Q. Some teachers (eg. Bentinho Massaro, Anadi, Adi Da Samraj) claim to have surpassed the traditional notion of enlightenment and say co-creation is the next evolutionary step…any thoughts?

Questioner: How does this relate to the stream of Spirituality that says we are co-creators of reality & thus can manifest what we wish?

What of Anadi who says he has gone beyond traditional Realizers including Nisargadatta Maharaj (who has Realized the Absolute but only in one axis), & who criticizes the “no doership” of traditional spiritual teaching as only for the mediocre masses of spiritual aspirants & that co- creatorship goes beyond the “no doer” teaching…

Bentinho Massaro, who also claims to be in never before Realization territory, also says co-creation is the evolutionary next step beyond the mere non-resistant acceptance of what is…if Anadi & Bentinho are onto something in this, what of all the Buddhist monk humorous memes of “don’t worry, nothing is in your control”, will they become passé?

Opinions?

Tom: Hi _____, in response to your first question (re co-creators, etc), what I share and traditional spirituality is not in opposition to this. In fact this notion of co-creation and what is now often called the Law of Attraction is present throughout the Vedic tradition.

Regarding your second point, there have always been those who claim to be special and advanced in some way, and the scriptures comment on these stating this is a false view which is essentially egoic and about spiritual attainment for a separate individual (even if this is an expanded notion of individuality).

There is no enlightened individual – you could say there is only enlightenment, but no separate person who is enlightened. Enlightenment itself is an illusion, a part of the dream of an ego that is trying to find security and happiness.

To put it differently, you are already That, fully, or as the scriptures state ‘Tat Tvam Asi’.

The scriptures are powerful as they are not the work of any single individual, but their truth has been verified by many people over many centuries and in different places, rather like the body of scientific knowledge.

Another way of looking into this is not to listen to me or anyone else but to allow your mind to become quiet and still and ask this question to yourself and allow your inner wisdom to give you the answer. You will see, I hope, that emphasis on a separate (albeit expanded) notion of an enlightened individual with a special super-realisation is essentially egoic and based on greed, ego-inflation, a thirst for pleasure and thirst for experience and accumulation rather than the love, peace, humility, egolessness and simplicity that shine forth from genuine teachings.

You will see, I hope, that while this kind of spirituality seems attractive, it is still within the confines of Separation, Ego and Samsara. This means suffering is still very much present and it is this suffering that motivates the thirst for better more pleasurable experiences and further fuels the ego, perpetuating it. This thirst prevents The Simple and The Ever-Present Divine from being Realised, and so also prevents suffering from ending, and it is the end of suffering that we are really looking for, not special experiences or special powers.

One traditional text that in particular goes into this topic and illustrates with many wonderful stories how this is a wrong path is the wonderful Yoga Vasistha. The Buddhist scriptures also talk about this topic too – as I said, this kind of notion of a supremely special enlightened person with a focus on their special powers (co-creation, for example) is not new, and is often very attractive to naive spiritual seekers who are innocently and earnestly just trying to find a way to end their suffering.

I should add that I am not commenting directly on the teachers you mention as I am not very familiar with them, but I am just responding to what you describe in your question.

Questioner: take a look… Google Anadi & Betinho Massaro…these aren’t at all lightweights to be dismissed…your quick criticisms of them is a bit facile… I sure they’re very familiar with your views as they are classic ones,…these guys are way beyond the Realization space normally referred by yourself & others…

In fact Adi Da Samraj commented on the classical Realizers & while in appreciation of them, explains that they are 6th stage Realizers which formerly was felt to be the ultimate Realization but that the 7th level that he demonstrated wasn’t an additional stage as a progressive evolution but an entirely new stage beyond the traditional “path of return” spoken of in the classic literature…

I would like to see you learn more about & thus engage a more profound consideration of these heavyweights, Spiritual geniuses…to have the view that there is nowhere to go from the classic descriptions is untenable…even Ken Wilber, the “Einstein of comparative spirituality” declares that new spaces of Awakening are evolving & that classic Realizers were great but certain depths just weren’t available to them. Let’s get up on this!

Tom: I find what you write very interesting…however in general this kind of stuff doesn’t really interest me to be honest – not that you or anyone else shouldn’t be interested. I was primarily interested in ending suffering, nothing more, and whilst I have actually explored lots of the other ‘fancy stuff’ too, such as psychic powers/siddhis and co-creation, etc, I don’t tend to talk about it much as it’s actually not that relevant to ending suffering in my view, which is where the focus of my sharing lies, and what I think most people are actually looking for when they are looking for stage 8 or stage 9 or stage 100 of enlightenment, etc, etc.

You state that ‘these guys are way beyond the Realisation space…etc’, but I would posit that this is faith on your part – how do you know this is true? Perhaps the entire paradigm is baloney? Are you open to this also being wrong? And you refer to ‘heavyweights’ – again, that is your view, which is fine with me.

I’m sure there is much I do not know, like there are many languages that I do not know how to speak and many things I have not experienced, but that’s ok! I don’t need a better supercharged enlightenment, so to speak, and I would suggest that neither do you! Hope that makes sense, thanks.

Questioner: I’m certainly open to being wrong…after all isn’t it far more exciting to find the truth rather than the mediocre thrill of being right?

Tom: yes, same with me 🙂 Well do keep in touch, I’d be interested in hearing from you as to how your journey is going and happy to learn from you too 🙏🙏🙏

Nonduality: doership, attachment and the world

Remove the notions of:

(1) doership (ie. the belief that I am the thinker and doer)
(2) attachment to outcomes and
(3) the belief that the world (ie. body, mind and world) is real…

…what’s left?

Note that (1) and (2) are implicit in (3) but are elucidated to make the teachings clearer.

Also note that (1) and (2) together could be called the ego, so this could be alternatively phrased as ‘remove the notions of the ego being real and the world being real’.

 

Ramana Maharshi: is intellectual or theoretical understanding required or even useful?

ramana maharshi

D.: Is intellectual knowledge enough?
M.: Unless intellectually known, how to practice it? Learn it intellectually first, then do not stop with that. Practise it.

Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi, Talk 40


Questioner: Is a teacher necessary for instructions?
Ramana Maharshi: Yes, if you want to learn anything new. But here you have to unlearn.
Questioner: Yet a teacher is necessary.
Ramana Maharshi: You have already got what you seek elsewhere. So no teacher is necessary.
Questioner: Is there any use of the man of Realisation for the seeker?
Ramana Maharshi: Yes. He helps you to get rid of your delusion that you are not realised.

Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi, Talk 434


Questioner: Is an intellectual understanding of the Truth necessary?
Ramana Maharshi: Yes. Otherwise why does not the person realise God or the Self at once, ie. as soon as he is told that God is all or the Self is all? That shows some wavering on his part. He must argue with himself and gradually convince himself of the Truth before his faith becomes firm.

Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi, Talk 596


Question: Is the study of science, psychology, physiology, etc., helpful for attaining Yoga-liberation or for intuitive understanding of the unity of Reality?

Ramana Maharshi: Very little. Some theoretical knowledge is needed for Yoga and may be found in books, but practical application is what is needed. Personal example and instruction are the most helpful aids. As for intuitive understanding, a person may laboriously convince himself of the truth to be grasped by intuition, of its function and nature, but the actual intuition is more like feeling and requires practical and personal contact. Mere book learning is not of any great use. After Realisation all intellectual loads are useless burdens and are to be thrown overboard.

Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi, Talk 28


It is those who are not learned that are saved rather than those whose ego has not yet subsided in spite of their learning. The unlearned are saved from the relentless grip of the devil of self-infatuation; they are saved from the malady of a myriad whirling thoughts and words; they are saved from running after wealth. It is from more than one evil that they are saved.

Reality in forty verses – Supplement, verse 36


‘Eventually, all that one has learnt will have to be forgotten’

From ‘Who am I?’


 

Tom comments: Intellectual understanding has a certain importance – it gives the seeking mind direction and structure. This enables one to peel back the illusion of egotism or Maya, the cause of apparent separation and suffering. Then, theoretical knowledge, once it has fully served its purpose, can be discarded, like the metaphorical thorn used to remove a thorn.

THE ROOT CAUSE OF SUFFERING

sun barbed wire

The search to end suffering, to gain spiritual knowledge, to attain true spiritual experience and to end confusion is all due to believing you are the body-mind.

The belief ‘I am the body-mind’ is the ignorance that causes all the trouble. This belief is also known as egotism, maya, illusion, duality, separation and samsara. It is a fiction.

In essence you are not the body-mind.

You are in essence That which is Infinite, Eternal, beyond words and speech and concepts.

This is known intuitively already. It is not more conceptual knowledge for the body-mind which is just more ignorance.The words are indicators and are not meant to be more beliefs for the body-mind.

You are That which was before the body-mind was born and will be when the body-mind has gone. You are That which is in deep dreamless sleep. Again this is already intuitively known without thought or words.

There is therefore nothing to seek, nothing to know, nothing to attain, no experience required.

🕉 You are That! 🕉

🕉 Tat Tvam Asi! 🕉

🕉 Be what you are! 🕉

A Non-Duality Teacher’s Perspective

I wanted to share with a bit of my perspective on ‘teaching’ or ‘sharing’ non-duality, if you will permit me to phrase it that way. These are some things I have noticed over past few years that I did not necessarily realise before I started to teach/share.

For those of you who have been following me for a while, you will know my expression does vary a fair bit. This variance seems to depend on who I interact with. The teachings seem to pour out of me spontaneously in response to interactions with seekers and their energy. Sometimes the response is absolute and uncompromising, other times it delves into the body-mind-world-psyche. Both can be deeply transformative, depending on where the seeker is at.

One curiosity is that in many ways I am actually not that interested in sharing this (if you can believe that!) but the sharing continues, for now at least. I find it is the seeking energy and questions that ‘pulls the teachings out of me’ and keeps me turning up to my own meetings. Even this post was written only due to certain interactions with seekers/seeking energy.

Interestingly (to me at least) when people express a simple and pure gratitude and love for ‘my teachings’ and for what ‘I share’ without putting me on a pedestal (please don’t do that!) I have noticed it often energetically impacts my body-mind and draws my body-mind to ‘teach’ more, even though at my core I don’t really care for gratitude or praise. I have often wondered if this is why traditionally gratitude and devotion to a guru is often encouraged. Even though I feel a strong devotion to Ramana Maharshi, devotion to a guru/teachings is something that I am very cautious about in general (and I don’t encourage it for the most part) due to the potential for abuse from the guru. However I never saw this aspect of the interaction until I started to share/teach myself and it is another thing that surprised me, so I thought I’d share it with you.

I must warn you that I have no idea what I am about to say a lot of the time, lol! But the feedback I often get is how I ended up saying the exact right thing at the right time. It’s continually surprising to me that what I express can be so helpful for some. I really don’t know how it all happens but am continually humbled and amazed by it! Often I hear ‘my teachings’ for the first time as I am saying them and think to myself ‘wow – that’s a great teaching!’

In addition to the verbal teachings, I have noticed there seems to be immense benefit that can occur with a direct interaction in the meetings that is beyond the words, irrespective of what is said. There can be a certain transformative energy in the meetings. Again, I’m not really sure how it works – to me it is like magic, a magical mystery! I’m still learning about this and how it all works, watching it unfold in front of me – I don’t think this is something I will ever understand, nor is there a need to understand it really (I’ll let you know if I figure it out). It is just the way things are, just what apparently happens – as I said, it’s a mystery.

I hope this post doesn’t come across as me being arrogant in anyway. I am not saying how great I am, but rather that these teachings I share are not really mine at all. They are magic! I’m sure I’m not that special in this regard, and perhaps many of you have also had similar experiences in sharing this or similar things? I’d be interested to hear from you about this. Yet I cannot deny the apparent value of what I share for one apparently stuck in illusion of duality and for the one who appears to be suffering.

On one level, no teaching is needed at all, as we are already whole and complete, lacking nothing, and the ‘I’ that is seeking is an illusion, as is the teacher and teaching. On another level, many have seemingly benefited from interacting with me – at least that’s the feedback I get – I am frequently told that peace comes forth, suffering and egotism drops away and liberation is realised, slowly slowly, wonderfully wonderfully. Often people approach me having had awakenings and spiritual experiences but remain deeply troubled or have seemingly endless doubts, but in just a few exchanges during meetings or 1 to 1s doubts are cleared and insight and illumination springs forth. What may have taken months or years of scraping around in books, YouTube videos and Facebook posts can sometimes be cleared directly in a relatively brief direct personal interaction. Amazing!

So, if you resonate with what I share, I do encourage you to come along and join me in one of my meetings. And if you do resonate, I encourage you to keep on coming back for as long as you need to and not turn away when the ego-mind says ‘I’ve got it now and so I don’t need to attend any more’. I try to make myself available through online meetings twice a month (the next one is this Thursday at 8pm UK time – see my timeline for details which I will post shortly), and also through online 1 to 1 sessions and in-person meetings in London twice a month.

That said, I am also sure there are many who probably gain very little from what I share and feel very little resonance. I guess this is just the way of things, and different (apparent) people resonate with different (apparent) teachers. So I make no promises – you were warned!  And I trust that you will be discerning enough to find the teacher/teaching/path (or non-teacher/non-path!) that is right for you at any point in time – listen to your heart – the quiet unspoken voice-feeling in your heart – it will guide you – it is always guiding you 

I wish you well whatever your path and journey, and invite you to attend a meeting with me, but only if you are drawn to do so. The hope is what I share is of benefit to you in reducing suffering and inviting and actualising Liberation.

Wishing you Love beyond love and Peace beyond peace
(ie. what you already are in Truth)

Namaste and with thanks

Tom
🙏