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I AM That (37-38) > Ron > 07/16/2023
Posted by Holger:
Sunday, July 16, 2023 3:45 pm (California Time)
We are a small group of friends;
together we read some paragraphs in
Nisargadatta’s I AM THAT
and then talk about it.
Feel warmly welcome
Please RSVP to Ron@Nondual.Community
and you will receive a free Zoom link ❤️
Greetings to One and All!
We’ll pick up from where we left off
in chapter 37 and go from there.
We will continue our timing of chatting from 6:45-7:00
and then go until 8:30 for the formal ending…
perhaps a little gathering of loose ends to wrap up.
Peace Peace Peace
Chapter 37
Beyond Pain and Pleasure there is Bliss
Q: There may be such a state as the abeyance of the mind. Does consciousness then appear as the witness?
NM: The witness only registers events. In the abeyance of the mind even the sense ‘I am’ dissolves. There is no ‘I am’ without the mind. 163
Q: All I know is that sometimes the mind works and sometimes it stops. The experience of mental silence I call the abeyance of the mind?
NM: Call it silence, or void, or abeyance, the fact is that the three – experiencer, experiencing, experience – are not. In witnessing, in awareness, self- consciousness, the sense of being this or that, is not. Unidentified being remains. 164
Q: My mind reels!
NM: Your difficulty stems from the idea that reality is a state of consciousness, one among many. You tend to say: “This is real. That is not real. And this is partly real, partly unreal”, as if reality were an attribute or quality to have in varying degrees. 164
Q: What is your objection to consciousness?
NM: It is a burden… All consciousness is limited and therefore painful. At the root of consciousness lies desire, the urge to experience… As long as there is consciousness, there must be pleasure and pain. It is in the nature of the ‘I am’, of consciousness, to identify itself with the opposites… Beyond pain and pleasure there is bliss. 165
Q: I am the pain-pleasure man?
NM: Pain and pleasure are both ananda (bliss). Here I am sitting in front of you and telling you – from my own immediate and unchanging experience – pain and pleasure are the crests and valleys of the waves in the ocean of bliss. Deep down there is utter fullness. 165
Q: All I know is desire for pleasure and fear of pain?
NM: That is what you think of yourself. Stop it… Questioning the habitual is the duty of the mind. What the mind created, the mind must destroy. Or realize there is no desire outside of the mind and stay out [of the mind]. 166
Q: Honestly, I distrust this explaining everything as mind-made… What it means to you I do not know? 166
NM: As long as you take your stand in the mind, you will see me in the mind. 166
Q: How inadequate are words for understanding!
NM: Without words, what is there to understand? The need for understanding arises from mis-understanding. What I say is true, but to you it is only a theory. 166
Q: How will I come to know that it is true?
NM: Listen, remember, ponder, visualize, experience. Also apply it in your daily life. Have patience with me and, above all, have patience with yourself, for you are your only obstacle. The way leads through yourself beyond yourself. As long as you believe only the particular to be real, conscious and happy and reject the non-dual reality as something imagined, an abstract concept, you will find me doling out concepts and abstractions. But once you have touched the real within your own being, you will find me describing what for you is the nearest and dearest. 166
Chapter 38
Spiritual Practice is
Will Asserted and Re-asserted
Q: Who is a Jnani?
NM: The jnani belongs to all. He gives himself tirelessly and completely to whoever comes to him. If he is not a giver, he is not a jnani. Whatever he has, he shares. 168
I admit, no verbal description will do, when the state described is beyond words. Yet it is also within words. Poetry is the art of putting into words the inexpressible.
There is no lack of religious poets. Turn to them for what you want. As far as I am concerned, my teaching is simple: trust me for a while and do what I tell you. If you persevere, you will find that your trust was justified. 168
Q: Either you tell us that your state is beyond words, or that there is no difference; that where we see a difference, you see none. In both cases we are left without any insight into your state?
NM: How can you have insight into my state when you are without insight into your own? When the very instrument of insight is lacking, is it not important to find it first? It is like a blind man wanting to learn painting before he regains his eyesight. You want to know my state – but do you know the state of of your wife or servant? 168-169
Q: I am asking for some hints only?
NM: Well, I gave you a very significant clue – where you see differences, I don’t. To me it is enough. If you think it is not enough, I can only repeat; it is enough. Think it out deeply and you will come to see what I see. 169
Q: How long will it take?
NM: You seem to want instant insight, forgetting that the instant is always preceded by a long preparation. The fruit falls suddenly, but the ripening takes time… After all, when I talk of trusting me, it is only for a short time, just enough to start you moving. 169
Please RSVP to Ron@Nondual.Community
and you will receive a free Zoom link ❤️
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Created: July 15, 2023
Last modified: July 16, 2023
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