SELF SEEKING

By Dennis Waite

Out November 1^st from Mantra books

Separate the true lecturers from the self-seeking gurus.

Extract: What’s Enlightenment?

Enlightenment, the conclusion that I’m eternally free, is the fruits of human evolution. Every little thing is working in opposition to it. The one who pursues it with single-pointed devotion is a salmon swimming upstream within the highly effective river of life. (Ref. 416)

The purpose of my new e-book Self In search of is to elucidate how one can go about discovering a instructor who can educate Advaita. However the first query you have to reply is ‘Why would you like a instructor?’ Presumably you’ll say that you simply need to be ‘enlightened’ or to achieve ‘Self-realization’ (don’t overlook the capital ‘S’!). That being the case, you additionally must ensure that you realize what enlightenment is (and that the would-be instructor additionally is aware of this!) and the way one ought to go about ‘getting’ it.

‘What’s Enlightenment?’ was the title of a journal printed by a company that was known as, on the time, ‘Moksha Basis’, and was initiated by the instructor Andrew Cohen. Initially of the primary concern, he mentioned:

I’ve discovered and proceed to seek out that there’s a lot confusion, misunderstanding and misinformation as to what Enlightenment really is and what it actually means. That’s the reason I’ve inspired my college students to begin this publication as a automobile to current our ongoing investigation into this query, and to share our discoveries with those that are additionally on this huge and most refined topic. (Ref. 539)

This have to be one of many peaks of irony, since he was embarking upon an enormous train of disinformation to propagate appreciable confusion concerning the matter! In an interview on the primary web page, entitled ‘A Ardour for Demise’, he says:

Enlightenment is a situation in which there’s a aware realizing that one has come to the top of turning into. To be absolutely Enlightened means to come back to the top of evolution, the top of any chance of evolution. Even individuals who solely glimpse what Enlightenment is for a quick interval have intimations of the type of finality that I’m talking about. It’s the factor of finality that makes that type of realizing that I’m talking about so extraordinary and so tough to explain to individuals who haven’t tasted it. (Ref. 539)

This bears little resemblance to the mok?a described by Advaita. But it surely was clearly going to be a big affect within the West to seekers wanting to seek out out about Nonduality. The journal was printed quarterly till Aug. 2008 – 41 points – after which modified its title to ‘EnlightenNext (The Journal for Evolutionaries)’ for an additional 6 points.

The change in title is as a result of his instructing has now advanced even additional into what he calls ‘Evolutionary Enlightenment’, described as: 

Evolutionary enlightenment is concerning the ecstasy that compels us to create the longer term. And it’s not a future that’s going to unfold by itself whereas we return to sleep. It’s a future that we forge the onerous manner by direct, aware, intentional engagement with the life-process itself. (Ref. 540)

It’s a tragedy that the reality of our already present freedom from limitations of any type needs to be was a striving for some imaginary achievement sooner or later! As I attempt to emphasize many times, enlightenment is simply (!) about realizing what’s already the case; it’s nothing to do with ‘evolving’ into some superior being with increased consciousness. 

Once we acknowledge our true nature, a means of deep internal therapeutic begins to happen. We’re capable of see unconscious patterns enjoying out, and limiting beliefs and damaging behaviors naturally start to fall away as we align with a better consciousness. (Ref. 591)

Right here is Stephen Wingate, from the introduction to his e-book ‘The Outrageous Myths of Enlightenment’:

What are Self-realization, Awakening, Liberation, and Enlightenment?

You’re the One Self, Consciousness Itself. Cease for a second proper now, and see this presence of consciousness that you’re—right here and now. Discover that you’re spacious, open, awake and free. Discover that these phrases are arising on this spacious openness that you’re. Discover that the actions of the thoughts—ideas, feelings, sensations and experiences—all come up naturally and spontaneously in you, this spacious, open presence of consciousness.

This peaceable, loving, spacious openness is what you’re. This spacious openness is the Self, the Liberation, the Awakening, the Enlightenment, the Peace and the Love for which you’ve been searching for.

You might have at all times been, and at all times will probably be merely THIS. (Ref. 502)

This description doesn’t inform us what enlightenment is. ‘Merely this’ is the fashionable satsang try to inform us what we’re – though it must be mentioned that it doesn’t do that very properly! But it surely tells us nothing about how we come to comprehend what we’re. ‘Enlightenment’ is the conclusion of the reality, not the ‘substance’ of that reality. And, extra to the purpose, being within the current, ‘open’ to no matter is offered by the senses, completely alert and mentally calm, is NOT who we actually are. It’s merely a sign that the psychological gear is able to attend to somebody explaining who-we-are. ‘Peaceable, loving, and some other good phrases that you simply may consider alongside these strains, relate to the psychological perspective. They’re descriptions of the thoughts, not the Self.

Francis Lucille made the next assertion on the standing of the ego (in a dialogue on aj?ti v?da):

Once we say that the ego doesn’t exist, we imply that it doesn’t exist by itself as an autonomous entity, that it exists solely as an object showing in consciousness, in atman. This object can by no means see the consciousness that sees it. The one doable logical inference is that this consciousness sees itself. When this inference turns into precise expertise, we name it enlightenment. (Ref. 707)

It’s extra helpful to consider the ego as a ‘course of’ relatively than an object. The processes of thoughts are solely doable due to consciousness. The concept of Consciousness ‘seeing’, ‘realizing’ or ‘experiencing’ itself are widespread ones however not likely significant. That is nonetheless a ‘mixing up’ of absolute actuality with the world look.

Neo-Advaitins merely let you know that enlightenment is a delusion – it’s not doable for somebody to be enlightened as a result of there isn’t any particular person in actuality. For instance, Halina Pytlasinska tells us that:

Enlightenment can be a delusion. The issue with non-duality, or the attitude that there’s Oneness, is that it’s past phrases. So we’re doing our greatest with phrases to get near it, however we’ll by no means absolutely describe it with phrases. It’s a delusion about enlightenment that there could be a particular enlightened particular person, or guru. There isn’t a particular person to be enlightened! However there’s the conclusion that there isn’t any separation. There can not ever be an enlightened particular person; there’s simply the conclusion that there isn’t any separation. (Ref. 573)

Neo-Advaitins continuously use expressions resembling ‘there’s the conclusion that’; ‘it’s seen that’ and so forth. It’s by no means defined the place the conclusion ‘happens’, the place the ‘seeing’ happens and many others. Dishing out with the particular person additionally dispenses with seeker and guru and absolves the supposed instructor from doing any instructing. Fairly neat, actually…

SELF SEEKING By Dennis Waite is  out November 1st from Mantra books or from wherever books are offered.

BOOK LINK: https://www.collectiveinkbooks.com/mantra-books/our-books/self-seeking-advaita