Māyāḥ ॥मायाः॥

If we take away the NOW from the human, all that is left is a hazy dream.

Best use of this moment is to drown in It...HWL Poonja.

The hazy dream has the following constituents:

1. Emotions like fear, anger, depression, paranoia.

2. Images.

3. Words.

The hazy dream tries to take over the NOW using aspect 1.

2 & 3 in themselves just cannot hurt, if you look carefully...

The NOW is a magical, peaceful, comfortable realm. That the hazy dream appears to take over every now and then.

But the NOW is untouchable.

The hazy dream in itself is not evil or anything. It cannot hurt.

The sights and the sounds and the work going on in the NOW is INDEPENDENT of what the hazy dream says about its history.

Perhaps the NOW can be obscured by aspect 1 - but only obscured. Not destroyed.

The Sun cannot be destroyed by the clouds....

Question: So how to deal with Māyāḥ then?

Ans: Nothing. Don't fret yourself. Māyāḥ deals with itself on its own.
“There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and it will be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is nor how valuable nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open. You do not even have to believe in yourself or your work. You have to keep yourself open and aware to the urges that motivate you. Keep the channel open. ... No artist is pleased. [There is] no satisfaction whatever at any time. There is only a queer divine dissatisfaction, a blessed unrest that keeps us marching and makes us more alive than the others” - Martha Graham. via Om Chef


A Nisargadatta Maharaj PassageQ.: If both dream and escape from dream are imaginings, what is the way out?

A. : There is no need of a way out! Don't you see that a way out is also part of the dream? All you have to do is to see the dream as dream.

Q. : If I start the practice of dismissing everything as a dream, where will it lead me?

A. : Wherever it leads you, it will be a dream. The very idea of going beyond the dream is illusory. Why go anywhere? Just realize that you are dreaming a dream you call the world, and stop looking for ways out. The dream is not your problem. Your problem is that you like one part of the dream and not another. When you have seen the dream as a dream, you have done all that needs be done.

The world is but a show, glittering and empty. It is, and yet is not. It is there as long as I want to see it and take part in it. When I cease caring, it dissolves. It has no cause and serves no purpose. It just happens when we are absent-minded. It appears exactly as it looks, but there is no depth in it, nor meaning. Only the onlooker is real, call him Self or Atma. To the Self the world is but a colourful show, which he enjoys as long as it lasts and forgets when it is over. Whatever happens on the stage makes him shudder in terror or roll with laughter, yet all the time he is aware that it is but a show. Without desire or fear he enjoys it, as it happens.

I am The Living Principle in All Things

श्रीभगवानुवाच- पार्थ नैवेह नामुत्र विनाशस्तस्य विद्यते। न हि कल्याणकृत्कश्चिद्‌दुर्गतिं तात गच्छति॥६- ४०॥ O son of Pritha, neither here in this world, nor in the next, is a sincere person defeated. Such a person, My dear friend, is never on the road of misfortune.

चञ्चलं हि मनः कृष्ण प्रमाथि बलवद्‌दृढम्।
तस्याहं निग्रहं मन्ये वायोरिव सुदुष्करम् ॥६- ३४॥

O Kesava, it is easier to control the wind than to try and control the fickle, unsettled, stubborn mind.

कच्चिन्नोभयविभ्रष्टश्छिन्नाभ्रमिव नश्यति।
अप्रतिष्ठो महाबाहो विमूढो ब्रह्मणः पथि॥६- ३८॥

O mighty armed one, is he not lost in his pursuit of transcendence like a wandering cloud with no solid footing in either of the worlds?

श्रीभगवानुवाच
ऊर्ध्वमूलमधःशाखमश्वत्थं प्राहुरव्ययम्।
छन्दांसि यस्य पर्णानि यस्तं वेद स वेदवित् ॥१५- १॥
अधश्चोर्ध्वं प्रसृतास्तस्य शाखा गुणप्रवृद्धा विषयप्रवालाः।
अधश्च मूलान्यनुसंततानि कर्मानुबन्धीनि मनुष्यलोके ॥१५- २॥
न रूपमस्येह तथोपलभ्यते नान्तो न चादिर्न च संप्रतिष्ठा।
अश्वत्थमेनं सुविरूढमूल-मसङ्गशस्त्रेण दृढेन छित्त्वा ॥१५- ३॥
ततः पदं तत्परिमार्गितव्यं यस्मिन्गता न निवर्तन्ति भूयः।
तमेव चाद्यं पुरुषं प्रपद्ये यतः प्रवृत्तिः प्रसृता पुराणी॥१५- ४॥

The Lord said: They (or the wise) speak of the eternal Ashvattha tree having its origin above and its branches below (in the visible cosmos) whose leaves are hymns. One who understands this is a knower of the truth.

The branches (of this world tree of Maya) spread below and above (or all over the cosmos). The tree is nourished by the Gunas; sense pleasures are its sprouts; and its roots (of ego and desires) stretch below in the human world causing Karmic bondage.

Neither its (real) form nor its beginning, neither its end nor its existence is perceptible here on the earth. Having cut these firm roots of the Ashvattha tree by the mighty ax of detachment;

The goal (of nirvana) should be sought reaching which one does not come back; thus thinking: In that very primal spirit I take refuge from which this primal manifestation comes forth.

यदा ते मोहकलिलं बुद्धिर्व्यतितरिष्यति|
तदा गन्तासि निर्वेदं श्रोतव्यस्य श्रुतस्य च||२- ५२||

श्रुतिविप्रतिपन्ना ते यदा स्थास्यति निश्चला|
समाधावचला बुद्धिस्तदा योगमवाप्स्यसि||२- ५३||

Translation:

When your mind is released from dense delusions, you shall realise how disgusting all that you have heard so far has been. When your mind is fixed and unmoved and not confused by scriptural injunctions you shall attain yogic samadhi.


तानि सर्वाणि संयम्य युक्त आसीत मत्परः|
वशे हि यस्येन्द्रियाणि तस्य प्रज्ञा प्रतिष्ठिता||२- ६१||

In order to attain steady wisdom, you should restrain your senses and focus your entire mind and being on Me.

इन्द्रियाणां हि चरतां यन्मनोऽनुविधीयते|
तदस्य हरति प्रज्ञां वायुर्नावमिवाम्भसि||२- ६७||

If the mind hankers after any sense objects, the wandering senses carry away one's intelligence, just as the wind blows away a ship at sea.

तस्माद्यस्य महाबाहो निगृहीतानि सर्वशः|
इन्द्रियाणीन्द्रियार्थेभ्यस्तस्य प्रज्ञा प्रतिष्ठिता||२- ६८||

Therefore, O Mighty Armed, one who's senses are detached from sense objects, is the one fixed on wisdom.


या निशा सर्वभूतानां तस्यां जागर्ति संयमी|
यस्यां जाग्रति भूतानि सा निशा पश्यतो मुनेः||२- ६९||

That which is dark for all sentient beings appears like bright daylight for those who's senses are controlled.

That which is dawn for sentient beings appears like the dark night for the introspective sage who sees.

एषा ब्राह्मी स्थितिः पार्थ नैनां प्राप्य विमुह्यति|
स्थित्वास्यामन्तकालेऽपि ब्रह्मनिर्वाणमृच्छति||२- ७२||

O Partha, having attained such a divine state, one is not confused; if one is fixed in this pure consciousness even at the moment of death, one attains Brahman and all suffering ceases.

नियतं कुरु कर्म त्वं कर्म ज्यायो ह्यकर्मणः|
शरीरयात्रापि च ते न प्रसिद्ध्येदकर्मणः||३- ८||

O Arjuna! Great is the man who can use his mind to control his senses and do his karma without attachment.

नियतं कुरु कर्म त्वं कर्म ज्यायो ह्यकर्मणः|
शरीरयात्रापि च ते न प्रसिद्ध्येदकर्मणः||३- ८||

It is better to do your duty than to remain without doing anything. Action is important because we cannot maintain even our bodies without it.

न मे पार्थास्ति कर्तव्यं त्रिषु लोकेषु किञ्चन|
नानवाप्तमवाप्तव्यं वर्त एव च कर्मणि||३- २२||

O Arjuna! Though there is no work I need to complete in all the three worlds, I still do My duties.

यदा विनियतं चित्तमात्मन्येवावतिष्ठते|
निःस्पृहः सर्वकामेभ्यो युक्त इत्युच्यते तदा||६- १८||

A yogi who's mind is controlled and focused in yoga is like an un-flickering lamp in a windless place.

सर्वभूतस्थितं यो मां भजत्येकत्वमास्थितः|
सर्वथा वर्तमानोऽपि स योगी मयि वर्तते||६- ३१||

For he who sees Me everywhere and sees all things in Me, I am never lost, nor is he ever lost to Me.

मत्तः परतरं नान्यत्किञ्चिदस्ति धनञ्जय|
मयि सर्वमिदं प्रोतं सूत्रे मणिगणा इव||७- ७||

O winner of wealth there is nothing superior to Me; everything rests on Me like pearls strung on a thread.

ये चैव सात्त्विका भावा राजसास्तामसाश्च ये|
मत्त एवेति तान्विद्धि न त्वहं तेषु ते मयि||७- १२||

Know that all states of being, be it purity, passion, or ignorance, all ensue from Me alone.
But understand that I am not in them, they are in Me.

अभ्यासयोगयुक्तेन चेतसा नान्यगामिना|
परमं पुरुषं दिव्यं याति पार्थानुचिन्तयन्||८- ८||

Therefore remember Me at all times and do your duty. With your mind and intellect fixed on Me, you shall become one with Me.


अवजानन्ति मां मूढा मानुषीं तनुमाश्रितम्|
परं भावमजानन्तो मम भूतमहेश्वरम्||९- ११||
मोघाशा मोघकर्माणो मोघज्ञाना विचेतसः|
राक्षसीमासुरीं चैव प्रकृतिं मोहिनीं श्रिताः||९- १२||
महात्मानस्तु मां पार्थ दैवीं प्रकृतिमाश्रिताः|
भजन्त्यनन्यमनसो ज्ञात्वा भूतादिमव्ययम्||९- १३||

Trapped by illusions, they do not feel My transcendental existence as the living principle in all beings.

Their hopes are in vain, their knowledge is in vain. They are irrational, trusting the deceiving nature of fiends and demons.

Those souls who feel their divine nature, contemplate Me with steady minds knowing Me as the imperishable source of all beings.

पिताहमस्य जगतो माता धाता पितामहः|
वेद्यं पवित्रमोंकार ऋक्साम यजुरेव च||९- १७||

गतिर्भर्ता प्रभुः साक्षी निवासः शरणं सुहृत्|
प्रभवः प्रलयः स्थानं निधानं बीजमव्ययम्||९- १८||

I am the father of the universe, its mother, its nurturer, its grandfather; I am the goal, support, witness, abode, refuge, friend.

A Case For Optimism

Is she spinning clockwise, or anticlockwise?

Many situations in life can appear to be as this graphic...

In such situations, we need not despair. Such situations may not lead to complete disaster, as the world-mind may want us to believe. The world-mind uses every excuse to point to utter and complete disaster, or enslavement. It is its nature to do so. And it often succeeds, but only temporarily, but that is because its voices are laden with hypnotic power.

We do not need to pay much attention to the world-mind. We need a protective layer around ourselves, to insulate ourselves from the world-mind.

The world-mind is the 'EGO' that spiritual teachers like Eckhart Tolle, Gina Lake, Ramesh Balsekar and Mooji talk about.

I have used the term 'world-mind' instead of 'mind' deliberately.

If the reader wants to go into details as to why, then please check the label NON DUALITY.

An interesting variation from "MoIllusions".

Some very positive teachings by Teal Scott.

ThinkExist Guest Post

From ThinkExist.

By Stephen

[ I work at Ruthless Truth where we liberate people from the lie of self allowing them to embrace life fully and see clearly for what may be the first time. I also run a blog where I focus my efforts on bringing liberation to the public by any means necessary. ]

START
I would like to start this article gently, but the truth is. No matter how I put this, it will seem odd. No matter how I say this, it will rub someone up the wrong way. No matter how delicately I handle this it, will challenge the foundations of your entire life.

If moving towards the truth is not what you want. If breaking free of the ties that have bound your life. If a rejection of the very reason you are here now, searching for freedom is not what you are after, stop reading now.

I’ll assume whoever is left only wants one thing: the cold and ruthless truth. Now to dispense with the pleasantries…

You do not exist.

What? How? Why?

I could explain logically that for self to exist it must be outside of reality-manipulating reality, and that anything outside of reality is unreal.

I could tell you that all you have ever had of your self is your thoughts about it. Just as your thoughts about unicorns do not mean unicorns are real, your thoughts about yourself are nothing more than thoughts.

We could delve into the many linguistic errors in this piece and ask “if you don’t exist why do you use the word ‘I’ so much”. I know, as you now know, that use of a word does not prove the existence of its namesake. We must simply do our best with the limited “selfish” language we were given.

I do not expect you to believe me

In fact I don’t want belief. I want you to discover it for yourself that you have no self (clever, eh?).

I’d like to offer that all we really know for sure is what we are experiencing right now. Memory is fallible, the past and future never come or go. All we can know is our direct experience of what is in the present moment.

With that in mind, I want you to pay direct attention to your experience of life right now.

Take a look at this self, which thinks your thoughts and moves your body. If it truly thinks your thoughts then it must exist apart from those thoughts. Pay attention to your experience; do you experience this self outside of thought?

Sure you have thoughts about the self, but look at experience, do those thoughts come from a self?

More importantly what are each of those thoughts DOING ? Are they trying to convince that there is a self?

I resisted this at first too..

The first thing I thought when I tried this was “Of course there is a self, this is stupid.” However as I watched, I realized that all my thoughts were about a self, but there was no self thinking up the thoughts.
I began to rationalize that I must be the brain because the brain thinks up the thoughts, but it hit me hard between the eyes. I don’t experience the brain thinking up thoughts.
I just experience thoughts arising conditioned by experience. It wasn’t my experience, I wasn’t there thinking the thoughts. There was only experience conditioned thoughts.

Sure there was a body and a mind, but the driver seat was empty. Life was automatic. As I looked around the room I sat in, the haze began to lift. My entire world fell apart. Only, it wasn’t my world and had never been. My whole life made sense, because it was never truly my life.

How has this affected me?

It’s an intense and real freedom, this liberation from erroneous assumption of self. From the time from the thought first entered my head, till my taking a look at the experience of life in that moment was roughly 7 minutes.

In mid September 2010 I saw life for what it is. It’s changed me for the better since. I can see clearly now. I tend not to get caught in emotional feedback loops and the idea of self. I still have it I just see that I have it, and see it for what it is.

Since I got this I’ve dedicated my life to bringing this to other people. I’ve been taking a little break but over the first 6 months I liberated 13 people . I have many friends who also pledged themselves to free this world. It’s hasn’t been easy there have been many ups and downs. We’ve stared into the abyss together and watched the brightest of stars fall from grace. What we do now we do with eyes open, and what we do is open eyes.

All it took was 7 minutes. I’ve seen people do it in 3. All you need to do is to pay attention to your experience of life. Just look.

By Stephen

[ I work at Ruthless Truth where we liberate people from the lie of self allowing them to embrace life fully and see clearly for what may be the first time. I also run a blog where I focus my efforts on bringing liberation to the public by any means necessary. ]

Some additional supporting videos on the nature of EGO:


Watch out for defensiveness rising in the mind. Which is nothing but the world.

What is this world-mind defending, except illusory identities, mental images.

Some Random quotes from Online forums:

There isn't a “black dot” of the present moment that's slowly moving along a timeline that stretches from your pretended “birth” to your pretended “death.” In truth, there really IS no “timeline.” The tomorrows that you’re imagining are as unreal as the yesterdays that you’re remembering. THIS single moment of NOW is the ONLY moment that is, was or ever will be. And YOU….are THAT.

Because you are the “Immoveable One,” all movement is really illusory. So everything in your long dream life has actually “occurred” at the very place where you’re at right now. In spite of what it seems, you’ve never really moved away from where you’re pretending that you were “born,” “grew up,” had “adventures,” etc. Who-you-are cannot move at all simply because there’s no place “else” for “you” to move into! In fact, you’ve ALREADY “arrived” at the very place where you’ll pretend that you’re going to “die.”

God likes to play on BOTH sides of the street. When you embrace the Shadow, you’re also embracing the Light. After all, the profane is only the sacred….in disguise.

“You” are not appearing in other people’s dreams. In truth, they’ve all been appearing in YOUR dream, and then telling you that there’s a “you” that’s been appearing in THEIR dream, too. Beneath it all, though, there’s still only One dream and only One dreamer.

When you’ve finally let go of your demands, agendas and expectations, “what is” will still be waiting patiently for you at the corner of “Here” and “Now.”

You will never be free unless you free yourself from the prison of your own false thoughts....

"What makes life difficult it how time features us 'defending fiction as if it is fact.' "Reality" features us engaged in "mission impossible": no one can prove the self is real, not even with the prop called 'the ego,' and who you are in THIS wakes up when the truth about that becomes inescapably obvious. Truth features the sum of the lies we use to pretend we can prove truth is false: it's because it is a no win game, that "reality" can feature that parody as "The Grand Charade."

"Any change in circumstances, any activity can not cause a fundamental change in you. One is depending upon addition to possessions, knowledge, favouarble circumstances, upon others whom one considers important to cause a fundamental change in one or to give a stable comfort. It is only when one clearly sees that ‘nothing’ can give you stable comfort or cause a fundamental change in you – you are face to face with yourself ‘as you are’.
It is to find ‘you’ as you are-desiring, wanting, anxious, continuously adjusting with others or environment, being insulted or praised, being hit by unexplainable failures or successes, stuck up in the maze of choices, actions and consequences and so on. This ‘as you are’ is the end of ‘you’. The end of ‘you’ is your connection to the whole. This facing oneself ‘as it is’ is like an explosion. The new mind is born."

-- Y V Chawla.