I was looking at archived files and found this one pretty quickly. I decided to post it again for everyone's enjoyment. It can be found in the Files/FFLIndex.html section, or as message 4002, from Michael Dean Goodman. I have copied a [lengthy] excerpt from that message. Normally I wouldn't copy something so long, but this writing is extraordinary in its simplicity and clarity:
Dear Fairfield Lifers, In doing weekly satsangs for a couple of years here in Fairfield back in the mid-90's, based on the vedantic technique of Self-inquiry (Atma- vichara), involving the participation of hundreds of Fairfield medita- tors over time, I've come to some conclusions about meditators and en- lightenment that might be of value here. Here are my observations, offered for your enjoyment: 1. Self-realization, enlightenment, Cosmic Consciousness (CC) is much more prevalent among long-term meditators than they admit to. 2. Many people have reached "the summit" of their spiritual climb, are simply and naturally established there, but due to either: a. inertia (the decades-long habit of being a seeker), or b. intellectual misunderstanding (holding onto false criteria of CC), they often insist that they are NOT yet there. 3. Even a few minutes of simple inquiry often reveals the real truth of their situation, and the futility of their resistance to their own Reality. The results of that inquiry, when they "get" it and realize where they are, are either bliss (often with laughter and/or crying from the release), or expressions of mock disappointment and amazement such as "You mean that's it?! That's all there is to it?" [As an aside, one important value of the 1st mahavakya (great expres- sion) which says "I am That" - is that it offers verification that tells the climber/seeker "you're here, you've reached the summit; you can stop climbing now and relax and enjoy the unbounded view". When properly heard - at a ripe moment, when it can penetrate deep - and in- vested with believability/authority - it can remove any doubt that one is still on the path to Self-realization and be very soothing.] 4. Some people get very angry at the suggestion that they are "there" (and may have been "there" for some time!). They vehemently go into denial, holding onto their comfortable "seeker" status. They don't know how to define themselves if they let go of that label; they are afraid that they won't know what to do with their lives if they let go of that fundamental life purpose (seeking) that has guided them for so long (perhaps millions of lifetimes). Not only do they strongly deny that they are "there", but they make life hell for anyone else who might want to admit that they themselves have reached the goal, because a world where people are actually reach- ing the goal makes guardians of the path feel out of control, less need- ed, and removes many people from being "customers" of the path. 5. Self-realization is a much simpler, more innocent "experience" than most meditators have built it up to be in their mind (in their intellec- tual understanding of it). Maharishi has had to walk a very fine line about this - on the one hand to make enlightenment sound fantastic, flashy, wonderful - something really worth going for; to dangle the carrot in front of us to compete with the attraction of the world of Maya/illusion, which is oh so power- ful. On the other hand, he has to maintain integrity with the Truth, that the Self is always here-and-now, omnipresent, the simplest form of our own awareness (see the Science of Being and Art of Living, intro to the appendix section on Paths to God-realization, where he clearly states that there is no path, that the goal is already present, that any idea of a path is just an illusion). My experience, in exploring this realm with so many meditators, is that somehow we hear these things that Maharishi says about CC, and in spite of his careful choice of words and his admonition that it's a simple, natural experience, we still interpret his words through the filter of our individuality, through our relative ego/intellect. The ego doesn't want to surrender its false position, its posturing as the controller, the boss. So it enlists it's chief minister, the intellect, to try and "own" enlightenment - to understand it, label it, define it, put it in terms of managable concepts and beliefs. Of course, those beliefs that the intellect forms about enlightenment are all relative thoughts, and thus their content is about relative experiences. The ego and the intel- lect, being relative, have no choice but to define CC in relative terms, and then start "believing" their own rhetoric. That is the hiding power of maya, that even the simple description of enlightenment gets turned into something complicated and incorrect by the student. It's a useless and silly proposition, for something finite in the rela- tive field of time and space boundaries (the ego/intellect) to try and own or control or comprehend the Absolute, the infinite unbounded Self. But it means that many peoples' intellects are telling them that they haven't "made it" to the summit yet, based on misunderstandings and false conclusions, when in reality they are there. 6. The Truth is simple: there are two fields of life - the field of rel- ative activity (the field of the waves - where the ego/intellect live and pretend to rule), and the field of Absolute silence (the field of the silent depth of the ocean - the Self). When we ignore our true status as the silent ocean, then we are in ignor- ance; we begin believing that we are only relative, individual, separate waves... From that, all the world of problems and suffering begins. 7. Self-realization is such a simple thing; it is simply stepping back over that "fence" that separates the two fields, stepping from identify- ing ourself with the relative field of activity to identifying ourself with the Absolute field of silence. It is just a shift of perspective. It is the letting go of ignorance (to stop ignoring the reality of who we really are and always have been). It is a turning back to the source, a coming back home. It is a tiny thing, a small shift of awareness - that makes a huge difference! 8. Now here's the key point: the field of relative activity is the field where ALL experience takes place. The relative is the field where we perceive and experience anything - from superficial experiences all the way down to the most profoundly spiritual experiences. But the one thing that all these experiences share is that they start/continue/end. They come and go. There is NO experience in the relative that comes and then stays for ever and ever. The relative is the field of change. Self-realization has NOTHING to do with the relative field of life. It's not called "relative realization" - realization of something about the relative. It's called "Self realization" - realization of the Self. Therefore it has NOTHING to do with the relative; IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH ANY EXPERIENCES. It is about letting go of identification with the relative (experiences) and remembering our eternal status as the Abso- lute, as the Self. 9. The huge mistake that many meditators make is to think that some ex- perience - once it becomes more permanent, more established, more re- gular - will be the criteria of, or sign of, Cosmic Consciousness (CC). They say "I'll know I'm in CC when I...transcend more clearly...wit- ness sleep...get over my emotional issues...act more sweetly/spiritual- ly...lift off and fly...witness all day long..." But CC is NOT an experience. It's not the culmination of certain ex- periences; it's not about making some experience stable. It's a step- ping OUT of the field of experience itself. It's a state. And witnes- sing is not an experience that grows more and more established. It's THE EXPERIENCER. To talk about it in relative words (in terms defined in the field of relative experience), it starts sounding like an experience. But it's not. It is stepping out of the grip of the field of experience and realizing that you are (always have been, always will be) the exper- iencer - that you are the blank movie screen, not the movies that flash across its surface regularly. 10. Some people fondly remember some incredible inner experience they've had (perhaps on some long rounding course) but then "lost" - and they've secretly convinced themselves that when THAT experience becomes perma- nent, established, then they'll be enlightened. In this kind of situa- tion, the wise say that the important questions to ask yourself are these: a. Was there a time when you had not had that experience? b. And then was there then a time when that experience came to you? c. And was there a time when that experience faded, when again you didn't have that experience? d. And during all these comings and goings of this experience, who noticed that? Who was there, aware that "I'm having that beauti- ful experience" or "I'm not having it anymore"? e. Who/what is there, constant, never-changing, in the "background" in the midst of all this changing experience? Who is there whether we're having flashy or boring experience, whether we're awake or a- sleep, whether we're happy or sad, whether we're clear or dull? That is the only question worth investigating. What is there that never changes. That is Truth. That is reliable. That is the Self. That is awareness itself. And That you are. 11. Some people think that witnessing means the experience of "noticing that I am witnessing". They don't believe that they are established in the witness consciousness because they don't walk around all day think- ing to themselves "Wow, look, I'm witnessing right now; how cool!" But that wouldn't be the witness thinking that, it would be the relative, individual ego/intellect trying to usurp witnessing by pretending that it's only "real" witnessing if they notice it! Based on that logic, since the ego/intellect disappear during deep sleep, we'd never be able to notice that we're witnessing during deep sleep, and thus never able to claim CC. But people do have an inner sense of continuity during sleep, of "not disappearing", of awareness not going away (even though it has no thoughts like "Oh, look, I'm witnessing!"). The witness or Self doesn't have thoughts, desires, likes, dislikes, etc. - it is full, it is just pure awareness. That kind of "awareness of witnessing" would be divisive to the mind. The nature of the mind is to plunge fully into whatever activity grips it - not to try and stay half in the activity and half looking to see if witnessing is going on. That would make a mess of life, and not be a true test of witnessing anyway. Witnessing is not known or judged or graded by the relative ego/intel- lect. It is known by its Self, to its Self. It is Self-apparent. It is subtle. It is natural. It has always been here. How else could you be here, if you weren't aware? How else could the movie ever be seen, if there weren't a screen for it to fall on? Just that awareness is in such a habit of shining outward, through the senses, into the world. Then, one time, by the grace of God, it curves back on itself and re- members. 12. Self-realization not only is not associated with the stability of any specific relative experiences, but it is also not associated with any specific relative behaviors. For example, an enlightened person could still be angry, be sloppy, be goofy, be nasty - just that they wouldn't identify with that behavior anymore, they'd witness it. Remember that well-circulated quote: "Better work on your bad habits before CC, otherwise you'll just have to witness them after CC." And that more famous zen saying: "Before enlightenment I chopped wood and carried water. Then I got enlightened. After enlightenment I chopped wood and carried water." Whatever is the nature of your relative mind/body (whatever is your dharma, your life's purpose, your personality, your likes and dis- likes, your emotional flavor) - that will continue to be your nature after enlightenment. If you want to change things about yourself in the relative field of life, to improve yourself, to heal some dysfunctional pattern about yourself - if it's part of your nature to make those changes - then you'll find and make use of relative technologies to make those changes before OR after enlightenment. If you want to have more of that fan- tastic spiritual experience that you once had on some course, or to be a nicer person, or whatever - those are beautiful relative goals. Go for them. Just understand that they have absolutely nothing to do with Self- real- ization. 13. People often say: "But when I'm enlightened, I'll know it, because Maharishi said I'll start performing spontaneous right action. That will be a sure symptom of CC." Well what are you performing now, spontaneous wrong action? So you, who in reality are just a wave on the cosmic ocean, who are just a ray pro- jected from God, are making mistakes and performing wrong action? So God is, through you, making mistakes? Or you have somehow separated yourself from God, and have the independent power to contradict God/Nature? So God is no longer omnipotent? Unlikely... Maharishi chose his words very carefully. He could have said that once we're enlightened we'll perform "right action" (as opposed to "wrong ac- tion" before). But he said that once we're enlightened we'll perform "spontaneous right action" (as opposed to "strained right action" before). He's been so very clear - after enlightenment our actions don't change. What changes is our perspective. Before enlightenment the river of life (of Nature) raged on, invincible, omnipotent. Deluded that we were indi- viduals, separate from life, we pretended to stand against the raging river sometimes, thrashing uselessly against the very flow of life. The river always wins, but we felt that the river was cruel and impersonal and some- times the enemy. Life was a struggle. To us, we had a choice - sometimes we acted rightly (in tune with the river), sometimes we acted wrongly (in opposition to the river). We never actually acted wrongly - the river always prevailed. But in our mere assumption that we were separate and could oppose it, in that use- less and deluded thrashing, we sowed the seeds of pain and suffering and illness. Action was right (the river of Nature prevailed), but our inter- actions with it were sometimes quite strained. After enlightenment, we stop identifying ourselves with the field in which the river prevails (the relative field of action). We stop pretending that we have some identity that can oppose it. We calmly witness the flow of the river. Our relative mind/body, no longer having to prove it's exis- tense, power, authority, or independence, flows with the river, rides the waves (whether they be pleasure or pain), and therefore we never delude ourselves that we have the power to oppose God, oppose Nature, or arro- gantly suppose that we could act wrongly. The same right actions continue (the river of Nature proceeds unperturbed by our cooperation or resistance), but our interactions with it are spontaneous, harmonious. In enlightenment our actions are spontaneously right. Before enlighten- ment our actions are strained, but still right. All that happens is that the sense of strain disappears. But that's a dramatic shift. ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Fair play? Video games influencing politics. 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