It really is. Isn’t it? So much of this (spiritual teaching stuff) is obvious. Not obvious until it is maybe pointed out but obvious none the less. It’s like we are trained to think it’s more complex and so it doesn’t make sense. And possibly for a long time. Then when it sets in, people bust up and can lose their minds -in a good way. I share a little story in the audio-cast above.
What is our “training”? Well, consider how Maharaj describes a European here. Considering many of us are full or a colonized-mix, we may very well have some of these traits which must melt away to access the obvious.
“He is told that he is the body, was born, will die, has parents, duties, learns to like what others like and fear what others fear. Totally a creature of heredity and society, he lives by memory and acts by habits. Ignorant of himSelf and his true interests, he pursues false aims and is always frustrated. His life and death are meaningless and painful, and there seems to be no way out. Then tell him, there is a way out within his easy reach, not a conversion to another set of ideas, but a liberation from all ideas and patterns of living.” - Maharaj
Wait, what is the so obvious part? Awareness. When we talk about our Self we are talking about something called by many names. In the tantric traditions I currently study one of these names is “Essence Nature”. What is meant is that it is Awareness. The unending and always there background of Now. The deepest sense of ourself that doesn’t ever seem to change, if you were to ask yourself what has stayed constant throughout your life. That which has seen it all and witnesses the remembrance of all. You are conscious, yes? How do you know? You just do, don’t you? It’s that. What we are. That kind of nothingness that is the quiet backdrop of the mind. I make the attempt to explain a little more in the transmission.
When I said that I have upped my earnestness in this audio-cast, part of what I am referring to is the exploration I’ve undertaken to understand mySelf through writing. I’m currently doing this on Wattpad. You can read that for free. My hope is that by watching (by reading) me attempt to work it out, you will gain something too. It’s a journey I call, “A Cup of JOE”.
Let’s get back to some Maharaj.
Questioner: You said once that the seer, seeing and the seen are one single thing, not three. To me the three are separate. I do not doubt your words, only I do not understand.
Maharaj: Look closely and you will see that the seer and the seen appear only when there is seeing. They are attributes of seeing. When you say 'I am seeing this'. 'I am' and 'this' come with seeing, not before. You cannot have an unseen 'this' nor an unseeing 'I am'.
[I am going to interject here. If you pay attention, if you try (as you can do the experiment RIGHT NOW) the seer and the seen will appear at the same time. Really. Close your eyes. What do you see? Open your eyes? What do you see? Do you see a body? Can we say that is what we consider the seer? What else do we see? A “world”? Can we not say that is “the seen”? We can… THAT is the obvious we can laugh about). Let’s get back to this Maharaj convo taken from the book of transcriptions of actual conversations he had with seekers. That book is called, “I Am That”.]
Q: I can say: 'I do not see'.
Maharaj: The 'I am seeing this' has become 'l am seeing my not seeing', or 'I am seeing darkness'. The seeing remains. In the triplicity: the known, knowing and the knower, only the knowing is a fact. The 'I am' and 'this' are doubtful. Who knows? What is known? There is no certainty, except that there is knowing.
Surely you don’t mean.
Oh yes.
Uh huh. Okay, then what?
Time to Abide.
===
But final notes! Language is burdensome. There will come a time, perhaps sooner than I might think, where I will need to give this all up. Maybe forever or just for awhile until I can break the habits of “I” usage (as we have been taught). It’s fraudulent! Even the “doing” is highly suspect at this point yet I don’t know how to express myself unless I use the conventions I have been taught. It bothers me as I want to help break the habit and show a path forward. Could language be a greater ally? Or maybe part of it is so we can have experiences. Forget, remember, and to break free, recognize the need for silence. No words. Because the way we currently communicate, I see language stands as an obstruction. Cymatics on the surface of what I actually want to see. Beautiful as the pattern might be, I don’t how to jump in unless the surface stills.
Share this post