non-duality

Nisargadatta Maharaj: If my real self is peace and love, why is it so restless?

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I Am That

Questioner: If my real self is peace and love, why is it so restless?

Nisargadatta Mahara: It is not your real being that is restless, but its reflection in the mind appears restless because the mind is restless. It is just like the reflection of the moon in the water stirred by the wind. The wind of desire stirs the mind and the ‘me’, which is but a reflection of the Self in the mind, appears changeful. But these ideas of movement, of restlessness, of pleasure and pain are all in the mind. The Self stands beyond the mind, aware, but unconcerned.
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Beyond self-realisation

~ Tom Das ~ 3 Comments
face illusion flower
There is nobody here

No sadhanas are required
No sadhana (spiritual practice) can lead to self realisation. No map can take you to where you already are, and no practice can transform you into that which you always have been.

All sadhanas such as meditation, mindfulness, mantra, puja, selfless service and devotion – all sadhanas are for the illusory individual. They are an extension of greed/egotism. It is this web of illusion, all hinged upon the idea of being a person with a body and mind, that prevents the obvious from being ‘seen’. Continue reading →

Ramana Maharshi: How to get peace

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Ramana Maharshi downward gaze

Questioner: …how to get peace?

Ramana Maharshi: As I said already, that which is, is peace. All that we need do is to keep quiet.

Peace is our real nature. We spoil it. What is required is that we cease to spoil it. We are not going to create peace anew. There is space in a hall, for instance. We fill up the place with various articles. If we want space, all that we need do is to remove all those articles, and we get space.

Similarly if we remove all the rubbish, all the thoughts, from our minds, the peace will become manifest. That which is obstructing the peace has to be removed. Peace is the only reality.

Excerpt taken from Day by Day with Bhagavan

Do ‘greater works’ than Jesus

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“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.”
John 14:12

People often argue away this one, but it seems clear to me, especially in the context of John 14 and the other Gospels, that Jesus is saying if you follow his teachings, then you will do greater things than Jesus.

Jesus often claimed in John’s Gospel that he did nothing by himself and that it was the Father in him that did everything. Jesus’s constant message to humanity was to turn away from the world and towards God, realise that God is Love, to love one another, to see the Kingdom of Heaven is within, and to surrender to God’s will. Not the worst teachings in the world, eh?

Non-duality has nothing to do with non-duality

~ Tom Das ~ 3 Comments
face illusion
There is no person here

There is no non-duality in non-duality. What do I mean by that? Non-duality is non-conceptual. This means there is also no sense of non-duality in it. If you think this is all about oneness, then that’s not non-duality. That’s a concept of oneness. Same with non-duality. If you think this is all about non-duality or ‘x’ ‘y’ or ‘z’ other concepts, then that’s also wrong. There are no concepts in non-duality, yet all concepts operate within it. Continue reading →

Ramana Maharshi: Be still

~ Tom Das ~ 5 Comments

buddha silver

All the texts say that in order to gain release one should render the mind quiescent; therefore their conclusive teaching is that the mind should be rendered quiescent; once this has been understood there is no need for endless reading.

Ramana Maharshi (from Who Am I)

One of the problems of Ramana’s teachings is that they are so simple. Most people do not want to be still and keep the mind quiet. They want to avoid themselves by discussing and understanding the concepts.

Now conceptual discussion has its place, but once one has understood the import of the teachings, namely silence, then it is time to sit down and shut up. Muruganar, who is regarded as Ramana’s closest and most influential devotee, says the same about Ramana’s teachings in his masterpiece Guru Vachaka Kovai:

What our Master clearly teaches by way of great, good, powerful tapas (spiritual effort) is only this and nothing more
BE STILL
Apart from this the mind has no task to do or thought to think

Guru Vachaka Kovai
(verse 773)

And in case you still haven’t got the message, here’s another quote from Who Am I, which is the publication that Ramana had issued at his Ashram as an introduction to his teachings. Note that the Sanskrit word ‘Jnana’ below literally means ‘knowledge’ and in a spiritual context refers to Self-Knowledge/Realisation or Liberation itself:

Questioner: What is wisdom-insight (jnana-drsti)?
Ramana Maharshi: Remaining quiet is what is called wisdom-insight.

Ramana Maharshi (from Who Am I)

Krishnamurti: Meditation is natural

~ Tom Das ~ 2 Comments

evening sky

I recall walking in the gardens of a local convent in Autumn last year. After meandering around for a while I found my self standing by a tree. I looked up to see a dark angular leaf-less branch silhouetted against a luminous evening blue sky. There was complete stillness and a sense of vastness. The universe was functioning, but “I” was not there. Everything was happening by itself, seemingly magical and uncaused. The silence was deafening, as they say. The universe was, as ever, mysterious, strange and peaceful. It was both familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. Continue reading →

Jesus and Krishnamurti: The importance of being alone

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I was reading a passage from J. Krishnamurti’s slim book called meditations which reminded me of a passage from The Gospel According to Matthew. The language they use is strikingly similar. I’ll start with the biblical passage as it’s shorter:

But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
Matthew 6:6

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I find my strongest desire is to create a monument, to build something which will outlast me

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I Am That

Questioner: When I look into myself, I find my strongest desire is to create a monument, to build something which will outlast me. Even when I think of a home, wife and child, it is because it is a lasting, solid, testimony to myself. Continue reading →

Maturing in our spiritual search: from experience to knowledge

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abstract blue

Most of the great spiritual traditions claim that there is something eternal and supremely infinite, something that is all-knowing, all-powerful and present everywhere (omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent).

If that is the case, then this Infinite must already be here, right now. If it isn’t already present right now, then it is not omnipresent. This is a vital point to grasp – if there is such a thing as the Infinite, then it must already be fully here, right now, otherwise it is limited and therefore not infinite.

It is not that certain mystical or transcendental experiences are experiences of the Infinite but our normal everyday experiences are not. No, all our experiences must be of Him. We must always be experiencing the Infinite.

This has several ramifications for the spiritual seeker. This means that the problem we face is not that we are apart from God and need to find Him or experience Him. No, the issue is that we are already always experiencing God but do not know it.

The issue is not one of acquiring a special experience or state of mind. It is that we do not correctly understand our current experience as it is right now. Even traditions that do not admit a God such Buddhism acknowledge that understanding, or insight, is what is key:

“If you do not have insight into the way you yourself and all things actually are, you cannot recognize and get rid of the obstacles to liberation from cyclic existence, and, even more important, the obstructions to helping others.”
Dalai Lama (from How to See Yourself as You Really Are)

Armed with this knowledge, we can mature in our spiritual seeking. So-called materialistic or worldly life is characterised by chasing experiences such as pleasure, power, fearlessness, pride and security. Many spiritual seekers just transfer this same pattern of yearning for worldly experiences into their quest for spiritual experiences. However as we mature in our spiritual search we can stop chasing states of mind and experiences – all of which are temporary – and instead start to try and understand our direct experience as it is right now.

This understanding or insight, whilst based upon our direct experience, is not a search for a particular experience, but an understanding of experience itself.

“That is why the insight that can liberate you from these afflictions is the key to happiness…Insight brings love, and love is not possible without insight, understanding. If you do not understand, you cannot love. This insight is direct understanding, and not just a few notions and ideas.”
Thich Nhat Hanh