Sundari: If it isn’t, it should be.
Simon: Interestingly, our conversation began with Vasana’s (a while ago) with an initial inquiry. They are indeed tough to deal with as much as we want to step aside from the jiva with clear recognition of our innate Self. The same old story. The default position of the biological human who wrestles with the intellectual grasp of the enormity of Brahman and “I am That?” and the pull of the senses of the five elements of the body/mind.
Sundari: Yes, indeed, the idea of being human is the story everyone engaged in self-inquiry wrestles with. Learning to live with and free of the conceptual dualistic jiva is the hard part for every sincere inquirer. Living nonduality is very subtle indeed. However, while negating the idea of doership and rendering binding vasanas nonbinding is essential for moksa, there comes a point where one must accept the jiva as it is, a flawed (apparently real) construct. It does not belong to you but to the Causal body, Isvara. It will not go away, so it’s about time to love it warts and all. Firm Self-knowledge transforms our lived experience as a jiva not by overhauling it but by dissolving the subject/object split, thereby bestowing dispassionate observer-ship of the jiva as a conceptual entity, and not our primary identity as the nondual Self.
Moksa does not change the jiva’s inherent nature as that is built into it by Isvara, the gunas. It will not magically transform your karma, either – except indirectly. Freedom comes from the fact that Self-knowledge gives us the choice of how to respond to what life throws at us in any given moment. Meaning, what changes is how and why we react to or contact objects. Life is life, it is an endless impersonal karma producing machine. Actualizing nondual vision does not mean we find ourselves tripping on rainbows or ‘transcend’ to a ‘higher realm’ of existence as some kind of superior being. That’s just the nonsense of spiritual materialism. Moksa is about being authentic, ordinary and real in the true meaning of those words. The bottom line is that we live without worry , anxiety or fear of loss/death. We no longer walk the path of death but of eternal Existence.
When Self-knowledge is firm and we see life primarily through the lens of nonduality, we get to enjoy duality for what it has to offer, which is temporary bliss, without getting caught up in it. We never really have another bad day, even if the jiva is seemingly having a bit of a hard time. Even when things get really tough, as a close friend of ours who has had her fair share of difficult karma said – ‘everything fell apart but I didn’t’. Discrimination is always ‘on’, so mind management and our karma is always objectified and in front of us, like a little dog on a short leash. It will not run away with your dispassion and your peace of mind because it’s held in check by Self-knowledge.
At the same time, though moksa does not require perfecting the jiva, if our life is not improving, then something is amiss. Self-knowledge will change your experience as a jiva if it is properly assimilated and put into practice. If it’s not working, there is residual ignorance (binding mental/emotional patterns and/or doership) standing in the way of access to Self-knowledge.
Which means that you either have not assimilated the teachings or are not putting karma yoga, guna yoga and bhakti yoga into practice. These three knowledge tools are all we need to cope with anything Isvara brings to us. Once understood and valued, these tools do transform our lives – if applied. Karma yoga negates the idea of doership, which if done right, permanently removes the burden of existential anxiety and blame. Guna yoga is the holy grail with regards to understanding the impersonal nature of the seemingly personal psychodrama of the jivas’ makeup.
Seeing as we cannot escape the gunas because they govern every experience we have, this knowledge affords us instant insight into the mind. If that’s not helpful, I don’t know what could be seeing as mind management is the key to jiva happiness. And bhakti yoga in whatever way you practice it gives you God to worship as your own Self appearing as the world. You stop being a whining taker and become a contributor to life, both your own and in general.
We recently spoke to a long time inquirer who has an almost perfect understanding of the scripture and how to apply it. Yet, she claims her life has gotten worse since Vedanta came into it. Instead of being on one antidepressant, she is now on two. Her life is a mess, she is torn up about how to handle parenting, she worries about the safety of her family, and she is overworked. Worst of all, she says, is she no longer has a God to pray to, because Vedanta has taken the dualistic parent God away from her.
Does this sound familiar? What’s wrong with this picture? Does your life work well for short periods when the mind is able to turn inwards, and the rest of the time is bogged down by the usual jiva psychodrama? As stated, the aim of self-inquiry, moksa, is to transform the lived experience of the jiva. It is not to transform the jiva itself, although it does improve as a side effect of Self-knowledge, because it no longer creates bad karma for itself. Clearly, this person is not putting the teachings into practice, because if she did, she would not be overcome by rajas (desire/fear/anxiety) and tamas (depression/dullness). Sattva (clarity and confidence) would be managing those two trouble makers and keeping them in balance, so she would not need anti-depressants.
All we can ever do in any situation, is to do our best at the appropriate time, and leave the rest to Isvara. Plus, she would have the deep abiding joy of worshipping Isvara, who is the Self appearing as the world, which is an intelligent system running on natural laws that takes care of all the needs of the jiva’s body/mind. Life is a gift, one that require reciprocation. There is a lot to be grateful for, every day. Lived this way life is a beautiful, even though it is always complicated, that’s the nature of mithya. But it is understood by you as the Self, which makes it a different ball game altogether.
Second Satsang on this topic
Simon: Ok……a quick review of your email. You’re writing is exceptional! I was thinking about the time listening to Ramji talk about a close friend who was bent out of shape about Trump and/or some political what not. Apparently he let this get to him and became negative towards James and I guess you as well. I thought why is he letting the system or Mithya get the best of him? I have been around people like Trump and their dangerous and could a hoot about people. It’s all about the money only.
Sundari: Thank you. You are right, only Isvara orchestrates the show, which contains all possibilities in it, or the show would end. It is only ignorance of this fact that causes so much suffering due to incorrect ideas. As I said, nonduality is subtle. The world is a dream, and yet it has the strange status of being not real or unreal. ‘Apparently’ real means it does exist because you experience it.
But, upon examination of the world, it is a simple fact that whereas what I see may be me, I am never what I see. When it is understood in this way, duality “becomes” non-duality. I see that I have always been experiencing non-duality, am experiencing it now, and will always experience it, appearances to the contrary not-withstanding. It appears like a movie appears on a screen. It seems there is an association as you watch but the association doesn’t remain when the movie ends. To enjoy it I need to temporarily suspend the belief that I am watching a movie. But once the experience is over, I default to my original self. No harm done.
Without the help of metaphor, here is a logical argument that points out that there are not two realities. If there are two realities, we would experience two realities, but nobody experiences two realities at the same time. Non-dual means there are no temporal divisions. Everyone is the same Self experiencing the world as myself. That Self may be momentarily deluded and think that the world is different from it, but a bit of Vedanta will eventually disabuse it of this notion.
It must be this way because if something is known, it is possible for it not to be known. Once the subject/object split is dissolved, then you enjoy the world for what it is, notwithstanding the apparent built in gains and losses associated with the inherent emptiness of objects. If you see everything as you, the Self, you can be attached to anything and everything without loss or fear. That is where love becomes life, and everything is about love, capital ‘L”. Not only as a legitimate unconditional non-dual feeling (parabhakti) but as non-dual knowledge too.
Simon: Yes, ultimately one’s peace and happiness comes from understanding that while there is this meat tube that has been having to deal with its surroundings, it’s funny, comical and ironic that you are indeed THAT! And if you are IT, why be overly concerned about politics etc?
Sundari: Got it in one! Maya is a wonder indeed.
Thanks for getting back to me, much appreciated.
You are most welcome
Love
Sundari
ShiningWorld.com
