---Yes, Tolle, Ramana, and Papaji are examples of individuals who awakened more or less spontaneously without the need of prior practices. In a statistical curve, such persons are in the 99.99999....% percentile. The rest of us laggards need good "techniques" like TM.
FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "amarnath" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > Namaste Jim, > > Thanks for a very refreshing account with minimum labels and > conclusions. Simplicity seems to be a good pointer toward reality. > > Especially your last three paragraphs impress me that your awakening > is in the right direction and genuine from what I understand from > Ammachi, Papaji and others. > > Your account has some similarities with one( of many ) common patterns > that I have been reading about: spiritual practices, gathering > knowledge, having experiences, perhaps siddhis, and finally some sort > of letting it all go because it all seems somewhat burdensome and > complicated compared to the underlying simplicity of stillness/beingness. > > Eckhart Tolle's path was a little different but still similar. He was > searching for the meaning of life in academics which provided some > happiness alternating with deep anxiety and depression. He said that > suffering was his teacher and finally " `I' cannot live with `myself' > " was the impetus for the inquiry "Am `I' two or one?" and LETTING GO > which resulted in the reduction of 80% of his mental thoughts. > Letting go was not a choice, it was God's Grace, in my understanding. > > Sitting in Bliss on park benches for about two years followed. Then, a > gradual integration and balance followed. In his case the letting go > was primary and then, the simple spiritual knowledge( relatively free > from past ) followed later. What Eckhart teaches is relatively free > from the past, religions and traditions and accounts for his > popularity. Of course, the essence of his teaching is the same because > truth is one. > > One of Amma's statements is that a time will come, after enough > spiritual effort and enough suffering, when one will lose all grasp on > wealth, health, finances and spiritual practices themselves; then, > there will be no choice but to surrender the ego completely. This may > sound too drastic and perhaps not necessary for everyone; or perhaps > allegorical. But, then again "to completely surrender the ego > completely" is perhaps a goal not reached any other way? Just a > thought for the time being. > > Papaji points out that genuine awakening occurs when everything, all > concepts, all beliefs, everything is surrendered completely, at least > for one moment. He warns that preconceived concepts about higher > spiritual states can be a trap, because, as the mind becomes more > powerful on the spiritual path, the mind will create these conceptual > higher states( different levels and all that ) and the ego will feel > it has arrived. The "ego" will feel that it is God. > > It seems that was the case with a Rakshasa like Ravana who was very > adapt at spiritual austerities and siddhis. And perhaps explains the > fallen/false spiritual teacher scenerio. > > Jim, if you haven't read Papaji's "The Truth Is" and "Nothing Ever > Happened" I highly recommend these. > > "The Truth Is" provides hundreds of ways in which to flush out all the > nooks and crannies where the ego can hide. See especially page 399 > "Sadhana: There is no Becoming Being" > > "Nothing Ever Happened" is an excellent biography. Papaji was a family > man, a military officer, and managing engineer. His self realization > started at age eight and matured in his 30's? when he met Ramana. > Before that he did plenty of spiritual practices on his own. So, > obviously, the "awakening" that he talks about has to be understood in > the proper context; perhaps not understood but felt by ones Beingness. > His mother was a sister of one of India's great sages. > > Again Jim, thanks for Awakening and blessing all of us with your > simple, clear and genuine account. > > Gob Bless, > amar > > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "jim_flanegin" <jflanegi@> wrote: > > > .... > > > > Interesting thought about the two paradigms. Reflecting about it for > > a bit, I've identified four distinct approaches that have taken me: > > > > First, it was a matter of discovering what enlightenment was; how it > > was different from anything else, what it meant-- lasting from the > > time I was in high school until I learned TM. This was a time where > > I was searching several different paths, trying them on like > > clothing and seeing how long I ended up wearing the garment. It was > > not a time characterized by striving for enlightenment, but rather > > finding the right vehicle in which to begin my journey. > > > > The second mindset I found myself in was after I had begun TM, a > > practice which had a lot of knowledge to offer, from reading the > > Gita cover to cover, to taking the SCI course, to the myriad taped > > lectures of Maharishi, to the experiences of sustained rounding. > > During this time I was interested in absorbing the totality of the > > knowledge available to me, and had some brief experiences which > > caused me to step off the future/past train and enjoy life in the > > Now. But such experiences were fleeting. I also learned about the > > seven states of consciousness and very much wanted to achieve the > > higher states, which I associated with those fleeting moments of > > Now. I also felt that the whole world should begin TM including > > everyone I knew, and gosh, what a dark world it was outside of "TM > > knowledge thinking". Looking back I can say that I was a rigid and > > judgmental person. Maybe this was necessary in order that I see the > > process all the way through. Or perhaps it was just the way a new > > seeker sees the world, as a darkness in contrast to his newly found > > light. > > > > After having absorbed the TM knowledge as fully as I could, and > > after having learned the TM-Siddhis program, the third phase of my > > journey was characterized by rapid expansion of my awareness, while > > still feeling pinched inside. I had wonderful experiences of > > extrasensory sight which persist to this day. I felt my mind expand > > to be able to know everything. My heart could experience overflowing > > love and darkest hatred within the span of a couple of seconds. > > Every boundary was crumbling, but the knowledge I had learned over > > many years from the TM organization wasn't keeping up. I was > > experiencing what appeared to be symptoms of CC and GC and even UC > > on a consistent basis, but when I wasn't, I felt trapped, wretched > > and miserable. I found myself in an increasing spiral of > > justifications, for everything. My mind was working overtime to > > explain to itself what was going on, and not doing a great job. My > > super sensory experiences grew so common that I stopped doing the > > Siddhis. There grew an increasing dissonance between the momentum of > > expansion of my awareness created by my continued practice of TM, > > and my ability to integrate it into daily activity; where was the > > bliss, the serenity, the increased success? To any outside observer > > I appeared normal enough, but inside was turmoil. > > > > The fourth paradigm came about instantly, and was a far greater > > transformation than all of the other three combined. After > > continuing the third phase of poorly integrated expansion for > > twenty-plus years, with my mind madly scrambling to keep up and > > feeling near total exhaustion emotionally as the process became more > > and more intense, trying to integrate what my world had become in > > terms of my self identity and my mental picture of it, one morning I > > could take no more, and I just completely gave up. As if a carefully > > built and maintained, incredibly intricate, ever vigilant answer- for- > > everything house of cards within me just crumbled, in an instant, > > and what I was crumbled with it. All my false identity and > > justifications just vanished in the blink of an eye. Self > > evaporation. > > > > I always tied enlightenment, whether understood to be always present > > or found along a longer road, to be the inner and outer expression > > of lasting freedom. And this is where I find myself after that final > > collapse a couple of years ago. Is it CC or GC or UC or BC or KC? I > > don't know, nor am I much concerned with that. I had a dream over > > the weekend where I was watching something surrealistic going on > > between two people concerning six foot paper clips (?) in my dream. > > I turned to the person next to me and said, "Why are they doing > > that?", to which my dream companion replied, "Because you are > > dreaming." "Oh...riiight...", I replied. > > > > So where is enlightenment now? It is everywhere, and I learn more of > > it every single day. So it exists as a permanence on the one hand, > > and on the other, I am always on my way to find more of it. > > >>> >
