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Tuesday, May 03, 2011

Consciousness, the transitory neighbor!


SM: Hello Nitin Ram. I am very pleased to have come across your website while I was browsing Nisargadatta Maharaj's. I have a question on a statement made by NM in one of the books written about him. I hope you can shed some light on this confusing subject. NM has been quoted to saying — in the book "I AM THAT by Mr. Frydman — that smoking was one of his body's habits and as for eating meat he said, “I make no claims of consistency" (pages 253-254).
I would really appreciate if you could expand on this in anyway. Please note that, he being an enlightened man, my intent is not to point at his "worldly flaws" -- but to truly and sincerely understand how one should view the so called - in worldly terms - bad or contradicting actions of such an enlightened individual. Can the two states - the enlightenment and such bodily/mental actions operate side by side? I think NM said he's not attached to those habits or actions. I am at a loss trying to grasp his explanation. Could you help, please? Thank You, -Sazro Mahambrey, USA

NR: Thanks dear Sazro. What one can SEE is only what one is conditioned to SEE. What anyone possibly may cognize depends solely upon what he/she is identified as! The whole process of seeing is dependent on the point of perception of the entity who is trying to see. And the process of seeing is usually from the limited point of perception. The process of usual seeing is in the paradigm of duality and in the frame of Subject-Object relationship. The seeker is somehow conditioned to SEE from a limited point of perception hence accepts one end and automatically rejects the other. The TRUTH is indivisible and whole, which encompasses every possible contradiction. When someone tries to see the truth, tries to find the truth what actually happening is the Part is trying to see the Whole! The assumed limited Part is trying to See the Whole… which is impossible anyhow. As long as the assumed point of perception believes itself as separate entity, say as this body-bowl named Sazro; the acceptance of one & rejection of the other is inevitable which results in and as psychological suffering. Acceptance of one and rejection of the other itself is the suffering and trying to come out of these sufferings of duality is seeking! It is like trying to walk with only one foot…. It is like trying to sail the boat with one ore … it is like trying to see with one eye! :-)

 
I appreciate your sincerity in understanding the apparent opposites. Any effort to sort out the opposites will fail… any effort to arbitrate between the two will certainly fail. The river does not accept one bank and reject the opposite! It simply flows …. :-)! The ocean is not even aware of the weeds floating in it! The lens that shoots the hero (good) also shoots the villain (bad)!  The screen which reflects the love scenes also reflects the scenes of the violence without any problem! Why so! None of them get identified or restricted to their physical nature… they just flow according to their nature and without any inhibition.

 
The Part can never be able to grasp the Whole! Why so? Because the Whole has already encompassed all the parts! :-) The Part is essentially the Whole… which is on the journey of discovering the Whole… which is its Real Nature!

Everything is transcendental here. Like the solid ice cube and the flowing water and the vapor! Each of them appears to be different from each other. Isn’t it? Only THAT is eternally constant or immutable which is your Real Nature. THAT is prior to and independent of the consciousness as well as this body-mind apparatus. THAT encompasses the consciousness as well as the body-mind apparatus and yet is totally aloof. THAT gets unconcealed through consciousness which provisionally resides in this body-mind apparatus. The ultimate revelation is anyway inevitable & irrespective of any change in the operating ingredients (Three natural attributes- Satva, Rajas, Tamas) of the consciousness. These three naturally found attributes through which the consciousness operates through different body-mind objects which constitute the individuals Nature (Swa-bhava). There is no need to change them! In the primary stages the seeker, who is identified as body-mind, tries to change these attributes with the expectation of some divine transformation but naturally fails. Why so? Because these three attributes are naturally found and certainly not created by the individual. :-) ! In a way a lot of superfluous importance to these attributes is being given by few in order to make SIMPLE thing difficult and complicated. The ignorant are always under the influence & fear of social acceptance. When the consciousness is recognized as YOUR transitory neighbor why will there be any need to change the passing neighbor!? With the ultimate revelation of what you are definitely not where is the question of changing that which you are certainly & never not! :-)

All of our confusions arise out of our conditionings & preconceived notions. Each individual has a special set of conditionings regarding ‘good and bad’, ‘right and wrong’, ‘enlightened and unenlightened’; which subsequently becomes the major obstruction in seeing ‘What Is’... or cognizing our Real Nature. Our own concepts forbid us from recognizing the ultimate reality. Many missed beloved Nisargadatta Maharaj & what he was actually pointing at, due to their love towards their cherished concepts. Enlightenment is usually assumed as personal as the assumed personality is trying to seek it! :-) It is undoubtedly not a state but with the restrictions of words sometime it is expressed as an Eternal State! This non-dual eternal state is not dependent on any actions and yet every action is its own reflection in duality on the screen of consciousness. All the efforts by the assumed limited entity to SEE the unlimited with the spectacles of duality are futile. All the efforts to recognize the Unlimited through the tool of intelligence (to divide and see) is fruitless! And to understand the futility of natural divisive mechanism of the mind or the intelligence is beginning of the real spirituality where everything is seen ‘as it is’. There is neither any friction nor any effort to judge… ‘What Is’! Where the head gear fails… the heart gear opens up automatically and leads to our Real Abode! Real freedom is anyway inevitable... inescapable. Just KNOW your neighbor right HERE & NOW! Thanks & Best wishes.
Jai-Guru _()_

With Love n Regards,
Nitin Ram
29 April 2011
www.abideinself.blogspot.com

10 comments:

Sanjay Shirole said...

Excellently put - even when consciousness is the primary standpoint of being - the psychosomatic momentum (including 'body-bowl' habits - I like this word) may continue but there is no 'ownership' of the same..

Best Regards,
Shirole

Nitin Ram said...

Thanks dear Sanjay for your reflections! Yes, in a way there is no 'ownership'. But again look at this word 'ownership' which is also connected deeply to the root of 'separate body-bowl' notion which is very deeply engraved within the so called seeker mechanism. Everything that we try to understand is from our deeply rooted notion of being a body-bowl.

Can the space or the sky or the ocean talk about 'ownership' ! What will get focused is dependent on the notion of the focusing entity. While walking on the road, a drunkard will surely see many wine shops, but the others are not even aware of their presence as well the absence! The 'non-drunkard' has absolutely no notion of not being the drunkard! :-)
All the concepts regarding 'good & bad' revolve around the pivot of assumed separate existence and under the influence of social acceptance along with the expectation of social appreciation (self appraisal). And the basic cause of the sufferings is this pivot of assumed separate entity.

The Real Freedom is not from the 'so called bad' things but rather from the concept of 'good & bad' as the concept itself is relative. What is good for some could be bad for the other and vice versa. Good or bad are simply the individualistic judgements, which too change over the period of time for the same individual.

Above all what are we talking about... what most of them are trying to change are the natural attributes (Swa-Bhav) of the consciousness in a hope to either become more socially acceptable or discover the root of the consciousness. Eitherway efforts are futile but understanding the nature of consciousness itselff reveals the immutable Real Nature!

Jai-Guru _()_

Love n Regards,
NR

Sanjay Shirole said...

Absolutely - the nondrunkard cannot have the notion of being the nondrunkard...

- the notion of being a body-mind itself is so deeprooted that there is always this grasping around a centre - it seems as a contraction of consciousness/awareness around this body-bowl. It is only 'loosening' a bit in my case..

Thanks & Best Regards,
Sanjay

Nitin Ram said...

I am happy dear sanjay!

Sazro Mahambrey said...

Hi Nitin Ram,

Thank you for taking time to respond to my email. Are you available to talk over the phone? If so, please send me your phone number an the convenient time that I can call. This subject is so vast that communcating in this fashion isn't satisfying.

Thanks
-Sazro

Jai-Mohan said...

Dear Nitin,
Wonderful,we like that word transitory neighbor.It is most appropriate word.
love.

-Jai-Mohan.

Derek said...

"Consciousness, the transitory neighbor!" This is an awakening post. Being a westener, somehow its difficult to comprehend This as we are taught about the consciousness as the Supreme Reality. Many teachers in the West talk and teach 'consciousness' related theories or practices which are similar to one of the indian teachers who taught untill recently. My personal experience says that such 'consciousness-based' teachings does not help in ending the seeking permanantly. How otherwise had I reached this post which says that Consciousness is the Transitory neighbor! lol

Nisargadatta seems to be the only teacher known to me who had focussed on prior to the consciousness teachings. I love him.

Thank you so much.

Derek

Sathees said...

When the consciousness is recognized as your transitory neighbor by consciousness itself the 'What IS' is revealed. The consciousness would then be witnessed as phenomena, thought and sensation but separation and sufferings is mitigated.
Nitin-ji, thanks for the wonderful revealing blog.

Jean Lee said...

Fabulous post. Thanks nitin. "Where the head gear fails… the heart gear opens up automatically and leads to our Real Abode! Real freedom is anyway inevitable... inescapable." --I loved this one so much. Much love & regards

Shweta Sharma said...

Problems , confusions, expectations ,a rise as the society has written a constitution of duality.
Static rules and regulations in a world which is so dynamic. How can it measure everything with a limited yardstick , and within it's small mental parameters?
Good and bad are small words , to define an individual , an act , a situation.
Thanks for sharing ur fresh views...

Shweta Sharma