Author: John Richards

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How can I digest the knowledge?

Meditation is needed to digest the knowledge. The Invisible Presence within the body is very sensitive. It is impressionable. Therefore, when a Mantra is given, such as “Aham Brahmasmi”, “I am Brahman” or “Soham”, it has a strong effect on the Spirit. Every lineage initiates disciples, using different words. These words create powerful vibrations, when you are reciting the Mantra, meditating with the Mantra, and concentrating with the Mantra.

Meditation is very important, as without it, you cannot digest the knowledge. Without meditation, the knowledge will remain at an intellectual level. Intellectual knowledge is insufficient. You need practical knowledge, so that it can be applied to your daily life.

In the beginning, you must be disciplined. Sit crossed-legged with your eyes half-closed. Concentrate on the tip of your nose. Why place your focus here? Because your mind is a crazy mind. To keep it busy, we ask you to concentrate on the tip of the nose. While the mind is concentrating on the tip of the nose, you are reciting the Mantra. The mind cannot distract you, when it is kept occupied, so you are able to recite the Mantra without interference.

Concentration keeps the mind busy, so that you are not allowing it to create any questions, or some other crazy activity. When you recite the Mantra, you are directly hammering your Selfless Self with: “I am Brahman. Brahman I am, I am Brahman, Brahman I am”. After a period of non-stop recitation, your Originality will open up: “I Am That!” Exactly when this occurs will vary widely. It depends on your approach, your involvement, and your spiritual maturity. If you are very serious, earnest and sincere about uncovering your Reality, and if you are fully involved in the pursuit of Truth, then, you will find it easy. However, if you are casual and half-hearted, then, you can forget about it! It is not going to happen! The ball is in your court! It is up to you!

Don’t take these words literally, but the Heart must long to know Itself. There must be some anxiety behind your quest, an urgency, a deep, burning feeling within you, that is driving you forward to know who you are. You are anxious to know. You are on an urgent mission. Self-Realization has become your one and only purpose. You will only find the treasure by diving deep within. Have faith in yourself, and faith in your Master.

When you accept what the Master says, Reality will open up within you in an instant. And, finally, you will be Home. You will forget about the body-form. You will forget about everything. And you will experience, exceptional peacefulness and happiness.

The waves of energy, or vibrations coming from the Mantra, create a spiritual atmosphere which helps to absorb the Reality. In the beginning, meditation is to be strict, and very disciplined. Literal knowledge or dry knowledge, will not help you. Be strong! Have the courage to accept the Reality! Hold the Conviction that “I am not the doer, and there is no deed”. It is a fact, that there is no doer and no deed. A form is needed for there to be a doer and deeds. You don’t have any form. You are basically formless. You know that this human form is not going to last, so, it is time to be serious about your practice. After Conviction, you will be detached from all the concepts, that used to cause you so much confusion and problems. You will practice discrimination, and be alert at all times, so that you don’t let illusion back in.

You will become your own teacher, as you learn, to first witness, and then accept, the useful thoughts, while rejecting those thoughts that are unhelpful. All your attachments will dissolve, when you know that they are illusory. Your desires will subside, and then, completely disappear. Previously, when we did not know any better, we were slaves of the mind, ego and intellect. The mind was controlling us, dictating to us: “do this, and then, do that”. But now we know, that the mind is totally dependent upon our energy. Without our Presence, how can the mind work? If there is no Presence, the mind cannot function.

Prior to beingness or consciousness, there was no mind, no ego, and no intellect. There were no body-based issues. The issue of thoughts never arose. The question of existence never arose. You are aware of your existence now because of the body-form. You feel it. But, who is acting? Who is listening? Who is carrying out the activities? It is not you, but the Invisible Presence called Brahman, Atman, Paramatman, Ultimate Truth, That You Are. It is Final Truth.

This is your time. Apply the knowledge, recite the Mantra, and abundant happiness will be yours. Abundant peace will be yours. Where will this happiness and peace come from? From you, of course! From your Source! You are the Source of Happiness. You are the Source of Peace. “Your Nature is Happiness, Peace and Bliss.” Though you are living with this body, when the Spontaneous Conviction arises, and the knowledge has been digested with meditation, happiness will begin to flow. You will be overflowing with happiness.

You are in the world, but not of the world. You can live without desires or attachments. When the knowledge has been absorbed, you will no longer be a slave to the mind, ego and intellect. Before, when you lived in the darkness of ignorance, the mind was dictating the terms. Now that the light of knowledge, the Truth has been illuminated, you know that you are the only Source. You are the Source of Power, that enables the functioning of the body-mind.

When the knowledge of your Reality is digested and absorbed, there will be no more thoughts, and no more questions, about your bodily existence and experiences. You are that Invisible Presence. You are Final Truth. Through the medium of the body-form, that Conviction of your Reality, will explode spontaneously within you. You will not be able to contain your happiness, your ecstasy, which will be so explosive, that you may feel that you are going to burst! There will be so much fire within and around you, that you may feel that you are going to combust!

Sadguru Shri Ramakant Maharaj

Sadguru Sri Ramakant Maharaj
Ultimate Truth

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Aren’t Dvaita and Advaita two sides of the same reality?

Aren’t Dvaita and Advaita two sides of the same reality?

Dvaita and Advaita are both concepts which appear after the formless reality was known through form based existence. Prior to experiencing the form based existence the reality was not knowing anything, as there was nothing other to know.

Knowing and labeling occurred within body based illusion of experience, experiencer, and experiencing, along with the concepts of birth, death, life and so many other illusory body based concepts.

You are not body. You are formless. All of the body based existence, concepts, knowledge, labels, etc. are completely illusory, as you are not, were not, and can never be a body form.

Their are no sides or limits except in appearance, you are formless.

What is beyond Samadhi?

You are prior to every experience, Samadhi is an experience, you are prior to this. If you are experiencing Samadhi then there is still some remnant of an experiencer. You are prior to every experience, you must be there in order for an experience to be perceived, even the first or primary experience ‘I exist’ on which an entire world rests.

How do I meditate in ten steps or less?

Observe your breath naturally flowing in and out. Now try and observe the observer of this observation of breath. Where is this one located? Who is observing the observation of breath? Who am I? Of course nothing that can be observed is you, the observer. Continue earnestly and this will produce within you the deepest peace and stillness, on which all of the things that can be observed appear and disappear.

In Advaita Vedanta, what does it mean by, “I am not the doer.”?

You are not body. You are formless. Formlessness can never be separate from form, even if you think about this with the veil of ignorance of body based knowledge, formless would provide the background from which form appears and disappears, consider space.

Whether murder or lovemaking occur within the space in a room, the space just Is, it is not doing anything, merely provided the background on which activity may appear.

As you are not a body, all of the body based relations, knowledge and the illusion of experience, are completely false. They are anchored with the false perception of being a body, in a world, that is born and dies.

You are not body. You are formless. Even formless is a concept only known after the body based illusion has appeared.

Is the use of intellect not advisable for self inquiry since this requires active use of thoughts? (which most meditation techniques frown upon)

Presence within the body is trying to find out who am I since it appears to be covered by the body form and confusion arises. All inquiry is to remove the illusory layers which appear to distract you from the reality.

You are not body. You are formless. All of the body based existence is absolutely illusion as they occur within you, not you in it.

Self Inquiry allows this to be perceived directly as Presence remains with Presence using the body form.

Presence has discovered itself within the bodies of the Spiritual Saints who have tried as best they can to tell the same Presence within the body that it is using, labeled with your name, You are formless, timeless, spaceless, birthless and deathless.

Please discover this truth for yourself and step out of the illusory body based existence and all of the concepts, beliefs, relations and so-called knowledge that came along with it.

Any knowledge or experience you have acquired through the body is meaningless, as you are not the body.

Discover this truth for yourself.

Jai Sadguru!

Can meditation help to control and relax impulsive/obsessive/anxious minds?

Yes, of course. Meditation allows you to observe thoughts, images and emotions that are flowing constantly, this is labeled as mind.

Your position as the observer creates the understanding that you are outside of the process.

Understanding that you are out of the flow, allows for attention to be directed towards or away from this flow.

Once it is deeply impressed that you are outside of the flow unless through attention you jump in and get carried away, the famous analogy of the river, you will no longer be carried away.

Impulsive, obsessive and anxious are no longer impressed as you are no longer being carried along with this flow, you are outside, unaffected.

Perhaps in the beginning you will not completely understand what is being said here and that is good. You are meant to experience directly, not understand. Take the experience described as something which has already been discovered as truth, and seek to prove or disprove for yourself, the experience of one who knows.

What could be the simplest definition of ‘awakened’, ‘self realization of God or enlightenment’ and ‘meeting with God or getting His Darshan’?

Presence within the body, recognizing, ‘I am not body’, while holding the body form which is appearing within the formless, body-less, timeless, space-less, birth-less, death-less, Presence, That You Are.

Sitting with that sentence, reading again and again, will produce such recognition and relieve you of this body based illusion of experience, experiencer, and experiencing.

Jai Sadguru!

What do advanced nondual teachers think of the law of attraction?

Non-dual is literally not-two. So what could be attracted to what?

The highest quote advanced non-dual teachers speak one absolute truth.

You are not body. You are formless. Their is nothing except formless you. All of the knowledge that you have gained using the body is meaningless, as you are not a body. All relations, all knowledge, all experiences, begin with the wrong perceiving point of being a body in a world.

If the so called advanced non-dual teachers entertain dualistic concepts even in their explanations of non-duality it is only because they are not yet aware of the truth and believe that their is something to be gained (money, publicity, etc.)

The absolute truth is very simple. You are not, were not, and have never been a body in a world having experiences, you only appear to be.

You are not body. You are formless. The illusion of experience (living a life) is conceptual built on the wrong perspective of being a form (body) within a form based existence (world of name and form).

Teachings and teachers say you can’t realize the Self without practice meditation, so how come some wake up from reading a non dual book which is just more concepts and intellectual knowledge?

Waking up is very different than Conviction. Knowing you are That, and living with the Realization while still in the illusion of name and form (body based existence) are as different as a woman who knows she is pregnant, yet has not felt the first kick or movement within.

Books and spiritual knowledge are their to reflect reality, to invite the attention of the formless Presence, You Are That. Dissolving illusion and deepening conviction requires absorbing Presence acting as quick sand for the body base.

According to Vedanta, how is it logically possible that consciousness is in matter too?

Due to the misidentification of being an object within Consciousness, consciousness perceives objects as being separate and apart. When you recognize your true formless nature then the material will be easily discerned as within the immaterial, or the known within the unknown.

As long as you are identified with a body, the dream of consciousness or (Maya if you prefer) will continue to delude you into creating a story of living a life through the concept of ‘birth’.

This is so very easily seen in a dream. You are laying down sleeping, consciousness creates a dream world and you appear within it and begin to perceive the dream from this perspective. Of course your body is laying down sleeping and upon waking you are able to understand that everything occurred within the dream, and that you never were in the dream, the dream was within you.

It is the same in the so-called waking state, only ‘waking up’ is done after the body form can no longer sustain your essence, which will end the concept of experience, experiencer and experiencing.

Jai Sadguru!

Can you be fully aware of your presence?

You are fully aware of your presence as you are fully aware that you exist, which is the indication of your presence.

Your existence you cannot dispute, who or what knows this existence or presence you must discover for yourself.

You are always fully aware of your presence, the position of the one who is aware is the real question to be answered. Who knows ‘I exist’ Who am I?

What is the origin of karma for a soul? How did the karma cycle start in the first place?

Ignorance is the origin of Karma.

The ignorance or misunderstanding that the formless, timeless, attribute less, is a mere body form in a world.

Knowledge of one’s true position will break the cycle of ignorance of which ‘Karma’ is a concept within.