I’m Shay from Israel…you probably saw me in the video that James published ‘satsang with Shay’.
I have the knowledge and I’m applying Vedanta in every moment. There is just one sticking point that my Jiva still can’t grasp I believe that if that point is cleared I will keep progressing faster. I know the Self is already free it’s just that the Jiva needs to ‘catch up’.
Sundari: I am happy to chat to you and explore if I can help you with your sticking point. Though I must say this – Vedanta is not a quick fix, and assimilating the teachings so that Self-knowledge obtains and removes all ignorance permanently, is a slow process. The ‘sticking point’ for most dedicated inquirers is almost always understanding how the nondual teachings relate to the jiva and its conditioning.
Self-realization, which is at first indirect knowledge, is where the ‘work’ of self-inquiry begins. And the work is applying the nondual teachings one thought at a time, day by day, every day. It is hard work because ignorance is hardwired. Nobody can ‘fix’ or speed that up for you, it takes as long as it takes.
Dave Reid and James, who are both excellent teachers – the best, have tried to help you. I have no special powers to do so – we all teach the same scripture. ‘Your’ personal ignorance will be removed by Self-knowledge itself, assuming qualifications and dedication to self-inquiry, which you seem to have in abundance. Faith in the teachings, meaning in Isvara, to ‘do the rest’ seeing as you are not the doer, is required.
Shay: I’m not looking for quick fixes it’s just that with the war situation and the missiles flying all over Israel, I might not live…If I die and need to come back again, I want to at least have a better starting point in my next life…And if I live well I’ll do whatever is up to me to get the freedom in this life. I spent 25 years on the spiritual path before I met Vedanta, I don’t want to waste any more time. Every moment I contemplate on the teachings and do self-inquiry .
Sundari: You cannot ‘do’ your way to freedom, though I know what you mean. Self-inquiry does take dedication. If you die tomorrow or in 40 years’ time, you, the Self, cannot die – its impossible, unless you are identified with Shay and the body he appears in. Death comes only for the jiva, and is beautiful. Perhaps the most beautiful experience we will ever have as a jiva. It’s only the trauma and suffering associated with death that makes it seem so terrible. That’s all you need to know to live or die well.
Sundari: After our satsang on zoom yesterday – this is what you need to understand: Vedanta is a methodology designed to take a qualified inquirer through all the stages of inquiry. It is a long and SLOW process because ignorance is so hardwired and subtle. You are a serious and dedicated inquirer, but what I got from our talk is that you think Vedanta is something you can study and once you have ‘completed’ the course, you should ‘get it’.Â
You have an excellent grasp of the basic teachings. Sadly, Moksa is not guaranteed that way. You could recite every part of the scripture and still be stuck in duality – which you are, even though you technically know the difference between satya and mithya. But satya and mithya are just principles employed by Vedanta as an aid in discrimination.
Vedanta is about you as the Self, but as a methodology it is a throw away once ignorance is removed. If you think you have ‘gained’ knowledge, you are identified with Self-knowledge as an object, you have indirect, not DIRECT Self-knowledge. Both ignorance and knowledge are objects known to you, the Self. The means of knowledge is in duality and it if you are identified with the means, it will keep you stuck if you do not assimilate its meaning. It’s the meaning that counts. We know people who have been ‘studying’ Vedanta for decades and are ‘experts’ on the teachings, yet moksa still eludes them.
The methodology of Vedanta is meant to remove ignorance of your true nature, that’s it. It is an already established end because you are never not the Self. You just don’t know what it means for the jiva to be the Self. You are always the Self, there is nothing to be gained in Vedanta – only lost. Ignorance, or Maya, is the hypnosis of duality – and is very very tricky. So tricky and subtle that it can convince you that you are free when you are actually thinking ‘inside the box’ of Maya, not outside it, as you are.
To think outside it, you first need to understand the teaching on cause and effect – which you do. But unless you can move past it onto the next stage of inquiry, which is the non-origination teaching, you will remain stuck. You seemed dismayed when I told you this yesterday. You had expectations, clearly, that I could provide you with something that would get you unstuck. Even though I warned you before our talk that there are no shortcuts to moksa, and I have no special powers. I can only unfold the teachings correctly, not remove your ignorance. That is up to Isvara, and depends on your qualifications and dedication to moksa.
You are clearly very dedicated, full marks on that, yet, you were still hoping for a quick fix in the form of a ‘special’ meditation. So the doer, the one who wants freedom through an action, the meditator, is still alive and well. No action taken by a limited entity – the doer in any form – is capable of a limitless result: Self-knowledge. Only Self-knowledge itself will remove your personal ignorance.
I have attached a longer satsang on the difference between both teachings mentioned, which are more extensively covered in the three books I sent you yesterday, particularly Inquiry into Existence and the Mandukya Karikas. Do your homework, keep at it, you are doing really well. Self-inquiry is hard, and it can seem like a slog. What price freedom?
You can take refuge in the fact that even if you only know what it means to be the Self intellectually, as indirect knowledge, you are, nonetheless, NEVER NOT THE SELF! You are safely on the Vedanta bus. Trust the scripture to ‘take you there’ even though there really is no ‘there’ to get to.
Love