Ram,

I did not appreciate your last e-mail at all. I have some emotional problems and I do not want any intellectual teachings. I’ve had enough of them. Please don’t write me again.

Ram: OK, Martin, that’s fine with me. But let me give you one last intellectual teaching before I sign off, if you please.

Ram: I was thinking about your statement that you're not in the mood for intellectual understanding. But isn’t your conviction that you are spiritually weak an intellectual belief? Doesn’t your emotional malaise depend on the view that you are not whole and complete? I think that all problems are 'intellectual' because all emotions are preceded by thoughts and can only be resolved by tracing the feeling back to its source in the intellect. Even modern psychology is starting to come around to this view.

When you boil down the teachings of Vedanta to their essence they all come out as "You are whole and complete, pure and perfect, right here, right now." Any other self evaluation (which is necessarily ‘intellectual’) is incorrect. By 'incorrect' I mean it is only a belief or an opinion. Beliefs and opinions happen in the intellect. When you believe that you are weak and inadequate you feel lousy. When you believe that you are whole and complete, you feel fine, because the belief happens to coincide with the truth.

I find it strange that you are ready to dismiss the teachings of Vedanta as 'intellectual' and yet not be equally ready to dismiss your own personal self evaluations as 'intellectual.' Nonetheless I will shut up and leave you to your emotional problems. Good luck with them.

Love,

Ram