neti neti

This is from "Demons of the Flesh", by Nikolas Schreck. Not quite Hindu per se, but a "Left-Hand" Tantric perspective nonetheless:

No worries. I only intended to highlight the text's source, as its surrounding context would reveal. That is all. Perhaps it would have been clearer if I'd written "not quite Hinduism proper", as the Tantric "left-hand" current is generally considered taboo or apostasy. The focus of what I've extracted and shared is that regardless of sect-specific practices, or whether or not one accepts what is seen to be "real", the manipulation of Maya should be considered a tool of sorts, a stepping stone... not the end goal(as if there were one). Regards.

"To be affronted by solitude without decadence or a single material thing to prostitute it, elevates you to a spiritual plane... where I felt the presence of God. There's the God they taught me about at school... And there is the God that's hidden by what surrounds us in this civilization. That's the God I met on the mountain." ~John Malkovich, (Alive 1993)

Rare is the birth of faith in something. If such faith is born, do not let the infant perish. - Muruganar

The following is a twitter blog by Pradeep Apte called, "The Parabrahman." It consists of 221 tweets he put together. I've taken the liberty of correcting a few textual errors, and marking some divisions for easier reading. It's posted here in 4 sections... Please quote and comment freely. 1. With the grace of the Guru Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj, who is the “Sadguru Parabrahman”, Parabrahman tweets… 2. Right now, right here, while reading this, you are Parabrahman. The essence of Vedic science can be experienced directly and immediately. 3. As Parabrahman you are always there, yet unseen. Without the Sadguru’s teaching you can never ‘see’ yourself. 4. As these tweets proceed, always remember throughout that Parabrahman, Sadguru and the Guru Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj are all the same. 5. The direct teaching first, if you are spiritually mature enough to grasp it in one or few more re-readings, instantly you are Parabrahman. 6. The Guru says “You are Parabrahman and nothing else”. Accept it with great conviction and all that appears will seem to be palpably false. 7. I am the Parabrahman only! Adhere to this fundamental principle. 8. Accepting the Guru’s words with total conviction can transform your entire destiny, entire life. 9. The deep sense in you that ‘I am’ must accept that you are Parabrahman, not the mind. For that remain focused on the ‘I am’ without words. 10. By remaining focused or meditating on the ‘I am’ you become a witness to it and then, you stand apart as Parabrahman. 11. Only a non-illusory state can know the illusory state. The no-being state is the Parabrahman. 12. Brahman is manifest; Parabrahman is beyond or prior to that. Parabrahman is prior to consciousness or ‘I am’, it means the unborn state. 13. The eternal means: the Unborn. The truth is like that. The eternal is like that. 14. The one who recognizes all these time-bound stages is beyond time, is prior to time. Stay put there as the Parabrahman. 15. When knowing is transformed into not-knowing, that is liberation, you are Parabrahman. 16. Directly realize Parabrahman and finally know that nothing ever came to be. Thus rest in not-knowing with no need to know or read anymore. 17. Rare is the one bestowed with an extra-ordinary spiritual acumen to grasp the truth and realize Parabrahman at once or in a short while. 18. Such rare embodiments of truth, for the sake of the less fortunate ones, elaborate the teachings on Parabrahman as experienced by them. 19. We proceed with the teachings imparted by Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj through his dialogues using the Dasbodh by Swami Ramdas as a guideline. 20. The Dasbodh verse 51/sub-chapter 3/Chapter 8/ forms the very basis of the entire teaching of Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj. 21. “In the attributeless still expanse of Reality (Parabrahman) the inspiration ‘I Am’ arose. This is itself the primal illusion.” ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 22. Before elaborating on this, just for the sake of a new reader, or even the old one who wishes to brush up his fundamentals – a recap. 23. Knowledge means Self-knowledge where the Self sees only itself. This is called real or pure knowledge or “Jnana”. The Self is Parabrahman. 24. Primarily this means to know God. Knowledge is to reflect deeply upon the Eternal and the ephemeral and know one’s true “Self” (Swaroopa). 25. Nothing is found in the world as pure as Self-knowledge. As long as Self-knowledge is not clear everything is meaningless and useless. 26. The four stages towards Self-knowledge are, the Bound (Baddha), the Seeker (Mumukshu), the Aspirant (Sadhaka) and the Realized One (Siddha). 27. One can judge for oneself at which stage one is, only the One with Self-knowledge, the Siddha, can truly be said to be liberated. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 28. Liberation, though a single step, is divided into four stages for understanding only: Swalokata, Samipata, Swaroopata, and Sayujya Mukti. 29. Swalokata means to live in the abode of God, Samipata means to live very close to God and Swaroopata means to appear like God. 30. In Sayujya Mukti one merges with God. It is ‘liberation as complete identification with the Self’, with no traces of any duality at all. 31. Liberation is a single movement of disappearance (of the false self or ego) and no clear boundaries can be drawn between these stages. 32. Understand well that the first three stages are reversible and one can fall back to old ways but Sayujya Mukti in irreversible and forever. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 33. To acquire Self-knowledge or Parabrahman, meditation is the only way in which it can be done by the two main-stream teachings: Yoga and Vedanta. 34. In Yoga and Vedanta, meditation is a mental process by which the meditator becomes one with the object of meditation. 35. Concentration (dharana) is the preliminary stage, which when it becomes effortless and continuous takes the form of meditation (dhyana). 36. When the mind continuously flows towards its object, meditation culminates in total absorption (samadhi) in the object of meditation. 37. The sacred texts define concentration as one-pointed focus on any object, internal or external. 38. On focusing the mind uninterruptedly for twelve seconds on a specific object, we are said to achieve one unit of concentration. 39. Twelve such successive units of concentration make one unit of meditation, and twelve such successive units of meditation lead to Samadhi. 40. Concentration, meditation and absorption are the three depths of meditation which culminates in absorption into the object meditated upon. 41. The teachings of Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj and the Dasbodh are essentially of Vedanta, so the Yoga system is only briefly described here. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 42. To attain the goal of Self-realization, the Yoga system employs an eight-fold system of practice consisting of eight steps or ‘limbs’. 43. The first five are restraint (yama), discipline (niyama), posture (asana), control of breath (pranayam) and withdrawal of mind (pratyahara). 44. The next three are concentration (dharana), meditation (dhyana) and absorption (Samadhi) already described in earlier tweets. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 45. Meditation according to Vedanta is an intense form of worship (upasana) which eventually leads to the direct perception of Parabrahman. 46. The Vedantic practices for meditation are divided into two groups: foundational and structural. 47. In Vedanta, success in structural practices is proportional to the success in foundational practices. 48. The four foundational disciplines are: discrimination, dispassion, mastery over six virtues and intense longing for liberation. 49. Discrimination is between the real and the unreal and dispassion means giving up all desires, whether for this world or the next. 50. Of the six virtues to be mastered the first three are: control of mind, control of senses and withdrawal of mind from sense objects. 51. The next three to be mastered are: fortitude, faith in the words of the Guru and scriptures and concentration of the mind upon Brahman. 52. The essence of the six virtues is self-control, without which the quest for Self-knowledge is an empty dream. 53. Intense longing for liberation is most crucial as its intensity determines the achievement of the goal which is, Parabrahman. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 54. The three steps of meditation in Vedanta are: hearing (shravana), reflecting (manana) and meditation (nididhyasana). 55. Hearing is listening to the teachings of the Guru, reflecting is thinking constantly on the teachings heard from the Guru. 56. Meditation is constantly doing the practice (sadhana) as prescribed by the Guru to the exclusion of all other ideas or thoughts. 57. Meditation practiced earnestly without interruption for a long time, with intense love for the chosen ideal, culminates in samadhi. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 58. When Samadhi is with effort due to mental disturbances it is savikalpa, when these disturbances are absent it is nirvikalpa. 59. The immersion of the mind in the Self without its complete destruction (manolaya) is Kevala Nirvikalpa Samadhi. 60. With the mind destroyed (manonasa) and remaining permanently in the primal pure state without effort is Sahaja Nirvikapla Samadhi. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 159. Although Parabrahman is indescribable, yet for the one who wishes to know, the Guru describes Parabrahman in different ways. 160. Parabrahman, the Absolute Reality is without form, is not supported by anything, and is without any concepts or imagination. 161. Parabrahman is untroubled by any ailment, is beyond perception, and has no limbs or parts. 162. Parabrahman is beyond the five elements, is without any stain or blemish, and is free of any covering or coloring. 163. Parabrahman has nothing similar to it, is not dependent on anything else, and does not have any hope or desire for anything. 164. Parabrahman is never touched by darkness or ignorance, there is never a break in its pervasiveness and it is completely without attributes. 165. Parabrahman has nothing attached to it, is unmixed with anything else, and is always changeless and unmoving. 166. Parabrahman has no name, is unborn, it is not perceivable by senses, or cognizable by the mind or intellect. 167. Parabrahman cannot be measured, it has no duties to perform, it is indestructible and permanent. 168. Parabrahman has no end or limit, is unshakable, it never deviates from its own nature and it cannot be imagined. 169. Parabrahman, the Absolute Reality is beyond all the visible. Upon ‘seeing’ it one becomes That oneself. 170. Parabrahman can be understood through direct experience with the help of a Sadguru whose words are now going to follow. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 171. Every statement of the Sadguru is the deepest of deep statements. With that statement there is definite contentment. 172. Every statement of the Sadguru is Vedanta; every statement is the final doctrine, the Truth and should be your experience now. 173. This is the secret of my life which I am going to tell you now. Give your complete attention to every statement from this very moment. 174. ‘Sadguru Parabrahman!’ is the unheard that resonates loudly in every statement of my Guru, who is the Sadguru, Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj. 175. The essence and sum total of this whole talk is called ‘Sadguru Parabrahman’, that state in which there are no requirements. 176. I am the principle which survives all the creations and all the dissolutions, Sadguru Parabrahman. 177. Before the knowledge ‘I Am’ appeared on you, that is Parabrahman. If you revert properly the consciousness ‘I Am’ will disappear. 178. The Parabrahman does not know that it is – you are that underlying principle of consciousness – be That. 179. The one who knows these appearances is the Sadguru Parabrahman. ‘I amness’ is a part of the play. You are prior to the ‘I amness’. 180. The non-attention Parabrahman has no attention ‘I Am’. Before the beingness was there, look at That, be That – Sadguru Parabrahman. 181. Sadguru Parabrahman is your True nature, in it appears or comes the ‘I Am’, they are not two. 182. Donating the self you get Brahman, donating Brahman you get Parabrahman. The teaching that destroys the individual is exactly what you seek. 183. With reference to your true Parabrahman state, the illusion (maya) does not exist. You know what you are not – what you are you cannot know. 184. Sadguru Parabrahman is your eternal state; you cannot remember it because you have never forgotten it. 185. Sadguru Parabrahman means the eternal state, which will never change and what you already are. 186. The One directed by the Sadguru Parabrahman has no more birth, his Sadhana (spiritual practice) is over. 187. When beingness forgets itself that state is Parabrahman. I, who am there before consciousness, am not concerned with all that happens in it. 188. That which is eternally current is Parabrahman. Once you discard this ‘I amness’ uniform, what remains is the Parabrahman. 189. I was possessed by the five elemental ghost, but having stabilized in the Parabrahman, I know what it is and I am out of it. 190. You are, even before knowingness, you are. Sadguru Parabrahman is all love for no-knowingess. 191. The one who has firm conviction that except for ‘I amness’ there is no others self, he stabilizes in Parabrahman. 192. Abiding in itself this knowingness (‘I Am’) is able to quit this state and abide in the no-knowingess state, the Parabrahman. 193. Before you occurred to yourself as ‘I Am’, you were in the highest state – the Guru of gurus – Parabrahman. 194. As Parabrahman you are not the knowledge ‘I Am’. Only he who has lost his individuality has merged into Parabrahman. 195. Right now I am interested only in the state eight days prior to conception, the Parabrahman state. 196. Understand the beingness (‘I Am’) and its play, transcend it and abide in the state prior to conception, the Parabrahman state. 197. Prior to the appearance of this beingness (‘I Am’), you were purely Parabrahman, the Absolute. 198. Witnessing happens to the Absolute, which is the unborn eternal principle, called the Parabrahman. 199. With the transcendence of the knowledge ‘I Am’, the Absolute called the Parabrahman prevails, while the knowledge ‘I Am’ is termed Brahman. 200. When Brahman is transcended only the Parabrahman remains, without a trace of the knowledge ‘I Am’. 201. Would there be any necessity of beingness in the Parabrahman? The knowledge ‘I Am’ or beingness is an illusion. 202. The beingness or ‘I Am’ is a superimposition, a cloak of illusion over the Absolute or Parabrahman. 203. How was I in the absence of the message ‘I Am’ – that is prior to beingness? Find out. 204. Prior to experiencing the ‘I Am’ and the world I abided in myself, in my eternal Parabrahman state. 205. Without beingness – that is without the knowledge ‘I Am’ – Only my eternal Parabrahman state prevails. 206. When I do not have the knowingness of the ‘I Am’ illusion, the Parabrahman state prevails. 207. How was I before this sense of being (‘I Am’) appeared with the title of birth? You ever prevail without form, name or other illusory datum. 208. In spite of all your worldly activities, you are unborn – Parabrahman – you stand apart from all. 209. Go back one day prior to your conception which is the Parabrahman state with no needs for anything. 210. Catch hold of the knowledge ‘I Am’ in meditation and in the process the realization occurs that ‘I’ the Absolute am not the ‘I Am’. 211. Can you give me a sample of your True state? This sample-less condition is called the Parabrahman – a non-experiential state. 212. In the Parabrahman state ‘I Am’ or ‘I Am not’ are both totally forgotten, this is the highest type of rest – Param Vishranti. 213. This temporary state of consciousness appears on the original Parabrahman state which is unconditioned, without attributes and identity. 214. Being Brahman you loose identification with the body, and in that state you will see that you are not even Brahma but the Parabrahman. 215. The one who understands while living that he is nirguna – qualityless, attributeless – only he knows Parabrahman. 216. Turiya, the birth principle, means where the consciousness is and the one who transcends that, who knows turiya, is Turiyatita. 217. Whatever information I have prior to birth, that is the only correct information. That knowledge is Parabrahman. 218. Effortlessly you are that, the Parabrahman, only you must stand for that with conviction. 219. The conviction that this world never existed can happen only to Parabrahman. If this is indeed your conviction, then you are Parabrahman. 220. You are the Reality beyond the ‘I Am’, you are Parabrahman, meditate on this and remember this, finally this idea too shall leave you. 221. Understand the ‘I Am’, abide in it and transcend it to realize that you are Parabrahman.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 124. The Self is one but what appears is a diverse universe, thus in order to understand the Self, it has been divided into four categories. 125. The first is the individual Self (Jivatma), the second is the God Self (Shivatma); the third is the Self beyond the universe (Paramatma). 126. The fourth Self is the one unrelated to anything (Nirmalatma); all four appear to be different, inferior or superior but are one Self only. 127. A simile has been commonly used to understand the nature of the Self using space under different levels of confinement. 128. There is space in the pot (ghatakash), space in the monastery (mathakash) or room and space outside the monastery or room (mahakash). 129. Then there is space which is pure and totally unrelated to anything (chidakash). All these four types of space comprise of one space only. 130. The space occupying the pot (ghatakash) is like the individual Self (Jivatma) that occupies the body. 131. The space in the monastery (mathakash) or room is like the Self that occupies the universe as God (Shivatma). 132. The space outside the monastery or room (mahakash) is like the Self that is beyond the appearance of the universe (Paramatma). 133. Then there is the pure space that is unalloyed with anything (chidakash) it is like the Self without attributes (Nirmalatma) or Parabrahman. 134. This chidakash must not be confused by the same word being used in Yoga for the space behind the center of the eyebrows (ajna chakra). 135. Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj calls chidakash subtler than physical space, expansive but still confined by the knowingness ‘I Am’. 136. Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj says that the highest is paramakash where there is no ‘is’ or ‘is not’, it transcends everything. 137. The Self is the Supreme God, the doer of everything, because of him the vast expanse of this universe has appeared. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 138. The Self bears endless names and creates innumerable energies. The wise understand that he is the Primal Being (Purusha). 139. The recognition of this Primal Beingness is itself the ‘Primal Illusion’ (Moolmaya; Prakriti). All action and everything come from there. 140. The Primal Illusion itself is Primal Being. That itself is the ‘Lord of the Universe’ (Jagadish) and is given endless number of names. 141. How has the Primal illusion come from That which is formless? How does this false mesmerism come into play? 142. In the still empty space, the wind began to stir. In a similar way, the awareness of the Primal Illusion arose. 143. The stirring of the wind doesn’t break the space; similarly the Primal Illusion arises without affecting That which is without attributes. 144. The wind did not originally exist and is formless, similarly the Primal Illusion is perceived but its form is not seen. 145. Reality is without parts, but Illusion makes it seem to have many parts. The Illusion is never there at all, yet it appears to be real. 146. The inspiration ‘I Am’ (Aham) arose in the attributeless still expanse of Reality or Parabrahman, this inspiration is itself illusion. 147. The Primal Illusion (Moolmaya) gave birth to the disturbance of the three attributes, so it is also called the ‘disturber’ (Gunakshobini). 148. From the disturbance arose the three attributes (Gunas), Sattva, Rajas and Tamas, and then the five elements were formed from Tamas. 149. The five elements combined together with the three attributes (Gunas) is called the ‘eightfold manifestation’ (ashtadha prakriti). 150. Thus the Primal Illusion (Moolmaya) gives birth to the ‘Illusion with attributes’ (Gunmaya) in which all activity appears. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 151. It is imagination which removes Illusion and it is imagination which remembers Brahman. Duality and non-duality appear in imagination. 152. Imagination is the mother of duality and in principle, knowledge too. Both bondage and liberation are imagined only in imagination. 153. Imagination running strong imagines an otherwise non-existent universe and instantly it can imagine the pure nature of Self. 154. Imagination being the root cause of everything, if eliminated at its root (the feeling ‘I Am’) leads one straight to Parabrahman. 155. The conviction of Parabrahman conquers imagination. With definite conviction doubt is banished and abandoned forever. 156. Eliminate imagination with imagination. Certain imagination is considered as correct and uncertain as incorrect. 157. Imagination of non-duality is correct and that which imagines duality is incorrect. Use the former to destroy the latter. 158. Correct imagination imagines itself as the attributeless Parabrahman. By continuous contemplation on one’s Self nature duality dissolves. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 61. There are nine types of devotion (bhakti, worship): Shravan, Kirtan, Namasmaran, Padsevan, Archana, Vandana, Dasya, Sakhya and Atmanivedan. 62. No one type is superior to the others, all lead to Parabrahman and proceed through the four stages of liberation described earlier. ~(#28) 63. The first type of devotion, Shravan, means listening but in present times can be taken to mean reading or any study leading to Parabrahman. 64. Through Shravan one learns about the five elements and the three qualities which make up the eight-fold creation (ashtadha prakriti). 65 The five elements are: Earth, Water, Fire, Wind and Space, each with its group of five attributes that make up the gross world. 66. The three qualities are: Sattva (purity, virtue), Rajas (worldly activity) and Tamas (ignorance, evil), each having a pure and impure form. 67. Through Shravan one learns about the four great statements, the four bodies and four states of consciousness, their origin and negation. 68. The Four Great statements are: Tat Tvam Asi, Pradyanam Brahma, Ayam Atma Brahman and Aham Brahmasmi. 69. The Four Great statements mean: You are That, Wisdom or True knowledge is Brahma, The Self is Brahman and I am Brahman. 70. The Four bodies are: Gross, Subtle, Causal and Supra-causal, which correspond to the four states of Waking, Dream, Deep sleep and Turiya. 71. Turiya means “the fourth”, a sense of pure ‘Being’ or ‘I Am’, on which the other three states appear to come and go. 72. When Shravan is intense one likes to hear or read only about Parabrahman, and then one gets focused on a single statement or word. 73. On meditating uninterruptedly on a single statement or word, it disappears along with the meditator and the wordless Parabrahman remains. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 74. The second type of devotion is Kirtan, which means narrating stories of God and Bhajan, which is singing songs of God’s praise and glory. 75. These narrations or songs begin with descriptions of God with attributes (saguna) and end up on the God without attributes (nirguna). 76. The one doing Kirtan or Bhajan builds up a crescendo losing himself completely at the peak and merging into the formless Parabrahman. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 77. The third type of devotion is remembering or reciting the name of God (namasmarana), any God that one easily loves can be chosen. 78. One should have the discipline to continuously recite or remember the name God in the morning, afternoon, evening and before going to bed. 79. One should not be without the name of God at anytime, whether in a state of happiness, sorrow, distress, worry or joy. 80. As the reciting or remembering of Gods name grows intense it follows a reverse path through the four types of speech (vani). 81. Speech or vani is one, but only for the sake of understanding has been split into four: vaikhari, madhyama, pashayanti and para. 82. Para means no word, pashayanti means formative or intangible word, madhyama means tangible word or thought and vaikahri means spoken word. 83. When we speak all four vanis are involved and operate as a single unit, in reverse order it’s a movement from the gross to the subtle. 84. In fact Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj has used the ‘vani’ or speech in reverse order (from ‘vaikhari to ‘para’) for going beyond. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 85. The fourth type of devotion is Padsevan, which means, serving the feet of the Guru, without whose blessing nothing is possible. 86. Understand that the serving of the Guru is to serve the Sadguru (True master), with body, speech and mind to realize the Self. 87. The Sadguru points to what is true and provokes the thought of discrimination between the True (real) and false (unreal). 88. The Sadguru through his teachings inspires the inner determination with which one realizes Parabrahman, the Absolute Reality. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 89. The fifth type of devotion is Archana, which means ritual worship of God as prescribed by the ancient scriptures. 90. The outward worship is usually done of an idol or image of God with different offerings, chantings and prayers. 91. The inward worship (manas puja) is done by closing the eyes and imagining the whole ritual worship in the mind. 92. Archana when done intensely becomes a meditation and leads to loss of individuality, then one merges with God and attains Parabrahman. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 93. The sixth type of devotion is Vandana (Bowing) which means bowing in full prostration to God and Guru with deep devotion. 94. By bowing one becomes humble, doubts are removed and bonds of friendship develop with many good people. 95. There is nothing like bowing as it is easy and doesn’t cost anything. When bowing is done, it should be done with complete surrender. 96. On being intense, the devotion of bowing leads to complete loss of ego and one disappears in Parabrahman and is free forever. 97. It is believed that the One who masters the devotion of bowing, develops astonishing powers like even if he bows to a corpse it will come alive! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 98. The seventh type of devotion is called Dasya bhakti which is to offer oneself completely at the service of God like a servant or slave. 99. In this type of devotion one does all his work, vocational or other duties, as a service to God and looks for God everywhere in his work. 100. Obviously when this type of devotion is done earnestly one is bound to lose all individuality and dissolve into the Reality or Parabrahman. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 101. The eighth type of devotion is called Sakhya bhakti which is to develop a deep friendship with God. 102. One takes delight in this supreme friendship with God and loves him only and thus comes very close to him. 103. God means Atman or one’s own Self, in this devotion one stays with or befriends one’s own Self and never gives it up for even a moment. 104. In the intense practice of devotion of such a type that involves a deep friendship with the Self, attainment of Parabrahman is inevitable. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 105. The ninth type of devotion is Atmanivedan which means self-surrender to God, for which one has to know what God is. 106. The scriptures tell us that to know God one has to look within oneself and thus in the quest of God a process of self-enquiry is undertaken. 107. One should find out ‘Who am I?’ Upon investigating what one takes oneself to be, it clearly reveals that there is no individual called ‘I’. 108. When misidentifications are cast off one by one, how can this ‘I’ remain? This is the way self-surrender happens easily. 109. When through discrimination (viveka), everything that is taken to be oneself is discarded, the ‘I’ is clearly seen to be non-existent. 110. When even creation is cast off and only the Self remains, how can any ‘I’ be found there? 111. The one true identity is Parabrahman, the second is creation that appears on it, so where can the third identity ‘I’ come in between? 112. The ‘I’ proved false and with misidentification of the body dispelled, on further investigation, it is seen that nothing really exists. 113. Thus it is revealed that because one takes the ‘I’ to be real, everything else such as the body, world and universe appear to be real. 114. By being the witness, misidentifications disappear, and with the experience of the Self (Atman), even the witness itself does not remain. 115. Only the Self remains in the beginning and the end, so how can there be an independently existing ‘I’? 116. The Self is One, the fullness of ‘Self-bliss’. With the understanding that ‘I am the Self’, where is there any separate ‘I’ remaining? 117. When one investigates ‘Who am I?’(koham?), ‘I am That’ (soham) is the answer and only the Self is seen, so how can any separate ‘I’ exist? 118. The Self has neither qualities nor absence of qualities, is neither dual nor non-dual, being devoid of attributes, how can ‘I’ exist there? 119. When the intellect becomes firm in the oneness of one’s ‘True form’ (swaroop), how can there be any separate ‘I’? 120. Such is the ninth type of devotion called self-surrender (Atmanivedan) which is the satisfaction of the knowledgeable (jnanis). 121. Without self-surrender (Atmanivedan), the cycles of birth and death cannot be escaped. This is a proven truth without any doubt. 122. If the nine types of devotion are practiced, one can gain the greatest ‘Liberation of identification with the Self’ (Sayujya Mukti). 123. Understand that ‘Liberation of identification with the Self’ (Sayujya Mukti) is unchangeable, irreversible and indestructible. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

For me the experience nearly always precedes the understanding, and I then end up being shown the text explaining what occurred after the fact. For example, dwai posted his experience of his "mind dropping down into the heart" shortly after it had occurred to me(!) It was wonderful to read his take on it just when I was about to dismiss it all.... I was then led to Ramana Maharshi's material on the subject which I had somehow remained unaware of. Double dose! There seems to be a very undeniable veil over certain texts which prevent understanding until the appointed time. I suppose the mystery makes for a more joyous discovery... first the what, and then the how.

Dattātreya, The Way and the Goal - by Sri Jaya Chamarajendra Wadiyar Bahadur Kaivalya Navaneeta, Cream of Liberation - by Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi Happiness and The Art of Being - by Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi The Gnosis or Ancient Wisdom in the Christian Scriptures: Or the Wisdom in a Mystery - by William Kingsland

"I started a joke which started the whole world crying But I didn't see that the joke was on me oh no I started to cry which started the whole world laughing Oh If I'd only seen that the joke was on me I looked at the skies running my hands over my eyes And I fell out of bed hurting my head from things that I said 'Till I finally died which started the whole world living Oh if I'd only seen that the joke was on me I looked at the skies running my hands over my eyes And I fell out of bed hurting my head from things that I said 'Till I finally died which started the whole world living Oh if I'd only seen that the joke was on me Oh no that the joke was on me " -The Bee Gees

I can dig it. Can't help but feel like it was just the death of an idea though... just the death of who I thought I was. Oh but it sure felt like dying! An intense death! But I'm grateful.

"Go, my friend, seek your goal by sifting the pure from the false and seize hold of that which has survived the centuries and emerged progressive and intact, not as a hoary belief to be venerated but as a positive path of action and reaction. This path does exist, it exists everywhere and in every age, yet it hides itself from the unready, the sensation-seekers and the self-indulgent. It is a hard path and one of total commitment and absolute discipline. Its reward is extinction." ~Rafael Lefort

The world does not exist without the body; the body never at any time exists without the mind; the mind does not exist at all apart from consciousness; and consciousness too does not exist apart from being. If you remain still, without paying attention to this, without paying attention to that, and without paying attention to anything at all, you will, simply through your powerful attention to being, become the Reality, the vast eye, the unbounded space of consciousness. ~Ramana Maharshi

"God has not created us for self-dominion, but as instruments of his wonder." "I am a string in the concert of God's joy." "I, God, press through your branches into the sap and bear fruit on your boughs. For it is the young tree grown out of the old root which shall illuminate what the old tree has been in its wonders." ~Jacob Boehme

"In whatever form a devotee desires with faith to worship, it is I alone who inspire him with constancy therein, and depending on that faith he seeks the propitiation of that God, obtaining the object of his wishes as is ordained by me alone." ~Krishna

"The lotus is a flower that grows in the mud. The thicker and deeper the mud, the more beautiful the lotus blooms."

"The boat moves in the water, but water should never enter into it. Though one lives in the world, the world should not occupy one’s mind. Not like a boat’s sail, outspread wide and worn away by wind and weather, but like the humble anchor, sunk in the vast ocean’s depth, the mind should plunge and settle in the heart of wisdom." ~Muruganar