"I Am" is the Most Subtle Illusion

[ad...@sadguru.us]

"I Am" is the Most Subtle Illusion _______________________________________    Shri Ranjit Maharaj from a talk given in June 1996 Question: When I contemplate my real nature, the "I Am," a feeling of love without cause pervades me. Is this feeling correct or is it still an illusion? Maharaj: It is the bliss of the Self. You feel the presence of "I Am." You forget everything, the concepts and Illusion. It is a non-conditioned state. This bliss appears when you forget the object, but in the bliss there is still a little touch of the Self. After all, it is still a concept. When you are tired of the outside world you want to be alone, to be in your Self. It is the experience of a higher state, but still of the mind. The Self has no pleasure or displeasure. It is without the "I" sense. The complete forgetfulness of Illusion means that nothing is, nothing exists. It is still there, but for you it has no reality. That is what is called realization, or Self-Knowledge. It is the realization of the Self without self.   If someone calls you, you say, "I am here." But before saying "I am here," you are. Illusion cannot give something more to Reality. It cannot give something extraordinary to Reality because Reality is at the base of everything that is. All that exists, all that you see, the objects of your perception, all that is, is due to Reality. There, Ignorance and Knowledge do not exist. They are not. So what expression can you give to them? When you give an expression, that means there is something experienced. As soon as you feel the least existence, it is still Ignorance, and you are away from your Self. You may feel love, and that is okay, but after all, it is still a state, and a state is always conditioned. The non-conditioned is stateless. It is the experience of the non-existence of Illusion. This is very subtle, and then both Ignorance and Knowledge don’t remain. It is difficult to understand, but if you really enquire you will get that stateless state. It is and has always been, but you don't know it, that is the difficulty. There is not a single point where Reality is not. You experience its existence through objects, but all this is nothing. It is omnipresent, but you cannot see it. Why? Because you are the Reality itself, so how can you see your Self? To see your face you need a mirror.   Real happiness is inside you, and not outside. In deep sleep you are happy. You forget the world. Therefore, happiness lies in the forgetting of the world. Leave the world as it is, don't destroy it, but know that it is not. Do everything you have to do, but be detached by understanding, because whatever you feel, perceive, and achieve is Illusion. It doesn't exist, and your mind must accept that.   The Saints say, "Since all is nothing, how can this nothing affect you, or touch you?" But what your mind says affects you and touches you. So what to do? The mind is nothing else but Knowledge. People differentiate the mind from Knowledge but this is not correct. There is nothing in the world. It is Illusion. Only Reality is, and when you understand that the Illusion is really Illusion, how can it affect you?   How can you even feel that it affects you? The lotus leaf lives in water, drinks water, but doesn't take the touch of water. If you pour water on it, the water rolls off, and the leaf is not touched by it. When you understand that nothing remains, there is no more question of love. The bliss of the Self that you feel is still the pleasure of Knowledge. First you must be aware of it, and then you become Reality itself because you are He. Therefore, there is no harm in living in the Illusion, in the world, but as it doesn't exist, you are not touched. The lotus stays in water but doesn't care for it.   In this way you must experience your true nature. I say experience, but there the words do not exist because it is beyond space, beyond zero. As the words cannot penetrate there, they stop there. In the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna said, "From where the words come back, that is my state." Still, he was a king and was ruling, but he knew that nothing is. You don't understand that everything is nothing and that this nothing can't touch you. Even when you feel that nothing can touch you, you are still in Illusion. That is the highest point of philosophy, and you can reach there. There, there is no Master nor disciple, for both are only one. The duality doesn't exist there, only oneness is, and nothing is outside of it. Therefore, stay in the Illusion but with understanding.   Two friends wanted to play a trick on another friend. One of them started to insult the other one, but he was laughing at the insult. A third friend was troubled, and said, "How can you laugh when he is insulting you?" He was laughing because he had the key to the game, but the third boy didn't understand. In the same way, realized persons, though they are living in the world, understand that all this is nothing, and whatever happens, nothing is happening. Therefore, they are not touched. People are always in fear of what happens, or what will happen. They are afraid of what people will say. They think, "What am I going to do? What will happen to me?" They fight or enjoy. All of this type of bondage is due to the mind.   The one who is out of the circle. understands that all is nothing. It doesn't exist, it is only Ignorance. It is said that only the one who dives deep into the ocean can find the pearl. The one who remains on the surface is carried away in the stream of pleasure and suffering. You must dive deep into the depths of the unlimited because that is where you are. Never stop at the limited. The gold doesn't care for the shapes it takes in the ornaments. It may be in the shape of a dog or of a god, it is unconcerned with the form. In the same way, be indifferent to things because they do not exist. Nothing can touch you. You are unattached. The mind must come to the point of the complete understanding of the Illusion. There lies your state. Nothing remains for he who has understood. There is no more gain or loss. Don't ask if you can achieve Reality because you are the Reality, so why say "Can I?" First of all, get out of the circle. Leave everything one after the other, and go deep in your Self. Come back then, and be in the All. What you have described is a good state, no doubt, but go a little further. When the mind accepts that all is Illusion, and only Illusion, then you are in your Self. The body and the mind are Illusion. You should be happy to know that. Get rid of your identifications. The only thing that the Master does is to show you the real value of the power which is in you, to which you pay no attention. He does nothing more. It was a only a stone you thought, but the Master reveals its true nature which is a diamond. He makes you the most precious stone.   "I am omnipresent and almighty. I am the Creator of all that is." When you are at the base of all, you are in the All. Therefore, even a murderer cannot be considered as bad. Know that whatever is happening, it is by "my" order. Be the Master, not the slave! You are the Master.   - Shri Ranjit Maharaj from Illusion vs. Reality    __________________________________________________ To give the gift of free food click this link:  www.thehungersite.com/tpc/THS_linktous

[Richard]

These lines, "...whatever you feel, perceive, and achieve

is Illusion. It doesn't exist, and your mind must accept

that", really jumped out at me. A good, as they say,
pointer.

The last paragraph is a hard one. With such things as
the tragic killings in Mumbai, how could a "my" have orchestrated such
misery?

[Ram]

He is not talking about an individual 'my' but the universal 'My.'
Everything that happens is "My" will. Self without self.

No me, "only Thee." The mind doesn't like some appearance and labels
it as bad, is all.

Decay, death, and destruction is just as much a part of the All as
birth, youth, and vitality.

[Richard]

I know he's not talking about an individual. Neither am I.

Everything that appears to happen occurs in the All as part of the
All, of course. How can it not?

My question pertains to the line, 'Know that whatever is happening, it
is by "my" order'.

I can't fathom how the All (or whatever name is given to that which is
higher than man) could have willed or 'ordered' the wanton atrocities
that took place in Mumbai.

The terrorists would also say they were doing the will of God. This I
have trouble believing.

Although it happened in Self, imo it was not planned by Self but by
savage humans.

This is a big issue: why does God allow evil?, and I hope you or
someone can speak more fully to this.

I did like and get much from the rest of Ranjit's talk.

[Ram]

"understand that all this is nothing, and whatever happens, nothing is
happening."

You take the dream to be true and try to make sense of why the dream
events occurred the way they did.

What else can be said? You either accept what the master says and are
out of it, or you don't accept and then believe that something has
happened and try to make sense of it.

If you dreamed in last night's dream that you were a terrorist and
went on a rampage killing hundreds or thousands of people in Mumbai,
it all seemed very real to you. You planned out every detail, and even
watched yourself go through the motions and witnessed the deaths of
many people. Upon awakening, where is all of that drama? Who have you
killed and who has died? Are you ready to accept the death sentence
for the murders you committed in the dream?

All of the appearances whether labeled good or bad, benevolent or
evil, are only appearances in consciousness. Only consciousness.
Millions of people are born and die every day in sweet and cruel ways.
It's all just the play of nature. Yet for some reason, mostly based
upon body identification, the mind says "I don't like the way those
people died. That was evil, those people were innocent, and those
killers were savage," and the dream is taken to be true. Conscousness
doesn't make the distinction between good and evil, that is all the
mind's work based upon it's likes and dislikes. Consciousness is
consciousness. It doesn't make the distinctions of good and bad. It's
all just the play of itself. even if it does make the distinctions, it
is still only itself that is living and dying.

By saying and understand that "All is My will," everything is accepted
as it is, in its innate perfection without the labels of good or evil,
civilized or savage. And even if the labels are there, it is still all
understood to be only My will. The will of universal consciousness
appearing and disappearing.

If anyone else thinks that they can explain better than that, feel
free.

:~)

[Mahakali]

The first part of this extract seems to say that the eye cannot see
the eye..

My difficulty is in understanding how certain mystics have managed to
go beyond this state and, actually, 'see' what is beyond the I Am...

Kali

[Ram]

Hi Kali,

This is the paradox. The "me" cannot understand this point. The
'mystic' per se, is not seeing what is beyond "I Am," as there is no
individual considering oneself to be a mystic or realized being, etc.
The stabilization in/as "I Am" is what is commonly called 'Self-
Realization."

The "I Am" is Consciousness or Knowledge, it is known. Seeing beyond
"I Am" is really a misnomer, as it is stateless and cannot be known.
It is where the "I Am" is known from. First, one recognizes one's
identity as "I Am," which basically means your sense of identity
becomes more expansive from that of an individual to the vastness of
knowledge or consciousness itself. It's a letting go of the sense of
being limited to/by the body-mind mechanism, and having the
realization of recognition of being universal consciousness, or Sat-
Chit-Ananda. This is where most teachers stop. It is realization of
the Self as Consciousness which is very expansive and free from the
identification of being a limited individual, but on a subtle level,
it is still a thought or concept, and is known, or Knowledge. It is
Beingness. This is where most teachers will say that this is
enlightenment and that one's sense of existence, or "I Am" is
undeniable, and this is a true statement.

You, Kali, cannot understand this. It is only without Kali that this
can be understood. It's similar to a circle within a circle within a
circle. Kali is the smallest circle with a body-mind that is within a
larger circle of Universal Consciousness. The larger circle can know
the smaller circle, but the smaller circle cannot know the larger
circle without leaving behind the sense of being limited by the body-
mind. This limitation is only unexamined beliefs. Once these beliefs
are seen through, then there is naturally a more expansive sense of
being Universal Consciousness. But still, this universal appearance,
vast as it may be, is not permanent.

This is often where the analogy of space comes in. Space is vast and
still. In it comes a stirring or motion. This motion is the wind,
which is the arising of the sense of "I" or "I Am." From there, the
entire universe spins out. Due to consciousness mistaking itself to be
a limited appearance within that movement, there is the sense of being
an individual.

The question you ask is a very subtle one which requires a minute or
subtle enquiry and investigation as to what your actual experience in
life really is, and not just living by assumptions or beliefs that
have been accumulated. The short answer is that the individual can
never realize "I Am" let alone beyond "I Am." Reallization of "I Am"
is the realization that there is no individual. Only from this
realization can more subtle realization take place.

To say "only He exists" or "only Thee" if you prefer, is relinquishing
the individual, or becoming "He," oneself. (Not really becoming, but
recognizing that this has only always been the case). This is God
Realization, or knowing oneself to be God or Consciousness itself.

From there, even this "I Am" (only He, only Thee), "God of the
Universe" himself, cannot know beyond "I Am," it can only 'know' what
is. The "Final Understanding" as Maharaj used to call it, is from that
stateless state which cannot be known, but is what knows the pure
awareness that gives rise to the "I Am."

From this realization is where Nisargadatta can make such statements
as (from MTs post on the other thread):

"My beingness was not there, it has appeared and it is temporary, I
have no control over it. I cannot be a customer to what God has to
give, let him be great, I am not interested".

"After beingness departs, there is no-beingness, which is eternal".

"Beingness will disappear. I always prevail in no-beingness".

"The Absolute is eternal, a no-beingness state, and real. Beingness is
temporary and with it appear the five elements and so on, no beingness
– nothing".

"But the knower says, I am not consciousness, mind or Sattva, I am
apart from the elements and their products".

"Brahman is a concept because it is not going to be in my association
for long. Just for a short period as long as there is the beingness
there is the world. For the one who realizes the departure of
beingness there is bliss". (This is not bliss as an experience, but a
wordless, conceptless bliss that is eternal)

Or as Maharaj used to say "The realized one, or Sadguru is even
greater than God."
God is Existence, the Self in Self-Realization, but this is not the
final understanding. Here it's worth mentioning, that the word Self is
often used in different ways. It is most commonly used in the sense of
Universal Consciousness or Knowledge, God, etc. It is also sometimes,
less frequently used in the sense of the Supreme Self or Paramatman,
which is the Self beyond "I Am" or Self without self.(circle within a
circle. It's not the best analogy, but we have to use some words.)

The main point Kali, is that you must first be rid of this ignorance
that you are individual, as well as any notions that 'you' can't be
free of this sense of being an individual. It's not really a doing of
something as such, as recognizing that you are taking something that
is false to be true.

This is where the method of explanation found in "The Master Key to
Self-Realization" is so useful. There, Siddharameshwar Maharaj has
very concisely given the explanation of the four bodies which is very
helpful in understanding what you are not.

I hope these words are helpful to some extent.

All the best,

[Mahakali]

Hi Ram, it seems to me that this is the crux of the problem:

"To say "only He exists" or "only Thee" if you prefer, is
relinquishing the individual, or becoming "He," oneself. (Not really
becoming, but recognizing that this has only always been the case).
This is God Realization, or knowing oneself to be God or Consciousness
itself. "

But, who is doing the realization that this has only always been the
case? Who is going to provide evidence/proof that there was no
individual there when 'Realization happened' ..but it didn't happen to
anyone in particular? Who is doing the recognizing that I am taking
something that is false to be true?

I can be very humble and open to any type of recognizing, but, isn't
it still, principally, the ego involved in this process/experience?

Albout Maharaj, who in The "Final Understanding" spoke of that

stateless state which cannot be known, but is what knows the pure

awareness that gives rise to the "I Am", I can only be very grateful
for being able to acknowledge such report and, hopefully, it should
act as an inspiration to all of us.

Kali

[Ram]

Hi Kali,

Yes this is the crux of the problem, but in a different way than you
are expressing.

"But, who is doing the realization that this has only always been the
case? Who is going to provide evidence/proof that there was no
individual there when 'Realization happened' ..but it didn't happen to
anyone in particular? Who is doing the recognizing that I am taking
something that is false to be true?"

- I will speak bluntly with affection. This line of questioning is an
approach that will only leave you with a feeling of stagnating because
of holding on to doubt. The approach itself has to be abandoned if you
really want to understand the answer. The question is itself evidence
of holding on to an approach that doesn't work, and that the suggested
guidance given has not been tried.

In surrender, there is no place for ego. Surrender everything before
allowing any doubt to arise. Where is there any place for ego in "Only
Thee"? Doubt or ego is only a passing afterthought. It is a sign of
the imagined ego claiming "I'm doing," otherwise, there is only
acceptance and recognition of "Only He exists," "Only He is the doer
of all."

"I can be very humble and open to any type of recognizing, but, isn't
it still, principally,  the ego involved in this process/experience?"

- Again, being affectionately direct, there is no such thing as a
humble "I." Illusion of ego is there only as long as the concept "I am
doing" is maintained. Surrender or letting go must be total, otherwise
there is the sense of the activity being tainted with "I'm doing." In
"Only Thee" there is no "me." If the sense of "me" or "I" is there,
that must also be surrendered. Surrender the surrenderer, AND the
surrendering. "Only He exists." This understanding must be fully
imbibed, and you will know for yourself that "You Are He." Tattvamasi

"About  Maharaj, who in The "Final Understanding" spoke of that

stateless state which cannot be known, but is what knows the pure
awareness that gives rise to the "I Am", I can only be very grateful
for being able to acknowledge  such report and, hopefully, it should
act as an inspiration to all of us."

- Yes indeed, the gratitude cannot fully be expressed in words, but
still we try, and that expression of praise is the "delight delighting
in itself." (God delighting in the devotion of the devotee who is only
God) It is also an inexpressible joy to share the understanding that
He has given with one who appreciates what is being conveyed, knowing
full well that it is only the Self speaking to Self. When Self
understands, and is awakened by Self, then even the labels of
gratitude, joy, and delight fall far short of describing that joy.

[Mahakali]

Hi Ram

I agree with you. The acting as if 'all this is mine' must disappear.
Surrendering also means surrendering something or everything which has
never been mine in the first place; it is the realization of giving
something back which, wrongly, in the false world of the illusions,
was assumed to be mine . So, there has to be admission and recognizing
that they are God's (Self).

Kali

[Ram]

Yes, exactly! It's easier than you think, not to claim something in
the first place that was never yours.

> > gratitude, joy, and delight fall far short of describing that joy.- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

[Richard]

Seems to me that much of Advaita downplays or even ignores the heart,
the bhakti element. Therefore many have much head knowledge and frozen
hearts. Such people are top heavy and fall down.

Even surrender must be done with love/worship to that which is greater
than the individual. Elsewise it is not yielding but a further
contraction, another notch to carve on the ego.

[Mahakali]

Admin:

"When the mind accepts that all is Illusion, and only Illusion, then
you are in your Self. The body and the mind are Illusion. "

Asking the mind to accept that everything is an Illusion when mind
itself is an Illusion too may seem very conflicting. Mind is thought,
therefore, no thought equals no mind. However, one can never get rid
of all thoughts as they are not under his control. But, one can accept
that if thought arises, it can only be natural, spontaneous and s/he
is not responsible/in charge for it.

"You should be happy to know that. Get rid of your identifications. "

How can one get rid of one's identifications? As long as the "I"
exists, there will be identifications that go with it.

"The only thing that the Master does is to show you the real value of
the power which is in you, to which you pay no attention. He does
nothing more. It was a only a stone you thought, but the Master
reveals its true nature which is a diamond. He makes you the most
precious stone."

It seems to say, that the point of showing me the real power in me, is
for it to be paid attention to. At the end, it should become an act
of transmutation from the almost worthless to the very valuable one.

Warm regards

Kali



On Dec 6, 10:34 pm, "ad...@sadguru.us" <ad...@sadguru.us> wrote:
>  

[Ram]

"How can one get rid of one's identifications? As long as the "I"
exists, there will be identifications that go with it."

The belief that some separate "I" exists is the identification to get
rid of. Only you can do this, but you are not a separate "I" that gets
rid of itself. Getting rid of identifications, or mis-identifications
is more of a simple matter of seeing what is false and ceasing to say/
believe that it (in this case, the "I") is true.

Happy Holidays!

[Mahakali]

Hi Ram

I suppose that, in my case, it has been more difficult to get rid of
the notion that I cannot be a separate individual. For some time I
chased the idea that if everything would be undivided, then, the "I"
would be seen through and the whole world would be hunky dory. Direct
experience has taught me that , one (by definition) cannot get rid of
separateness and, that, noticing separation and the seeing that the
'object' by the 'subject' as (like you said) being 'not true' , all
these small realizations bring me to the view that I live in duality
but I can also see the objects in question are simultaneously not-
two.

Happy festive holidays..

Kali

[Ram]

It's really simply about a shift in perspective. The two easy ways for
this shift to occur are either 1) total surrender, or 2) investigation
into what you are and what you are not. When you can see that your
existence is changeless and that all the attributes that you assign to
"me" are only transient thoughts that come and go and are not
yourself, the imagined duality of a separate "I" is automatically
resolved. You don't come and go, while the "I" arises and disappears.
This can easily be seen if one sincerely looks into the assumptions
that are being held to be true.

:~)

[Ram]

Kalima wrote:

"these small realizations bring me to the view that I live in duality
but I can also see the objects in question are simultaneously not-
two."

- Yes, this is clear seeing up to a point. In seeing "not-two,"
objects aren't really objects per se. In which case you are not really
living in duality and seeing unity, nor would it really be accurate to
say that you are living in unity seeing duality.(Isn't that what she
said?) ;~) When the concepts and labels are effortlessly left to
fall away, no words are really needed, and the notions of duality and
objects do not arise, except for purpose of conversation.

Unity or Oneness is (there/here), and appearances come and go. The
appearances are not really objective, but in a sense, they are, as in
order for there to be an object there must be a subject. The subject-
object phenomenon is like the water in a mirage. It appears to be
there, be really it's just a trick of the light. We lend it reality by
our belief in it, or even on a more fundamental level, conceptualizing
about it.

I'm not trying to be contradictory, as how you have said what you have
said is as good as any other way of saying it.

"you are not really living in duality and seeing unity, nor would it
really be accurate to say that you are living in unity seeing
duality."

Thanks for the nice dialogue Kali! It's a joy. Your joy is my joy.

[Richard]

I have heard the non-dual state described as subject without object.

When I told others of this, some couldn't fathom it.

Is there any validity to subject without object?

[Ram]

Is it a rhetorical question? If you fathom it, does it matters what
'others' think? (yes, that was a rhetorical question.)

As soon as the subject is there, there is possiblity of object. The
two are interdependent.

No subject, no object; and no question of subject and object.

[Richard]

To me, subject without object is like pure awareness without content.
Or observing without labeling.

That is, only one subject, aware of all as himself. Cognizant Energy
alone.