Regarding Enlightenment, Nirvana 4 and 5 - International Prose

Regarding Enlightenment, Nirvana 4 and 5
by sadh Thursday, Jun 11 2015, 12:32pm
international / prose / post

A no nonsense approach to Realisation

It should clearly be stated at the outset that we are all Enlightened beings, as we are born spontaneously Aware. However, superimposed cultural learning or socialisation veils our understanding and creates a type of amnesia of the fact. We are then faced with a paradox if we decide to pursue Enlightenment, how do we achieve or gain what we already have? The problem amounts to the absurdity of attempting to locate something more immediate than the nose on your face. Nonetheless, countless people attempt to solve that impossible paradox by utilising the means – culturally learned behaviours -- which created the amnesia in the first instance, needless to say they fail miserably in the attempt?

Consider various esoteric or mystical schools and their practices, what are they all designed to accomplish? Remembrance, nothing more, yet too often, certain practices designed to enlighten become circular and self-defeating, ‘raising’ the ‘Kundalini’ for example, ‘remember,’ we are already enlightened but have forgotten our identity or who we really are, notwithstanding that Kundalini is a kinetic not dormant force.

Social animals are instinctively forced to embrace the group mind/culture of the tribe, society or herd to which they ‘belong’ in order to function and survive, which would not be a problem if that mind were attuned to nature’s greater cosmic harmony, understand that infinity allows no imperfections as the slightest ‘error’ or fault would have extinguished existence yet we exist as proof of the perfection of continuous cosmic harmony -- you are not an accidental creation, though perversity ensures extinction. A quick appraisal of the current human mental and social condition informs us that things are not socially or mentally right, in fact things are downright destructive and perverse to the extreme so achieving perfection becomes an imperative if we choose to survive.

We are therefore faced with superimposed destructive perversity, which most people begrudgingly and painfully accept, or vainly try to escape, or returning to (remembering) our essential, harmonious nature, while continuing to function in a perverse society. It should be noted at his stage that every social space is ‘mapped’ by culture and if a new sub-cultural social space emerges dominant culture appropriates that space otherwise it may collapse in its present form, something not altogether undesirable these days.

Some enlightened beings choose to opt out of the social but nevertheless physically remain in a mapped socially controlled space, including mystics and the insane, as both threaten the dominant culture if allowed to function freely, simply appreciate the amazing extent to which ‘medicine’ goes to chemically constrain the ‘insane,’ ‘disturbed’ and radical, mystics fall into the latter category and are far too aware to be appreciated or detected as other worldly, therefore as a threat.

Nevertheless, every social space, particularly the culturally created group and individual ‘mind,’ has its inherent problems due to the imperfections of its creators, humans. The astute among you have detected that ‘mind’—as distinct from aware consciousness -- and ‘culture’ have been used here synonymously. The reason is simple, everything you think, including who you imagine yourself to be, has been culturally created/learned, inclusive of the process of thought, which is nothing more than a train of finite cultural symbols and images (language) congesting our view of infinity and veiling REALITY as it is!

A little, the more the better actually, self-confrontation is necessary to proceed, which process the dominant perverse culture abhors, as it starkly reveals the tortuous state of our minds and of course, the destructive culture it reflects, I therefore recommend for those not yet anchored in enlightened bliss to avoid today’s mass media like the plague, as it is the reinforcing agent of cultural perversity.

However, if we decide to strive for clarity and the source of our being then every perversity must be overcome – relax, be assured that all perversities are dissolved in the instant of Real-isation.

Self-confrontation, not projection, avoidance or denial, reveals what? Our real personal and social condition, which is what, need I ask? Misery, in a word, interrupted only briefly with moments of joy, again, simply appreciate the condition of your mind and the culture that produced it for verification of the obvious.

To outwit the deleterious effects of mental/cultural perversity we harness misery and all its relations and transform them into friends by utilising them as instigators and drivers in our (now) quest for Truth/reality; already we have defeated a great enemy, the social forces that view neutral forces as static categories of ‘positive and negative,’ which opposites do not exist in a unified space. We thereby effectively transmute problems into constructive assistants and once we have begun we need not focus on the once ‘sorrowful’ source of achieving that result. I should mention that immediate relief from our numerous self-maintained, culturally imposed burdens is experienced as soon as we take our very first step in the direction of harmony, as the universe responds and delights in our new direction to return to its inherent harmony, peace and indescribable joy.

Wings of Desire

People are distracted by objects of desire
and afterward
repent of the lust they’ve indulged
because they have indulged
a phantom
and are left even farther from Reality
than before.

Your desire for the illusory could be a wing
by means of which a seeker might ascend to
Reality.

When you have indulged a lust your wing
drops off;
you become lame, abandoned by a fantasy.

Preserve the wing and don’t indulge lust
so that the wing of desire may bear you to
Paradise.

People fancy they are enjoying themselves
but they are really tearing off their wings
for the sake of an illusion.

Jalaludin Rumi

“What you seek is seeking you.” -- Rumi

Humans are created beings, a very small part of the cosmic whole, as such we are all connected to the principle that created us/everything and are able to trace our origins, via consciousness, back to its source. Consciousness is our most precious inheritance from cosmic creation and what an astounding gift it is.

We are all born with it in pristine form but demands on our survival soon disturb its natural, free-flowing process, this is unavoidable as we are all programmed like other animals to learn from our social environment in order to survive. The need to learn is instinctive as it is in the animal kingdom, however, what we learn as humans is not necessarily advantageous to our personal wellbeing and survival as a species, consider the dominant culture’s attempts to naturalise ‘perpetual war’ for example, and war as we all know, is the most anti-survival activity to engage in, in fact, it is the height of perversity and destruction both to ourselves as a species and to the natural environment, which now threatens to make tenable life on our planet extremely difficult.

Responsibility for our condition at any given time falls squarely on our shoulders regardless of all other considerations and circumstances, it is our responsibility to change our lives not that of some politician, priest or self-styled guru, most of whom have a vested interest in us as a resource if we subscribe to their world view. Faced with the gross and obvious perversities of our time, we have two choices, to go with the cultural socialisation process or to become completely aware of our independence/freedom and realise our full potential. If you are reading this I would hope that you are of the latter group.

However, prior to any external change an inner change must first occur otherwise we fall into a repetitive cycle of perversity, as human history clearly informs us. The reason for that is simple to understand. Without clear perception and awareness no new vision is possible as everything we think and do is a product of the perverse culture that socialises us into its nightmare.

Self-realisation today has become an imperative if we wish to survive and free ourselves from the bondage of imposed perverse patterns of behaviour. So you see I am not describing some fad or new age drivel designed to enslave feeble minds, I am addressing the most fundamental core issue of our existence, ‘freedom from the known,’ to borrow a phrase. The first r/evolution must occur within before anything really new is able to be envisaged, that should now be evident.

We therefore arrive at the threshold of real change or transformation but are not fully equipped to make progress, however, as previously stated nature has provided us with all the necessities for real change or transformation to occur. What we may lack, though technically we lack nothing if our passion is strong enough, is the means by which to facilitate that transformation and the means to which I refer have been utilised successfully since at least the dawn of civilisation. They consist of a number of simple disciplines to assist in our de-conditioning/de-socialisation which lead to what was there prior to unavoidable corruption.

A brief description is warranted.

To realise our true selves we must first eliminate anything that hides or obstructs our view and our ability to see things as they really are; our perceptive ability must be cleansed of all formulated/prescribed ways of seeing which are not seeing at all, they are learned, limited seeing habits; to illustrate I need only refer to the Inuit people that have more than a dozen words for ‘snow’ while we in the west have one – the reason is simple, survival in any harsh, unforgiving environment requires acute sensitivity and knowledge of that environment, ‘snow’ is not snow when you step on it and plunge into a crevice and perish, so the Inuit are able to identify dangerous snow from other snow while we ‘see’ only one snow. And so it is with limited perception or ‘seeing’ ability which is governed by our social and physical environment for good or ill, though we are able to become fully perceptive and aware by mastering a few simple disciplines.

Mind

Throughout this discourse I have referred to the mind as socially created, as it is driven by thought, which is comprised of cultural symbols or language, which is not an entirely accurate statement as the mind is thought. Without thought there is no mind, which does not mean we become gibbering idiots, to the contrary, we become aware or superconscious, as our innate infinite consciousness is then freed of the finite limitations of thought/mind. I cannot prove the assertion that thought is mind on paper; however, anyone could put it to the test by simply ceasing to think, try it and you will soon discover that the mind/thought is out of control, try as you might thought constantly intrudes, as it’s habitual and habits are hard to break we are told -- which is untrue but more on that later.

With a little persistent practice of quieting the mind, which Buddhist monks do as a matter of course, thought finally ceases and we are left with the indescribable wonder of our innate, expansive, all-embracing, creative consciousness, which is free to do what it was designed to do, to see and appreciate things as they really are and to arrive at decisions based on REALITY, not on superimposed cultural illusions and deceptions.

It becomes clear that the majority of people are not only slaves to thought/culture and all the associated emotional fears and pathologies inherent in that unfortunate situation, they are also clearly too frightened and/or ignorant to pursue freedom or liberation – for the slave that is mentally shackled and unaware that he has the key to his chains in his hand, slavery or compliance to the status quo seems the only alternative so the slave vainly attempts to make the best of it while living in misery, fear and confinement. The result of this unnecessary tragedy is the current appalling condition of the world; entire populations are being led by the nose to their destruction and evermore social containment/oppression without resistance.

I hope it is now clear why I initially stated that the only sure path to freedom r/evolution is personal liberation/transformation, as no really new social vision, effective strategy or lasting change could occur without it. Notwithstanding all the while that the key to the jail cell door, as the mystic poet Rumi put it, is in the hand of the prisoner.

“One of the marvels of this world
is the sight of a soul sitting in prison
with the key in its hand.” -- Jalaludin Rumi

The vast majority are therefore party to their own enslavement and are entirely responsible for their own misery, as everyone feels, due to our cosmic inheritance, the tug of truth constantly alerting them to the fact that something is terribly wrong. And be assured that nagging feeling will never cease until the situation is remedied, regardless of how many cultural distractions, drugs, avoidances and titillations you pursue or are swamped with by culture. So for those heroic people ready to take responsibility for their lives and face the most terrifying challenges, as your worst fears are contained in your own mind, I continue.

Prior to clear unfettered perception, thought must cease, as thought is inherently biased and comprised of all our learned conceptions and myriad other perversities. The mind is also laden with emotionally charged images which induce learned reflexive responses, particularly fear; if I say “Muslim” today you could actually measure the response on people with a galvanometer, such is the power of the cultural mass media in corrupting our perceptions, awareness and responses.

The Kiss We Crave

There is a certain kiss we crave
with our entire being,
the touch of spirit on body.

The sea begs the pearl
to open its shell.

And the lily, how passionately
it yearns for some wild darling.

At night, I open the window
and ask the moon to come
and press its face against mine --
Breathe into me.

Close the language-door
and open the love-window.

The moon does not enter by the door,
only by the window.

Jalaludin Rumi

Rather than elaborate further on the cause of slavery, ignorance and delusion I would focus on the solution, as the previous point has been made. However, a few cogent warnings are necessary.

Ochre-robed ‘Gurus’

A trip to India, the home of hypocritical, debauched, ‘K-Mart’ gurus, provides incontrovertible proof of the multi-million dollar, cult of personality worship that the ‘guru industry’ is today.

Given that most popular gurus prey on the feeble minded and gullible and exploit them sexually and financially, they are such a scourge today that exposure becomes a necessity. I would refer to the largely uncorrupted Sanskrit Indian tradition itself to expose them.

Traditionally, ochre coloured robes or dress denotes celibacy and the renunciation of the world, particularly wealth or the accruement of money, which as everyone knows is the root of evil. However, in the most blatant manifestation of hypocrisy, most if not all popular gurus are shameless money grubbers, narcissists and sexual predators; I cite Swami Muktananda, Swami Satyananda and Sai Baba, as already exposed sordid examples; ample information on these characters is available in the public domain and I need only refer to a few typical examples here. Sai Baba, who in reality was a cheap (video-exposed) trickster and homosexual predatory paedophile, was indirectly responsible for having a number of boys he sexually abused murdered by his organisation to save his reputation and millions in assets.

Lesser gurus, though equally as fraudulent and sordid, such as Swami Gitananda of Pondicherry and numerous other ochre-robed, non-celibate hypocrites, though not as materially ‘successful’ and notorious as the above examples, nevertheless, exhibit the exact same gross personality flaws and pathologies, which the Indian tradition clearly states are not to be found in genuine teachers.

I recall one of many instances of Gitananda’s pathological lying (another name for ‘God’ is Truth, it should be remembered) when an elderly, wandering Indian sadhu visited his ashram in Pondicherry, Gitananda claimed the visiting sadhu, attended by his helper, was 120 years of age and reached this level of longevity through yoga practice, though he was clearly infirm and required constant attendance and assistance. Some of Gitananda’s pupils were dubious of the claim and simply inquired directly from the man himself and his assistant what age he was, without hesitation or pretence the answer was 74! So much for truth and integrity; furthermore, only a few left his ashram as a result, leaving of course the weaker minded to pursue ‘realisation’ with this obvious barrel of shit. Gitananda never stopped lying as he was clearly victim to numerous severe pathological problems. He was disgraced by the local Indian community when one of his American female students, now head of the ashram, gave birth to his child, though he never ceased wearing his ochre robes of celibacy and renunciation!

Today, however, the situation in India is far worse with numerous fraudulent mass media Baba’s gaining huge popularity and wealth via television. So it is hoped that seeking outside oneself is abandoned as no-one is able to give you what you already possess, notwithstanding the very real chances that your life will be ruined by these exploitative and debauched frauds. It should also be mentioned that anyone that claims ‘authority’ or ‘lineage’ from any of the above self-serving clowns and frauds, is either deluded or worse, party to the same frauds, hypocrisies and exploitative self-serving practices.

It should be remembered that the two great historical saviours of the world, Gautama Buddha and Jesus Christ both detested money, temporal power, hypocrisy and corruption.

“Be still and know that I am God,” is the simple lesson of the past and present that ensures success.

Silence

in perfect silence
there is a thunder
so loud
that it muffles the loudest
worldly din
it signals a storm
that rains love
unceasingly

seek the eye of that storm

Removing the Veil

I referred earlier to Buddhist monks that practice stilling the mind thereby eliminating the incessant flow of thought activity, “as a matter of course;” indeed, Buddhist monks have been doing this for millennia, I state this for those that are apprehensive about ‘losing their minds,’ as indeed that is the object of the exercise and be assured there is nothing to fear.

As mentioned previously the mind is only thought comprised of finite, learned cultural signs, symbols and images (language) whereas consciousness is our inheritance from infinite cosmic creation. Infinity and the finite are mutually exclusive that is why we are not aware of our real identity, the train of thought veils and interferes with the flow of consciousness and prevents us from realising our full potential and Reality as it is, though in moments of quiet reflection and repose the light of consciousness leaks through the larger gaps between thoughts and inspires us.

We need only follow the tried and tested methods of calming the mind to become aware, as the Buddha discovered for himself. It should also be noted that after achieving quiescence or Nirvana the Buddha did not become pretentious, strutting about declaring himself a learned God-man, he remained humble and accessible as a normal human being though his passion for life, freedom and Truth placed him at odds with the corrupt, ruling Brahmin priest class, which he never ceased attacking, most readers would note the similarity between Buddha and Jesus in that regard.

Now, many saints and sinners have become self-realised throughout history but few have profoundly changed the societies in which they lived and indeed spread their message throughout the world. The reason for the ‘reach’ of great sages like Buddha and Jesus is that they allowed universal consciousness/love to flow through them unimpeded by selfish personality flaws or other common psychological ills and vices. The effect they had on other human beings was profound as universal consciousness is common to all humanity and speaks directly to the heart. Their followers who attained a similar state spread the message of their masters via the same means, compassion, love, awareness and ‘heart communication,’ which bypasses mind. This is also true of the spread of early Islam, however, all three religions organised after the death of their founders have been thoroughly corrupted since, particularly Islam, which today disdains mystics of their own tradition, particularly Rumi, one of the world’s favourite poets that was able to transmit his awareness and love via his poetry, an incredibly difficult task.

I hope the above assures, inspires and makes you eager to embrace the one universal consciousness common to all humanity, which characteristics are infinite compassion, love, joy, peace and harmony.

We begin with real meditation, not something you do for a period of time, like going to church on Sunday and then immersing yourself in the perversity of cultural life for the rest of the week; real meditation is a 24 hour a day process which should be maintained for the rest of your life, how so?

Attitude is the very first principle, our mental and physical behaviour changes with our attitude and I hope this discourse has sufficiently inspired you to change your attitude and focus on becoming the loving, sharing, joyful human being you were born to be.

The Jar with the Dry Rim

Consciousness is a mysterious ocean...
that I and many worlds inhabit, though dimly seen!

Our body is a small boat floating
on the ocean; soon it will be swamped and sink...
Not one bubble will remain to indicate
where it sank.

The Spirit is so immediate you cannot see it!
But reach for it ...

don't be a jar full of water,
whose rim is always dry.

Don't be the rider who gallops all night
and never sees the horse that is beneath him.

Jalaludin Rumi

We have learned that enlightenment is perfectly natural not some secret mysterious process and that we are born spiritually complete, a gift/consequence of cosmic creation. We have also learned not to seek foolishly outside ourselves for something we already possess, I would caution against surrendering self-determination to another as the other is involved in their own affairs. We have also learned that unavoidable cultural socialisation, due to its perverse nature, veils reality, and I would emphasise there is no point bitching about circumstances, we deal with matters as they are and apply remedies where applicable. I have also mentioned how the universe delights when created beings decide to return ‘home’ – and to encourage you in your new endeavour, know this now; it will soon become apparent in anycase. Every step you take toward truth/reality is rewarded by reality/truth taking five steps toward you, so be comforted by the fact that if you walk toward ‘God,’ God runs to greet and embrace you.

The only effort required on our part is removing the veil, which allows the light, joy and wonder of reality to saturate our being. We do this by letting go of the veiling process – thought.

By far the most efficient meditation method is simply “letting go” of thought, however, initially this may prove somewhat difficult as thought is a habit, nevertheless, all bad habits are easily broken by simply adhering to a decision without unnecessary drama.

Consciousness must be allowed to flow unimpeded so distractions should be eliminated or minimised until what distracts us today is neutralised tomorrow.

The most immediate physical distractions arise from our bodies, so they must be strengthened by persistent, simple training to be firm, by this I do not mean rigid or strained, the spine is naturally curved and bolt-upright sitting positions are to be avoided in favour of erect ease, which places our centre of gravity just below the navel -- when our physical centre of gravity is established sitting erect for extended periods becomes easy, you will soon discover this for yourself without undue attention.

During the course of my early travels in the Australian outback and desert regions I noticed that traditional Australian Aboriginals never lose connection with their physical centre of gravity, while sitting, walking, running, dancing and hunting, this was particularly evident during ritual dance and stalking prey with traditional spears and spear throwers. Tribal Aboriginals moved with such grace and astonishing fluidity they were a pleasure to behold, their movements were instinctively attuned to their centre of gravity without mental interference. All human beings are able to locate this centre as you will soon discover.

By adopting a ‘firm’ and easy erect sitting posture, a folded small towel or a firm cushion may assist by elevating the buttocks a little, physical distractions are eliminated/minimised and we are left free to focus our attention on stillness and mental calm. If thoughts race in the initial stages simply let them go and return to calm, the interfering static of incessant thought will soon subside and a sense of wellbeing will begin to establish itself, an unmistakable sensation. You are never left abandoned or forlorn by nature, infinite creation/‘God.’

Allot certain times of the day and night to meditation and establish a routine, comfortably extend the duration as you develop, do not vary it or jump from one concentration method to another, never force anything and never break this habit and you will soon reap wonderful rewards; we are creating a new positive approach/habit to remove old destructive habits and lifestyles.

"Sitting quietly, doing nothing,
Spring comes, and the grass grows by itself."

"The blue mountains are of themselves blue mountains;
The white clouds are of themselves white clouds." -- Zen Proverbs

Fraser Island

It’s the moments in life
that are most enduring

alone on the hundred mile sandy beach
of Fraser Island
the north and south ends
disappear in mist
intimating infinity

the sea laps at my feet
devoid of surfers and fishermen
pristine and perfect in its
natural solitude

wild brumbies graze shore grasses
while a dingo lingers and peers at the foals,
safe under the watchful eye of the stallion

dolphins break the surface regularly
in unthreatening seas,
everything at that moment
is perfect including my seeming
out-of-place intrusion
but the warm breeze that
moves through the trees and grasses
assures me i’m welcome,
the earth and all its creatures
fit perfectly in paradise

Let It Go

do rivers require help
flowing to the sea
or does the grass need
assistance to grow?

in its place everything glides effortlessly
but out of place life becomes toil and chaos

misguided and perverse souls
write ‘holy’ texts
and make pronouncements, with ‘authority’
to enslave and displace humanity
from its natural
harmony and power

they then declare
that life is a veil of tears
and that blood and sweat
are the natural state of humankind

the few know better
and are easily able to discern truth from
the lies that poison minds
and enslave humanity

take time to walk at night
during a full moon
and allow it to teach u
how easy it all is
when you have not
been displaced
from your rightful place

allow the sun and all life
to guide and teach u during day
and allow the moon to soothe u at night;
before long
u will understand all that is worth knowing

this universe is an open book
and its creator does not hide
behind the lies of men

read the natural world
which perverse humanity
fears and attempts to destroy,
overcome perversity and ignorance,
u were born free and no man has
natural authority over another.

the tide ebbs and flows
effortlessly
the salty wind invigorates my face
i lift my head and catch the last
stars that defer their light
to the golden orb
and breaking day

To be continued …

Jungle Drum on Disc/Stick