Bindi

I read some of Aurobindo’s ideas about spiritual evolution which I’ve enjoyed, I’ve never come across Mirra Alfassa though.

I don’t see why that would be. Energies exist, they flow stronger as obstructions are removed, and they make their way eventually to the central channel, No nondual recognition required. Nondual understanding will arise afterwards, but the understanding of it before entering the central channel would be a mere shadow, all to often mistaken to be the “cosmic Truth”, and no tools to see the error. Read Sri Aurobindo’s disclaimer: At this stage the necessary knowledge and experience are usually lacking which would tell him that this is only a very uncertain and mixed beginning; he may not realise at once that he is still in the cosmic Ignorance, not in the cosmic Truth, much less in the Transcendental Truth, and that whatever formative or dynamic idea-truths may have come down into him are partial only and yet further diminished by their presentation to him by a still mixed consciousness. He may fail to realise also that if he rushes to apply what he is realising or receiving as if it were something definitive, he may either fall into confusion and error or else get shut up in some partial formation in which there may be an element of spiritual Truth but it is likely to be outweighted by more dubious mental and vital accretions that deform it altogether. Wake up nondualists! And what good is a light body?

Bart Simpson’s meaning.

You’re speaking as one of the nondually awakened now? Aye Carrumba.

~ Sri Aurobindo (1932)

Absobloodylutely! The non-duality glossary.

I agree liminal luke’s answer is the correct nondual answer. Preferring life to death is sooo dual.

………..edited

“Consciousness works precisely the way I said it does. You can believe what you want though.” ~ dwai

This seems clear, if you are truly disidentified from the physical and the subtle body there will be no ego. Nondualists can examine this for themselves, if there is any ego, any smugness, ever, there is still identification with the physical or subtle body, and they are not operating from their pure Self. Also for the Jivan-mukta the power of God works wonderfully without any obstacle. To equate nonduality with the ultimate, the pure Self or Atman, is to inherently claim that because you are nondually ‘awake’ you are beyond ego, and that God works wonderfully without any obstacle in you.

Which begs the question did you start with a realisation that you were not this body? Not as a taught concept but as an experience that shatters the belief that you are this one body in this one lifetime? How about all the other nondualists, have they shattered this first identification, or is body disidentification a learnt theory or a sub-realisation of the nondual realisation? My own intrinsic assumption was shattered when I was twelve.

Dwai divorces nondual experience from any underlying subtle energy, and since he’s one of the biggest promoters of non-dualism here, and since a lot of other self-professed nondualists seem to agree with a lot that he says, I can tend to take his statements as the nondual perspective. I personally think nondual perception is relatable to the subtle energy body.

Ramana Maharshi’s first realisation was ‘I am not my body’. Starting at the beginning. But if this is merely accepted as true from an intellectual position, then it is not realised, and it doesn’t count. Same with disidentifying from the emotional and mental levels, if it is just learnt intellectual assent, it doesn’t count. Without these disidentifications actually being realised, errors can be made further down the line.

It is a way of perceiving that goes on in the background, it is always there, sometimes it’s noticed either in meditation or not in meditation, but non-dualists think that this way of perceiving is better than body level perception or emotional or mental ways of perceiving, and work towards perceiving from this level as much as possible. Still sounds like anandamaya kosha to me. Meditation perhaps brings a person to an early direct experience of nonduality, but without recognising earlier perception levels the nondual level is erroneously over-valued.

I have previously been informed on the authority of dwai that development of the subtle energy body no matter for what purpose is dualistic and therefore not it. What is nondual about a meditative mindset whilst giving a massage? Anyway to me this is setting the bar very low in terms of what is possible with energy healing.

Your heaven on earth is warm, friendly and creative, my heaven on earth involves active subtle energy healers who know what is in people’s hearts (for example Saint Seraphim of Sarov). The non-dualist must see this as too dual, I see the return of the non-dualist as not enough.

I think most ideas about primordial mind have come from projections about primordial mind, I don’t think anyone is actually operating from primordial mind, and in history maybe one or two ever have actually operated from primordial mind. So I’d say 'It's just illusion, man” is merely a projection from non-primordial minds. My top two for having actualised primordial mind are Jesus and the founder of neidan/waidan. In both systems the point of this life is to establish immortality of some sort or another: 2 Timothy 1:10 but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, John 6:50 This is the bread which comes down out of heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. John 8:51. Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he will never see death.” John 11:26 and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?” Immortality is the stated outcome of neidan as well, “Neidan, or internal alchemy (內丹术; 內丹術; nèidān shù), is an array of esoteric doctrines and physical, mental, and spiritual practices that Taoist initiates use to prolong life and create an immortal spiritual body that would survive after death (Skar and Pregadio 2000, 464).” What to do once immortality is attained they don’t really say, maybe those instructions get handed to you once you’ve attained immortal status.

If life gives you melons, you might have dyslexia.

I like the perspective that we all have blocks, and as they get removed we approach absolute nature which cannot be experienced directly (what is the difference between experiencing nonduality and experiencing absolute nature?) Perhaps we differ in that I deliberately removed blocks at first, and then later I found the momentum built to a point that it just happens now, wuwei. I’m a big proponent therefore of youwei before wuwei. I haven’t experienced non-duality but I have experienced ‘non-clinging mind’ for two entire days, thoughts flowing through without any grasping onto them, disentangled from them, and this was a very nice experience. So my sights are set lower, I look forward to this ungrasped thought state being permanent one day. Re: ego I wonder if self-interest is the problem and other interest the ‘self-realised’ state, as opposed to the neutrality or indifference that I equate with nonduality, at least as it is popularly presented. To fully identify with objects is one thing, but to develop a mind that cannot but care for the welfare of others because the gaze is not entangled with self (and concomitantly to develop the subtle agency to actually do something that can substantially improve another’s welfare) is something else, and I’m not convinced that nondual experience is a necessary part of of this sort of self-development. Btw this is not a moral stance or a path that I chose, rather it’s the path that I find myself on.

mi thread es tu thread 🔱

You used to have a tendency?

Nonduality is the ultimate ex-president of the United States card

Nonduality is the ultimate trump card.

Two is not enough To wield the splendiferous non-jewel only three rings will suffice

🙏 I don’t follow any theory, so ‘the non-dual nature of Yin and Yang at its core’ may or may not be true. What I do see instead of nonduality for me at the moment is a triplicity based on the three main channels, with the middle channel a bit higher. “The true I is my subtle energy body functioning properly”? I think this is my holy grail, and just one more limiting attachment to the nondualist.