Unveiling peace: diving deep with ACIM lesson 47 - going within and downward.

Unveiling Peace: diving deep with ACIM lesson 47

Lesson 47 of A Course in Miracles ("God is the strength in which I trust.") offers a powerful meditation instruction: to go "down, or below the surface of the mind." This isn't just a casual suggestion; it's a profound pointer that echoes through several previous lessons.

Reflect on earlier practices where we were encouraged to go inward and downward. This consistent direction can be extremely useful when starting out and requiring a physical location for attention or abiding, but more importantly, it's about shifting our focus from the noisy, superficial thoughts of the ego to the deeper, quieter truth within. The "surface of the mind" is where our anxieties, judgments, and illusions churn. By consciously choosing to go "below" it, we are actively disengaging from these distractions and seeking the stillness that lies beneath.

Lesson 47 solidifies this approach, guiding us to trust in a strength far beyond our own egoic capabilities. This strength, which is God, is found not in outward striving, but in this inward descent. It's in that deeper space, beyond the mind's surface chatter, that we truly connect with the unwavering peace and power that is our inherent right. So, as you practice today, remember: the path to trust and to God is often found by simply going down.

ACIM FIP lesson reference page:

https://acim.org/acim/lesson-47/god-is-the-strength-in-which-i-trust/en/s/449

'My mind is part of God’s. I am very holy.' - ACIM Lesson 35 and Self-enquiry.

 

Unveiling the True Self: ACIM Lesson 35 & the Path of Self-Enquiry

"My mind is part of God's. I am holy." This powerful affirmation from A Course in Miracles (Lesson 35) strikes a profound chord with the ancient wisdom of Advaita Vedanta, particularly the practice of self-enquiry. This lesson (35) is actually one of the closest exercises in self-enquiry that ACIM includes in the entire Workbook/Course.

Both paths (ACIM & Advaita), though seemingly different in their language and origin, converge on a fundamental truth: our suffering stems from misidentifying with a false self – the ego, the body, the ever-changing thoughts and perceptions. ACIM Lesson 35 guides us to remember our inherent 'holiness', our inseparable connection to God (or Ultimate Reality). It's a call to look beyond the ephemeral and recognize our true, eternal nature. It directs us to look both at the image we've made and use in our daily dualistic experience, and then contrast that to our timeless, eternal, unchanging natural state of Being.

Similarly, self-enquiry, as taught by sages like Ramana Maharshi, and also in some of the more direct schools on inquiry such as Zen Buddhism, encourages us to relentlessly ask "Who am I?" by turning our attention inward and disidentifying from all that we are not (the mind, the emotions, the roles we play); we gradually peel back the layers of illusion. What remains is the pure, unconditioned Self – the "I AM" that is ever-present and truly holy.

Both ACIM and Advaita offer a powerful antidote to the ego's incessant need to define itself through external validation and fleeting experiences. This is what the Course terms "image making". It also notes here that images can't see or have vision in and of themselves. Both paths invite us to sort through the clutter of the false self, to let go of the imagined image we project, and to rest in the unwavering truth of our divine essence. In this remembering, lies true peace and liberation from the ego-made self that we take ourselves to be.

📑🔖🕮

Workbook lesson official text:

 (https://acim.org/acim/en/s/437 | W-35)

Could noting and labelling (or mindfulness practices) be used within Nisargadatta's "I am" approach?

 

I really liked this response to the following question, thanks to AI reasoning:

Q: Could noting and labeling (as per Buddhist meditation practice such as Mahasi noting) work with noting and labeling the "I am" (as Nisargatdatta taught with his teachings on the "I am")?

A: Yes, noting and labeling could be applied to the "I am" in a way that aligns with Mahasi-style insight meditation and Nisargadatta’s teachings.

How This Would Work

1. Noting the "I am" as an Object of Awareness

   • In Mahasi noting, you label experiences as they arise (e.g., "thinking," "hearing," "pain").
   • You could note "I am" as a phenomenon when it naturally appears in awareness.
   • If identification arises, note "identifying" or "selfing."

2. Seeing the "I am" as Impermanent and Not-Self

   • Traditional Buddhist noting is designed to reveal impermanence, suffering, and not-self (anicca, dukkha, anatta).
   • By noting the "I am" in real-time, you might see that it is an arising and passing event—not a fixed reality.

3. Going Deeper into Nisargadatta’s Approach

   • Nisargadatta suggests staying with the "I am" without conceptualizing it.
   • Noting might initially create distance, making you aware that the sense of "I am" is an experience, not the ultimate truth.
   • Eventually, the goal would be to drop even the label and abide in pure being.

Potential Challenge

• Over-Conceptualization: Noting could reinforce a dualistic observer, keeping "I am" at the level of mind instead of allowing direct abidance in it.
• Solution: Use noting only to dissolve identification, then let awareness rest naturally in the "I am."

Conclusion

Yes, noting and labeling could help deconstruct the habitual identification with "I am" and reveal its transient nature. However, at some point, Nisargadatta’s approach invites you to go beyond noting and simply be the "I am" in its purest form.

Barry Long's teachings - some final notes.

 

Barry Long's teachings - some final notes. 

I'm going to write a few final words about Barry Long's teachings, after having courted them for the last month or so. There's a lot of good in his teachings, but there's some questionable areas as well, and certainly some grey areas that could be the source of confusion or frustration with seekers. Bear in mind that these are just my observations based on a few decades of spiritual experience, and should be regarded as just opinions (or ignored- if it bothers you, the reader).

What I like about Barry Long's teachings:

• I love how Barry Long keeps things real. In his talks, books and content, he's always trying to keep seekers thinking about self-honesty, and bringing things back to one's actual experience rather than getting lost in theories and philosophies that consume so many teachings out there and are a cause for endless debate and distraction
• I really like how Barry Long always brings in the primacy of the body, and a form of embodied awaking that makes use of the body, feelings, sensations and emotions. His starting point in his meditations and in his teachings with using the body is excellent, and there's no diversion into thought based conceptual models, which again makes intellectual bypass an impossibility here
• I like how Barry makes use of relationships and the roles of men and women with regards to spirituality. There's some inherent issues here as well, but he acknowledges this seldom used area
• I like how Barry Long's talks are generally spontaneous, unprepared and engaging for the audience. The pre-recorded teachings such as Myth of Life series are excellent in production, and he's a great story teller and narrative deliverer. 
• I like how Barry Long brings seekers back to the area of emotional maturity and the need to face emotions and work with challenging emotions and sensations via the body. Many have used this approach (and some directly from BL himself), such as Eckhart Tolle, who has pretty much lifted Barry's teaching in some parts word for word, apart from renaming some concepts such as 'personality'/'self'/'pygmy'/'thinker'/ into 'pain body' (ET's label). Likewise the body approach with regards to emotions and as a starting is pretty much Barry's focus that was lifted by a few teachers.

What I find questionable or doubtful about Barry Long's teachings:

• I find Barry Long's idea (e.g. in the tapes on Making Love) that making love equals a divine method by which actual love is produced, and that it is somehow 'god's design' that this is how spiritual development can and does occur -- to be a bit questionable. Similarly, his idea of celibacy as selfish needs some qualification. I don't find the sages of the past that preferred celibacy to be selfish or self-centred in eschewing sex- it was just their choice and aligned with what they were aiming to achieve. This is a highly personal area that will differ according to one's life situation, and isn't a one-size-fits-all teaching. This is probably why people like Eckhart Tolle removed this part of Barry's teaching completely while taking up the rest of BL's teachings.
• Much of Barry Long's stories and cosmology is exactly that.. stories and myth. It serves a purpose with the listener's subconscious and does really have an effect, however, it shouldn't be taken as literally true, any more than the Bible or other content that Barry often trashes in his talks. Admittedly, Barry's stories are helpful for spiritual insight, but they're still stories and creative content ultimately.
• Some of Barry's live audience talks give the impression that he's putting on a performance or being overly dramatic. This is probably Gurdjieff's approach coming through, and it's obvious Barry is acting in many instances, and isn't as authentic as say Eckhart during his talks. For some unknown reason, many of Barry's available talks are the one's he gave right before he died, and the delivery isn't the best or highest in form, which it totally understandable. Some of the responses to people's questions are downright silly or idiotic. Someone asks 'How can I love more?', and his response is something like "Just love more!!" or "Go out and find love and do it!" etc., which degrades the whole thing.
• A key issue I (personally) had with BL's teachings was the approach and treatment to the emotions and the body itself. He often states that the 'trickster', 'evil one', 'monster' etc. live in the belly/stomach as the emotional accumulation of the past (akin to Tolle's pain body), and this needs to be constantly watched, dissolved, dealt with and killed off. The approach often seems harsh, and ends up turning into a battle with the ego/pain body/self-- which of course ends up in a vicious circle with the ego trying to do away with the ego. There doesn't seem much compassion in this approach, and Barry's ideas of "love" rarely touch on self-love, or self-forgiveness, or even acceptance of the pain body. Instead it's something to deal with, corner and watch.. lest it enter one's brain and take them over with thoughts. While there's some merit to this idea, ultimately in the long run, this doesn't work, as anyone who's been on the spiritual path for years understands. Self-love and compassion are just one of those essentials that one needs to cultivate, understand and incorporate into any shadow work or emotional work. Barry seems undeveloped in this regard, and more intent on eliminating self-comfort, and having people 'on the cross' undergoing the pain of dissolving the emotional body, rather than using alternative approaches that may well suit some seekers in a much more effective and gentler way.
• Although there's a good number of teachers who have lifted Barry Long's material and incorporated it into their own teachings while not acknowledging Barry Long.. one can see that Barry himself did the same thing with lifting some teachings word for word, such as from Gurdjieff, Ouspensky, Krishnamurti, Ramana Maharshi and others. Passing oneself off as a Western Master having little or no link with "Eastern teachings" isn't exactly true, and he often seems to give the appearance of having come up with all his content himself as some dramatic "God realized" Master appearing in the West (apart from some very early talks in 1969 where he openly directed others to outside sources). Barry Long developed his own glossary pretty much and students of his need to understand exactly what he means by terms such as 'self', 'me', 'I', 'intelligence', 'consciousness', 'sensation', 'god', etc.. which all have very different meanings to common parlance.

Overall, there's a lot of good things in Barry's approach, and a lot of original and interesting and useful material, however, some areas need to be taken with a grain of salt and used wisely according to one's individual situation.

Peace to Barry.

Barry Long - 2 - Notes and "Start Meditating Now" book and audio.

 

The first book or audio in the "Myth of Life" series is "Start Meditating Now". This is a fitting start for the series, and it's refreshing to find a purely practical teaching at the start, which sets some foundation for actually experiencing the points and philosophy that Barry Long puts forth throughout the rest of the parts in the series, and indeed future talks. Contrast this to a lot of teachers that give a heap of philosophy and theory up front, then at some point find the need or call to deliver a practical means of experiencing that to their audience. Both theory and practice should be one whole.

Start Meditating Now

The basic meditation itself is similar to a body scan / vipassana scanning routine, though it is purely around the inner subtle sensations within parts of the body, rather than gross sensations.

There are 5 points in this lecture that goes for around 1.5 hours.

(A) The actual meditation process and instructions

- The what and why

- Posture, set up, initial breathing yoga (similar to HA breathing, or tan tien breathing)

- Attention within the body, directed to between the eyebrows (a classic point of focus)

- Attention to the subtle energy sensations in the hands, face, lower body, upper body parts

- Entering into stillness once the body scan has been done, or returning for a repeated cycle

- Returning to inner feeling, body anchoring as much as possible outside meditation

(B) Releasing tension in the body and in attending to sights and sounds

(C) Dropping inner bodily tension and emotional tension into the lower abdomen

(D) Resting in stillness

(E) General tips and advice outside formal sitting sessions

- Habit of mind curiosity

- How the mind becomes distracted by hooks

- Ceasing unnecessary and nervous related bodily activity

- Ceasing thinking automatically about past and future events, memories etc.

--

Overall, it's a nice routine and a complete set of instructions and guidelines around establishing a meditation habit. A couple of points could probably be developed more, such as coming out of the meditation session (for some reason this seems to  have been omitted), and also a little more on integrating the formal meditative experience into times outside of formal sitting. Otherwise, done repeatedly, this lecture would yield good results over the long term.

Some quotes:

“Unless you intend to act, there’s no excuse whatsoever for thinking, and certainly not brooding.”

"Meditation is discovering what you are now. Not what you have been or what you think you are, but what you are now."

"Meditation is a process of self-unfoldment and can't be rushed."

"Why do you need to meditate? To know yourself. Why do you need to know yourself? Because what you are at present, what you think you are, is not yourself."

"Meditation is the art of entering your own unconscious.. where your true self lies is inside your body. It is a place of extraordinary stillness and creativity."

"When you're sitting doing nothing, your mind tends to wander all over the place.. the mind has gotten into the wandering habit and you've probably never thought to stop it.. stopping thinking is a gradual process and not an easy one."

"Finally, you will have to master the subtle, unsconscious thinker that has been controlling your mind for so long without your realising it."

Barry Long

Is spiritual practice needed (if the world is just a dream?) - question.

Some comments from Michael James on the question of why spiritual practice, or reflection is even needed (or anything) when "the world is just a dream, and the dreamer can't actually do anything"-- a common Neo-Advaita idea.

In this comment, the questioner puts forth the idea that it would be a mistake to even consider the world to be a dream, since the person or dreamer can't do anything.


--

MJ: “If that is your view [that it is a mistake to try to consider the world to be a dream], how would you explain what Bhagavan teaches us in the final sentence of the seventeenth paragraph of Nāṉ Ār?, namely: ‘பிரபஞ்சத்தை ஒரு சொப்பனத்தைப்போ லெண்ணிக்கொள்ள வேண்டும்’ (pirapañcattai oru soppaṉattai-p-pōl eṇṇi-k-koḷḷa vēṇḍum), ‘It is necessary to consider the world like a dream’?”

Your central argument seems to be, ‘it is a mistake to try to see the world as a dream because it is ridiculous for the dreamer to “try” because that very attempt is part of the dream too’, but by that logic it would be a mistake for us to do any spiritual practice, including self-investigation and self-surrender, because whatever spiritual practice we may do is a part of whatever dream we are currently experiencing. The reason Bhagavan advised us to practise self-investigation and self-surrender is that they are the only means by which we can wake up not only from this dream but from the underlying sleep of self-ignorance, in which all dreams occur.

According to Bhagavan any state in which we are aware of anything other than ourself is just a dream, so we can practise self-investigation and self-surrender only in a dream, but that does not mean that it is a mistake for us to try to practise them. Quite the contrary, it would be a mistake for us not to try to practise them, because if we do not try to do so how can we wake up from this sleep of self-ignorance? 

Ramana Maharshi speaking of the simplicity of self-realization in all.

Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi

Talk 469.



Yogi Ramiah asked: A master is approached by an aspirant for
enlightenment. The master says that Brahman has no qualities, nor
stain, nor movement, etc. Does he not then speak as an individual?
How can the aspirant’s ignorance be wiped off unless the master speaks
thus? Do the words of the master as an individual amount to Truth?



M.: To whom should the master speak? Whom does he instruct? Does
he see anyone different from the Self?



D.: But the disciple is asking the master for elucidation.



M.: True, but does the master see him as different? The ignorance of the
disciple lies in not knowing that all are Self-realised. Can anyone exist
apart from the Self? The master simply points out that the ignorance
lies there and therefore does not stand apart as an individual.
What is Realisation? Is it to see God with four hands, bearing
conch, wheel, club, etc.? Even if God should appear in that form,
how is the disciple’s ignorance wiped out? The truth must be eternal
realisation. The direct perception is ever-present Experience. God
Himself is known as directly perceived. It does not mean that He
appears before the devotee as said above. Unless the Realisation
be eternal it cannot serve any useful purpose. Can the appearance
with four hands be eternal realisation? It is phenomenal and illusory.
There must be a seer. The seer alone is real and eternal.
Let God appear as the light of a million suns: Is it pratyaksha?
To see it, the eyes, the mind, etc. are necessary. It is indirect knowledge,
whereas the seer is direct experience. The seer alone is pratyaksha.
All other perceptions are only secondary knowledge. The present
super-imposition of the body as ‘I’ is so deep-rooted, that the vision
before the eyes is considered pratyaksha but not the seer himself.
No one wants realisation because there is no one who is not realised.
Can anyone say that he is not already realised or that he is apart from
the Self? No. Evidently all are realised. What makes him unhappy is
the desire to exercise extraordinary powers. He knows that he cannot
do so. Therefore he wants God to appear before him, confer all His
powers on the devotee, and keep Himself in the background. In short,
God should abdicate His powers in favour of the man.

D.: It is all right for mahatmas like Sri Bhagavan to speak out so plainly.
Because the Truth does not swerve from you, you consider it easy for
all others. Nevertheless, the common folk have a real difficulty.



M.: Then does anyone say that he is not the Self?



D.: I meant to say that no one else has the courage to put things
straight like Maharshi.



M.: Where is the courage in saying things as they are?

Vijnana Nauka (The Boat of Spiritual Science) - by Adi Shankaracharya

Vijñāna Naukā

(The boat of spiritual science)

 

By Adi Shankara

 

tapo yajñadānādibhiḥ śuddhabuddhir-

virakto nṛpādau pade tuccabuddhyā

parityajya sarvaṃ yadāpnoti tatvaṃ

paraṃ brahmā nityaṃ tadevāham asmi ||1||

 

By cleaning of our mind with meditation, sacrifice and charity,

By becoming disenchanted with even king like positions,

And by sacrificing everything, we attain that principle

Of the divine and perennial concept that we ourselves are Brahman.

 

 

dayāluṃ guruṃ brahmāniṣṭhaṃ praśāntaṃ

samārādhya bhaktyā vicārya svarūpaṃ

yadāpnoti tatvaṃ nididhāsya vidvān

paraṃ brahmā nityaṃ tadevāham asmi ||2||

 

By worshipping with devotion, the merciful and peaceful teacher,

Who is searching for Brahman and by researching on the form,

The scholar after repeated and profound meditation makes his own,

The divine and perennial concept that we ourselves are Brahman.

 

 

yad ānanda rūpaṃ prakāśa svarūpaṃ

nirasta prapañcaṃ pariccheda śūnyaṃ

ahaṃ brahmāvidyaikagamyaṃ turīyaṃ

paraṃ brahmā nityaṃ tadevāham asmi ||3||

 

Forever having the form of joy which is full of splendor,

Forsaking the world that we see which does not have definition,

And Which can be attained only by constant search and a state full of bliss,

Is the divine and perennial concept that we ourselves are Brahman.

 

 

yad ājñanato bhati viśvaṃ samaṣṭaṃ

vinaṣṭaṃ ca sadyo yadātma prabodha

manovāgathīthaṃ visudhaṃ vimuktaṃ

paraṃ brahmā nityaṃ tadevāham asmi ||4||

 

By that ignorance of this entire concept of the physical world,

By that realization of Atma (soul) , which leads to the loss of this concept,

Which is beyond mind and word ,and also pure and fully free,

Is the divine and perennial concept that we ourselves are Brahman.

 

 

niṣedhe kṛte neti netīti vakyaiḥ

samadhiṣṭitānām yadābhāthi pūrṇaṃ

avasthāthrayāthītham advaitaṃ ekam

paraṃ brahmā nityaṃ tadevāham asmi ||5||

 

By the negative action of the words “Not This, Not This”,

That which shines entirely in those, who enter the state of Samadhi,

That which is beyond the three states (sleep, dream and wakefulness), and which does not have any second,

Is the divine and perennial concept that we ourselves are Brahman.

 

 

yad ānandalesaih samanandi viśvaṃ

yadābhāti satve sada bhāti sarvaṃ

yadālocite heyaṃ anyat samaṣṭaṃ

paraṃ brahmā nityaṃ tadevāham asmi ||6||

 

That due to its bits of bliss makes this world pleasant,

That due to its splendour makes this world full of light,

And that by whose thought this physical world becomes nothing,

Is the divine and perennial concept that we ourselves are Brahman.

 

 

anandaṃ vibhuṃ sarvayoniṃ nirīhaṃ

śivaṃ  saṅgahīnaṃ yad omkāragamyaṃ

nirākāramathyujvalaṃ mṛtyuhīnaṃ

paraṃ brahmā nityaṃ tadevāham asmi ||7||

 

That which is endless, divine and controls everything,

That which is peaceful, alone and attainable through “Om”,

And that which is formless, has great luster and no death,

Is the divine and perennial concept that we ourselves are Brahman.

 

 

yad ānanda sindhau nimagnaḥ puman sya-

dvidyavilasaḥ samaṣṭa prapañcaḥ

tadā na sphuratyatbhutaṃ yannimittam

paraṃ brahmā nityaṃ tadevāham asmi ||8||

 

That sea of bliss in which the seeker drowns himself,

And that wonderful cause which forever makes it disappear,

The ignorance which makes the physical world appear,

Is the divine and perennial concept that we ourselves are Brahman.

 

 

svarūpānusandhānarūpāṃ stutiṃ yaḥ

paṭhed ādarāl bhaktibhāvānmanuṣyaḥ

śṛṇotīha vā nityam udyukta citto

paraṃ brahmā nityaṃ tadevāham asmi ||9||

 

This prayer written in the style of the search of the form of the self,

If read by men with respect and devotional thought,

Or if heard would lead them forever to blissful freedom,

And Is the divine and perennial concept that we ourselves are Brahman.

 

Translated By P.R. Ramachander

Jesus and the Vine - abidance in the Self.

A reference from the Bible / NT. Make of it what you will, however, read in the light of self-inquiry, self-abidance, stabilising in the "I am" etc., -- it makes perfect sense and perfect instruction.

Jesus the True Vine (John 15)

1 I am the true vine, and My Father is the keeper of the vineyard.

2 He cuts off every branch in Me that bears no fruit, and every branch that does bear fruit, He prunes to make it even more fruitful.

3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.

4 Remain in Me, and I will remain in you. Just as no branch can bear fruit by itself unless it remains in the vine, neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in Me.

5 I am the vine and you are the branches. The one who remains in Me, and I in him, will bear much fruit. For apart from Me you can do nothing.

6 If anyone does not remain in Me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers. Such branches are gathered up, thrown into the fire, and burned.

ACIM- The flow of peace and blessings. What are the Great Rays? (Lesson 360).

(Lesson 360)

Peace be to me, the holy Son of God.
Peace to my brother, who is one with me.
Let all the world be blessed with peace through us.

Father, it is Your peace that I would give, receiving it of You. I am Your Son, forever just as You created me, for the Great Rays remain forever still and undisturbed within me. I would reach to them in silence and in certainty, for nowhere else can certainty be found. Peace be to me, and peace to all the world. In holiness were we created, and in holiness do we remain. Your Son is like to You in perfect sinlessness. And with this thought we gladly say "Amen."





Keywords:

• Peace
• Silence
• Stillness
• Great Rays
• Sinlessness

This lesson is a form of prayer and forgiveness. It is also an invitation to self-inquiry suggesting that the Self can be found within, in silence and in certainty. This may be in the formal resting practice that one performs daily morning and night, or on the hourly pauses that one performs during the day.


The lesson uses the image of the "Great Rays" which have been spoken of in the Text. Some students have taken to visualising or imagining 'light' type rays, auras etc. While this may be helpful initially, it will be a hinderance later when direct experience is required.


The reference to "Great Rays" is actually symbolic of pure awareness, which has often been likened to light in spiritual literature. Like light, awareness itself, is the source of illumination of all phenomena, including one's apparent self. Having no form, it is still and undisturbed by seemingly separate phenomena.


In becoming more and more familiar with silence, certainty, stillness, and the 'Great Rays', we come to know our sinlessness. We come to know our true Identity. We also naturally feel the peace and blessings that flow from such experiential knowledge (or gnosis) out into the projected world.

(ACIM) Lesson 338: I am affected only by my thoughts.

This lesson from the Workbook contains pointers on two different levels. This is not fostering "level confusion", but taking the approach of offering advice for differing levels of understanding in students. To offer what cannot be understood is a sign of poor teaching. Thus, the Workbook, being a self-study guide, often gives teachings on multiple levels, like a holographic instruction. Gurdjieff's idea of a legominism is of similar import.


"I am affected only by my thoughts." (Lesson 338)


On a surface level, we are familiar with the effects of thoughts on our state, behaviour and relative state of consciousness. The Course makes the point repeatedly that modifying behavious is secondary to modifying thought and belief, which in turn affect behaviour. The "I" referred to here, is that of the changeable, personal self- the ego. The self we made and have identified with up until finding out the truth.


"It needs but this to let salvation come to all the world. For in this single thought is everyone released at last from fear. Now has he learned that no one frightens him, and nothing can endanger him. He has no enemies, and he is safe from all external things. His thoughts can frighten him, but since these thoughts belong to him alone, he has the power to change them and exchange each fear thought for a happy thought of love. He crucified himself. Yet God has planned that His beloved Son will be redeemed."


A preliminary step is offered here. The insight that the world is not cause, but rather an effect, brought about by habitual thought. In seeing the world as effect, it may be exchanged for the "happy dream" wherein guilt, victims, and separation may be released. Fear thoughts may be recognised and purposely exchanged with thoughts of love. This is the thinking behind much of the "New Thought" movement, and most positive thinking teachings. Many religions make use of substituting fear thoughts for loving thoughts. It certainly works as an aid in exchanging a fearful world for one that is happier to live in. Recall, "My thoughts are images that I have made".


However, this isn't the end, but rather just the first step. Many spiritual systems do end here, incomplete due to still being trapped in a happier dream, but a dream of separation nonetheless. The ego does not end. Duality still persists no matter how "happy" we attempt to make the world. The perceiver still sees the world.


"Your plan is sure, my Father,—only Yours. All other plans will fail. And I will have thoughts that will frighten me, until I learn that You have given me the only Thought that leads me to salvation. Mine alone will fail, and lead me nowhere. But the Thought You gave me promises to lead me home, because it holds Your promise to Your Son." (Lesson 338)


There can only be one will ultimately in all creation- that of the Source. Setting up the ego as a separate 'will', thus results in having to deal with fearful thoughts UNTIL the separation is healed and no more. How? By finding one's true Identity, the Self, which is referred to here as the Thought (of God). This is not a thought in the usual sense of the word, but THE "Thought of God" (ie pure consciousness) that exists prior to, and part of, all seeming arising and passing thoughts.


This primal "Thought", when sought with earnestness, leads to salvation, and the undoing of the separation, which is not done of myself (as "I"), but by the Holy Spirit, as God's promise that His Son (the Self) may come to know Itself once again. The Lesson thus achieves its aim, starting in time, and ending back in eternity.

Lesson 337: My sinlessness protects me from all harm. (ACIM). Recognising the Self.

This is such a pivotal lesson found towards the end of the Workbook, that it merits some discussion. It can be seen as a brief summary of the whole Course in one Lesson. This lesson also shows how the Course fits in with other nondual teachings in terms of structure and aim.


"My sinlessness protects me from all harm." (L337)


The sinlessness spoken of here is none other than the Self. The Course has been using the term "sinlessness" (noun) over the last few lessons. Here it is shown to be the Self, which is as God created It (unchanging, eternal, whole, at one with all creation etc.)


"My sinlessness ensures me perfect peace, eternal safety, everlasting love, freedom forever from all thought of loss; complete deliverance from suffering. And only happiness can be my state, for only happiness is given me. What must I do to know all this is mine?"






The Lesson then brings in a central idea running through the Course- that of the process of the Atonement.


"I must accept Atonement for myself, and nothing more. God has already done all things that need be done. And I must learn I need do nothing of myself, for I need but accept my Self, my sinlessness, created for me, now already mine, to feel God's Love protecting me from harm, to understand my Father loves His Son; to know I am the Son my Father loves."




The acceptance of something that already exists is not a 'doing' initiated 'of myself', but rather an allowing, opening up, and stopping to see what is actually present now.

"5 When you have been restored to the recognition of your original state, you naturally become part of the Atonement yourself." (from the Text)

The Course mentions that the Atonement is a process, which seems to take place in time. However, it is merely the recognition of what already Is. Accepting Atonement for one's self is thus nothing more than the recognition of What one truly is, the Self, ever present and without sin. Through the recognition of one's Self (sinlessness, purity, suchness), harm is impossible in whatever form, simply because What one truly is (which is prior to the body, mind, thought, feelings, etc.) cannot be harmed. Protection happens by the recognition that there is nothing threatened. Harm could only take place in the dream of death and guilt made by the ego, in which the Son equates himself with a body-mind bound burdened by debt, in time and space.


Now, what exactly is the Self? The Course leaves this answer in the hands of the Holy Spirit, God's Answer. Through practicing the Workbook, receptive listening, contemplation, and silence, the Self must reveal Itself, and the dream of the ego be seen through in its unreality (or as a mere concept). This becomes the "happy dream", where although the ego may still be in place and operative, it is known as just an habitual concept present in the mind of the Son of God, until it is no longer required.


Borrowing from other nondual teachings however, one can aid this process, in knowing the Self as one's own present, alive, conscious, beingness here and now. Self-attentiveness. That which is aware of the body, mind, thoughts, ego, and illusory identity within the dream. Becoming aquainted with this is the end and object of the whole Course, and will in time, and with 'a little willingness' and 'silence', be known through the grace of the Holy Spirit, which is none other than the Self.




"T-28.II.12. This world is full of miracles. 2 They stand in shining silence next to every dream of pain and suffering, of sin and guilt. 3 They are the dream's alternative, the choice to be the dreamer, rather than deny the active role in making up the dream. 4 They are the glad effects of taking back the consequence of sickness to its cause. 5 The body is released because the mind acknowledges "this is not done to me, but I am doing this." 6 And thus the mind is free to make another choice instead. 7 Beginning here, salvation will proceed to change the course of every step in the descent to separation, until all the steps have been retraced, the ladder gone, and all the dreaming of the world undone."

The ego has no being. (ACIM)

I had been listening to and reading A Course in Miracles (Text), when I came across this quote:


"The ego is incapable of knowing how you feel. When I said that the ego does not know anything, I said the one thing about the ego that is wholly true. But there is a corollary; if only knowledge has being and the ego has no knowledge, then the ego as no being." (Text 8-VIII.7)


This reminded me of the use (in some circles) whereby the word 'knowledge' is interpreted as 'knowing' or the act of knowing (i.e. being aware) only, rather than in the usual sense of amassing intellectual data/facts/thoughts etc.


In this sense, 'knowledge' or 'knowing only' equates exactly with being, since both as also synonyms for just awareness or consciousness.


Hence, a thought construct, including the primal thought-construct-tendency which is the 'ego' ('I-thought'), cannot actually know anything, in the sense that it is not self-aware or endowed with any form of awareness itself-- but rather lives only as a construct existing in our awareness. The ego doesn't assert itself in deep sleep (or death) for instance, and at times when our waking consciousness seems to be in abeyance.


Being without awareness (knowledge) and being just a thought-construct, the ego thus has no being itself, and is rather just like a computer program- playing out its programming as it was created to do, relying on power beyond itself, and mostly for the sake of the body and its own survival.


This leads to the inquiry of what one really is, if the ego ("I-construct) and the body have no inherent being in themselves.. and taking into account that we normally regard ourselves as a body-mind entity.


Without jumping into further concepts, such as 'we are soul, spirit, Otherness' etc.. it is possible to stop and enquire directly into the nature of what we are in this moment, with the understanding that we are prior to the awareness of ourselves as a body, and prior to the awareness of ourselves as an ego. One means for doing this is via the practiced habit of self-attentiveness and patient observation directed squarely at one's "self" (or the feeling of one's "self").

Investigation can only be into the non-self. (Ramana Maharshi)

A clarifying point for those engaged in self-inquiry:

"There is no investigation into the Atman. Investigation can only be into the non-self." (Sri Ramana Maharshi) Talk 78.

Q.: How to find the Atman?

M.: There is no investigation into the Atman. The investigation can only be into the non-self.
Elimination of the non-self is alone possible. The Self being always self evident will shine forth of itself.
The Self is called by different names - Atman, God, Kundalini, mantra, etc. Hold any one of them and the Self becomes manifest. God is no other than the Self.. (Talk 78; September 1935)

The Mystery of IT.

The Mystery is that

IT is completely without attribute

unperceivable, unknowable.

Yet IT is present and self-evident,

completely undeniable.

As such, it is nothing and everything.

IT comes to know Itself when and where

IT wills.

dp.

On Free-will- (a bit of Neo-Advaita for the day).

Understanding Is All

There is one aspect of free will allowed, though: the freedom to think you have free will. But this in no way changes the actual truth that you are simply not the doer. You are being done at every moment by Source. 
You ,don't exist as separate from Source except in your fantasy of separation. There is no you as "me." There is only Consciousness as "I AM" in appearance and "I - I" at rest. 
Your efforts to change life from what it is --- as is, into something different are futile. You are headed down the path of destiny that was laid out at the moment of your conception. If you accomplish some planned goal in your life, it is a coincidence because the plan was already established by Grace and Destiny. It happened in spite of you and not because of you. Source is very cleverly keeping you confused about who's in charge here. 
Once you awaken and it sinks in that all there is, is Consciousness, and you as the "me" are not the doer, then only one course of nonaction remains open for you to relax into -- that is, just be. Do nothing -- understanding is all! 

~ From: From Onions to Pearls, by Satyam Nadeen.




(Apparently, Satyam Nadeen was impressed by HL Poonja & Ramesh Balsekar's teachings (which obviously shows above), while attending prison (?), and is a teacher on the US Advaita circuit).

What is the easiest way to be free of the 'little self'? (Annamalai Swami)

Q: What is the easiest way to be free of the 'little self'?

Annamalai Swami: Stop identifying with it. If you can convince yourself "This 'little self' is not me", it will just disappear. Question: But how to do this? Annamalai Swami: The 'little self' is something which only appears to be real. If you understand that it has no real existence it will disappear, leaving behind it the experience of the real and only Self. Understand that it has no real existence and it will stop troubling you. Consciousness is universal. There is no limitation or 'little self' in it. It is only when we identify with and limit ourselves to the body and the mind that this false self is born. If, through enquiry, you go to the Source of this 'little self', you find that it dissolves into nothingness. Question: But I am very accustomed to feel "I am this 'little self'". I cannot break this habit merely by thinking "I am not this 'little self'". Annamalai Swami: This 'little self' will only give way to the real Self if you meditate constantly. You cannot wish it away with a few stray thoughts. Try to remember the analogy of the rope which looks like a snake in the twilight. If you see the rope as a snake, the real nature of the rope is hidden from you. If you only see the rope, the snake is not there. When you have that clear and correct perception that the snake never at any time existed, the question of how to kill the snake disappears. Apply this analogy to the 'little self' that you are worrying about. If you can understand that this 'little self' never at any time had any existence outside your imagination, you will not be concerned about ways and means of getting rid of it. Question: It all is very well but I feel that I need some help. I am not sure that I can generate this understanding by myself. Annamalai Swami: The desire for assistance is part of your problem. Don't make the mistake of imagining that there is some goal to be reached or attained. If you think like this you will start looking for methods to practise and people to help you. This just perpetuates the problem you are trying to end. Instead, cultivate the strong awareness, "I am the Self. I am That. I am Brahman [impersonal Absolute Reality]. I am everything". You don't need any methods to get rid of the wrong ideas you have about yourself. All you have to do is stop believing them. The best way to do this is to replace them with ideas which more accurately reflect the real sate of affairs. If you think and meditate "I am the Self", it will do you a lot of more good than thinking, "I am the 'little self'. How can I get rid of this 'little self'"?

The Self is always attained, it is always realised; it is not something that you have to seek, reach or discover. Your vasanas [mental habits and tendencies] and all the wrong ideas you have about yourself are blocking and hiding the experience of the real Self. If you don't identify with the wrong ideas, your Self-nature will not be hidden from you. You said that you needed help. If you desire to gain a proper understanding of your real nature is intense enough, help will automatically come. If you want to generate an awareness of your real nature you will be immeasurably helped by having contact with a jnani [realised being]. The power and grace which a jnani radiates quieten the mind and automatically eliminate the wrong ideas you have about yourself. You can make progress by having satsang [association] of a realised Guru and by constant spiritual practice. The Guru cannot do everything for you. If you want to give up the limiting habits of many lifetimes, you must practise constantly. Most people take the appearance of the snake in the rope to be reality. Acting on their misperceptions they think up many different ways of killing the snake. They can never succeed in getting rid of the snake until they give up the idea that there is a snake there at all. People who want to kill or control the mind have the same problem: they imagine that there is a mind which needs to be controlled and take drastic steps to beat it into submission. If, instead, they generated the understanding that there is no such thing as the mind, all there problems would come to an end. You must generate the conviction, "I am the all-pervasive consciousness in which all bodies and minds in the world are appearing and disappearing. I am that consciousness which remains unchanged and unaffected by these appearances and disappearances". Stabilise yourself in that conviction. That is all you need to do. Bhagavan [Ramana Maharshi] once told a story about a man who wanted to bury his own shadow in a deep pit. He dug the pit and stood in such a position that his shadow was on the bottom of it. The man then tried to bury it by covering it with earth. Each time he threw some soil in the hole the shadow appeared on top of it. Of course, he never succeeded in burying the shadow. Many people behave like this when they meditate. They take the mind to be real, try to fight it and kill it, and always fail. These fights against the mind are all mental activities which strengthen the mind instead of weakening it. If you want to get rid of the mind, all you have to do is understand that it is 'not me'. Cultivate the awareness "I am the immanent consciousness". When that understanding becomes firm, the non-existent mind will not trouble you. Question: I don't think that repeating "I am not the mind, I am consciousness" will ever convince me that I am not the mind. It will just be another thought going on within the mind. If I could experience, even for a moment, what it is like to be without the mind, the conviction would automatically come. I think that one second of experiencing consciousness as it really is would be more convincing that several years of mental repetitions. Annamalai Swami: Every time you go to sleep you have the experience of being without a mind. You cannot deny that you exist while you are asleep and you cannot deny that your mind is not functioning while you are in dreamless sleep. This daily experience should convince you that it is possible to continue your existence without a mind. Of course, you do not have the full experience of consciousness while you are asleep, but if you think about what happens during this state you should come to understand that your existence, the continuity of your Being, is in no way dependent on your mind or your identification with it. When the mind reappears every morning you instantly jump to the conclusion "This is the real me". If you reflect on this proposition for some time you will see how absurd it is. If what you really are only exists when the mind is present, you have to accept that you didn't exist while you were asleep. No one will accept such an absurd conclusion. If you analyse your alternating states you will discover that it is your direct experience that you exist whether you are awake or asleep. You will also discover that the mind only becomes active while you are waking or dreaming. From these simple daily experiences it should be easy to understand that the mind is something that comes and goes. Your existence is not wiped out each time the mind ceases to function. I am not telling you some philosophical theory; I am telling you something that you can validate by direct experience in any twenty-four hour period of your life. Take these facts, which you can discover by directly experiencing them, and investigate them a little more. When the mind appears every morning don't jump to the usual conclusion, "This is me; these thoughts are mine." Instead, watch these thoughts come and go without identifying with them in any way. If you can resist the impulse to claim each and every thought as your own, you will come to a startling conclusion: you will discover that you are the consciousness in which the thoughts appear and disappear. You are allowed to run free. Like the snake which appears in the rope, you will discover that the mind is only an illusion which appears through ignorance or misperception. You want some experience which will convince you that what I am saying is true. You can have that experience if you give up your life-long habit of inventing an 'I' which claims all thoughts as 'mine'. Be conscious of yourself as consciousness alone, watch all the thoughts come and go. Come to the conclusion, by direct experience, that you are really consciousness itself, not its ephemeral contents. Clouds come and go in the sky but the appearance and disappearance of the clouds doesn't affect the sky. Your real nature is like the sky, like space. Just remain like the sky and let thought-clouds come and go. If you cultivate this attitude of indifference towards the mind, gradually you will cease to identify yourself with it. Question: When I began to do sadhana [spiritual practice] everything went smoothly at first. There was a lot of peace and happiness and jnana [true knowledge] seemed very near. But nowadays there is hardly any peace, just mental obstacles and hindrances. Annamalai Swami: Whenever obstacles come on the path, think of them as not me'. Cultivate the attitude that the real you is beyond the reach of all troubles and obstacles. There are no obstacles for the Self. If you can remember that you always are the Self, obstacles will be of no importance. One of the alvars [a group of Vaishnavite saints] once remarked that if one is not doing any spiritual practice one is not aware of any mind problems. He said that it is only when one starts to do meditation that one becomes aware of the different ways that the mind causes us trouble. This is very true. But one should not worry about any of the obstacles or fear them. One should merely regard them as being not me. They can only cause you trouble while you think that they are your problems. The obstructing vasanas may look like a large mountain which obstructs your progress. Don't be intimidated by the size. It is not a mountain of rock, it is a mountain of camphor. If you light one corner of it with the flame of discriminative attention, it will all burn to nothing. Stand back from the mountain of problems, refuse to acknowledge that they are yours, and they will dissolve and disappear before your eyes. Don't be deluded by your thoughts and vasanas. They are always trying to trick you into believing that you are a real person, that the world is real, and that all your problems are real. Don't fight them; just ignore them. Don't accept delivery of all the wrong ideas that keep coming to you. Establish yourself in the conviction that you are the Self and that nothing can stick to you or affect you. Once you have that conviction you will find that you automatically ignore the habits of the mind. When the rejection of mental activities becomes continuous and automatic, you will begin to have the experience of the Self. If you see two strangers quarrelling in the distance you do not give much attention to them because you know that the dispute is none of your business. Treat the contents of your mind in the same way. Instead of filling your mind with thoughts and then organising fights between them, pay no attention to the mind at all. Rest quietly in the feeling of "I am", which is consciousness, and cultivate the attitude that all thoughts, all perceptions are 'not me'. When you have learned to regard your mind as a distant stranger, you will not pay any attention to all the obstacles it keeps inventing for you. Mental problems feed on the attention that you give them. The more you worry about them, the stronger they become. If you ignore them, they lose their power and finally vanish. Question: I am always thinking and believing that there is only the Self but somehow there is still a feeling that I want or need something more. Annamalai Swami: Who is it that wants? If you can find the answer to that question there will be no one to want anything. Question: Children are born without egos. As they begin to grow up, how do their egos arise and cover the Self? Annamalai Swami: As young children may appear to have no egos but its ego and all the latent vasanas that go with it are there in seed form. As the child's body grows bigger, the ego also grows bigger. The ego is produced by the power of maya [illusion], which is one of the shaktis [powers] of the Self. Question: How does maya operate? How does it originate? Since nothing exists except the Self, how does the Self manage to conceal Its own nature from Itself? Annamalai Swami: The Self, which is Infinite power and the Source of all power, is indivisible. Yet within this indivisible Self there are five shaktis or powers, with varying functions, which operate simultaneously. The five shaktis are creation, preservation, destruction, veiling [maya shakti] and Grace. The fifth shakti, Grace, counteracts and removes the fourth shakti, which is maya. When maya is totally inactive, that is, when the identity with the body and the mind has been dropped, there is an awareness of consciousness, of Being. When one is established in that state there is no body, no mind and no world. These three things are just ideas which are brought into an apparent existence when maya is present and active. When maya is active, the sole effective way to dissolve it is the path shown by Bhagavan: one must do Self-enquiry and discriminate between what is real and what is unreal. It is the power of maya which makes us believe in the reality of things which have no reality outside our imagination. If you ask, "What are these imaginary things?" the answer is, "Everything that is not the formless Self". The Self alone is real; everything else is a figment of our imagination. It is not helpful to enquire why there is maya and how it operates. If you are in a boat which is leaking, you don't waste time asking whether the hole was made by an Italian, a Frenchman or an Indian. You just plug the leak. Don't worry about where maya comes from. Put all your energy into escaping from its effect. If you try to investigate the origin of maya with your mind you are doomed to fail because any answer you come up with will be a maya answer. If you want to understand how maya operates and originates you should establish yourself in the Self, the one place where you can be free of it, and then watch how it takes you over each time you fail to keep your attention there. Question: You say that maya is one of the shaktis. What exactly do you mean by shakti? Annamalai Swami: Shakti is energy or power. It is a name for the dynamic aspect of the Self. Shakti and shanti [peace] are two aspects of the same consciousness. If you want to separate them at all, you can say that shanti is the unmanifest aspect of the Self while shakti is the manifest. But really they are not separate. A flame has two properties: light and heat. The two cannot be separate. Shanti and shakti are like the sea and its waves. Shanti, the unmanifest aspect, is the vast unmoving body of water. The waves that appear and move on the surface are shakti. Shanti is motionless, vast and all-encompassing, whereas waves are active. Bhagavan used to say that after realisation the jivanmukta [liberated one] experiences shanti within and is established permanently in that shanti. In that state of realisation he sees that all activities are caused by shakti. After realisation one is aware that there is no individual people doing anything. Instead there is an awareness that all activities are the shakti of the one Self. The jnani, who is fully established in the shanti, is always aware that shakti is not separate from him. In that awareness everything is his Self and all actions are his. Alternatively, it is equally correct to say that he never does anything. This is one of the paradoxes of the Self. The universe is controlled by the one shakti, sometimes called Parameshwara shakti [the power of the Supreme Lord]. This moves and orders all things. Natural laws, such as the laws that keep the planets in their orbits, are all manifestations of this shakti. Question: You say that everything is the Self, even maya. If this is so, why can't I see the Self clearly? Why is it hidden from me? Annamalai Swami: Because you are looking in the wrong direction. You have the idea that the Self is something that you see or experience. This is not so. The Self is the awareness or the consciousness in which the seeing and the experiencing take place. Even if you don't see the Self, the Self is still there. Bhagavan sometimes remarked humorously: "People just open a newspaper and glance through it. Then they say, "I have seen the paper". But really they haven't seen the paper, they have only seen the letters and pictures that are on it. There can be no words or pictures without the paper, but people always forget the paper while they are reading the words." Bhagavan would then use this analogy to show that while people see the names and forms that appear on the screen of consciousness, the ignore the screen itself. With this kind of partial vision it is easy to come to the conclusion that all forms are unconnected with each other and separate from the person who sees them. If people were to be aware of the consciousness instead of the forms that appear in it, they would realise that all forms are just appearances which manifest within the one indivisible consciousness. That consciousness is the Self that you are looking for. You can be that consciousness but you can never see it because it is not something that is separate from you. Question: You talk a lot about vasanas. Could you please tell me exactly what they are and how they function? Annamalai Swami: Vasanas are habits of the mind. They are the mistaken identifications and the repeated thought patterns that occur again and again. It is the vasanas which cover up the experience of the Self. Vasanas arise, catch your attention, and pull you outwards towards the world rather than inwards towards the Self. This happens so often and so continuously that the mind never gets a chance to rest or to understand its real nature. Cocks like to claw the ground. It is a perpetual habit with them. Even if they are standing on bare rock they still try to scratch the ground. Vasanas function in much the same the way. They are habits and patterns of thought that appear again and again even if they are not wanted. Most of our ideas and thoughts are incorrect. When they rise habitually as vasanas they brainwash us into thinking that they are true. The fundamental vasanas such as "I am the body" or "I am the mind" have appeared in us so many times that we automatically accept that they are true. Even our desire to transcend our vasanas is a vasana. When we think "I must meditate" or "I must make an effort" we are just organising a fight between two different vasanas. You can only escape the habits of the mind by abiding in consciousness as consciousness. Be who you are. Just be still. Ignore all the vasanas that rise in the mind and instead fix your attention in the Self. Question: Bhagavan often told devotees to "Be still". Did he mean "Be mentally still"? Annamalai Swami: Bhagavan's famous instruction "summa iru" [be still] is often misunderstood. It does not mean that you should be physically still; it means that you should always abide in the Self. If there is too much physical stillness, tamoguna [a state of mental torpor] arises and predominates. In that state you will feel very sleepy and mentally dull. Rajoguna [a state of excessive mental activity], on the other hand, produces emotions and a mind which is restless. In sattva guna [a state of mental quietness and clarity] there is stillness and harmony. If mental activity is necessary while one is in sattva guna it takes place. But for the rest of the time there is stillness. When tamoguna and rajoguna predominate, the Self cannot be felt. If sattva guna predominates one experiences peace, bliss, clarity and an absence of wandering thoughts. That is the stillness that Bhagavan was prescribing. Question: Bhagavan, in Talks with Ramana Maharshi, speaks of bhoga vasanas [vasanas which are for enjoyment] and bandha vasanas [vasanas which produce bondage]. He says that for the jnani there are bhoga vasanas but no bandha vasanas. Would Swamiji please clarify the difference. Annamalai Swami: Nothing can cause bondage for the jnani because his mind is dead. In the absence of a mind he knows himself only as consciousness. Because the mind is dead, he is no longer able to identify himself with the body. But even though he knows that he is not the body, it is a fact that the body is still alive. That body will continue to live, and the jnani will continue to be aware of it, until its own karma [destined action] is exhausted. Because the jnani is still aware of the body, he will also be aware of the thoughts and vasanas that arise in that body. None of these vasanas has the power to cause bondage for him because he never identifies with them, but they do have the power to make the body behave in certain ways. The body of the jnani enjoys and experiences these vasanas although the jnani himself is not affected by them. That is why it is sometimes said that for the jnani there are bhoga vasanas but no bandha vasanas. The bhoga vasanas differ from jnani to jnani. Some jnanis may accumulate wealth, some may sit in silence; some may study the shastra [Scriptures] while others may remain illiterate; some may get married ands raise families, but others may become celibate monks. It is the bhoga vasanas which determine the kind of lifestyle a jnani will lead. The jnani is aware of the consequences of all these vasanas without ever identifying with them. Because of this he never falls back into samsara [worldly illusion] again. The vasanas arise because of the habits and practices of previous lifetimes. That is why they differ from jnani to jnani. When vasanas rise in ordinary people who still identify with the body and the mind, they cause likes and dislikes. Some vasanas are embraced wholeheartedly while others are rejected as being undesirable. These likes and dislikes generate desires and fears which in turn produce more karma. While you are still making judgements about what is good and what is bad, you are identifying with the mind and making new karma for yourself. When new karma has been created like this, it means you have to take another birth to enjoy it. The jnani's body carries out all the acts which are destined for it. But because the jnani makes no judgement about what is good or bad, and because he has no likes or dislikes, he is not creating any new karma for himself. Because he knows that he is not the body, he can witness all its activities without getting involved in them in any way. There will be no rebirth for the jnani because once the mind has been destroyed there is no possibility of any new karma being created. Question: So whatever happens to us in life only happens because of our past likes and dislikes? Annamalai Swami: Yes. Question: How can one learn not to react when vasanas arise in the mind? Is there anything special that we should be looking out for? Annamalai Swami: You must learn to recognise them when they arise. That is the only way. If you can catch them early enough and frequently enough they will not cause you trouble. If you want to pay attention to a special area of danger, watch how the five senses operate. It is the nature of the mind to seek stimulation through the five senses. The mind catches hold of sense impressions and processes them in such a way that they produce long chains of uncontrolled thoughts. Learn to watch how your senses behave. Learn to watch how the mind reacts to sense impressions. If you can stop the mind from reacting to sense impressions you can eliminate a large number of your vasanas. Bhagavan never like or disliked anything. If we have likes or dislikes, if we hate or love someone or something, some bondage will arise in the mind. Jnanis never like or dislike anything. That is why they are free of all bondage. (Living By the Words of Bhagavan)