Hunting the 'I', 4: pitfalls

[Guest guest]

There is another rather harmless mistake which happens regularly to

beginners. Many of them are blessed with various glimpses of the

higher life, which they have entered. These carry the stamp of a

genuine change of consciousness, and of course the sadhaka is happy,

and convinced that he has made real progress. There is no harm in it,

because he soon has to face the fact that his 'experience' is fading

away, never to return. When this happens again and again, he learns

to understand these sparks as what they are, glimpses from another

dimension which want to teach him to discriminate between the

different dimensions but which also lure him on in his spiritual

endeavour. They only become a pitfall, when he, by vanity or

impatience, gets stuck in one of them, taking it for final

Realisation. Then his further progress is blocked. The mark by which

this pitfall is recognised is 'I' have realised...' This 'I' can only

be a 'wrong I', because it is not the 'I' that realises. ...With this

idea he gives his 'personal I' a strong chance to develop into a

'spiritual I', which is much worse than his original quite ordinary

'I', strenghtened by all his previous spiritual effort. The result is

a spiritual pride, the worse the more advanced the sadhaka has become,

because his attainments, serve only to confirm his 'right' to be proud

of his success. But even if he perceives the gentle Voice from within,

warning him against his trend going on in him and reminding him of the

secret of real 'attainment', silent humility, and even if he is quite

prepared to accept the warning, there is still the risk that the

cunning ego now is concealing itself behind his pride in his

humility! There is only one remedy against these and all other

pitfalls on the Path to Realisation: Alert Awareness, relentlessly

focussing on the treacherous ego-I.....The most cunning pitfall on

the path of sadhaka is the last one, hidden in Realisation Itself.

The first Revelation of the Self is temporary. "Jnana, once revealed,

needs time to steady itself." (Talks, 141)The danger is not in the

sliding back; it is natural to most sadhakas and is met quite

naturally by continuing one's practice faithfully, which in its turn

will lead to further Revelations of the Self until finally there is

no sadhaka left, but the Self only. If, on the other hand, the

sadhaka tries to 'hold on' to that first Revelation, in spite of his

Inner Guide warning him, (Who is holding on?), then the ego-I slinks

again in where the Self is veiled again and distorts the Revelation

of the Self into the cry of victory: 'I have realised!' Blindfolded

by the Bliss of the final 'success' (whose success?) he never stops

to scrutinize his condition and thus never finds out the truth; That

he became a yoga-bhrashtha, one who has fallen out of his yoga, his

'union'. The new and definitive disguise of his ego-I is 'the Guru',

and this last and most powerful pitfall never releases him, because

he never recognises that he is its victim. There are nowadays many

whose Guru-pitfall caught them even much earlier on their path.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Lucy Cornelssen: Hunting the 'I',

from pp.48-51~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Guest guest]

There is another rather harmless mistake which happens regularly to

beginners. Many of them are blessed with various glimpses of the

higher life, which they have entered. These carry the stamp of a

genuine change of consciousness, and of course the sadhaka is happy,

and convinced that he has made real progress. There is no harm in it,

because he soon has to face the fact that his 'experience' is fading

away, never to return. When this happens again and again,he learns to

understand these sparks as what they are, glimpses from another

dimension which want to teach him to discriminate between the

different dimensions but which also lure him on in his spiritual

endeavour. They only become a pitfall, when he, by vanity or

impatience, gets stuck in one of them, taking it for final

Realisation. Then his further progress is blocked. The mark by which

this pitfall is recognised is 'I' have realised...'This 'I' can only

be a 'wrong I', because it is not the 'I' that realises. ...With this

idea he gives his 'personal I' a strong chance to develop into a

'spiritual I', which is much worse than his original quite ordinary

'I',strenghtened by all his previous spiritual effort. The result is

a spiritual pride, the worse the more advanced the sadhaka has

become, because his attainments, serve only to confirm his 'right' to

be proud of his success. But even if he perceives the gentle Voice

from within, warning him against his trend going on in him and

reminding him of the secret of real 'attainment', silent humility,

and even if he is quite prepared to accept the warning, there is

still the risk that the cunning ego now is concealing itself behind

his pride in his humility!There is only one remedy against these and

all other pitfalls on the Path to Realisation: Alert Awareness,

relentlessly focussing on the treacherous ego-I.....The most cunning

pitfall on the path of sadhaka is the last one, hidden in Realisation

Itself. The first Revelation of the Self is temporary. "Jnana, once

revealed, needs time to steady itself." (Talks, 141)The danger is not

in the sliding back; it is natural to most sadhakas and is met quite

naturally by continuing one's practice faithfully, which in its turn

will lead to further Revelations of the Self until finally there is

no sadhaka left, but the Self only. If, on the other hand, the

sadhaka tries to 'hold on' to that first Revelation, in spite of his

Inner Guide warning him, (Who is holding on?), then the ego-I slinks

again in where the Self is veiled again and distorts the Revelation

of the Self into the cry of victory: 'I have realised!' Blindfolded

by the Bliss of the final 'success' (whose success?) he never stops

to scrutinize his condition and thus never finds out the truth; That

he became a yoga-bhrashtha, one who has fallen out of his yoga, his

'union'. The new and definitive disguise of his ego-I is 'the Guru',

and this last and most powerful pitfall never releases him, because

he never recognises that he is its victim. There are nowadays many

whose Guru-pitfall caught them even much earlier on their path.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Lucy Cornelssen: Hunting the 'I',

from pp.48-51~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

skogen

 

Faith Hill - Exclusive Performances, Videos, &; more

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[Guest guest]

, "Gabriele Ebert" <g.ebert@g...> wrote:

> There are nowadays many whose Guru-pitfall caught them even

much earlier on their path.

 

 

))) this brings the enigmatic story of Franklin Jones (aka Adi Da)

into some focus, for example. this is a Westerner who obviously had a

profound experience of awakening, but over the years came to believe

and annouce that he is "the first, the last, and the only".

 

 

LoveAlways,

 

b

[Guest guest]

On 10/6/02 at 5:55 PM hrtbeat7 wrote:

 

º, "Gabriele Ebert" <g.ebert@g...> wrote:

º

º> There are nowadays many whose Guru-pitfall caught them even

ºmuch earlier on their path.

º

º

º))) this brings the enigmatic story of Franklin Jones (aka Adi Da)

ºinto some focus, for example. this is a Westerner who obviously had a

ºprofound experience of awakening, but over the years came to believe

ºand annouce that he is "the first, the last, and the only".

º

º

ºLoveAlways,

º

ºb

 

That doesn't come as a surprise: the saying, the master teaches what made

him/her master

often can be observed.

http://www.geocities.com/poowyll/preface/EPG.spook.study.htm

-----------------------------

[...]

Da Free John

 

In describing his own sadhana or work along the spiritual path, Free John openly

confesses the insanity of his own gurus. They were indeed mad. They were also

possessed by spirits. That Da Free John represents the logical culmination of

their teaching and influence speaks for itself. His principal gurus were

Nityananda, Muktananda, and Rudrananda ("Rudi"). In No Remedy, Da Free John told

of his personal "sanctification":

[...]

-----------------------------

 

:-)

Jan

[Guest guest]

, "hrtbeat7" <hrtbeat7> wrote:

> , "Gabriele Ebert" <g.ebert@g...> wrote:

>

> > There are nowadays many whose Guru-pitfall caught them even

> much earlier on their path.

>

>

> ))) this brings the enigmatic story of Franklin Jones (aka Adi Da)

> into some focus, for example. this is a Westerner who obviously had a

> profound experience of awakening, but over the years came to believe

> and annouce that he is "the first, the last, and the only".

>

>

> LoveAlways,

>

> b

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We are all "the First, the Last, and the Only..........

 

 

Michael.

[Guest guest]

, "lastrainhome" <lastrain@w...> wrote:

> We are all "the First, the Last, and the Only..........

 

 

 

:-)

 

 

LoveAlways,

 

b

[Guest guest]

, "ecirada" <janb@a...> wrote:

> That doesn't come as a surprise: the saying, the master teaches

what made him/her master often can be observed.

 

 

))) Does that mean we have Jesus to thank for Paul?

 

:-))

 

 

 

LoveAlways,

 

b

[Guest guest]

Hi Michael, Robert, Gabriele, Jan,

 

About:

"The First, the Last, and the Only." or "Alpha et Omega" or variations on

that in the Bhagavat Gita.

 

This is of course "ultimate / primary trans-personal BEING" (or the

beginning of that, as "awareness of BEING") when the illusive reality of the

"behaviourally existing" person is dissolving or has dissolved. Even the

"divine person" (which is part of the trinity experience really) eventually

dissolves.

 

The pronouncement of this unique-but-for-all "Alpha et Omega" (many gurus,

just like Jesus, may do this at some point) serves a purpose only "for the

time being" and for "their devotees", so that they have a model to discover

that such is humanly possible for "one and all". At first the devotees are

to emulate this so that they eventually may recover, reclaim and

*co-celebrate* "Being". This is the real Holy Communion or real Satsangh in

Sat-Chit-Ananda.

This is what most gurus long for, aim for... so that they may stop being

guru... and the devotees may stop being devotee.

 

It is here, a critical point in a Satsangh's formation, where devotees (for

fear of uncontrolled freedom, ha... :-) renormalized the political structure

around their "One and Only". The satsangh may deteriorate into a church like

structure of elected and selected (ecclesia) in which even conditions for

joining and staying are set up. It now may become more a being together of

devoted practitioners around an elevated teacher and... ... ...

 

Hopefully, for the guru, there is still a group of "like beings" around her

or him, usually Gopi like.

It is at this point also that the guru starts expressing a certain

sadness... (Some previous posts hinted at this.)

 

The church-like structure creates and acquires pundits and swamis, orders

and levels, classes even...

(It was so neat (not really actually) to see how all this also developed

around Franklin Jones over the years.)

The pundits, who feel that they belong to the inner circle, but who don't

want to know that they are not really part of the celebration of Holy

Communion, then prevent other devotees who are figuring this out from

remaining in the satsangh. The "order' will also control access to the guru.

 

It is most disturbing to the guru to see this happening...

 

It is here where the usual guru and devotee often get stranded.

The devotees promulgate the adage that He or She is "the First, the Last,

and the Only." while the guru very often is already at that point looking

through that strategem, and sees all to be divine play..., a guru's playful

artistry may then start surfacing.

 

But the old literature and the old pronouncements are still around... and

that still has momentum...

 

Isn't Franklin Jones into photography and painting now as Adi Da Samraj...

of course it is marketed as extremely special...

 

I remain having a weak spot for the Franklin Joneses though... :-)

 

Wim

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[Guest guest]

On 10/6/02 at 6:57 PM hrtbeat7 wrote:

 

º, "ecirada" <janb@a...> wrote:

º

º> That doesn't come as a surprise: the saying, the master teaches

ºwhat made him/her master often can be observed.

º

º

º))) Does that mean we have Jesus to thank for Paul?

º

º:-))

º

º

º

ºLoveAlways,

º

ºb

 

It is rather unlikely that teachers would consider the effects and side-effects

of their teachings, when physically unable to direct incorrect interpretations

to

the dustbin. Perhaps Lao Tse and Buddha gave the issue some consideration, given

the

low (if not zero) incidence of warfare having been executed, in their names, the

Tao

or the void ;-)

 

Peace,

Jan

[Guest guest]

, "ecirada" <janb@a...> wrote:

 

Perhaps Lao Tse and Buddha gave the issue some consideration,

given the low (if not zero) incidence of warfare having been

executed, in their names, the Tao or the void ;-)

 

))) One would assume so, but check out:

"Zen Holy War", the book which raised some Buddhist feathers a couple

of years ago.

A Google search might be surprising on the history of Zen Buddhist

complicity in the Japanese war effort.

 

 

LoveAlways,

 

b

[Guest guest]

, Wim Borsboom <wim@a...> wrote:

> I remain having a weak spot for the Franklin Joneses though...

 

 

 

))) Yes, like i do for Icarus.

 

 

LoveAlways,

 

b

[Guest guest]

Funny you say that, about Icarus...

I once made a wire frame sculpture about Icarus, falling...

 

I might still have the pencil drawings for it somewhere... In those days I

was filled with great sadness that erudition could be one's downfall...

Someone had warned me strongly about that when I was at an art exhibition

opening and really made a fool of myself being too clever, a pain in the ass

really, but a well meaning friend artist of mine showed enough compassion to

set me right in a very loving manner, I never forget that man although I

never saw him after...

Remember what I wrote about the eyes of those in after-life, those who

still, for one reason or another hold their freedom in abeyance, this friend

artist told me about my eyes and... about my father's eyes and that he hoped

that mine would be like my father's... I felt my eyes change right that

second... I was now out of danger...

 

Does it make sense when I say, that there is no way of knowing whether "this

here right now" is life or after-life?

I knew that that friend was returning me to life...he held out his hand and

I took it... Icarus rescued...

 

Wim

 

 

hrtbeat7 [hrtbeat7]

Sunday, October 06, 2002 6:32 PM

Re: Hunting the 'I', 4: pitfalls

 

 

, Wim Borsboom <wim@a...> wrote:

> I remain having a weak spot for the Franklin Joneses though...

 

 

 

))) Yes, like i do for Icarus.

 

 

LoveAlways,

 

b

 

 

 

/join

 

 

 

 

All paths go somewhere. No path goes nowhere. Paths, places, sights,

perceptions, and indeed all experiences arise from and exist in and subside

back into the Space of Awareness. Like waves rising are not different than

the ocean, all things arising from Awareness are of the nature of Awareness.

Awareness does not come and go but is always Present. It is Home. Home is

where the Heart Is. Jnanis know the Heart to be the Finality of Eternal

Being. A true devotee relishes in the Truth of Self-Knowledge, spontaneously

arising from within into It Self. Welcome all to a.

 

 

 

Your use of is subject to

 

 

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[Guest guest]

On 10/7/02 at 1:27 AM hrtbeat7 wrote:

 

º, "ecirada" <janb@a...> wrote:

º

ºPerhaps Lao Tse and Buddha gave the issue some consideration,

ºgiven the low (if not zero) incidence of warfare having been

ºexecuted, in their names, the Tao or the void ;-)

º

º))) One would assume so, but check out:

º"Zen Holy War", the book which raised some Buddhist feathers a couple

ºof years ago.

ºA Google search might be surprising on the history of Zen Buddhist

ºcomplicity in the Japanese war effort.

º

º

ºLoveAlways,

º

ºb

 

There isn't an essential difference with the pope's behavior during WWII - it

took

long before that was admitted. Zen, a "shortcut" as compared to the entire

8 fold path, it isn't a surprise that moral & ethical issues seemingly are of no

importance.

Seemingly, as the lack of it shows too in issues like "who is the successor of

the abbot?"

which caused fights lasting over a week in a South Korean monastery. Furniture

was

thrown out of the windows in order to hit the monks on the street, who accepted

in gratitude,

converted it to heavy duty zen sticks with which they also went upstairs to

express their

gratitude to the throwers.

 

 

"Zen" often getting translated with "practice of dhyana", the lack of

spontaneous restraint

in such situations isn't a surprise, as in Patanjali (29,II) the 8 steps in

yoga are yama, niyama,

asana, pranayama, prathyahara, dharana, dhyana, samadhi. A shortcut with

predictable

consequences (like conversion to detour), the founder of Zen in his shortcut

mind overlooked.

 

Peace,

Jan

[Guest guest]

, Wim Borsboom <wim@a...> wrote:

> Does it make sense when I say, that there is no way of knowing

whether "this here right now" is life or after-life?

 

 

)))) As much sense as saying there is no after-life, nor

any "this" to be here right now.

 

 

LoveAlways,

 

b

[Guest guest]

, "ecirada" <janb@a...> wrote:

> ....the founder of Zen in his shortcut mind overlooked.

 

 

))) Most Zen practitioners trace the historical founding of Zen to

the Flower Sermon of Buddha, when he held up a flower and only

Mahakashyapa smiled, indicating the "Direct Transmission of Mind".

The "Chan" (derivative of sanskrit Dhyana) School in China (later

called "Zen" in Japan) was reputed to have been founded by

Bodhidharma, who was a Dharma descendent in the line of Mahakashyapa

but, beyond the famous encounter with the future "Second Patriarch"

who severed his arm to find out he couldn't find his mind, and a

brief meeting and exchange with the Emperor which didn't go over too

well, Bodhidharma is mostly known historically for staring at a wall

and perhaps teaching some cool martial arts moves to the locals who

were plagued by bandits, and these techniques ended up being

consolidated into the Shaolin Kung Fu style, which later made for

great movies.

 

 

LoveAlways,

 

b

[Guest guest]

On 10/7/02 at 3:48 PM hrtbeat7 wrote:

 

[...]

º))) Most Zen practitioners trace the historical founding of Zen to

ºthe Flower Sermon of Buddha, when he held up a flower and only

ºMahakashyapa smiled, indicating the "Direct Transmission of Mind".

[...]

 

The analogy with sects assigning special value to specific texts can't be

overlooked,

nor the desire to identify with those privileged/talented.

How many sects would base their existence on the statements like

"be a lamp onto yourself"

"man know thyself"?