Once a Jolly Swagman camped by a Billabong
Well, it has been outlined here in so many ways.
It has been shared without asking for anything in return.
The fundamentals have been hammered away at over and over.
I have heard that seekers in café’s in Non Duality hot spots, like Santa Cruz, actually argue over ‘what Gilbert says’ about this or that. - Rather amusing for me and just demonstrates how the Internet has a vast and immediate influenced. - A note gets posted on the web and within hours, people are arguing over whatever it is that has been written about.
Well, here is ‘a dish’ you can really get your teeth into, my little 'non duality' darlings.
No names have been used – but you all have a good imagination, I am sure.
Let's take a rough and brief look at 'the popular teachers syndrome' and how their stories of ‘personal enlightenment’ are simply nothing but passing experiences and erroneous beliefs, held onto by themselves and passed on to their un-witted followers as the basis of their teaching.
I might mention that I really don’t care one way or another what these teachers say – there was a time when it pissed me off because I knew how devious it seemed - but that time has passed.
Now, I can 'stir the pot' and see what aromas come to the surface – and I know that NO HARM is DONE to anyone. – Yet someone 'out there' may just see something that has eluded them for so long.
First error. - The popular teacher pretends to be liberated and beyond and above everyone else.
He or she demonstrates conceitedness without shame – in fact it is flaunted as though it was an attribute. – The teaching is highly business like and the pupils pay over and over for being allowed to suffer the endless demands upon them, to be servile and to be in a state of longing for deliverance – squeezed into the shape of a 'sincere seeker'. – That is a sign that all is not well with the teacher and that his ‘famous’ deliverance is just another a fraudulent story.Advaita - One without a second - is total equanimity - in THIS moment. - There is no other time than NOW. - If they KNOW that, why not point directly at THAT fact and drop these ridiculous stories about the future?
THIS presence awareness is not a 'conditioned existence' and the mind has nothing to do with this clear space of knowing - KNOWING is in BEING. - THAT is NOT limited by whatever happened in the past and all methods to shape the states of mind, will never BECOME anything that can last. - All stories of BECOMING are erroneous and the teachers that promote such stories are equally erroneous, no matter how sacred they pretend to be.
Such teachers are caught in their own trap of believing that they have attained a special state of being and through their contrived compassion they 'help' others to attain the same - that is just absurd nonsense - not because I say it is - because it is just ridiculous nonsense and totally in the mind - not in BEING. - The teachings of these 'special ones' have a smattering of pointers to the non-dual, the ever-present nature, which they most probably gleaned from reading Nisargadatta and other sources, but they all still make references to 'future states of liberation', to 'the embodying of the teaching', 'post awakening processing', etc.
Plus they cement their followers into a ‘model’ in believing that 'they are the very special enlightened teacher' and others are mere students, well, until he or she gives these others a spiritual name and certifies them ready to "transmit the dharma" or whatever the ‘line’ is.
It all revolves around the teacher being 'important' and it is that 'sticky point' which reveals the game they are playing - and all of their rationale will never hide the obvious, the erroneous game of duality pretending to be a 'path' to the Non Dual.
In other words, while non-duality is mentioned repeatedly, the dualistic level is still the predominate feature, brought back in very consistently - it has to be, because that is the glue that binds the mind of the followers into hope and future time - a pre-requisite if you are going to build an empire of followers.
The 'true teacher' has no interest in collecting seekers at all - he 'sets them free' by 'pointing' to the FACT of immediate Being. - So there is NO dependence whatsoever from that moment on.
Of course in the appearance, it is relative - but in essence it is this timeless presence.
It only needs to be re-discovered ONCE - and that always happens in THIS immediacy - and THIS is all there IS and ever IS.
These 'special teachers' are really playing up their so-called connection with Nisargadatta or Ramana Maharshi, based on what direct connection one can only wonder?
Incidentally, I have noticed over and over that Bob will not be drawn into discussions about these other teachers - his point is "Who cares what they say?"
(The point is to come to this knowing for yourself - as quickly as you can - why believe stories of a future time told by another? - See and Know for yourself in this immediacy of now.)
These teachers of time bound notions may well feel threatened by the direct teachers such as Bob Adamson.
They also may feel threatened by others who speak openly about the fraudulent game of pretentious teachers in the Non Duality scene. - They do their best to stay 'one step ahead' but they are actually way behind because they have fallen for the same old trap themselves - 'believing in time'.
-I have met dozens of people "into" such teachers, but as far as I can see all of them are just playing 'the seeker game'. - All are suffering and hoping for a future understanding to bring them into a special state. - Almost all of them claim to "know" and have realized, but this is really mythical as the basics are not really clear in what they say.
- These teachers can't really do the ‘full stop’ and point to freedom, because they have built themselves up as being rather special and as a professional teacher, etc. - So there has to be some form of dualism added, such as "after awakening, the real work begins ..." or "You are pure consciousness. - Stand up and walk out of your dream. - I am here to show the way to do this". - They dare all seekers of peace and freedom to take the possibility of liberation in this life seriously. - Way too much emphasis on themselves and the future, etc.
All very grandiose and calculated to impress naïve or hard core seekers. - It is still rather surprising for me that so many fall for this stuff. – The admiration of a charismatic personality that plays the seekers ‘like a violin’ may have something to do with it. - These teachers will tell you: "You are free, but not quite". - Basically, these teachers are quite cocky, and full of themselves and of course with their perceived role as a professional teacher. - These characters may well follow closely what Bob and the ‘Bob-influenced people’ are saying and they are trying to co-opt it a bit because they know their followers are checking out these websites as well.Such teachers may say something like: “After I awakened", I picked up "I am THAT" and found that Nisargadatta was exactly describing my own experience”. - Everybody they teach gets a special spiritual name, etc.- So there is a tacit game going on with -
1. Those who have it. -
2. Those who have it but have not been asked to teach. –
3. Those who know it but are still working on living the teaching, etc.
Generally speaking, most ‘people’ are attracted to fame, wealth and popularity, so they gravitate toward that popular spiritual scene, simply due to its popularity - not because of a resonation in being. -They assume the teaching is good because so many people flock to the talks: Some of these teachers have 400-500 at a time. – Quite a business venture – why let the truth get in the way?
It is really pseudo non-dualism, with a heavy dose of adoration of the person of the teacher.
My guess is that there is not a single example, in the last ten years coming out of such groups, someone who has a basic understanding of the fundamentals. - All they have gleaned is a few phrases and bits of jargon, claims to "know", smug arrogance - coupled with continued suffering, which is always rationalized in the same old ways - they don't see the mechanicalness of it all.
The point they fail to really get, and how could they get it because the teacher is parading as a ‘special person’? - is that there is no person present at all.
So in understanding clearly, the mind keeps going back to the same old stories, the same old references to time, to 'getting it', the future, 'living it', they all keep popping back in to muddy the works.
And above all else, these points are not openly questioned by anyone - because the teacher's 'word' and reputation would be threatened by any such directness.
That 'speacial teacher' is as good as being hermetically sealed in his own conceptual construction - a prison of his own making - the seething doubts that must gnaw away inside him may be agonizing at times and it is those poor followers, around him, that will get sprayed with that poisonous atmosphere.
Any outrageous 'moods' or 'fits of rage' (He may be having one this very moment, after reading this note) will be blamed onto his poor followers, because they are not making enough effort to raise their consciousness or some other pathetic excuse, wrapped in esoteric nonsense.
Blinded by success, he lost his chance to be ordinary and now his empire can do nothing but crumble in his own 'time bound mind' - whatever appears will disappear - whatever is born, will die - The great perfection is the great imperfection - what goes up will come down - for every action, there is a reaction - ad infinitum - relativity is only 'an appearance' in non duality.
Basically, the whole charade is a ‘good business model’, because there are endless retreats, DVDs, books, satsangs, etc. - There are 10s, it not 100s, of thousands of dollars swirling around and perfuming the air with the smell of "success".
There is a strong resistance to any questioning of the validity of what is being offered. - Basically, what is being communicated is not even non-duality, but a 'hodge podge' of meditation, non-dual concepts gleaned from books, pop psychology and guru worship.
Just enough nuggets to keep the naïve seeker on the path for another 10 to 15 years without questioning anything. - What will happen when people are in this for 20 or 30 years?
Just enough people get certified to teach to keep everyone hopeful that they too will get it.
It is highly likely that the teachers coming out of such ‘programming are fairly weak in substance and ineffectual overall.
The teacher pretends to be ‘the only one’ who understands the post awakening process, (i.e., the real work, which is all simply invented terminology, mind stuff, terms that fit neatly into the whole trap of time bound teachings) .
Why play a game of being enlightened? - Why offer a fraudulent teaching when you MUST know 'deep down' that it is a fraud? - You know that it is just a game you are playing and that you want others to play the game with you, but you have your terms, you must be the 'king of the castle' - those are your very serious terms, or you won't play at all.
Infantile grandiose!
It is rather grotesque when people try to retrofit pure non-duality into a progressive framework as these popular teachers do.
What awakening?
For whom?
What path?
Where is there to go?
What goal?
What teacher and what student?
What embodiment?
Who is there to do any such thing?
Can you find a self centre - something with any substance apart from a flimsy belief?
Such questions are well beyond what is being communicated by these 'special teachers'.
There you have it!
As my grandmother used to say: "Eat them apples".
A ripple on the ocean - all words.
In conclusion, let me say this:- In the 'seeing through' of whatever the mind is telling you, about anything at all - that space from where you are seeing from, is clear and empty.
There is NO time in it.
It is instant, THIS instant, completely immediate, by its very nature.
There is no 'person' in this clear space, no one to practice anything and there is certainly no need for a method to use - it is NON Conceptual awareness and THAT is totally free of the mind and always was, IS and will be.
Who can discover THIS?
THIS is timeless presence.
It is worth looking closely at this next point, because it is a radical difference to almost all other teachings: - You cannot 'become' what you already are. - The 'path of acquisitions' is an erroneous belief which only leads you further away from what is true - but only in the mind are you seemingly lead away....because THIS presence of right now is all there IS.
This 'teaching', if we can call it that, is by negation, neti neti.
It is so radically simple, so much so, that most miss its total validity in the same way they miss this clear and present presence awareness that they ARE.
Instead, they look for a 'special state' encouraged by ignorant ego bound teachers - and in that merky mindset, they overlook what is already present AS their own natural, already liberated being presence.
There is NOTHING to 'acquire' or 'get' - you are THAT One without a second right NOW.
Anyone who tells you that you have to 'do this' and 'do that' is really speaking from ignorance and you can ignore them and turn your vision back into that clear space of knowing that YOU ARE - and instantly you have gone beyond all conditioning, all time and that clear and present knowing will reveal all you need to know. - Only by taking up a concept and 'going with it' do you ever SEEM to leave and that is not the case - you ARE present and aware.
In the Bible it says: "Let no man come between you and your God".
Who is going to show you the way to your self?
No step needs to be taken - NOT ONE STEP - just take a look in THIS immediacy of SEEING and realize that the ONLY seeing that is happening can only be by the self - and you are already THAT - You can also drop the concept of there being any 'thing' called the 'self' and simply be this pure, immediate seeing - this knowing.
That is it.
It already is - so all claims by teachers that they will 'give' you some special access to it is and MUST be a story, in their own minds - a belief in an erroneous idea, an idea that THEY are special and have something that you don't 'yet' have - and they will take you there etc.
That is a business plan and that is all it is. - There is no product to sell - you are already THAT - this pure knowing which remains untouched and timelessly present, as what you truly are.
My warmest regards to you all.
May no one lead you astray with his or her 'special-ness'.
Ordinary awareness is IT.
Just SEE and KNOW - BE what you ARE.
It has been shared without asking for anything in return.
The fundamentals have been hammered away at over and over.
I have heard that seekers in café’s in Non Duality hot spots, like Santa Cruz, actually argue over ‘what Gilbert says’ about this or that. - Rather amusing for me and just demonstrates how the Internet has a vast and immediate influenced. - A note gets posted on the web and within hours, people are arguing over whatever it is that has been written about.
Well, here is ‘a dish’ you can really get your teeth into, my little 'non duality' darlings.
No names have been used – but you all have a good imagination, I am sure.
Let's take a rough and brief look at 'the popular teachers syndrome' and how their stories of ‘personal enlightenment’ are simply nothing but passing experiences and erroneous beliefs, held onto by themselves and passed on to their un-witted followers as the basis of their teaching.
I might mention that I really don’t care one way or another what these teachers say – there was a time when it pissed me off because I knew how devious it seemed - but that time has passed.
Now, I can 'stir the pot' and see what aromas come to the surface – and I know that NO HARM is DONE to anyone. – Yet someone 'out there' may just see something that has eluded them for so long.
First error. - The popular teacher pretends to be liberated and beyond and above everyone else.
He or she demonstrates conceitedness without shame – in fact it is flaunted as though it was an attribute. – The teaching is highly business like and the pupils pay over and over for being allowed to suffer the endless demands upon them, to be servile and to be in a state of longing for deliverance – squeezed into the shape of a 'sincere seeker'. – That is a sign that all is not well with the teacher and that his ‘famous’ deliverance is just another a fraudulent story.Advaita - One without a second - is total equanimity - in THIS moment. - There is no other time than NOW. - If they KNOW that, why not point directly at THAT fact and drop these ridiculous stories about the future?
THIS presence awareness is not a 'conditioned existence' and the mind has nothing to do with this clear space of knowing - KNOWING is in BEING. - THAT is NOT limited by whatever happened in the past and all methods to shape the states of mind, will never BECOME anything that can last. - All stories of BECOMING are erroneous and the teachers that promote such stories are equally erroneous, no matter how sacred they pretend to be.
Such teachers are caught in their own trap of believing that they have attained a special state of being and through their contrived compassion they 'help' others to attain the same - that is just absurd nonsense - not because I say it is - because it is just ridiculous nonsense and totally in the mind - not in BEING. - The teachings of these 'special ones' have a smattering of pointers to the non-dual, the ever-present nature, which they most probably gleaned from reading Nisargadatta and other sources, but they all still make references to 'future states of liberation', to 'the embodying of the teaching', 'post awakening processing', etc.
Plus they cement their followers into a ‘model’ in believing that 'they are the very special enlightened teacher' and others are mere students, well, until he or she gives these others a spiritual name and certifies them ready to "transmit the dharma" or whatever the ‘line’ is.
It all revolves around the teacher being 'important' and it is that 'sticky point' which reveals the game they are playing - and all of their rationale will never hide the obvious, the erroneous game of duality pretending to be a 'path' to the Non Dual.
In other words, while non-duality is mentioned repeatedly, the dualistic level is still the predominate feature, brought back in very consistently - it has to be, because that is the glue that binds the mind of the followers into hope and future time - a pre-requisite if you are going to build an empire of followers.
The 'true teacher' has no interest in collecting seekers at all - he 'sets them free' by 'pointing' to the FACT of immediate Being. - So there is NO dependence whatsoever from that moment on.
Of course in the appearance, it is relative - but in essence it is this timeless presence.
It only needs to be re-discovered ONCE - and that always happens in THIS immediacy - and THIS is all there IS and ever IS.
These 'special teachers' are really playing up their so-called connection with Nisargadatta or Ramana Maharshi, based on what direct connection one can only wonder?
Incidentally, I have noticed over and over that Bob will not be drawn into discussions about these other teachers - his point is "Who cares what they say?"
(The point is to come to this knowing for yourself - as quickly as you can - why believe stories of a future time told by another? - See and Know for yourself in this immediacy of now.)
These teachers of time bound notions may well feel threatened by the direct teachers such as Bob Adamson.
They also may feel threatened by others who speak openly about the fraudulent game of pretentious teachers in the Non Duality scene. - They do their best to stay 'one step ahead' but they are actually way behind because they have fallen for the same old trap themselves - 'believing in time'.
-I have met dozens of people "into" such teachers, but as far as I can see all of them are just playing 'the seeker game'. - All are suffering and hoping for a future understanding to bring them into a special state. - Almost all of them claim to "know" and have realized, but this is really mythical as the basics are not really clear in what they say.
- These teachers can't really do the ‘full stop’ and point to freedom, because they have built themselves up as being rather special and as a professional teacher, etc. - So there has to be some form of dualism added, such as "after awakening, the real work begins ..." or "You are pure consciousness. - Stand up and walk out of your dream. - I am here to show the way to do this". - They dare all seekers of peace and freedom to take the possibility of liberation in this life seriously. - Way too much emphasis on themselves and the future, etc.
All very grandiose and calculated to impress naïve or hard core seekers. - It is still rather surprising for me that so many fall for this stuff. – The admiration of a charismatic personality that plays the seekers ‘like a violin’ may have something to do with it. - These teachers will tell you: "You are free, but not quite". - Basically, these teachers are quite cocky, and full of themselves and of course with their perceived role as a professional teacher. - These characters may well follow closely what Bob and the ‘Bob-influenced people’ are saying and they are trying to co-opt it a bit because they know their followers are checking out these websites as well.Such teachers may say something like: “After I awakened", I picked up "I am THAT" and found that Nisargadatta was exactly describing my own experience”. - Everybody they teach gets a special spiritual name, etc.- So there is a tacit game going on with -
1. Those who have it. -
2. Those who have it but have not been asked to teach. –
3. Those who know it but are still working on living the teaching, etc.
Generally speaking, most ‘people’ are attracted to fame, wealth and popularity, so they gravitate toward that popular spiritual scene, simply due to its popularity - not because of a resonation in being. -They assume the teaching is good because so many people flock to the talks: Some of these teachers have 400-500 at a time. – Quite a business venture – why let the truth get in the way?
It is really pseudo non-dualism, with a heavy dose of adoration of the person of the teacher.
My guess is that there is not a single example, in the last ten years coming out of such groups, someone who has a basic understanding of the fundamentals. - All they have gleaned is a few phrases and bits of jargon, claims to "know", smug arrogance - coupled with continued suffering, which is always rationalized in the same old ways - they don't see the mechanicalness of it all.
The point they fail to really get, and how could they get it because the teacher is parading as a ‘special person’? - is that there is no person present at all.
So in understanding clearly, the mind keeps going back to the same old stories, the same old references to time, to 'getting it', the future, 'living it', they all keep popping back in to muddy the works.
And above all else, these points are not openly questioned by anyone - because the teacher's 'word' and reputation would be threatened by any such directness.
That 'speacial teacher' is as good as being hermetically sealed in his own conceptual construction - a prison of his own making - the seething doubts that must gnaw away inside him may be agonizing at times and it is those poor followers, around him, that will get sprayed with that poisonous atmosphere.
Any outrageous 'moods' or 'fits of rage' (He may be having one this very moment, after reading this note) will be blamed onto his poor followers, because they are not making enough effort to raise their consciousness or some other pathetic excuse, wrapped in esoteric nonsense.
Blinded by success, he lost his chance to be ordinary and now his empire can do nothing but crumble in his own 'time bound mind' - whatever appears will disappear - whatever is born, will die - The great perfection is the great imperfection - what goes up will come down - for every action, there is a reaction - ad infinitum - relativity is only 'an appearance' in non duality.
Basically, the whole charade is a ‘good business model’, because there are endless retreats, DVDs, books, satsangs, etc. - There are 10s, it not 100s, of thousands of dollars swirling around and perfuming the air with the smell of "success".
There is a strong resistance to any questioning of the validity of what is being offered. - Basically, what is being communicated is not even non-duality, but a 'hodge podge' of meditation, non-dual concepts gleaned from books, pop psychology and guru worship.
Just enough nuggets to keep the naïve seeker on the path for another 10 to 15 years without questioning anything. - What will happen when people are in this for 20 or 30 years?
Just enough people get certified to teach to keep everyone hopeful that they too will get it.
It is highly likely that the teachers coming out of such ‘programming are fairly weak in substance and ineffectual overall.
The teacher pretends to be ‘the only one’ who understands the post awakening process, (i.e., the real work, which is all simply invented terminology, mind stuff, terms that fit neatly into the whole trap of time bound teachings) .
Why play a game of being enlightened? - Why offer a fraudulent teaching when you MUST know 'deep down' that it is a fraud? - You know that it is just a game you are playing and that you want others to play the game with you, but you have your terms, you must be the 'king of the castle' - those are your very serious terms, or you won't play at all.
Infantile grandiose!
It is rather grotesque when people try to retrofit pure non-duality into a progressive framework as these popular teachers do.
What awakening?
For whom?
What path?
Where is there to go?
What goal?
What teacher and what student?
What embodiment?
Who is there to do any such thing?
Can you find a self centre - something with any substance apart from a flimsy belief?
Such questions are well beyond what is being communicated by these 'special teachers'.
There you have it!
As my grandmother used to say: "Eat them apples".
A ripple on the ocean - all words.
In conclusion, let me say this:- In the 'seeing through' of whatever the mind is telling you, about anything at all - that space from where you are seeing from, is clear and empty.
There is NO time in it.
It is instant, THIS instant, completely immediate, by its very nature.
There is no 'person' in this clear space, no one to practice anything and there is certainly no need for a method to use - it is NON Conceptual awareness and THAT is totally free of the mind and always was, IS and will be.
Who can discover THIS?
THIS is timeless presence.
It is worth looking closely at this next point, because it is a radical difference to almost all other teachings: - You cannot 'become' what you already are. - The 'path of acquisitions' is an erroneous belief which only leads you further away from what is true - but only in the mind are you seemingly lead away....because THIS presence of right now is all there IS.
This 'teaching', if we can call it that, is by negation, neti neti.
It is so radically simple, so much so, that most miss its total validity in the same way they miss this clear and present presence awareness that they ARE.
Instead, they look for a 'special state' encouraged by ignorant ego bound teachers - and in that merky mindset, they overlook what is already present AS their own natural, already liberated being presence.
There is NOTHING to 'acquire' or 'get' - you are THAT One without a second right NOW.
Anyone who tells you that you have to 'do this' and 'do that' is really speaking from ignorance and you can ignore them and turn your vision back into that clear space of knowing that YOU ARE - and instantly you have gone beyond all conditioning, all time and that clear and present knowing will reveal all you need to know. - Only by taking up a concept and 'going with it' do you ever SEEM to leave and that is not the case - you ARE present and aware.
In the Bible it says: "Let no man come between you and your God".
Who is going to show you the way to your self?
No step needs to be taken - NOT ONE STEP - just take a look in THIS immediacy of SEEING and realize that the ONLY seeing that is happening can only be by the self - and you are already THAT - You can also drop the concept of there being any 'thing' called the 'self' and simply be this pure, immediate seeing - this knowing.
That is it.
It already is - so all claims by teachers that they will 'give' you some special access to it is and MUST be a story, in their own minds - a belief in an erroneous idea, an idea that THEY are special and have something that you don't 'yet' have - and they will take you there etc.
That is a business plan and that is all it is. - There is no product to sell - you are already THAT - this pure knowing which remains untouched and timelessly present, as what you truly are.
My warmest regards to you all.
May no one lead you astray with his or her 'special-ness'.
Ordinary awareness is IT.
Just SEE and KNOW - BE what you ARE.
posted by Gilbert Schultz at Friday, July 20, 2007
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