Structured Teaching 6.4
God, The Holy Trinity and Love
Structured Teaching 6.4
Author: Tom Das
Ramana Maharshi: How to ‘become the reality’ | Self-abidance | The ‘vision of God’ | The end of suffering
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
Guru Vachaka Kovai
Verse 647
Tom’s comments:
Guru Vachaka Kovai is argueably the most authoritative text on Ramana Maharshi’s verbal teachings. The instruction here is simply to be still. Not to be attentive to anything at all – just to be.
Ramana then uses the wording ‘through your powerful attention to being’. Given the first part of the verse which says not to be attentive to anything, this implies that not being attentive to any particular thing and remaining still and aware is synonymous with ‘attention to being’. This means that being is not something to be attentive of, ie. being is not an object of attention, but ‘attention to being’ is simply the state of being aware but not have your awareness focused on any particular thing.
What is the reward? The reward is that we ‘become the reality’. As Ramana has stated many times, there is actually no ‘becoming’ the reality. Reality is always already here, pure and whole, but realising this could be called ‘becoming the reality’:
There is no reaching the Self. If the Self were to be reached, it would mean that the Self is not now and here, but that it should be got anew. What is got afresh will also be lost. So it will be impermanent. What is not permanent is not worth striving for. So, I say, the Self is not reached. You are the Self; you are already That.
Ramana Maharshi, Talk with Sri Ramana Maharshi, talk no. 251
Here are 2 other verses, also from Guru Vachaka Kovai that say essentially the same thing but using different language:
348. Having become free from concepts, which are afflicting thoughts, and with the ‘I am the body’ idea completely extinguished, one ends up as the mere eye of grace, the non-dual expanse of consciousness. This is the supremely fulfilling vision of God
349. Having restrained the deceitful senses, and having abandoned mental concepts, you should stand aloof in your real nature. In that state of Self-Abidance in which you remain firmly established in the consciousness of the Heart, Sivam will reveal itself.
In verse 348 we can see how here the emphasis is on freedom from concepts and thoughts. When the ‘I am the body’ idea has been completely extinguished, then ignorance, the cause of suffering, has been rooted out, and all that remains is Reality, which in this verse Ramana calls ‘the non-dual expanse of consciousness’ or ‘God’.
It is worth noting that this is not simply an insight teaching, but also a purification teaching in which, over time, through the repeated practice of ‘self-abidance’, the ignorance ‘I am the body’ is uprooted. Only when this is done is the vision of God fully realised.
Again, in verse 349, a similar concept is explored in a slightly different way. The senses here are termed ‘deceitful’ meaning that they promise pleasure and fulfillment when really pursuit of pleasure and fulfillment through the senses actually leads only to the perpetuation of the cycle of suffering. Therefore we turn away from objects as sources of fulfillment and also we ‘abandon mental concepts’. Once we have done this, we are already standing ‘aloof in our real nature’. Standing in our real nature is not something we have to do, but it naturally arises once we stop attending to objects and thoughts (which are subtle objects).
The latter part of verse 349 says we should ‘remain firmly established’ in this stillness. Here, this state is also called ‘the Heart’. The ‘remain firmly’ implies the importance of practice, ie. remaining in this state for sometime. Only then will it have it effect of God-realisation or ‘Sivam revealing itself’, which is when the ignorance of the false ‘I’ has been rooted out through repeated practice.
Again, it is worth noting that unlike insight teachings which simply point out the presence of awareness/consciousness, this teaching goes further and asks us to ‘remain in that awareness’ in order for ignorance to be uprooted. In this context, remain in awareness is just a phrase to mean that we don’t seek outwardly through objects such as sense objects (gross objects) or thoughts and concepts (ie. subtle objects).
This is the path to ending suffering, as the next verse, also taken from Guru Vachaka Kovai, states. The word mauna refers to the state of silence or stillness beyond words and the word jiva refers to the apparent individual:
350. The true vision of reality that is free from veiling ignorance is the state in which one shines in the Heart as the ocean of bliss, the inundation of grace. In the mauna experience that surges there as wholly Self, and which is impossible to think about, not a trace of grief or discontent exists for the jiva.
❤
OM NAMO
BHAGAVATE
SRI RAMANAYA
OM
❤
Non-duality – doesn’t talking about it ruin it?
Structured teaching 6.1
Even though I understand the teachings, why do I suffer?
The problem with Satsang
When I first started to teach, I taught in a satsang style that is typical of many teachers of non-duality in the West, and increasingly in the East too: we would meet in a group, maybe have a bit of silence at the start, maybe a quick introductory few sentences from myself. Then someone would ask a question, and I would answer. Another question, another answer, and so on.
Afterwards many people told me about how good they felt being at the meetings, how wonderful the energy was, how appreciative they were of me and of the support from the rest of the group. And I liked it too. I enjoyed sharing the teachings with people who were genuinely interested.
So, why did I stop?
Because it wasn’t working. Simple.
Sure – people felt good. Sure – people felt they were getting answers. And sure – people felt they were ‘progressing’. But as they say: ‘the proof is in the pudding.’ Feeling good and getting the answers are great, but for me that’s not enough.
The teachings needs to penetrate to the core of you and lead to a genuine realisation, a lived realisation, and not just empty concepts that don’t actually free us from suffering. That’s what I want for you, genuine Freedom, and I hope that’s what you want for yourself. Settle for nothing less.
People were not getting the teachings. And I thought I was explaining it all perfectly (lol!). Why were they not getting it? Why were they not listening? They seem to be listening. They seemed to be trying to listen. Yet the words didn’t seem to be working, falling on deaf ears.
The power of ignorance
I started to realise just how powerful and pervasive the root ignorance was, how tricky and slippery it was. Whatever answer was being given was turned into a tool for perpetuating the ego. No matter what answer was given, it was heard by the ego, gobbled up and the ego got bigger. Ignorance was not cut asunder at the root, it was actually often being fueled.
I started to realise that there were some basic mistakes that people kept on making, and no matter how many times I explained it to them, for the most part these mistakes were not being corrected. There wasn’t just one mistake, but a whole series of mistakes that were being made by most seekers. I began to spot patterns emerging and designing remedies for these mistakes.
The remedy
Don’t get me wrong. Satsang is and can be a wonderful and powerful tool for genuine realisaton. The teachings given are both verbal and non-verbal. But my experience was that Satsang alone, for most people, isn’t enough. Not unless you are already very ‘ripe’or ‘ready’.
The ignorance is too deep rooted and strong. There are too many misconceptions and false assumptions that can be answered in a simple Q&A format. Instead a more careful study is required. Instead the mind needs to be exposed to a structured teaching that has been designed to remove the ignorance at the root. A teaching that has been structured in such a way that it makes it more difficult for the ego to take it and turn it into a way of perpetuating itself. A teaching that, as much as possible, is accurate and makes sense. A teaching that is clear and removes confusion rather than increases confusion…
‘The Structured Teachings’
As I designed the remedies for the mistakes that were being made time after time in the seekers I came across, I realised that I was simply re-creating re-existing technologies. Suprise suprise, someone had already done this before me. As a seeker I had spent many years trawling through the original texts of various spiritual traditions, often in their original language, trying to decipher what it all meant and discover the truth for myself. Along the way I had conceptually learnt about a large number of teachings and techniques. Now I was starting to appreciate many of them in a much deeper way. They all started to make more sense. I began to see how certain teachings worked together against specific mistakes that seekers were making. The structured teaching were being born – I was stealing many of them from existing traditions, especially vedanta and buddhism, and giving them my own unique twist, updating them for today’s world.
Join me
I now teach the structured teachings both online and in person in Kingston Upon Thames (London, UK). They have proved to be very successful in that several people have ended sometimes years of seeking with these teachings and made a genuine discovery of the Freedom-that-already-is for themselves.
If this interests you, why not join me? See tomdas.com/events for more details
Poetry: Unplug Yourself
Unplug yourself:
For the one caught,
Hard and fast,
In the snare of society,
A period of sustained abstinence is necessary.
Unplug yourself:
From the media
From television
The radio.
Unplug yourself:
From naratives
In films
In books
In magazines.
Unplug yourself:
From idle chatter
From gossip
From social status.
Don’t believe the Hype.
Don’t believe the promise of a future happiness,
That lies outside of yourself,
Just around the corner,
In that Ferari,
In that person,
In that experience,
In that object.
Let go,
Let go of egoic desire,
Let go of that future promise of pleasure,
Let go of the pull of sensual desire,
Do not be afraid to feel that pain.
Be open,
Be open to your feelings,
Do not be afraid to think your thoughts,
Do not be afraid of what is.
Unplug yourself:
For the one caught,
Hard and fast,
In the snare of society,
A period of sustained abstinence is necessary.
Unplug yourself:
from your thoughts and mind.
This is the real unplugging:
Being unplugged from thoughts and mind.
I repeat:
This is the real unplugging:
Being unplugged from thoughts and mind.
Immerse yourself in Pure Consciousness,
Devoid of Mind, Body and World,
Ever-Free,
Joyous,
Full of love and light.
Remain here,
Until what has to be done,
Is done.
Remain here,
in Lovingness and Light,
Until what has to be done,
Is done.
❤
Silence and Freedom
Poetry: O! Murderous Heart!
Allow the mind to sink,
down down down,
down into the Heart.
Allow the mind to rest,
allow the thoughts to still,
and allow the Joy and Bliss,
(which is none other than the purifying Heart itself)
to well up.
Allow this to happen,
quite naturally,
unforced,
and paradoxically with no expectation.
The mind quietens,
and temporarily,
the self-centred egoic process does not exist.
With repeated cessation of the mind,
the self-image-centred ego is submerged,
then through time it is weakened,
and eventually it is consumed by the Gracious Heart.
Then all is left is Purity,
just Purity Purity Purity;
the resplendent Heart,
Bounteous,
Over-spilling with Joy.
The Energy,
seemingly boundless,
everywhere and everything…
…How can you speak of this?
My words are uttered in poetry,
not prose,
destined two fall upon the attentive ears
of one who has already discovered
the intoxication of the Self.
O! Murderous Heart!
You have smothered me,
Warmly and tenderly,
In the heat of your Love,
Where am I to be found?!
O!Words cannot describe Your wonder,
Your effulgence,
Your light,
Your love…
…words fill me with glory
Yours and Mine;
our glory is but One Glory:
it is Me,
and it has nothing to do with me;
it is Mine,
and yet it is not mine;
it is here,
but it is no particular thing;
it is everything,
but not even everything.
Yes…words cannot touch this,
yet these words spew forth,
like an idiot talking to a drunkard,
somehow it all makes perfect sense.
❤
Non-duality: ‘I got it, I lost it’ sustaining the experience of Freedom
THIS THURSDAY ONLINE MEETING: The Structured ‘Enlightenment’ Teachings
Hello everyone
This Thursday in our ONLINE meeting we start another run through ‘The Structured Teachings’. As many of you already know, this way of teaching is proving to be highly effective with several attendees already ‘getting it’ in recent months, ending their seeking and watching their suffering slip away…
We start with the basics and gradually build up from there. Eventually we go beyond all verbal teachings. The aim is to create crystal clarity, dispel the confusion that exists in the spiritual market place, and allow each and everyone of you to understand and realise the Freedom that already is here for yourself. Not to just have a conceptual understanding, but actually have a genuine lived realisation for ‘yourself’.
There are many ways to this, beliefs are not required and you can discover all of this for yourself. The Structured Teachings take you through this, step-by-step.
When:
Starting this Thusday 20th July online (8pm UK time) and the following Thursday 27th July in Kingston UK (7pm)
For more details of how to join see the meetup site: www.meetup.com/Non-duality-Kingston-London
For more details of the teachings see www.TomDas.com
Hope to see you soon
With love and friendship
Tom
This post was taken from here: www.meetup.com/Non-duality-Kingston-London/messages/boards/
Tom Das 