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How does Advaita Vedanta explain free will?

The essence of the teaching removes the concept of free will simply by removing the concept of separation and other. Without an other, what would be the reason for the concept of free will? Not – Two is not even one as when you say one immediately you have labeled that to which no label may be applied. Where is the landing place for concepts if there is nothing but the absence of everything and only the knower of this absence remains.

Is regular, effortless concentration on difficult tasks possible through meditative practice?

Effortless concentration on difficult tasks is the normal state, worrying about outcomes of the actions taken is illusion.

How can one be always in Samadhi?

Samadhi is just remaining with yourself and paying full attention only to That You Are as it is manifesting as a sense of Presence. Paying attention only to That You Are as it manifests as a sense of Presence and allowing every thing to appear and disappear without creating the concept of an observer. Your natural state when you are not imagining division.

Do enlightened beings get bored as they have already reached the ultimate and there is nothing left to be achieved?

Enlightenment is simply the dissolution of the false idea of being a body in a world thereby strengthening the concept of separation. Knowing your true formless nature spontaneously releases you from the illusory bondage of space and time, without the instrument of mind, identifying with body, life is spontaneous.

If consciousness is energy, and energy could not be destroyed nor created, then would that mean we will forever be conscious even after death? Would that prove life after death?

A few misconceptions need to be cleared in this question. First everything that is known is known through consciousness. Consciousness appears to you and you begin knowing your formless existence through form and the medium of ‘I am’. This is the birth of the conceptualizing and cognition through the instrument of mind, ego and intellect. World and everything in it begins to take substance through this idea of being born in a world. Through this belief of being a separate individual experiencing a world outside of oneself attention is directed away from the source from where consciousness has appeared. When the apparatus with which you are attached and believing to be you perishes and returns to the five elements from which it came consciousness and all that was known will no longer be available and you will return to your natural no-knowing as there will be nothing to be known and no instrument to know. No birth, no death, no life as all of these appeared through consciousness that appeared to you.

What happens to human consciousness after death?

What happens to the people in your dream when you wake up? The entire world and everything you know is through consciousness which is appearing to you the formless Presence. You can only know yourself as a sense of Presence through the illusory world of form appearing in consciousnesses. As consciousnesses has appeared it will also disappear along with everything in it, only That which was prior to consciousness will remain as it Is.

Now that you are awaken do you feel the need to awaken others?

All actions are spontaneous (without thought). Just movements in space. Whatever happens, happens, there is no one to notice or be concerned.

Why is there reincarnation? Can’t we live just one life?

Firstly your question infers that reincarnation is a truth. So first let’s dispel this false concept by simple analysis. The body is a composition of the five elements and after it’s death it decomposes or is destroyed. So the body would be unable to ‘reincarnate’. The mind is a flow of thoughts that creates a personality through identification with the actions seen being done by the body while you are believing that you are in a specific body form. This person continues to change with every experience, or after every experience gathers new information with which to use for future actions. So which person would ‘reincarnate’ as it is constantly changing or evolving. This leads us to the next and perhaps most important point. The you that is neither the body, nor the mind, as you are able to perceive the changes they seemingly go through is the you that has no shape or form. Therefore this you that is shapeless and formless by that very nature are not able to be ‘born’ or ‘die’. You can not be changed, divided, destroyed or created. The formless You simply Is. All of the forms are merely appearances.

Why do enlightened people not talk?

This question is formed from your own mind and is completely blocking you from knowing the Reality. Talking and not talking has nothing to do with the Reality, know yourself and these questions will not bother your attention. Find the source of every question rather than trying to search for answers. Each time the mind stirs to ask a question you provide it with more of your energy, which in turn churns out another question from the factory. You are prior to mind, You are prior to everything, You are not, were not, nor could you ever be a thing. Stop providing attention and power to the mind that only knows about things.

Have you achieved enlightenment?

Enlightenment is not an achievement, as anyone that could be perceived achieving anything has been dissolved. The speaking process would automatically cause the illusion of separation by the statement ‘ I am enlightened’ creating a pseudo entity achieving an illusory goal and declaring it to the conceptual ‘others’, rather than remaining eternally still, silent and un-moving.

What is the difference between happiness and enlightenment?

Happiness requires some outside stimuli which is bound to dissipate or be temporary, enlightenment is the uncaused source from where happiness arises. The fountain from which happiness takes birth, lives, and dies.

What is the “enlightened being” perspective on God? In enlightenment, all notion of words like God ends, however, is this because this prevents more storytelling so it is better to be present or it is because you really do believe there is no God?

The unmanifest manifests as a sense of Presence which can be felt in manifestation, in the story of manifestation you can be taught by this Presence. That You Are which is labeled as God. So yes, God is a label for the Presence That You Are. Without labels, concepts, ideas, thoughts or beliefs. God Is That You Are there is nothing but That You Are, there Is no you there.

What is the difference between old souls and new ones? Aren’t we all souls from the beginning, following a new journey to complete our purposes?

Soul is eternal and only One, there is no old or new until the concept of individual and duality is impressed.

Is it possible for heaven to be a temporary state and not the final destination of one’s soul?

There is a need to clear up a few misconceptions. First their is not one’s soul, there is only One soul playing out as many. Regardless of what religion you are believing in whose ideas were given to you by others, simple investigation will reveal this Truth. Every religion will lead you to a state of surrender where you may be taught by the Presence which can be labeled whatever you like, but which is in essence what is labeled as God. This Presence will reveal all of the secrets and teach you directly and clear all doubts and misconceptions brought about by others ideas which you have taken as your own.

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The ‘I am dying’ Idea

You have a dream, night, after night after night, and you this character are in that dream. But it is constantly different scenarios and there is no timeline whatsoever. That’s the truth. Because your formlessness that is holding form, there is no planning. Like Maharaj has said before. There is no planning, because there is no planner. It is just the formlessness using body form in the moment, without any kind of anything. Because nothing is actually happening. There are no bodies doing anything. There is no ‘John’ that is progressing in any way. ‘John’ can have a job and do this, and do that and do this, and when this body falls, ‘John’ is no more. The consciousness so to speak, woke up from itself, consciousness has left so there is nothing. It is just ‘You’ the ‘You’ That You Are completely and totally formless and unaware of your own Self. This ‘John’ that was a kind of an addition inside the consciousness as an object in consciousness, is no more. Because the consciousness in which ‘John’ was an object is no more. So, how can ‘John’ the object be there, if the consciousness which ‘John’ was the object in, is no more. It is just your own Selfless Self, prior to beingness. Prior to any movement or any ideas or beliefs, prior to clicking with the body. Not even the ‘Just I’ because the ‘Just I’, the sense of Presence is felt inside the consciousness and the consciousness will leave You. But, You will witness this consciousness leaving You, and know.

Keith: You don’t need a plan to be there. You don’t need a plan. Just like you don’t need a plan to be in traffic.

A plan for the unborn child. Again, the child that is unborn, we are talking about its life. I think we had talked a while back about if you were dreaming about let’s say Tom. Tom went to High Scholl, he married his High School sweetheart, he decided to go to college and study to be a doctor. He was working so hard, his wife had two jobs, and he was studying to be this doctor, and you wake up. Is it fair to Tom that he never became a doctor? Was all of that studying that he did, was it really Tom that was putting forth 100% effort to try and get a degree? What about his poor wife that was working two jobs? That is really unfair that you woke up and Tom never got to realize his dream of being a doctor. It’s the same. Formlessness using form, that has no concern about the form whatsoever. It is just moving around. For You, nothing is happening. You know yourself as this ‘Just I’ this sense of Presence, in and through body form. And when body form is no more, You will not know yourself. That is why Maharaj says, “The body is a Golden opportunity”. This human body is an opportunity for You to know yourself in a real sense. That formlessness, that ‘Just I’, ‘Just I’ without anything. So that when the body is going, You can witness all of everything. Everything that rolled up, rolls back, You are the witness of this. Then that’s it. The You remain with Your Selfless Self which is the thing, so to speak. You that attached to the body and then said ‘I’. Will unattach from the body, no longer saying ‘I’. But if you attach, and you unattach, then You Are. In between there was an appearance of something, but You Are the nothing, That is everything.

Kathleen: It seems like the knowledge of who you really are. Really only helps you in this incarnation. Because whether you do or not, when the body is gone then it doesn’t matter what you have realized. Right, because you’re not there, there is nothing. So, the only advantage it does is for this incarnation. Because in the incarnation it knows. So, therefore it is able to observe everything and not get, not taking the touch. But once the body is gone, then everything is gone.

But it will be a very happy moment when you know that You’re leaving and returning to Your no knowing state.

Andrew: Also, in the video you sent today I know Maharaj was saying “The importance of this knowledge is knowing who You are now to make life tolerable.”

Yes.

Kathleen: That is what I was thinking it is really useful in this incarnation, in this life, because after this body drops, then you go back to nothingness. Then it doesn’t matter what you know or don’t know.

True. But the fear of death that’s the thing. Like Maharaj says the fear that ‘I am dying’. This ‘I am dying’ idea should not be impressed in mind as you are in that state. This can’t even be thought about. When You know yourself in a real sense, like you just said, ok. ‘I am the formlessness that is using form that is returning to the formlessness. Because I never actually was in form, the form was inside myself and I am still there, but the form is no longer inside myself.’

Kathleen: Unless you are attached to the form.

That’s the thing. If You are believing ‘I am dying’. Then like Maharaj says, “Death will be very terrifying and scary for you.” You will start to relive all the things that you did, and you will want to hold on. Just like Maharaj uses the example of the ants. You pour water and the ant freaks out and runs away. Because Presence inside the ant, believing that it is that ant body and that it will be finished. Wants to survive no matter what. Once You have understood, kind of unwound yourself and are no longer impressed with these illusory concepts. ‘Just I’, ‘Just I’, just the sense of Presence then You have detached from the beingness. Because You are prior to beingness. The beingness is the ‘I am’, ‘I am somebody’ and this. So, You remain prior to beingness. Prior to beingness there was no thought of anything, no good thing, bad thing, no experience, no experiencer, no nothing. So, in this body form things are going to occur. Good things are going to happen to this body, bad things are going to happen to this body. This body will have other bodies that are relatives to this body that will die, that will suffer, that will have sickness, whatever. But You are to remain unconcerned with the world because you are formless, and all of this is appearing on Your Spontaneous Presence. Therefore, there is no need to take the touch, no need to grab the mind and hold on with dear life. Literally like ‘Oh my God, I do not want to die, oh help me.’ This is not good, because it is not the Reality.

John Richards
Ramakant Maharaj Dakshina