks the ability to contemplate, there is no peace. Without peace, how can there be happiness?”

The mind is our primary instrument for transacting with the world. Just as a grime-covered miror cannot reflect the sunlight, a dull or agitated mind is an unfit receptacle for the liberating light of Self-knowledge. That’s why Vedanta repeatedly emphasises the necessity of a qualified mind. 

In order for Self-knowledge to equate to liberation, the student’s mind must be reasonably tranquil, discerning, dispassionate and free from the relentless storm and stress of excess desire, aversion and attachment. 

This is by no means an easy feat, particularly in these disturbed and disturbing times. It is, however, a necessary one, and the results bring their own reward. Even without Vedanta, if you learn to manage your mind and deal with the psyche’s binding vasanas and samskaras, you’ll find enjoy a far simpler, smoother and happier in life, in spite of the challenges that inevitably arise in day to day living.

Be warned: it will take considerable work! 

It’s no coincidence the Bhagavad Gita is set on a battlefield. The battlefield represents the human mind and it’s a war against ignorance. This war will not be won in a single battle, that you can be sure. Ignorance is both hard-wired and highly resistant to change. 

So, please, go easy on yourself. As with anything in life, it takes as long as it takes to free the mind of its binding attachments, desires and addictions. Some people may need the support of a qualified psychotherapist to work through unresolved traumas. 

I particularly recommend Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). I only know the basics admittedly, but it’s perhaps the only mainstream therapeutic approach I’m aware of that doesn’t take the ego to be the real self. In fact, ACT objectifies the ego and talks of the self actually being awareness, or the observer self. It combines mindfulness with CBT tools and emphasises the importance of acting in accord with our true values. 

It’s worth noting that Vedanta is not therapy. It is a means of Self-knowledge, designed for people who have already worked through most of their psychological issues and traumas. It’s very likely that most students will still have a fair bit of ‘stuff’ to work through, however, and it is for that reason, the teaching offers certain tools and techniques to help purify the mind.

Bear in mind that some vasanas and samskaras are easier to shift than others. According to the Gita, some can be removed as easily as wiping the dirt of a mirror. Others, however, tend to linger like smoke from a fire, which may take some time to disperse. Unfortunately, some are likened to a foetus in the womb; in other words, they must be carried to term and are going to be there for a set duration.

The 3 Foundational Yogas

1. Dharma Yoga

First of all, an understanding and commitment to dharma is an essential prerequisite. While Vedic society placed dharma at its very foundation, the same cannot be said of our modern society. This is in spite of the fact that dharma is universal and built into the tapestry of life itself.

Dharma can be understood in three broad categories. 

Universal dharma is constant and unchanging throughout time and location and applies equally to all beings. Non-injury is the highest universal dharma. No living being, from the grandest of men to the smallest of ants or amoebas, wants to be hurt. Because we don’t want or expect others to harm us, we know that it’s wrong to harm others. Other universal dharmas based upon mutual expectation include truthfulness, non-theft, straightforwardness and purity or cleanliness.

Situational dharma varies depending on time, place and context. Whereas taking a knife to someone’s throat is usually an act of adharma and punishable by imprisonment, a surgeon will take a knife to people in order to help or save them, and is thus following dharma. It’s up to the individual to use discernment to follow the various situational dharmas that life presents. We all have different duties at different times according to our many roles as child and parent, student and teacher, employee and employer, and so on.

Finally, all beings have a personal dharma specific to them. This ‘svadharma’ is determined by our inherent narure, which itself is a product of the gunas and our personal karma. It’s imperative that we act in accordance with this svadharma and follow our nature while observing both situational and universal dharma. We each have a certain role to play in life, a purpose not of our own choosing, but factored into Isvara’s design. 

The Vedic varna system highlights four broad categories of person according to temperament: spiritual seekers and teachers and anyone involved in the propagation of knowledge and education, administrators, leaders and law enforcers, businesspeople and those with skills in commerce, and those skilled in service. We’re all naturally suited to a particular role, and each role should be seen as an equal and necessary contribution to the society.

Above all else else, an unwavering commitment to dharma in all aspects is fundamental to cultivating a pure, peaceful and qualified mind. Even the smallest infractions of dharma create ripples of stress in the mind and invariably come with adverse karmic consequences. The first step to qualifying the mind is, therefore, to be a dharmi.

2. Karma Yoga

The Gita spends a great amount of time unfolding karma yoga as a means of purifying the mind. Traditionally, only sannyasis (ascetics) who renounced worldly life altogether were seen as suitable candidates for Vedanta, the path of knowledge and liberation. Krishna makes it clear, however, that while sannyasis are able to take the shorter path (after all, lack of worldly karma automatically removes an enormous amount of stress from the mind), those with an active life of worldly karma are still capable of attaining enlightenment as long as they prepare the mind by converting all karma, all action, to karma yoga.

Practising karma yoga means performing all actions as an offering to Isvara, or God/the Divine. Our actions are therefore not undertaken simply to satisfy our personal desires and aversions, but are sanctified as worship in midst of daily living. Our every action, whether grand or trivial, becomes a way of paying the rent to Isvara; our way of expressing gratitude for all the many blessings we have been given in life (including the blessing of simply having a human birth!).

Because these actions are given to Isvara, the results of those actions belong to Isvara as well. It’s Isvara that determines and dispenses the results of all our actions. The only appropriate response is to accept those results as prasada; as a blessing from the Lord. Whether we get the results we intended or something else entirely, our mind is freed of great stress, because we respond to situations with objectivity and evenness of mind.

Over time, the practise of karma yoga—converting daily action into worship and accepting the results with good grace—neutralises the mind’s binding desires and aversions. We move from a strictly subjective, ego-driven relationship with life, to a more mature, objective viewpoint. We naturally begin to cultivate discrimination and dispassion, two of the primary qualifications outlined by the scriptures.

For seekers with any worldly karma at all—which, let’s face it, is almost everyone—karma yoga is non-negotiable. Without it, you find your mind swept hither and yon by various internal obstacles (your own binding desires and attachments) as well as external factors (situations, other people, and the various hardships and stresses of life). Karma yoga is necessary to help manage the mind and gradually convert all personal desires to the desire for moksa alone.

3. Upasana Yoga

Upasana yoga means meditation upon Isvara. This ties in with what is commonly known as bhakti yoga. With dharma as the foundation, the practise of karma yoga will eventually lead to upasana yoga. As the mind becomes more discriminating and dispassionate, it becomes clear that what we really want cannot be found in the world of objects, but is in fact the very source and essence of the objects themselves: God! 

Vedanta reveals that our understanding of God, or Isvara, is three-fold and depends upon the seeker’s level of understanding. Because it’s extremely difficult to conceptualise Isvara as the formless, all-pervading intelligence that shapes the Creation, or even as the very substance of the Creation itself, for many it is helpful to visualise the Lord as a particular form. Hence, worship of Isvara usually begins as worship of a personal deity. There are countless to choose from! It’s best to worship a form of Isvara to which you feel particularly drawn. You might want to create a daily puja ritual, offering your chosen deity water, a flower, and perhaps fruit or yoghurt. You can chant mantras, which is an excellent purifier for the mind (the very word ‘mantra’ means ‘mind protector’). The purpose of such worship is to purify the mind and begin to create a calm, contemplative and devotional disposition.

The next highest understanding of Isvara is as vishva-rupa, or the cosmic form. You expand your understanding of Isvara to encompass everything in the Creation: every being, every form, every flower and blade of grass. The entire world becomes the altar of your worship!

The final and highest understanding of Isvara is as the very intelligence and source of all being. For that, we have the three stages of Vedanta: sravana (listening), manana (reasoning) and nididhyasana (integrating the teaching). As Krishna states in the Gita, the highest devotion is to realise your non-difference from Him.

Upasana yoga is particularly helpful when dealing with difficult vasanas and samskaras. You realise that, as a jiva, you are reliant upon Isvara for everything, much as a baby is completely dependent upon its mother. You allow Isvara to shoulder your burden and you draw upon Isvara’s strength (which is, of course, infinite). That’s the reason programs like Alcoholics Anonymous programs work; by acknowledging that the jiva itself is helpless and instead relying upon a higher power, from which we are actually non-separate.

Satya/Mithya Discrimination

The key to freedom is the knowledge that all the jiva’s ‘stuff’— both the good and the bad — actually belongs to Isvara.

You are the Self, satya, and all objects appearing within you — whether the gross objects of the world or the subtle objects of your mind and psyche — are mithya. 

The ability to objectively discriminate between satya and mithya automatically robs the vasanas of the stamp of ‘my-ness’ given to them by the ego. They aren’t you, and they don’t belong to you. They never did and never will. 

As beautifully symbolised by Nataraja, the dancing Shiva, Isvara is doing all the doing here; from the lofty feat of keeping the stars shining and the planets spinning in orbit, to the smaller scale operations such as keeping your heart beating, your hair and fingernails growing, and generating the thoughts in your mind. All of that is mithya and mithya is taken care of by Isvara. You are satya; the Existence/Consciousness/Being from which all objects seemingly arise and into which they again dissolve.

Always remember that any thought, feeling, belief or compulsion is an object known to you. Because it is objectifiable and known to you, it cannot BE you. It only has the power to disturb you when you identify with it; when you think it is YOU. It isn’t. It’s a subtle object produced by ignorance; by non-apprehension of your true nature. All that happened was you superimposed satya on mithya; you saw a snake when actually there was only a rope. There never was a snake. The snake was mithya; it appeared to be there, but it was only a misapprehension.

Negating the vasanas as mithya might sound like spiritual bypassing to some, but it is actually spiritual contextualisation. You aren’t denying these issues or pretending they’re are not there. You’re just robbing them of the sense self-identification, which was actually the real cause of your suffering. Instead of seeing subjectively, you view them with objectivity, and are then able to deal with them in the appropriate way. By knowing them as just objects appearing in awareness, you shrink them down to managable proportions.

Journalling

I’m a huge believer in the power of journalling. It got me through some very tough times. It’s actually a very simple process. You get a notepad and pen and just spill onto the page whatever thoughts and emotions might be troubling you. You give yourself free reign to rant and rave, or to simply write whatever comes to mind. It’s best to do this in a stream of consciousness fashion. You don’t have to worry about spelling or grammar, or even necessarily having it make coherent sense. You just spill the contents of your mind onto paper. (Make sure you keep it private and don’t let anyone else read it afterward.)

I learned this technique many years ago reading a book called ‘The Artist’s Way’ by Julia Cameron. She called them ‘morning pages’. Every morning, you sit and write three pages on any subject, and you do this whether you want to or not, come hell or high water. This serves as a kind of ‘brain drain’. It relieves the internal pressure of unassimilated thoughts, events, judgements, fears, desires, and so on. It gets things onto the page, enabling you to see what’s really going on in your mind.

It also helps you process things and find solutions. Very often you’ll find the intellect stepping in and helping you to make sense of things, interpret things in a clearer light, and find constructive ways to deal with particular issues. 

I recommend this any time you’re feeling stressed or going through a particularly challenging time. It’s a potent form of therapy in itself, I assure you.

Journalling is also an excellent form of nididhyasana. As you work with Vedanta, it’s helpful to keep taking notes and to write the teaching out in your own words. This helps you go through the teaching again and again, allowing it to gradually soak in and permeate every level of the mind. I spent years doing this and found it an invaluable sadhana.

Self-Inquiry and the Pratipaksha Bhavana Technique

This is a step by step technique for getting to the root of whatever thought patterns, belief systems and values lie at the root of a particular vasana or samskara. It incorporates elements of Byron Katie’s Work, which itself is a combination of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and the Vedantic technique Pratipaksha Bhavana (applying the opposite thought). In my experience, this is best done in writing. So grab a notepad or journal and take some time to answer each question honestly and openly.

1. First of all, identify the thought behind the vasana.

Try to put it into words as a short, simple statement. For example, relationship issues might come down to the thought, “I need ____ to appreciate me.” Sometimes it helps to keep asking, “Why is this important?” “Why do I want this?” or “Why is this a problem?” You’ll be surprised how often it comes down to the thought “I’m not good enough”.

2. Identify the guna underpinning this issue.

Although sattva can cause some issues, such as attachment to pleasure and somtimes a sense of superiority, it’ll most often be the terrible twosome, rajas and tamas, at the heart of it. Rajas is responsible for the more extroverting and agitating issues; such as desire, anger, greed and covetousness, whereas tamas is more introverting, deadening and depressive, and is often associated with shame, fear, low self-esteem, etc.

3. See if you can identify the value underlying the thought.

The value at play might be a desire to be loved, or to be safe or recognised. It might be a value for status, money, or self-acceptance. Inquire into this value: is this a value that feels authentically true to who you are, or is it a value that’s been instilled into you by the society? (See below for more on values.)

4. Now, take a look at that thought, and ask yourself: is this thought really true?

In order to be true it must be absolutely true beyond any shadow of a doubt. The mind naturally invests our thoughts with truth and legitimacy, when in fact a thought is nothing but a thought; an interpretation; a mentally-fabricated story that may have elements of objective truth, but which is invariably clouded by subjectivity and all kinds of cognitive distortion.

5. Ask yourself: What is the price I pay by continuing to believe this thought?

What is the cost of keeping this thought, this vasana alive? How does it affect you physically, emotionally, psychologically, spirituality, and in terms of your loved ones, family, job, even leisure time? Explore it detail how it negatively impacts you. Shine the uncompromising light of objectivity and see how your mind begins to lessen attachment to this pattern.

6. How would things be different if you let go of this thought/pattern/attachment/vasana?

As above, explore in detail how every aspect of your life and your body and mind would benefit if you no longer had that thought? By now, you’ve hopefully convinced the mind of the pain associated with this pattern, the need to change it and the clear benefit of doing so.

7. Assume the perspective of the Self; the boundless awareness that you are, and in which this thought or pattern appears. As the Self, how do you view this thought, belief or pattern?

7. Apply the opposite thought.

If your thought was one of lack, adopt a thought of abundance. If it related to the need for a relationship, or a certain object, affirm that you are already whole and complete without that. Turn that original thought of pain and limitation into a thought of peace, happiness and limitlessness better reflecting your true nature as the Self. You are replacing a thought of ignorance with a thought of Truth.

8. Find evidence to support the new thought.

The mind, accustomed to the habitual as it is, may take some convincing of this new thought. You may need to keep applying this thought to the mind each time the original thought seeks to reassert itself. This takes vigilance and persistance. It helps to actively look for evidence to support the new thought. Write down three to five pieces of evidence which prove this new thought is as true or truer than the original limiting thought.

This is a great practice… and it really works. At first it may require consistent work. Eventually you’ll find it becomes automatic and habitual as your vasana for inquiry grows. You then no longer automatically believe every thought that passes across your mental landscape, and instead have the ability to look at mental content with objectivity and greater discernment and dispassion.

Dissolving Emotional Blocks

Whereas the previous technique dealt with things at the mental level, this next technique is one of the most powerful tools I ever found for dealing with the emotional level. It’s based on an ancient Taoist technique which I call ‘dissolving’ meditation.

Part of the mind’s job is to doubt and emote. The mind endeavours to make sense of the sensory data relayed by the perceptive sense organs. Emotions are then generated as signals motivating us to act; to advance or retreat, to engage or withdraw.

Neuroscientists have shown that emotions actually have a very short lifespan. The emotion is triggered by the release of certain chemicals which apparently flush through our entire system in the span of a mere 90 seconds! The problem is the mind tends to keep focusing on the thoughts or stimulus behind the emotion, thus continually triggering the emotional response. That’s why the above technique is helpful for getting to the root of those thoughts and breaking the cycle of emotional reactivity.

Some emotions are easier to deal with than others, however. Sometimes when we fail to assimilate our experience, we can be left with unprocessed emotions which we experience as a contraction in our body. Our prana/energy stops flowing as easily and, like water collecting into a puddle or pond, becomes stagnant. This emotional contraction can often be very painful.

The Taoist dissolving technique is extremely simple. If you find yourself dealing with difficult or unprocessed emotion, you simply take some time out and isolate where you’re feeling this sensation in the body. It might be in your chest, abdomen, the pit of your belly, or your throat or head. 

The key is to assume the role of objective witness, and simply bring your attention to this pain or discomfort. Be curious and open; don’t resist it, but don’t get lost in mental stories about it. Simply be willing to feel it. Get a sense for its vibration and quality. Sometimes it’s helpful to give it a label, but you do so objectively and dispassionately, as though you’re a scientist studying some fascinating phenomena. So you might say, “Here is a feeling of sadness/hurt/anger etc.”

All you need to do is spend some time directing your conscious attention to this emotion. Although it may be painful, you simply hold it in your awareness, without any sense of resistance and without trying to change it. As you keep holding it in your focused awareness, you’ll find it naturally begins to uncontract and relax. 

The Taoist metaphor is that blocked emotion/energy is experienced as ice; hard and unyielding. As you spend time holding it in your attention with laser-like focus, you’ll experience this ‘ice’ gradually melting into water. It’ll start to flow more freely and you’ll feel a great sense of release as it does so. The key is then to keep your attention upon it until this ‘water’ eventually evaporates into thin air. The sense of release will feel extraordinary, particularly if you’ve been carrying this unprocessed emotion for a while.

This simple technique is the essence of simplicity and it works every time. Some emotions are easy to dissolve; just a little focused attention and they quickly disperse. Others take longer and may require repeated sessions. As with all these tools, persistence is key.

Be the Witness

Mindfulness is all the rage these days and with good reason. The term originates in Buddhism, and the key to mindfulness is being an impartial witness to your experience; your thoughts, emotions and bodily sensations. By impartially witnessing these gross and subtle phenomena, they cease to pull you into identification with them, which is the source of all misery.

Vedanta’s equivalent of mindfulness is called sakshi bhava, which means ‘being the witness’ — which is, of course, what we are all along! To practice sakshi bhava is to practice Self-knowledge; to take a stand as awareness and know that all objects, whether gross or subtle, are appearances in you and cannot therefore be you. You, the Self, are sakshi, the witness.

The more you simply witness the arising of all the mind’s various thoughts and emotions, the greater power you have over them. The key is to divest them of all subjectivity and to remain objective and impartial; to always see the body and mind and all its sorrows as objects arising in you—you being the all-pervading and transcendent awareness that is ever untouched by them.

This will give you greater insight into the workings of the mind. You’ll witness with greater clarity and objectivity the patterns of thought and behaviour that arise and be better equipped to deal with whatever thoughts and behaviours cause agitation and suffering.

Practice Objectivity

This leads to our next practice—objectivity. 

The Self is entirely objective. Just as the sun shines upon all beings, saints and sinners alike, the Self is that which allows the entire universe to be, lending its existence and sentience to every aspect of the creation without a hint of favouritism. It’s the jiva, with its assorted likes and dislikes, desires and aversions, that superimposes a veil of subjectivity upon the world of objects. 

Objects themselves are value neutral. They possess only the value we ascribe to them, and that value is entirely determined by our likes and dislikes. In the Gita, Krishna prescribes objectivity as one of the keys to managing the mind. Objectivity means to strip an object of whatever value we have superimposed upon it and see it as it is—in other words, to reduce the object to its own status; neither fully good nor fully bad.

This is a particularly helpful practice when dealing with objects of desire or attachment. We desire the object, or are excessively attached to it, because we’ve been investing it with a certain mind-created value. 

One of the keys to breaking free of binding desire and attachment is to continuously contemplate the down side of that object. Our tendency to only see the upside, much of which is largely a projection of the mind, is what generated the desire and attachment in the first place. To consciously reflect upon that object’s inevitable downside helps create a more balanced and objective vision.

Manage Those Gunas!

Much has been said about the importance of managing the gunas. In fact, it’s so important I should probably have listed this alongside the three foundational yogas. Everything in the material creation is conditioned and determined by the interplay of these qualities. Therefore, the ability to understand and master the gunas is essential to a healthy and happy life. 

The latter chapters of the Bhagavad Gita explore the gunas in detail and how they relate to different aspects of life. I also strongly recommend James Swartz’s “The Yoga of the Three Energies” book which is an excellent manual for managing these qualities. 

I’m not going to go into great detail here. Suffice to say, as I wrote in my Bhagavad Gita commentary, rajas is your ticket to passion and pain, tamas is your ticket to ignorance and indolence, and sattva is your ticket to freedom. 

It’s essential that we learn to burn off excess tamas by cultivating the appropriate amount of rajas. People prone to depression and inertia benefit from going to the gym or any other form of work-out. When tamas rears its ugly, apathetic head, it’s helpful to stir up a little desire and set some positive goals that are in line with your dharma. These should, of course, be done as karma yoga.

Rajas can be managed by cultivating as a sattvic a mind as possible. All the tools above will help with this, including karma yoga, dharma yoga, upasana yoga, meditation and so on. 

The entire purpose of spiritual practice is managing rajas and tamas and generating a pure and sattvic mind. When the mind is sattvic, we see clearly and have the ability to exercise proper discrimination and make sound choices in line with our highest values and true priorities. 

A sattvic mind is also a happy mind! Rajas and tamas make happiness impossible because both create so much pain and sorrow. If a person does nothing more than cultivate a predominantly sattvic mind, they’ll live a largely happy and satisfying life.

Do a Values Inventory

Although this is last on the list, if anything it should be near the top because the value of values should never be underestimated—and yet frequently is.

Until you have a healthy and dharmic value system your life won’t and can’t work particularly well. Indeed, you’ll find yourself beset by constant conflict and confusion.

Most of our values are instilled into us at a very young age. We don’t choose such values; they’re chosen for us. Some of those values will inevitably be false or harmful ones and that’s why there’s so much suffering in our supposedly ‘developed’ world. Why else would otherwise intelligent people base their level of self-worth on their bank balance or marital status, or worse, something ridiculous such as how many ‘friends’ they have on Facebook or the number of ‘likes’ they get for their latest Instagram post.

Even though we know such things don’t really matter, many people still have a value for them—and that includes spiritual seekers, believe it or not. This comes down to what we call ‘partially assimilated values’, which is when we have a value for something, but it may not be a fully assimilated value, or it may contradict another value we hold. This always results in inner conflict and confusion with regard to our actions. 

Often spiritual people have a partially assimilated value for moksa or enlightenment but also a value for seeking happiness in worldly objects. Which of the two will win out? Whichever value is strongest. Given that our value for materialism has been programmed into us from almost the moment we first developed language and cognition, smart money is on that.

Our values shape our priorities and our priorities then determine our actions and behaviour, which in turn become the building blocks of our entire life. That’s why it’s essential that we do a value inventory—particularly if you happen to be plagued by troublesome vasanas. Very often a conflict of values lies at the root of it.

It’s vital that we have clear set of healthy values that are in harmony with who we are.

So I suggest getting out the journal and taking some time to figure out what’s really important to you and what you truly value in the depths of your heart. 

The alternative is blindly and unconsciously trying to live up to the materialistic and worldly values conditioned into you by family, peers and media. So much of people’s suffering comes from self-judgement and self-condemnation for not living up to their values—which aren’t in fact ‘their’ values at all, but are simply the values they’ve unconsciously inherited from almost the moment they developed language skills. 

Chapter seventeen of the Gita provides a wonderful checklist of values for the seeker of liberation. I recommend referring to that and allowing the scriptures to inform your value system rather than the adharma of our consumer-crazed culture. 

Don’t be like the ignorant masses and live only to consume. Be a contributor! Make it your highest value to give at least as much as you take from life. Follow dharma impeccably and commit to polishing the mirror of your mind, to not only make it a fit receptacle for the liberating light of Self-knowledge, but to make it shine; to be as true an embodiment of who you really are as you possibly can. The world needs that. The world needs you.

Sundari: Yesterday we started a new format of online satsangs to facilitate and elucidate the all important part of self-inquiry relating to the negation of the personal identity and in upgrading its life story. As John pointed out, this is usually inextricably linked to some problem on the inquirers part regarding qualifications, and the lack thereof is usually related to a psychological issue. As he correctly said, sometimes we are so focused on moksa that we forget that something in the foundational requirements for it is lacking.

And as James and I have always emphasized, this will hold us back and halt our progress.  It often leads to the frustrating experience of falling short of the mark – the on again off again experience of freedom. No matter that we as the Self are always free, we are the mark, and self-inquiry is not a journey. We are the destination. But assimilating and living that is not easy or simple for most people. It is all very well to understand the scripture intellectually, and quite another being a living embodied of it.

Our aim with the inclusion of an extra online teaching that focuses on psychological issues does not mean that our  psychological problems, which are duality, are more important than nonduality, our true nature.  But they are what stand in the way of full appreciation of this fact. Most of you who attend our satsangs are seasoned and dedicated inquirers, and I doubt that many of you have actual ‘mental health’ issues. By very definition, an inquirer who is a genuine Vedanta student has a handle on their mind, if not entirely, at least in  the ability to be objective about it.  If that is not the case, you would not be interested in nonduality and not qualified for it. That does not mean though that there may not be deep seated and lingering samskaras, or psychological traumas, that are still binding, holding you back.

We all want more sattva and are all dedicated to moksa because we are after peace of mind in this life, while we appear ‘here’ in a body.  As the Self, we do not need peace of mind because we have no body and no life. We are what makes  life possible, though we are not in it. That is the hard part of the teaching – understanding the both/and of nonduality.  So, to maximise sattva to achieve the illusive peace of mind, or as Vedanta describes moksa – permanent unalterable and unshakeable satisfaction – is what we all aim for.

Unfortunately, because of the subtlety and the counter-intuitiveness of the teachings., the ever-persistent and resistant personal identity does not give up easily. Thus, many sincere inquirers do not realize that they are only ‘enlightened’  as an ego.  This is not the kiss of death because even this is an improvement in quality of life if karma yoga and guna yoga are applied to it. But it is not moksa. For this, if moksa is what we are truly after, there is no avoiding doing the trench work of inquiry – which is developing all the values, qualifications, and rendering binding vasanas nonbinding. This is where all the ‘work’ of inquiry takes place.

 In yesterday’s talk, Anthony made a very good point in emphasizing the importance of humility in managing the insecure little ego who is so inclined to either deny the possibility of its true greatness as the Self, or the opposite – co-opt it in dualistic self-aggrandizement. The ‘golden cage’ of sattva can imprison us either way, and is very common in the spiritual world populated with egos either stifled by low self-esteem or inflated by self-importance.

Humility is a vital component of the most important qualification for inquiry to work, which is faith in the impersonal, nondual teachings of Vedanta. But if humility is false humility, it will become a stumbling block. The truth is that we are all the Self. The central message of the great tradition of Vedanta, the sampradaya, offers us is this truth – you are never not the Self.  That is the sole take-away, and all the scripture associated with it is simply a means to an end to remove the veil of ignorance, Maya, covering the mind obscuring the truth about our true identity.

In fact, perhaps our greater challenge is accepting this fact, and understanding what it actually means for us as individuals living in this world. All of our problems in assimilating and actualizing this truth is therefore, related to our personal identity. Developing all the qualifications, and aiming for sattva is the most important things  we all need to work on, some of us more than others. We will definitely be getting ‘knocked on the head’ until we understand our psychology, and learn to manage the gunas, particularly rajas and tamas.

All three gunas, sattva, rajas and tamas are always present because they give rise to everything in creation. But they are also always changing and manifest in the mind in ever-changing proportions. Sattva, which is the energy of intelligence, clarity, peace of mind, is actually the nature of the mind; we cannot cultivate ‘more’ sattva, only manage the relative proportions of rajas and tamas. Rajas is the energy that scatters the mind making discrimination very difficult, if not impossible.  Tamas, the energy of dullness clouds the mind. Rajas is a fire that burns brightly, and tends to be the most obvious because it is the energy of action, desire, and passion.  Too much tamas is perhaps less obvious and more insidious, but just as damaging. There is nothing wrong with rajas or tamas, we need both to function.  But if either dominates the mind, sattva is covered up, and you have problems.

All three gunas are objects known to you, the Self. They have no more reality than any other object. But to have a good life, we need to understand these three energies and manage them. To begin with, this takes discipline and a lot of determination – there is no fast track to psychological objectivity or moksa. Too much rajas fragments the mind and not only turns it outwards, it always results in too much tamas. These two troublemakers are joined at the hip, so to speak. What to do about them? Well, obviously, knowledge of them and how they work to generate the typical thoughts and actions associated with them, is the place to start.

Sattva is the subtlest manifestation of sat, the mode of knowledge and bliss. It is the guna springboard both for a happy, healthy, life—and, for moksa, freedom from and for the limited, small self. What we are after is sattva that is a predominant ‘state’ of mind, produced only by Self-knowledge. However, it is not possible to have 100 % sattva. Firstly, because rajas and tamas supplant sattva as the gunas cycle constantly through the mind.  Secondly, while we can cultivate sattva and manage rajas and tamas, we are not in control of the gunas. The Field of life is, meaning, Isvara.

Luckily for us though, armed with Self-knowledge and lots of determination to end suffering, we can make the changes necessary for a happy, healthy life and the permanent feeling of peace and satisfaction, even when life dishes up lemons. When we are satisfied, the mind sits still without any effort on our part.  Such a mind is incalculably valuable because it reveals that the reflection of the Self in the mind is actually our non-dual nature – we identify with the one casting the reflection, not the reflection. This allows us to evaluate objects (all experience – thoughts, feelings and the external things that happen to us) as they are (guna-generated – apparently real), instead of how rajas projects and tamas denies them.

When rajas and tamas are generating our interpretation of what’s showing up in the mind and in our lives, they distort everything, and we will suffer. We all need our eyesight rectified to become guna literate. Vedanta provides us with the means to do that – triguna vibhava yoga. It’s like getting the best eye-glasses possible, giving us ‘clairvoyance’ – clear vision. The ability to respond appropriately, and dharmically.

If all we want is to feel good we need not seek enlightenment, but we do need to cultivate sattva.  If our main aim is moksa, we will not have peace of mind unless our life reflects knowledge-based truth as well. Only with applied Self-knowledge can we be objective and work with our stuff creatively to remove obstacles to happiness as they arise.  The main obstacles to our happiness are always subjective – connected to the jiva’s values, conditioning and its unresolved emotional/mental issues. 

Moksa is not about being a perfect person, just a sane happy and peaceful one. We all have a certain guna profile which will determine the jiva personality. There is not much we can do to change our inborn jiva nature, other than to see it for what it is., and love it as it is. There is nothing wrong with us, only with who we think we are. Unless we are born sattvic sages, we will have either rajas or tamas dominating sattva. So, how do we cultivate sattva, so as to manage rajas and tamas? The place to start is with a fearless moral inventory.  What values inform our lives? If our values are not in keeping with Vedanta, we will not have peace of mind. Rory posted a satsang not long ago on the importance of a values based life, and he gives the 20 essential values from the Bhagavad Gita that must be part of everyone’s checklist. Read this list, print it and put it up somewhere you see if often. I have posted this separately online.

If our values are not what they need to be, we will not connect our actions with results – which is where most of our problems arise.. Ask yourself, what keeps showing up in your life? Though most of our troubles are repetitive, the patterns are not always easy for us to see because results have observable and unobservable effects.  It is easier to observe results that take place immediately. But what about the unseen unconscious patterns of suffering in our lives driving all our unpleasant karma? These will all be connected to what values inform our binding vasanas, and originate from deep seated issues we are usually most resistant to and simply do not want to deal with.

If you truly want to have an enlightened, healthy, and happy lifestyle, discrimination is very simple. 

1. Make sure your values are in line with dharma

2. Connect actions with values – and with results. We need to take stock, drop all self-insulting and  adharmic activities, and replacing them with activities that uplift and harmonize the mind.  It is not easy because the ego uses its habits in an attempt to manage rajas and tamas. But if they are unhealthy habits, this never works.  Taking away the habit exposes the ego to an energy that is trying to eliminate it—to which it does not take kindly.  It will kick, scream, and fight the new intentions tooth and nail. We only need to look at failed ‘new’ year intentions to see proof of this. Beating yourself up for failing is a waste of time. But if we steadfastly refuse to clean up our act, we only have ourselves to blame.

If something agitates or dulls the mind, you must renounce it. You cannot just keep doing what you are doing and somehow expect your mind to become pure or your life magically to change.  Without a pure mind, the truth will not incarnate in you, and without a pure mind, your life will be a mess. 

Because of our past conditioning, the ego is extremely attached to things that are not good for it. Just observe the mind and the conversation that takes place in it when you try to clean up your act. It is predictable because rajas and tamas are totally predictable. If you know very well what is not good for you and you go ahead doing it, you deserve to suffer because you are going against dharma.  As we all know, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing repeatedly expecting a different result. This is how the Field teaches us.  If you are going to grow, you must face the music and ‘bite the bullet’. As James always says, ‘man up and pack it in!’ So, take stock of the patterns in your life, and what you need to do to change them.

3. Most importantly, we must take responsibility for ‘our’ projections and denials even though ultimately, they do not belong to us.  When we fully take stock the mind is resolved. Responding to life according to dharma is then natural and effortless. It does not require nail-biting, mind-bending self-discipline. You are a disciple unto the Self because you have broken the back of the binding vasanas. They become like burned ropes with no power to bind.

Practices such as yoga, meditation, and ‘sitting in the silence’, while they are not a replacement for self-inquiry, can help us to ‘slow down’. They are aids in managing the habitual thoughts/emotions that dominate the mind from our conditioning. But only when Self-knowledge is firm and my mind is pure can I process experience as it happens—in ‘real’ time, as the saying goes.  Things come up and I respond appropriately, without any ‘karmic drag’. 

I am Dharma with a big “D’, effortlessly. I see the big picture, both from the perspective of the Self and the jiva and I lay my everyday happenings to rest. If ‘old stuff’ comes up, I offer into the fire of Self-knowledge. Karma yoga is no longer something I need to remind myself to do – it’s automatic knowledge. The karma that the jiva usually generates because of unconscious rajasic/tamasic conditioning is now like a little dog on a very short leash, sitting at your feet, unable to run away, bite or cause mischief. You can pat it on the head, give it a cookie now and then. Good little dog.

There is no other easy route to manage rajas or tamas. We can start on the ‘outside’ by cleaning up self-insulting activities, engaging in yoga or meditation to help the mind slow down. But trying to ‘slow down’ without first dealing with what is lacking in our values and with the habitual pattern behind the rajasic tendency will not work for long. It’s just a temporary bandage. Ultimately, freedom from the gunas requires that we face up to the habitual and usually deeply buried parts of the psyche we all prefer to avoid. You can try to side step them with the Advaita shuffle – after all, our jiva conditioning is not something we are responsible for, and it has no impact on us as the Self. Why bother with it?

Moksa is not about perfecting the jiva, it is a conceptual identity after all. But to repeat – if we want a sane, peaceful life and the perfect satisfaction of permanent and actualized Self-knowledge, we need to identify and resolve all self-insulting jiva issues, whether predominantly rajasic or tamasic, in light of Self-knowledge. This requires a values reassessment, and it is where ‘the rubber hits the road’. There is no fine print to this.

Nobody can do this for us, though the teachings of Vedanta are hugely inspiring, they must be assimilated and LIVED, if we are really after Self-actualization.

Much love

Sundari

Let me take this opportunity to take a little detour. While my remarks may appeal to a broader audience, the focus of this blog is practitioners of psychotherapy.

Let me start with the basics once again…with qualifications. We know how this applies to Vedanta, but what about to psychotherapy? Maybe they’re not so different. In fact, it makes perfect sense that helping people to become qualified for psychotherapy by using Vedanta principles could be a powerful tool in starting the process of psychotherapy. I understand that the end game of these two systems is different. One is improved mental health; the other is freedom from the mind itself (moksha) which requires a healthy mind. But on the qualifications level they have more in common than you might think. Both require some ability to think clearly, be discerning and to be dispassionate. In general, these are universal life skills…not limited to a specific situation. These skills are enormously valuable irrespective of whether you are engaging in Vedanta or psychotherapy… They are a basic life-skill set.

You might ask, how can this be applied to psychotherapy? Well, it should be obvious. From the perspective of the therapist, if you don’t possess these qualities, you simply will not be very effective. Therapy training places a great emphasis on the relationship with the client. Some training promotes a more open authentic attitude, while others encourage more distance…“being professional.”

I have my preferences, but I’m not here to argue one way or the other. Many training programs encourage a process of self examination as being essential…”Know thyself.”… All good. And while self-examination may indirectly develop a person’s qualifications, I don’t recall ever being asked during my training to cultivate them directly…and I think the direct approach has a lot of merit.

What about the client? What’s good for the goose is good for the gander. Don’t ask me which is which. This ground floor stuff is the basis for any healthy relationship, including a therapeutic one. How do you go about implementing these guidelines?

Start where you start….first with yourself. Lead by example. It’s vital that you evaluate your client’s ability to follow the guidelines. How you evaluate your client’s ability will not only determine the outcome but also the nature of your interaction. Some clients will require more help than others in gaining stability. In some therapies, clients are encouraged to emote, and are not encouraged enough to balance themselves with objective qualities. So, if someone comes to you with a highly charged emotional situation, obviously, express empathy and concern….and as the emotion subsides, you might begin to gently instruct your client in the guidelines of dispassion.

A word of caution…timing is everything. If you try to make comments about becoming qualified too soon, they may not land. So, take your time, relax, try not to be too pedantic, there’s no hurry…and I think you’ll find a way to implement these guidelines into your practice.

Hopefully this was helpful. Maybe a little too basic. Anyway, tell me what you think. Have you thought about focusing on qualifications in your practice?

(A)  Because they view enlightenment as a particular kind of experience.   No qualifications are needed for experience.  Life is experience.

(B)  They do not understand that the self is always experienced, that there is one Self, and that it is always free, which means that freedom, often called enlightenment, can only be “gained” by losing ignorance.  Ignorance takes place in the mind.  For knowledge to remove ignorance the mind needs to be qualified i.e. prepared.

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2.  Why do most seekers dislike the idea of qualifications?

(A)  Because to qualify one needs to put forth effort and today most seekers have been conditioned to the idea of instant gratification.  The idea that anyone can just ‘get it’ fits with this belief.

(B)  Seekers are attached to their biases, prejudices, beliefs and opinions.  A qualified mind is relatively free of unexamined biases, prejudices, etc.

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3.   Are the qualifications arbitrary? 

No. They are based on common sense and revealed by Vedanta, which is logic compatible. 

On what basis are the qualifications determined? 

3.  Observation and analysis.  Individuals with qualified minds assimilate the teachings and those lacking the qualifications find it difficult to assimilate the teachings.  Vedanta scripture is unbiased analysis of the nature of experience.

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General Qualifications

What are the two general qualifications?

1. An appreciation of the fact that the joy we seek is not in the objects we pursue.
2. Life is a zero-sum game, which means that for every upside there is a downside and vice versa.  There are no winners or losers, no gain without loss.   

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Specific Qualifications

What are the specific qualifications? 

Discrimination

Discrimination is separating what is real from what is apparently real. 

What is the definition of reality?

What is always present and what never changes.  Unborn existence shining as pure Awareness/Consciousness.  My Self.

If experience is not real because it changes, what ontological status does it enjoy?  Please give an example.

It is apparently real (mithya).  Every wave (mithya) is only water.  Water is real (satya) with reference to waves.  Every person is only existence (satya) shining as consciousness appearing as a created entity (mithya).  Every ornament made from gold is only gold.   Fire is always hot.  Sugar, no matter what form it appears as, is always sweet.  It is never sour.

Why is discrimination necessary for liberation?

Because the Self, which is real, is confused with the body-mind-sense complex, which is an appearing entity.   

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Dispassion

Dispassion is indifference to what happens, i.e. the results of one’s actions and the actions of others.

Why is it necessary for liberation?

Lack of dispassion causes emotionality.  The intellect cannot discriminate when the mind is emotionally disturbed. 

Why is dispassion so difficult to achieve?

Due to superimposition, people are attached to the results of its actions and life does not always deliver desirable results.  Consequently, the mind is agitated.

Please give two examples of superimposition.

1. Mistaking one object for another.  For instance, mistaking a snake for a rope in twilight
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2. Adding value to an object.  All objects are created equal from the uncreated Creator’s point of view because the Creator is not a human being with likes and dislikes.  Human beings are created objects with likes and dislikes, so impersonal objects assume personal value in their minds.

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Control of Mind

Mind control is (1) control of your relationship to your thoughts by observation and (2) analysis of their meaning with reference to happiness. 

Why is it not control of the thoughts themselves?

Because what you think is not under the control of individuals.  You never know what your next thought will be.  

If you can’t control your mind by observation, is it helpful to control your actions?

Absolutely!  Owing to the law of karma, actions have consequences that rebound and may disturb the mind.  Actions and words that do not take into account universal values will injure others.  Thoughts that don’t take universal values and one’s own nature will injure your mind.  Suffering is never acceptable because bliss is your nature.    

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Duty to Yourself (svadharma)

Svadharma is doing your duty to yourself with discrimination.    It is responding to life according to your conditioning.  It is not necessarily satisfying your desires or pandering to your fears.

Why is it necessary to act out my conditioning?

You cannot attain liberation until you have worked out most of the karma that brought you into this life.  If you refuse to do your duty to yourself, your mind will be very conflicted and unable to discriminate.

How do I know if I am not doing my duty to myself?

1. If you are focused on the fixing the karma of others according to your idea of what is good for them.  Not only will you not work out your own karma you will enable them to avoid responsibility for theirs, which is not helpful because nobody can clear the karma standing in another’s account.  Vedanta is about independence, not dependence
   
2. Manipulating others to get what you want. 
   
3.  Trying to change the world.  The world is not interested in your idea  of what it should be.
   
4. Don’t be a Wannabe!  Be what you are.  Don’t try to live up to an ideal. 

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Concentration/Focus (samadhana)

Learning to keep the mind on one topic for an extended period of time.   A wandering and multitasking mind is disqualifying.    

Why is keeping the mind focused on the Self difficult?

Lack of commitment to liberation caused by attachment to the belief that desired objects bring lasting satisfaction. 

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Forbearance

What is forbearance?

Objectivity toward pain of all kinds without anxiety, complaint or attempt at revenge.  Suffering life’s pinpricks with good humor.

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Faith

It is faith in the teaching and the teacher, pending the result of Self inquiry.  Because liberation is liberation from Self ignorance, faith does not work.  It is a symptom of ignorance.

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The Teacher and the Teaching

Why do I need a teacher and an impersonal teaching?

Because Self ignorance will cause you to incorrectly interpret what you have read and heard about the Self and how to realize it.  

Why is a teaching derived from an individual’s interpretation of his or her spiritual experience(s) not a valid means of liberation?

Because an individual’s interpretation of his or her experience is not knowledge.  Knowledge is the same for everyone. 

Is sitting in silence a suitable teaching for liberation? 

No, because silence is not opposed to ignorance.  If you are sitting in silence, you have a belief that you are not the Self and that It is not present.  The one sitting with an expectation is the Self under the spell of ignorance.    

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Burning Desire

Why is burning desire for liberation an essential quality?

Because Self ignorance is hard-wired.  There are many obstacles to overcome and many setbacks on the path.  Unless your desire to be free is intense, you will lose heart and fail. 

A qualified inquirer, an impersonal time-tested means of knowledge, a qualified teacher, and burning desire are factors required for liberation.  Are there any other factors? 

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The Grace of God

If the loss of Self ignorance is an event, the Grace of God, is also required.  Consequently, accept that you are free as informed by scripture and spare yourself the anxiety about liberation. 

Here I’m going to outline five key points which I believe are essential in making the teaching work for you; in other words, converting Self-Knowledge (the object of the teaching) into liberation or freedom.

In the talk, I shared a couple of quotes from a new book I’m nearly finished writing. It’s called “There Shines a Light” and is a spiritual autobiography exploring my journey from samsara to finding an end to samsara through the liberating power of Self-Knowledge. It’s different to most Vedanta books in that it isn’t so much about the “theory” as the “practise” and how, by truly assimilating the teaching and incorporating it into every aspect of our lives, we can enable the power of Self-Knowledge to carry us through life’s many storms and stresses.

My intent was to convey how Self-Knowledge enables us to navigate life’s challenges and respond appropriately to each situation as it presents itself with objectivity, dispassion and devotion. 

This truly is the most sane and healthy way to approach life and the best investment of time and energy you will ever make in your life. As Swami Paramarthanada states, when we are ignorant of our true nature as pure Consciousness, life is nothing but a burden (to put it mildly!). But when we fully integrate the Knowledge “I am Consciousness and not the body/mind/ego”, life goes from a burden to a blessing and we effectively transcend the zero sum nature of the phenomenal reality.

The five keys to living the teaching are as follows:

1. Be clear on your goal.
2. Be qualified!
3. Manage the mind.
4. Don’t get too hooked up in the world
5. Practise sustained nididhyasana, or contemplation.

Let’s briefly touch upon each.

1. Be Clear On Your Goal

It’s essential that you be clear about your highest values and most important goals. Until you have a significant degree of clarity about your true values, life simply isn’t going to work. Muddled values lead to muddled priorities, misplaced action and wholly unsatisfactory results. This is really the death knell for genuine seekers of liberation.

So what is it you really want in life? 

It so happens that much of what you think you want in life is simply societal programming instilled into you from childhood onward. The goals of samsara are many and varied, but they generally fall under the category of the desire for security and wealth and the desire for pleasure. It’s between these two branches that most peoples’ lives swing.

In general, we are conditioned to look outside of ourselves for our happiness, fulfilment and joy. If you want to feel better, you simply need to get more “stuff”; more objects, be they tangible, physical objects or subtle objects in the form of emotion and experience.

In order to be a successful human being, it’s drilled into us that we need to be as GOOD as we possibly can be, first at school, then in other educational or vocational pursuits. The key to happiness is to achieve, attain and acquire; or so we are taught. Once we get the education we want, we then must forge the ideal career and make as much money as we possibly can. With that money, we can buy all kinds of desirable objects; from houses to cars, holidays and entertainment and whatever else happens to take our fancy. Relationships are also a key focus for most. Most people are unable to appreciate their own beauty and light, so they seek a proxy; somebody to mirror back to them the light of their own Consciousness. 

There’s nothing inherently wrong with any of this, of course. The scriptures outline the first three life stages as being focused on learning, career and family and this corresponds with the goals of wealth/security, pleasure and dharma (dharma relating to virtue or right action; ie., doing the right thing at the right time in the right way). 

The problem is when we genuinely believe that these life pursuits are capable of delivering lasting happiness and freedom. The expectation that they can and should is the source of tremendous misery.

While we can and should make the best of our lives and thus contribute to the whole, the idea that the solution to our existential suffering comes from the pursuit and attainment of objects is the very basis of samsara. 

Owing to Self-ignorance, we don’t feel whole and complete in ourselves, so we seek a solution outside of ourselves in the world of objects and experience. We assume that forcing the world of objects into alignment with our personal likes and dislikes is the way to freedom. 

Unfortunately, the very worst way to be free is to rely upon the world of objects behaving as we think it should. The problem is that we are not in control of the results of our actions. We can take the action we think is best and most appropriate, but it’s not up to us how the results of that action fructify. If it were up to us—if we had complete control over the results of our actions, then everything we do would be successful. Every single time you bought a lottery ticket you would hit the jackpot. 

Alas, life does not work that way. There’s a complex chain of cause and effect and unfathomable variables over which we, as people, have no knowledge or control. Indeed, it is Ishvara, the Totality, which dispenses the results of all actions and Ishvara never factors our personal likes and dislikes into the equation.

A mature spiritual seeker is somebody who has come to terms with this fact. They’ve also come to realise that the solution to the basic problem of human suffering is not to be solved simply by getting what we want from the game of life. Seeking happiness in objects is at best a band-aid. It provides some relief but doesn’t solve the underlying problem. It gives us a temporary boost of happiness until pain and discontent once again rear their ugly heads. 

The wise person will conclude that because object-based happiness is temporary at best, the solution must be something altogether different. Indeed, as Vedanta unilaterally declares: lasting happiness can only come from Self-Knowledge and the full and complete realisation of who and what we truly are.

It’s not until you are very, VERY clear on that last point that you will value the teaching enough to commit your life, time and attention to realising this Truth for yourself. 

Until you get to that point, you may have a value for Vedanta and Self-Knowledge, but it’s likely a split value; meaning an only partially assimilated value. There’s a core conflict because although moksha is valuable to you, your attention and energy is still divided and funnelled into various worldly pursuits, goals and endeavours. 

Such worldly goals may be good and necessary, but they must be conducted as karma yoga and not seen as a solution to the problem of existential suffering. You might get what you want, and it might bring temporary happiness, but the ultimate happiness comes only from the full realisation and integration of the knowledge “I am Consciousness alone and I am already entirely whole and complete in my Self”.

In short, you need to be very clear that the pursuit and integration of Self-Knowledge is the solution to your suffering; not chasing various crumbs of joy in the world of objects. You need such clarity of vision and values otherwise you simply won’t devote the necessary time and effort to truly living and assimilating the teaching—and, for a seeker of Truth, that sadly equates to a wasted lifetime.

At the start of each day, you might want to ask yourself:

“What is the most important thing to me?” 

“What is my highest priority?” 

“What is my greatest goal?” 

Then plan your day accordingly.

While we naturally have many things that we love and adore in the world, including family and friends, our job and contribution to society, our highest goal should always be freedom. After all, it’s not until we are free that we can truly bless others and the world and shine the light of Truth and love. That should be our ultimate goal in life.

In Vivekachudamani, Shankara makes it clear that the highest blessing in life is to have a human birth, plus the desire for spiritual liberation (a desire that is exceedingly rare even among “spiritual types”), access to the teaching and a teacher and a mind capable of understanding both. 

If all those factors are in place—and the latter ones can be worked upon and cultivated if need be—you are already enormously blessed. I think it’s safe to say that if you didn’t have significant punyam, or good karma, you wouldn’t be reading this at all. The interest simply wouldn’t be there. No matter what you do, you must capitalise on this blessing and take full advantage of it.

My favourite quote on the topic comes from the Buddhist master Dogen, who said:

“Life and death are of supreme importance. Time swiftly passes by and opportunity is lost. Each of us should strive to awaken. Awaken! Take heed, and do not squander your life.”

Once you are clear on the benefits of moksha, liberation, and the cost of not attaining it (which is continued pain and suffering), you should find the necessary motivation to truly commit to your sadhana, Vedantic study and self-enquiry. Studies have shown that human behaviour is often more motivated by the avoidance of pain rather than the promise of reward, so it can be helpful to reflect on the continued cost of existing in samsara and its constant seesaw of desire, attachment and suffering.

Only then can you ask yourself “Am I ALL IN?” 

Because if you’re not ALL IN, and truly and utterly committed to liberation, then you are as good as out. 

Half-measures don’t work when it comes to liberation. You need to want it as much as a drowning man needs oxygen. The moment you do, you’re already part way there.

2. Be Qualified

Having corresponded with a fair number of spiritual seekers over the past few years, I’ve come to see that this is perhaps the “make or break” issue for just about everyone. 

It’s not a topic most people particularly enjoy; perhaps because it might seem rudimentary and basic. Most people want to skip onto the more inspiring and intoxicating topics of Jnana yoga. What they don’t realise is that, unless the basic mental qualifications are in place, that Knowledge does’t really have a place to land. It remains mere intellectual curiosity and, while obviously still inspiring and exciting, it won’t translate to liberation if the mind hasn’t first been sufficiently primed and brought to heel.

Prior to planting seeds, the soil must be prepared. It has to be fertile and all the necessary conditions must be taken into account in order for the seeds to grow, take root and flourish. The same is true with Self-Knowledge. The glory of this Knowledge is that it does all the work pretty much by itself. Knowledge erases ignorance as effortlessly as light displaces dark. All that we really need to do is to apply that Knowledge to the mind whenever thoughts of Self-ignorance and limitation happen to arise, until such time as they don’t.

The main thing we have to do, however, is to simply keep our mind ship-shape and a fit receptacle for Knowledge.

This means cultivating strong discrimination, which means the ability to distinguish the real from the false, or the eternal from the fleeting. This naturally generates the second qualification, which is dispassion. The third qualification relates to discipline of the mind and keeping the mind a finely honed instrument rather than a destructive and out of control monster as it can so easily become for many. Finally, the desire for liberation, as discussed in the first key, is essential for granting us the motivation to pursue the teaching and apply it to the mind until Knowledge becomes conviction and conviction translates to liberation.

Nobody likes to be told that they aren’t qualified for the teaching. It’s something you absolutely must be aware of, however. If the teaching isn’t changing the way that you see and relate to others, yourself and life, then it’s a sure sign that your qualifications need some work. That is no mark of shame, because unless one is a sannyasi and has completely renounced society and worldly life, you can almost guarantee there will be work to do in that regard. So, it’s not a bad realisation. It’s a good one, because it’s something you can most certainly do something about.

I’ve known students who successfully grasped the essence of the teaching and had firm Self-Knowledge, but it simply wasn’t sinking in because of certain turbulence, attachment and emotional issues clouding the mind and subtle body. 

All seekers should have a firm gauge of just how steady and sattvic the mind is at any given time. Getting qualified is certainly not a one-time effort. Like tending a garden, it may require quite a fair bit of weeding and pruning, watering and feeding. Indeed, the mind is constantly shifting like the ephemeral thing it is. Moment to moment vigilance is required, as we’ll explore in the next step.

A passage from “There Shines A Light” on the topic:

“Only a clear mind can adequately reflect the resplendent light of our own Self. Such a mind, which can be cultivated through a commitment to dharma, the practice of karma yoga, devotion, meditation, and the deep contemplation of Self-Knowledge, is a mind freed from excessive want and selfish desire. Life is no longer about getting what we want. It’s about finding the deeper part of us that’s forever free from want—the part that simply shines in radiant, changeless splendour. This light is the only remedy to the veiling cloud of ignorance that keeps us desperately bound to worldly objects, forms, and attachments while completely oblivious to the fact that we are in actuality, in our heart of hearts, already free.”

Get qualified! Stay qualified! Even in the absence of Self-Knowledge and liberation, these mental qualifications have the ability to make life so much easier and more enjoyable.

3. Manage the Mind

Mind management is an essential prerequisite for any enquirer. After all, the mind is our instrument for interfacing with the phenomenal reality. A turbulent, choppy mind cannot provide an accurate reflection of reality and will create significant stress and tension both psychologically and physiologically.

A tranquil and pure mind, however, is like a lake without so much as a ripple. Only a peaceful mind is capable of reflecting the light of the Self in a pure and undistorted manner, free of the concealing and projecting powers of tamas and rajas.

A large part of mind management, then, comes down to managing the three gunas. We cultivate a pure and sattvic mind by minimising the deadening and agitating excesses of tamas and rajas. The topic of the gunas is an interesting and eminently practical one. We come to see that everything in our life will have an effect on the proportion of these qualities; whether it’s the food we eat, our home and work environment, the people we are around or the stimulus we allow through the gates of our senses. We have to be judicious gatekeepers in this respect and aware of the proportion of the gunas so we can constantly adjust as necessary.

The mind is very much where the spiritual battle takes place. The subtle body is the source of the problem; specifically, the intellect, where we harbour the erroneous belief in being a separate, limited, inadequate self. That’s where we need to take the fight and we do that by applying Knowledge; the only thing capable of eradicating ignorance.

It’s a process that takes as long as it takes; whether months, years or lifetimes. 

The number one thing we can do to assist the process is to keep the mind as calm, balanced and tranquil as it can be. When thoughts of ignorance and limitation come up, as they most certainly will, we patiently and steadily apply the opposite thought. Bit by bit, we dismantle the false notion that we are a lacking, suffering little person and replace it with the Knowledge that what we are is whole, complete and free of limitation and defect.

That is no small challenge. The mind is, by nature, restless. It’s constantly modifying according to stimulus and, for a great many people, is prone to neuroticism. The mind itself is a mechanism designed to keep us safe by constantly evaluating and trying to control our environment. The problem is, it’s constantly biting off more than it can chew. It tries to control things that it actually has no control over. The result is likely to be constant rumination, doubt, fear and anxiety.

The moment we accept that we’re trying to control things we have no control over, it creates a space of acceptance and openness. We can recognise that what the mind deals in is thought; and thought is just thought. No matter what terrible things the mind is trying to control and change; it’s all just thought–and thought can be managed.

If you’re thinking thoughts that are not constructive and which only bring stress and suffering, it’s important to step in and redirect the mind to thoughts of Truth. You can always tell when you’re thinking thoughts of Truth because you will automatically feel freer and lighter. Emotional distress is a sign the mind has contracted itself into rajas and tamas conditioned thoughts and you have lost touch with the basic truth of who you are.

That’s not the end of the world. It happens. All you need to do is to gently redirect your mind to an acknowledgement of who and what you truly are, and to recognise that everything in this field of dharma is taken care of for you by Ishvara. This may not always be easy. The mind can be tenacious and implacable in what it sees as its imperative to try to control life. It’s crucial that you learn to take the reins, however. You must be in control of the mind, or it will devour itself and scupper all chance of assimilating the Self-Knowledge of Vedanta.

Like Arjuna on he battlefield, you must take a stand and consciously direct your thoughts to Truth, God and Love. Here the yogas provide the perfect tools for conquering the untamed conditioned mind. Karma yoga and bhakti yoga, or any kind of devotional practice, will effectively shift the focus from mind-made fears and conditioning to the ever shining Self that you are. 

This effectively defangs the mind, reorienting it to Truth and converting base emotion to an all-encompassing devotion. Quite often, the problem is simply that the mind is trying to be God. Alas, the mind cannot be God, because it only has limited knowledge and power. The key is to recognise that the mind doesn’t have to carry such a burden. It doesn’t need to micromanage the universe. You can rely upon God to be God, and relax and channel your energy and attention where you want it to go.

4. Don’t Get Too Hooked Up in the World 

One of the keys to inner peace is to cease looking to the world for harmony, equilibrium and peace. That’s something “the world” is unable to give; particularly in these times of instability, hyper-acceleration and exponential change. 

You cannot wait until things become peaceful and stable outwardly before you devote yourself to inner peace and the freedom of moksha. It has to be done right here, right now. 

As Kabir powerfully stated, “Wherever you are is the entry point.”

A mind constantly hooked to the world of the senses—and to, for example, news and media feeds—is a mind that will take on tremendous stress and agitation. Never forget that the mind modifies itself to whatever you choose to focus it on. If you are constantly worrying about the state of the world and spending your time “doom scrolling” as has become common in recent times, you’re almost certainly disqualifying the mind and losing your discrimination, dispassion and discipline; and perhaps even your desire for freedom, too. The mind becomes muddled and unfocused and you lose sight of your true values and goals.

Of course, this doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t keep up to date with worldly affairs and it doesn’t mean you don’t care about what’s going on. You should care. We all have our dharma to do and ways in which we can contribute to the world and make it a slightly better and more harmonious place. If we can offer help to those who are suffering and it’s appropriate and timely for us to do so, that’s something we should do.

To spare the mind stress and conflict, however, all action should be done as karma yoga and in a spirit of devotion and surrender. That’s what frees us from action even as we find ourselves in the world taking action. We do the best that we can and trust Ishvara to do the rest—and we maintain that trust even if things don’t seem to be going the way we think they should. Karma is an endlessly complex thing and we never quite know how things should be. That’s for Ishvara to decide.

The key to this principle is to remain centred on the stillness within your Self; that placeless-place of perfect peace, tranquility and balance at the core of your own being. If you stay rooted in that, you derive your peace not from the turbulent, ever changing outer world, but from the Self alone; the pure Consciousness which never changes and never modifies to any experience, either pleasant or painful.

As I was growing up, I found it quite painful being in this world. As a young child, I saw it as a magical place filled with possibility. Yet, as I grew up I learned about the darker side of human nature and the violence, disregard and brutality human beings often display toward each other, animals and the planet. At the age of ten, I began trying to do things that would help the environment. I couldn’t believe the insanity of what human beings were doing to the planet and its creatures. I was grieved by the hateful way people were capable of treating others. I was horrified the more I learned about humanity’s violent history of war, corruption and genocide.

It’s natural to be perturbed by adharma. That’s what motivates and impels us to restore dharma. We each have a responsibility in that regard. We become much more powerful and effective as people, however, if we stay rooted in the light within ourselves; in the light of our own Consciousness.

That’s what enables us to deal with the outer disturbances and discord with objectivity and effectiveness. We do our karma yoga, taking actions not simply to reinforce and bolster the ego’s likes and dislikes, but as service to Ishvara and a blessing to the world. Whether or not we get the results we want, when we remain rooted in the pristine purity of our own Being, we remain calm and at ease because we have surrendered the fruits of our actions to Ishvara where it belongs. The challenge is, therefore, to be in the world but not of the world. That is truly the greatest service we can render the world.

Sometimes, life can seem like a succession of problems, challenges and traumas. There’s no getting around that fact. Speaking personally, I have experienced health limitations and challenges for most of my lifetime; some chronic and some acute and life-threatening. Three years ago, I was diagnosed with advanced and inoperable cancer. Fortunately, by the grace of God, my Self-Knowledge was quite firm by that point. The doctor was rather amazed by the equanimity of my response. He asked why I wasn’t shouting, crying or making a big deal out of what was, after all, a very big deal. The fact was, however, I knew not to get too pulled in by what is going on externally. I was blessed to know that it isn’t real; that my body isn’t what I am and that, as Consciousness, I am unaffected by whatever might be wrong with it. That doctor was impressed and, upon learning I was a teacher and writer, said he would definitely buy my books! My other doctors and nurses probably think I’m either a “strong person” or in denial. In actuality, I simply know who I am and have trained my mind not to accept limitation and lack as belonging to ME. It’s all just the play of karma and it doesn’t affect who we are whatsoever.

Vedanta is sometimes called the yoga of objectivity. To be able to live with objectivity and to deal with issues calmly and impartially as they come up is the best and most sane way to live. 

Every problem has a solution and, as difficult as certain situations may be, you can be sure that Ishvara also has a solution somewhere, or at least some action you can take to improve a situation. 

With discrimination and dispassion, life becomes so much easier to navigate. When you cede all the doing the Ishvara, it actually becomes effortless. It may sometimes take a while to figure out the best solution in some situations, but rest assured it will present itself. Knowing this we can get through even the greatest of adversity and, indeed, use it to help polish the mirror of the mind and strengthen our self-enquiry.

5. Practise Sustained Nididhyasana

Nididhyasana will be a term familiar to most Vedanta students. It means the steady and sustained contemplation of Self-Knowledge and our nature as Consciousness/Awareness. Nididhyasana involves rigorously applying this Knowledge to the mind and using it to neutralise all ignorance and blocks until the mind finally acquiesces and surrenders to this Knowledge. 

This is the all important key that transforms Knowledge into conviction and conviction into liberation. 

While the first two stages of the teaching, shravana (listening) and manana (reasoning) have a set duration and will come to an end, nididhyasana is something that should be continued for the duration of a lifetime. This shouldn’t be a chore but should be something pleasurable and rewarding and, after a certain time, will become the automatic operating mode of the mind; something that barely requires any conscious effort.

It can take considerable time to get to that stage. It’s vital not to give up too soon. The premature abandonment of nididhyasana renders all the previous steps, including the acquisition and the understanding of Self-Knowledge somewhat useless in terms of the desires goal, which is freedom. 

Swami Paramarthananda likens it to adding sugar to coffee. You must stir the coffee after adding the sugar or it will simply settle to the bottom of the mug and you won’t be able to enjoy its sweetness. It’s rather the same with nididhyasana. Once adding this Knowledge, it must be stirred until such time as you can taste the sweetness—and, rest assured, if you follow all the steps, you certainly will.

Many of the Vedanta students I’ve met and spoken with have already mastered the first two stages of the teaching but find themselves in the third; this assimilation of Self-Knowledge. I advise them that it really is the key; the agent which alchemises the Knowledge into the genuine experience of liberation, which comes from knowing our own true nature as limitless Consciousness.

When it comes to nididhyasana, you have to be like a dog with a bone. A dog is so absorbed in chewing the bone that it will utterly refuse to stop or let it go for anyone. It will gnaw and gnaw until it’s finally left with nothing. With nididhyasana, we chew away at the Knowledge until we’re left not with nothing; but a full and complete realisation of our own nature as Awareness. That’s our goal and the scriptures are clear that it is the very highest human goal because it enables us to enjoy the freedom that is our very nature. The terrible burden of being a suffering little person gives way to the realisation that what we are is Awareness and Awareness is always and ever free.

Once again, don’t wait for life to be “easy” or “perfect” before you commit to this practise. Again, “Wherever you are is the entry point”. You can use life’s challenges and stresses as a way of strengthening your Knowledge, your qualifications and your nididhyasana. 

Therefore, live life simply, do your dharma, perform all actions as karma yoga and bhakti (in truth, the two are one) and accept all results as the legitimate and proper outworking of karma. Everything can be used as fuel for the fire of Self-Knowledge.

On this topic, here is another excerpt from my upcoming book, “There Shines A Light”:

“The steady contemplation of our nature as Awareness is called nididhyasana in Vedantic terminology. It’s been suggested that for every hour we spend in the first stage of Vedanta, listening to the teaching, we should then spend a hundred hours going over the reasoning in our head and a thousand hours meditating upon it deeply and with great focus and clarity.

“So, for all there’s nothing we can do to become the Self—because we’re already the Self and cannot be anything else—it does take considerable effort to reorient and retrain the mind. As I learned the hard way, the mind can be our greatest friend or our most implacable and merciless foe. You alone decide which. An untamed mind is the root of enormous suffering and chaos. On the other hand, a cultivated and refined mind is an instrument for liberation. A sufficiently purified mind allows our true light to radiate from us and to bless all whom we meet. What a gift not just to the world but to ourselves. But, once again, it takes time, perseverance and grit. As the saying goes, everything is difficult before it gets easy.

“I made a number of missteps as I practised nididhyasana over the next few years. I got suckered by my psychological blind spots and ended up down one or two avenues that weren’t in line with who I was and who I was meant to be. I assumed that I was “finished” before I truly was and relaxed my efforts, only to be in for a fright when samsara tried to get its hooks in me. Life likes to test us. The moment you think, “That’s it, I’ve done it,” you can pretty much bet that Ishvara is thinking, “Oh, really, have you now…?” 

“There was no lasting damage in my case, but I learned the supreme importance of vigilance and humility. In time to come, my body and mind would be put through the fire big style. That, as it happens, would actually be immensely purifying, allowing my Self-Knowledge to cement in leaps and bounds. The true alchemy of living involves accepting and embracing all of life’s challenges and adversities and using them as grist for the mill of self-enquiry.

“Here’s a helpful thought which I very much believe to be true. All of life is secretly conspiring to awaken us from the dream of separation into full realisation the divine unity of all things. In spite of how it might often seem, this is not a cruel reality. It’s a cosmic game of hide and seek and the hurt and pain is not there to torment you. It’s there to jolt you awake; compelling you to remember the vastness of who and what you truly are, emboldening you to claim your divine birthright.”

The goal is freedom. While the jiva will always be bound by karma, when you divest the jiva of self-identification and place it back where it belongs—the Self!—life becomes an endless blessing and wonder. The burden of seeking comes to an end; whether it’s seeking happiness through the manipulation of worldly objects or seeking happiness through moksha. 

When seeking ends, all that’s left is enjoyment and appreciation. Life becomes a wondrous and beautiful thing in spite of its harder and more painful aspects. We no longer live to get or achieve or acquire anything; but simply to give, to contribute and to enjoy the ample blessings the Lord always sends our way. Even the simple, everyday sight of a blue sky, the scent of a flower, the wag of a dog’s tale or the smile of a loved one can be experienced as an entire universe of joy and bliss.

I will conclude with another passage from the book, which highlights just why it’s essential to commit fully and completely to the Realisation of your own nature as Consciousness and not the body/mind/ego entity:

“The light of Consciousness forever shines, regardless of whatever is going on at the level of maya. That’s why, at heart, we are always free. Nothing can ever touch the light that we truly are; not any experience, any fear, pain, hurt or even the crippling burden of a distorted egoic self-concept. Like the sun always shining above the clouds, Consciousness is forever free, always available and without limit or boundary.

“Very few have the ability to fully grasp this, even among spiritual seekers. Only sincere and committed spiritual enquirers have any way of processing this understanding. To the average person it will seem nonsensical and irrelevant. This Knowledge, however, is the key to alchemising life and turning the lead of worldly sorrow and limitation into the gold of perfect Divinity.

“I don’t feel I have achieved a whole lot materially in this lifetime. That really isn’t why I am here, however. My life path has been an opportunity to use limitation and adversity to turn within and realise the Light within myself and within all beings. That’s the key to this game of life. Integrating this Knowledge into the core of my psyche was far from an overnight job and I stumbled along the way. It led, however, to a treasure beyond compare: the discovery of an unending ocean of inner peace, contentment and joy that none of the vagaries of worldly life can rob us of. Even though the odd thought or emotion might cloud the sky temporarily, this Light can never be lost because it is the true essence of what we are: pure Consciousness wearing temporary sheaths of body and mind.

“While I wasted a few too many years seeking love and validation from others, the ultimate realisation was that I already have and am everything I’d ever sought.

“What’s more, the person I thought I was existed as nothing but a concept in my mind; a set of conditioned thoughts, reactions, desires and fears, capped with a name. Now, I admit it’s a mighty strange way to end an autobiography, but, in ultimate analysis, there’s no such person. It’s all just story. I don’t see myself as a person now; my centre of identification is just Awareness shining upon a body and mind. Even when you find yourself having to take action, and pick up your bow and arrow and take to the battlefield like Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita, life flows quite by itself if you let it. All that gets done, all the words spoken, actions taken and thoughts thunk, happen automatically by virtue of Consciousness enlivening a body and mind. What a wondrous thing!

“It may not happen overnight, but with repeated application to the mind, Self-Knowledge brings with it an unspeakable sense of relief, freedom and joy. While there’s still a world of names and forms appears before these eyes, and certain likes and dislikes and conditioned patterns cycling through the mind, I increasingly see only God, even where there seems to be discord, disharmony and strife. Above and beyond it all, is the Light, making all things take shape and dance as they play out their karma.

“Beneath the surface waves of this karma, all is interconnected by the vast ocean of universal Consciousness. The waves come and go, arising and subsiding in endless succession. What remains and never changes is Consciousness or Awareness; the one thing which can never be touched, tainted or harmed in any way.

“Bodies come and go, lifetimes pass by in the blink of an eye, stars are born and die, universes come into creation and dissolution, but the Light of Awareness, always present in all beings and universal in nature, shines endlessly. There’s no birth for it and no death, and all limitation is but the product of maya and is, to Consciousness, as insubstantial as a dream.

“This Knowledge brings liberation. We shift our centre of identification from the conceptual ego identity to the Awareness in which it arises. Only then do we taste freedom from seeking, freedom from lack and freedom from having to continually manipulate the outer world in order to satiate our desires and cravings. In spite of whatever might be sprouting in the endlessly fertile field of karma, the reality is that you, the true You, is already and ever free.”

Om Tat Sat.

Good.  Watch the video several times, John.  Don’t identify with John.  Imagine that John is someone else.  Then put yourself in my shoes.  Ask yourself if you would like to be dismissed, ignored and insulted by someone you were speaking with in good faith.  If you will notice, I took time to listen to you and discover your issue and then I addressed it.  That’s my duty.  You know very well that it is not the duty of a Vedanta teacher to qualify a student.  Vedanta presumes certain qualifications, as you should know if you have been a diligent seeker, which you say you have.  But we offer karma yoga as therapy.  You need karma yoga and you should have talk therapy too because you are not aware of how you are perceived by others.  If you were, you would act appropriately and positively and you would discover that your desires would be met.  You became angry because I didn’t want to hear your sad story. 

I actually didn’t feel injured because I am the Self.  I was surprised because I assumed that you came from a good family and were taught manners.  But the rest of the people in the group felt you were wasting their time, which you were. Knowledge assimilates when the mind is peaceful and not otherwise. If in the course of a satsang on a particular teaching specific information about one’s karma is needed, and it often is, then it is helpful to further my understanding of the doubt that is being expressed. 

Perhaps you were taught manners when you were a child but probably as you aged you had many intense unfulfilled desires so anger, bitterness and cynicism unconsciously became an integral part of your personality, which further alienated you from yourself and others.  Then you started to live in your imagination and a layer of inauthenticity slowly built-up in your personality. 

We saw it from the beginning, the lie about the library and the porn link, and others.  Once you present a façade you are in hot water because you have to keep the basic lie going.  In the case of Vedanta the universal lie is “I am a needy, wanting dissatisfied person.”  Maybe you were neglected and/or abused as a child but so what?  Everyone was neglected and abused in some way. but life goes on.  It has no time for your grievances.   

So how can I teach you?  It’s not my job as a Vedanta teacher.  I do coach a few people here and there but they show genuine respect.  Saying you respect me doesn’t cut ice because you demonstrated otherwise.  You wanted to win an argument and when I said our conversation was an argument you shouted, “I am not arguing!!!” at the top of your voice.  I let it slide because your state of mind contradicted your words. 

Try to go back in your mind to a time when you were happy and start there.  You can choose happiness.  Forget Vedanta. You know enough.  As you pointed out, the words are just mechanical; they have lost their meaning.  I think the word you wanted was rote.  Isvara wants you to take care of another issue.  Once you are satisfied with yourself the words in the books and videos will become living, breathing inspirational words.  You will understand them and the transformation will begin.       

To repeat: Forget Vedanta.  Maya is the best teacher for stubborn argumentative people, John.  So go out and chase young women and do whatever you want and wait until dispassion develops.  Obviously you didn’t even assimilate lesson #1: the joy is not in objects.  I learned that lesson in 1968 and never forgot it.  It’s also possible at 73.   

Anyway, thanks for the donation and all the best.

Love,

James

Hi again!

Thank you very much. I am very grateful for all the work you are doing. Otherwise Self knowledge would not be as easily accessible.  I watched a lot of your videos, and I learned a lot.  I also learned by discussing in forums regarding Vedanta.    I realised That and I do know for sure what Brahman Satyam, Jagat Mithya and Jivo brahmaivo naparah means.  I know this. without doubt, not like a person repeating  E=MC12  in physics.

I wanted to see if my understanding was aligned with Vedanta and it did mostly but one of your teachers felt I was wrong saying that Only God is Real.  I showed him a book by Swami Chinnmayananda where he said only God is Real and he agreed then.  I know it is Brahman but Brahman is God, as Sat chit Ananda. 

I think I might come across as not qualified to due to writing very much like I speak and also as a not native speaker but  I have no problem understanding any of what I read so I cannot see how one with Moksha, is not qualified.  Have you misunderstood me?   I respect and understand what you say, but I have experience in explaining things to people with misconceptions.  I feel there is not more to ask, but I feel like asking you about some things, since you know the teaching in such details.  

I understand your message of going through the teaching from beginning to end to help others.  I just wanted to clarify since I do not see how I am not qualified when I am having a mind without thoughts and know all of the universe is me.  And me being eternally free of it.  Things I can any way consider is how can anyone really know there will not be anymore sprouting of vasanas since there still are vasanas.  Yet I do not see how I can reincarnate since everything is me.  So it feels impossible.  I know how to do karma yoga.  I started 26 years ago not to work for the fruits of actions, when I first read the Bhagavadgita.  This and bhakti has helped a lot until I realized being Sat chit ananda.  I just wanted to clarify since I do not see how I am not qualified when I am having a mind without thoughts and know all of the universe is me.

James:  The following statements indicate that you don’t understand What you are.  Explain to me why you are concerned about the sprouting of vasanas if you are eternally free as you say, because vasanas aren’t real; they don’t have an effect on you, existence shining as pure Awareness/Bliss. The vasanas are mithya, as good as non-existent.  So you are always free of them.  

You are not a who, a Ute.  Ute is a conceptual created entity seeking to understand the nature of reality.  She is an object known to you.  You never were that imaginary person.  You are eternal unborn Existence shining as Awareness.  Freedom is freedom from Ute, not freedom for Ute.    

You can’t reincarnate because you are not incarnated now.  You were never incarnated in the first place.  You are unborn.   

The confusion you have about What you are means that you are not qualified because a free being knows that qualifications have nothing to do with What one is.  It’s not your fault; your intellect is not subtle enough yet to understand the teaching.   Keep thinking.   One day it will all make sense.   Qualifications are mithya, apparently real, as good as non-existent.  If you know What you are, you will know that you are neither free nor are you bound. 

You’re stuck because you are stubborn and willful.   You think you have it all figured out but it is false confidence, perhaps because you really want to be free, which is good.   I am sure your mind will say “Yes, but…” and give me reasons why Vedanta is wrong.  What I’ve said here is just the truth according to Vedanta.  It has nothing to do with me.  

Ute: I agree with all this. Thank you for your clarity.  It is how it is, that is why I say I am free, not the body, it is just the body which I of course do not mean is myself, if you took me to assume the word I to be Ute.  Ute is a name given to the body.  I am not the body,  I am That.  Sat chit ananda is free of this body.  It has never been within a body, my realization is that there is limitless consciousness which has no limitations at all.  It is without form, and is what I am.  That which I am is not born,  and will not die. I definitely agree in that vasanas just appear.   They are in no way attached to what I am.  Stubborn yes, but not ignorant 🙂 

It is true, there is not really reincarnation. Since the Self always has been, will always be, and impossibly can be “within” a body.  It just seemed to be until I realized atman was Brahman some years ago, and that there was not any separation going on.  Not from the world to Self, the manifested is not really different from That which is Satya.  Or Real   Of course, one will have to say differently in a teaching, but it is just Awareness,  just manifest.  It is advaita.  It permeates everything,  and is just like Krishna say in the Gita, like a threat holds together a necklace of pearls.  “My” self, which is not mine but is just The Self is all that is.

Love Ute

James: OK. Good.  Sorry to lecture you.  It was my mistake owing to your use of English.   It seems that you do know What you are but there is still a communication problem.  How is anyone but you able to verify the truth of your words?   Nobody but you has access to you.   People only know you through your words.   A person who doesn’t know they are Brahman will think you are crazy.   You must have experienced that.   Furthermore, the one who knows they are Brahman won’t think that they are free or not free because those words don’t apply to you, Brahman.   Brahman is only free with reference to the idea that it is not-free.  It is like the chicken and the egg.  The egg is not free from the chicken and the chicken is not free from the egg.  There are no eggs and chickens in Brahman.  In  your letter you must have assumed that I’m not Brahman.   If you saw me as Brahman, then you would have made it clear who you really are.   But you didn’t.  You wrote the letter from the point of view of a not-free person.   That is why I replied as I did.  Nobody can read your mind to know what you know and what you don’t know.  But we can make certain inferences, which are not always right.

I have been involved in the so-called “spiritual” world probably since before you were ware born.   It is full of people who claim to be free but who obviously aren’t free because they take vasanas to be real. Your statement implied that the vasanas are real, that they have some connection with you, Awareness.  They claim freedom because they think it is a special kind of status, something that distinguishes them from others or from themselves when they were “bound.”  But freedom is freedom from the one who thinks it is free.  If you are free you were always free.   If you are free there are no others. 

There is a good reason to claim that you are ever-free Awareness, but only if ever-free Awareness is tricked by Maya into thinking that it never not free.   Can you see the problem?   Because I am Brahman I see everyone as Brahman, until they tell me they are a person who knows Brahman.   How can a person know Brahman?  It is not an object of knowledge.  

It seems you are writing me because you want teaching.   Is that true?  I don’t care if you are free or not free.  I am only interested in what you know about yourself.  If you are free and you want to teach people who don’t know what they are, then you need an impersonal time-tested method that has nothing to do with you either as a person or as Brahman.   But before you teach them you need to make sure they are actually asking for teaching.  A lot of so-called Self realized people want to teach because they want to gain the respect of others, owing to some defect in their character.  If you respect yourself you aren’t interested in what people think of you. 

If the desire to teach is coming from you, you need to be very careful not to claim it or you won’t be an effective teacher.  In our tradition, there is only one teacher, Isvara, and the scripture is Isvara’s words.  I’ve attached a copy of Vedanta commentaries on Kena Upanishad, which was written by Isvara.   Please read it with an open mind.   Don’t think you are free or not free.  Just try to understand what it is saying.   It was written to help people like you who claim they are free so they don’t give other people the wrong idea about What they are.   Pay particular attention to the idea that the Self cannot be objectified and the following teaching about claiming.  You didn’t make it clear who the “I” was to me although I am clear now.   And, if you are what you say you are, then what do you want to know?  

Love,James

Hi James.

Thank you very much for this,  I agree it seems to be a communication problem. In a way I feel overly qualified to be a student. I am That and know it without doubt.   I often understand when teachers are not understanding who they are.  I have for instance experienced that they do not understand they are Life, but if saying Self is Life, they think I am wrong.. It is good to see Kena Upanishad say it as well. Self is the Life of life, this universe is an object, Life is what I am, all are, eternally.

James:  Well, one is never over-qualified to be a student.  One should always have an open mind.  Self knowledge solves a temporary problem.  Once you know who you are, you still have to live your life, so your mind should not have come to any conclusions.  It needs to be curious and detached all the time so it can take advantage of the opportunities to grow that Isvara provides.  Most of the spiritual teachers today are dead while living because they have come to the conclusion that they are “cooked.”  But they are boring people, forced to chase in enlightenment what they chased in endarkenment.  In life there is always something that is not known, elightened or not.  It is the Isvara factor.  When you appreciate it, you become simple and humble and innocent. 

Ute:  No I do not assume you are not Brahman, since the way you speak about Self makes me understand you are Brahman. As we all are, although most do not know they are.  I am very happy for the Kena Upanishad you sent and that it is actually made to help people to express who one is without being misunderstood.

James:  Yes.  The student says, “I don’t say that I know and I don’t say that I don’t know.”  It means he is something other than existence’s two primary categories, the known and the unknown.

Ute: I have no urge or desire or want to teach. I do not feel like teaching anyone who are not interested either, thank you, it is important not to.  I just feel a responsibility,  a duty, to be able to answer questions as adequately as possible, because if I go through the teaching, with a qualified enlightened teacher, I can better help them out.  I do see that “people” who do not yet know that they are Brahman, who might have read a lot, do not understand that I know who I am, sure.  I think they only would know if I were appearing as a teacher in a robe, and as you know, often not even then.   Which you must experience a lot of.  Even though you know the teaching very well.  No one can really know if anyone is enlightened, sure. Only oneself knows.  And many think they know who they are, without knowing. I  do not feel to talk about being Self, since Self really is Silent. It has no need to say I am.   Only the body/mind would want to speak about being That.

I just had to try to explain so you do not assume I do not understand any of this.  Yes, the chicken and the egg allegory was good, it is the manifest and the unmanifest which is one, or rather not two.  I will read the rest of the Upanishad and get back to you, and answer these questions, I got to get busy here now. Thank’s a lot!

Love Ute

James:  Silence speaks, but words are good if the Self is speaking them.  Love you, Ute.

Sundari: The important thing to remember about self-inquiry is that it is not about studying Vedanta, signing on for a course, or getting a degree in nondual teachings. The scripture is a means of knowledge for the Self, and though the means itself must be put into practice and eventually discarded for Self-actualization to take place, the content is about you, the Self.

Self-inquiry is only difficult because the indoctrination and hypnosis of Maya are so persuasive for the jiva. Though we teach only the Self because the jiva is the Self, to shatter the hypnosis of duality (the identification with the jiva), is extremely counter-intuitive from the jiva perspective.

It’s like the jiva has been standing on its head its whole life and has been looking at life from that place–upside down. Nonduality corrects the reversal Maya imposes, but the jiva has normalized the abnormal, so finds the correction bizarre and threatening. Yet moksa, freedom from the jiva, is simply a return to ‘normal’.

But it’s far from easy, so the scripture is constructed in such a way as to address every layer of ignorance, and there are many. It’s like peeling an onion. The layers get subtler and subtler as Self-knowledge works on the mind. It is important that the sincere inquirer remain humble and patient, with the requisite faith in the teachings. What happens with most inquirers is that they do not realize the importance of following the methodology carefully and slowly.  They are in a hurry and skip ahead too quickly. This always backfires. The teachings are progressive for a very good reason, as stated above, and previously: ignorance is tenacious and hard-wired.

If your foundations for self-inquiry are not what they should be, you will get stuck down the line because the jiva programming will trip you up.  This is par for the course, do not feel bad about it.  Most Western inquirers have this problem because as I mentioned previously, the Western mind is primed for quick results for everything.  Instant satisfaction takes too long for the rajasic desire-driven Western mind wanting easy street. 

Vedanta is the hardest thing you will ever apply yourself to. It seems so simple, but it is extremely subtle. Not only is nonduality counter-intuitive, but though self-inquiry requires ‘doing’, the doer itself must be negated. That is a tough one, hence the importance of karma yoga. I do not know if you read Ramji’s satsang of the 5:10:15 rule, I have attached it for you. Read it and contemplate it.

Mary: And you know? The Jiva that will start at the begging is not the same Jiva that started to study Vedanta… Start at the beginning is never start from zero.

Sundari:  What is zero? The Self is zero because it isn’t a ‘thing’ yet it encompasses everything. The Native Americans see ‘the Great Spirit’ as they call it as a circle. In a circle, a zero, there is no separation. Repeated from our last exchange: Satya and mithya never meet because they were never apart. Self-actualization is like becoming a zero because nothing defines you except you.  You define everything.  Without zero, nothing makes sense. So don’t be afraid of zero.

Going to the beginning as an inquirer is not a failure, it is merely part of the process. Even highly advanced inquirers find that they need to do this at some point because some subtle but deeply buried samskara has evaded self-inquiry and must be cleaned up. Self-inquiry is never a linear process, most inquirers weave through the steps many times. As the Self, you are always free, but to actualize Self-knowledge you cannot be 99.9% free of the jiva because the .1% contains 99.9 of the not free jiva. 

But that is not a problem because you as the Self don’t go anywhere.  You are no less or more the Self before during or after moksa.  Nothing gives that to you or takes it away.  As I said to you before: the steps to ‘get there’ are the qualities of ‘being there’ because you are there. You are THE there. Some remaining illusions clinging to the conceptual jiva prevent freedom from the jiva and freedom for the jiva. Put your head down, apply the teachings and leave everything up to Isvara.

Mary: Now I must not think about satisfaction, but observe the qualifications. It is really helpful to see where is the “problem”.

Sundari:  Yes, good for you. Trust Isvara completely and simply focus on strengthening all the qualifications until you are totally clear on them.

Mary: I will read once more the qualifications on Ramji’s book – how to attain enlightenment. 

Sundari:  I strongly recommend that you also sign on to do the three courses we offer online, beginner, intermediary and advanced.  They are free and they cover all the material in all the books in the right sequence. Watch as many videos as you can. Check the website for satsangs. 

Mary: Now I must understand how they will be in place… the qualifications. I suppose that I must observe the thoughts that appear on me and think about the qualifications when I observe these thoughts. 

Sundari:  The qualifications are clear and unambiguous.  Print them out for yourself and track yourself on them on a moment-to-moment basis. Don’t progress with the next step of self-inquiry until you are sure you understand all the qualifications and at least have a good handle on how they work out in your life. You have enough objectivity to see the patterns.

Mary: There is nothing else I can do, I suppose. I observe and practice karma yoga, ask for Isvara’s help… In fact, Isvara is responsible for it… 

Sundari: Yes. See that you are not the doer, consecrate all thoughts/emotions, words, and actions to Isvara. Keep the mind on the Self, take a stand in Awareness as Awareness and practice the opposite thought on EVERY thought other than “I am the Self’.

And very importantly, make sure you have a daily devotional practice.  Karma yoga and devotion are about a life lived in gratitude; they go hand in hand.  You will not have a happy life nor will perfect satisfaction be possible without gratitude and devotion.

Lastly, learn to live the life of an Ant.  See the second attachment to this email, it is a wonderful satsang by Ramji called ‘I am an Ant’, and it contains all you need to live life and be happy.

Much love

Sundari

I just was writing something and ” o’ boy ” how incredibly easy it is to be lost in words when trying to explain about Maya.  When one knows it is That, but yet that That is not Maya one starts speaking nearly incomprehensible for others. 

So the words mithya and satya are important tools. To say not eternal and yet not not eternal etc, seems awkward.  Yet it is eternal!  Yet maya is not eternal. It is neither! Ha ha.  One seems like a lunatic in trying to express it. I do think I was able to express it fairly ok anyway.  Do you think so? 

Ramji:  You did pretty well.  The best way is to say is, “Maya is not the same but it is not different from the Self. 

I just felt like trying to describe it. When Self realized it is probably more difficult to express than for those who just have read about it. Don’t you think? 

Ramji:  Ramji: No. You need to be properly taught. You are inspired from the teaching and you made a pretty good try but there is much more to understand before the knowledge of Maya sets you free of Cindy and is useful for others. You heard Vedanta several years ago but it seems you didn’t pursue it because you are in exactly the same place you were then. if you are a serious person you will center your life around the teaching, not just visit the teaching here and there when you feel a bit spiritual. I suggest you take up a systematic study of Vedanta if you want to really benefit. If you go to the website and click on the “start here” menu and follow the links, reading each article carefully it will get you started. I’m very busy and I can’t teach everyone from the first lesson; there are thousands of people in the ShiningWorld traditional Vedanta sanga so we expect people to learn the basics and work patiently through the texts until they have a good grasp of the fundamentals. Then, it is possible to ask questions that will really be helpful.

I seriously ask if you see any way I could explain it better. 

Ramji:  Yes, I do.  Once you learn the basics you can get the Panchadasi video series from Tiruvannamalai where the whole Maya teaching is laid out in detail in 80 videos.  Is it the key to moksa.  You won’t be freed from Cindy, without complete knowledge of this teaching.  You won’t be able to help others grow into the full understanding of themselves without learning Brahma Vidya (Vedanta).

Here are the facts about Maya that you need to know.  Please don’t think you understand them if you think you understand them. You need to be taught.  Vedanta is the rocket science of spirituality. Understanding Maya is like understanding E=MC2.  You can say you know that it means energy equals mass times the speed of light squared, but what does that actually mean?  You have to go through the whole of mathematics before you are even qualified to hear it explained by a top professor.  It is the same with Vedanta.      

What is Maya and What Does it Do? Verses 47-59
     (1)     It is an Unseen Power in Consciousness/Existence/Awareness.
     (2)     It is Not the Same but It is Not Different from Awareness. 
     (3)     It is not Non-Existence because It has an Effect.  (48)
     (4)     It is Eternal.  It is both Manifest and Unmanifest.
     (5)     It is Not Real. It does not Stand Alone and Knowledge Negates It.
     (6)     It is Not Unreal because You Experience It
     (7)     It is Seemingly Real – It is Appearing Non-Existence
     (8)     It is Not a Part of Existence/Awareness but It Seems to be a Part
     (9)     It is Superimposed (adhyasa) on Existence. (31-32)
     (10)   It Superimposes Isvara and Jiva
     (11)   It Does Not Hide Awareness.  It is a ‘small fraction’ of Awareness.
     (12)   It Makes the Impossible Possible.  It is a Great Wonder.
     (13)   It is Inexplicable, Indescribable and Beginningless  
     (14)   It is Beautiful, Intelligent and Omniscient
     (15)   It Creates a Matter Mirror (ParaPrakriti) That Reflects,
                 Reverses and Borrows
     (16)   It is a Vivarta Parinama Not an Arambha Parinama
     (17)   It Controls Everything     (18)   It Causes Samsara (Love of Objects, Becoming, Dependence,
                Lack of Discrimination)
     (19)   It a Revolving Wheel of Energy (Sattva, Rajas, Tamas) that Deludes
     (20)   It Creates in Three Stages

About Shankara

Cindy:  Is this understanding he has from previous scriptures? 

Ramji:  Yes.  He was a link to the Upanishads.  Everything he taught was in the Upanishads several thousand years before he was born.  He did not deviate from the teachings.  He only made them particularly clear.  There have been tens of thousands of Shankaras since this knowledge was revealed by Isvara and there Shankaras alive today.  He just happens to be the most famous. 

Cindy:  And why does he call maya She?  Is she mother nature? Shakti? 

Ramji:  I hate to say yes, although the answer is yes, because what does mother nature mean in terms of the moksa?  What does shakti mean without knowledge of shiva?  How do shakti and shiva relate to satya and mithya?  Vedanta is a complete teaching or the relationship between God, the individual and Existence shining as Consiousness, Cindy.  You need a lot of background, particularly the knowledge of the creation as unfolded in Chapter 7 of the Bhagavad Gita.  It is all explained clearly in 150 hours of my teachings of the Bhagavad Gita from Carbondale. 

I think I told you this on the Q&A two weeks ago and I mentioned it again above.  You are very inspired with a lot of bhakti for the truth.  If this knowledge is going to do any good, however, except to get you high, then you need to learn Vedanta properly because it is a complete means of knowledge and the very best language for communicating the truth.  You need to take a professional attitude toward it.  I’m happy to help you, but you need to jump through a lot of hoops before I can be of service.  I only teach qualified people.  You can qualify by following my advice.  Go to the start here menu on the home page and work through the beginning course. 

Much love,

Ramji