Ascent

 

This will be a difficult topic to discuss. It could just as well have been titled Knots* for it is that complex and difficult to undo. One reason for this difficulty is the elusive nature of the mind. Hmmm, that's the whole nature of it!

I dislike using metaphors and analogies^m but in this case it will make the introduction more palatable. To go straight into the topic will cause a sort of vertigo and some will drop off without getting even a glimpse of what I am trying to say. Take what you can and leave the rest. 

Climbing the mountain of spiritual insight is a long and truly pathless hike. It takes most of us years of dedication and practice to gain any headway up the gentlest slopes. As we reach the summit, the obstacles are many and perilous, as many sages have attested to. The area of ascent I want to focus on is that of 'subject and object are one(SOAO).'

Many years ago, while practicing the varied Vispassana techniques, my direct experience of this was certified by the accomplished practitioner assigned to me+. It's pointless to delve into the realization itself so what interests me here is what happens after such experiences. Subject and object becoming One is a direct experience as there is no separation, no observation, and therefore no thing to talk about. There are no thoughts or concepts and no trophies received or postcards to send home. I did mention it is a long climb up ^e. 

If we are fortunate enough, as I was, we have someone to give a frame of reference for the experience. Many I have talked to just freaked out, backed away from meditation practice or sought mental health advice. Some continued on alone and had psychotic breaks. Over the years I have used all of these tactics. Having a guide is helpful to avoid these blind canyons and avalanches on the ascent. Metaphor again.

As I pointed out there is no thing to talk about and yet almost everyone, filled with the after effects of the experience, feels impelled to do so. Having spent so much time being educated and reinforced in the 'reality' that I am me and you are you, this is this and that is that, the substance of subject and object duality, we revert back to it automatically. Therefore, describing SOAO pulls one back into that which we just experienced dissolving and we objectify the experience. Many also set themselves up as guides, teachers and/or gurus without depth of experience or freedom from the pull of conditioning in the world of subject and object thinking. So in discussing SOAO they perpetuate the duality of subject object perspectives somehow expecting others can have a direct experience on oneness from this constant barrage of this and that. It keeps the 'teacher' stuck back in the mind state before the SOAO experience. 

SOAO is an experiential state of consciousness that is preintellectual, it exists before the development, use, or application of the intellect, logic, or conscious reasoning. If you haven't experienced it the only way to approach it is through conditioned subject/object frames of mind where we, the subject, create names and forms, objects, through projection and identification. This is the 'real world' of material objects. And it is comforting to maintain a grasp on this frame of mind. It validates who I am.

The way someone who has experienced the SOAO state can cultivate a sense of awareness is to loosen up the learned world of form and names. Discovering a persons direct preintellectual experiences, Aha or wow moments we all have, and helping to weave those together is a great tool. Also acknowledging when a person is having a preintellectual moment in our presence also creates an experiential link. Everyone has the look of discovery, eyes wider and happier, when these occur. Reinforcing the value of these is key to pursuing more and more of these moments until the question arises "Why do I want to stray so far from this?!"

^{e   And this is the slippery slope of talking about SOAO leading into ego entanglement.}

^m All metaphors and analogies must collapse into Truth at some point or other if they are useful.

* I suspect the reason for Pope Francis' devotion to Our Lady of Knots has a similar attraction.

+ We have a great aversion to using Guru, Sage or Enlightened One these days. Suffice it to say they knew more than I did at the time.

Sinner and Beggar

 In the holy city of Tiruvannamali, Tamil Nadu, India, the Yogi Ramsuratkumar Ashram is off the main road in a relatively quiet neighborhood. The practice is simple and elegant, chanting the holy name. 

Even this name belongs to my Father. This Beggar does not exist, only my Father exists everywhere. 

The subtlety here is that Yogi as Beggar, the Manifested self, seems to be saying that in reality only the Divine exists, the Absolute Being. Mumbo Jumbo? Yet how else can one relate to others having experienced ego death? The corporeal self remains and the realized Self speaks through it, if it speaks at all. 

So why bring this up? This realization that I can have a history as a sinner and Beggar and at the same time have the Divine Self accessible is central to my life. Everyone has that Self within that illuminates everything we do and say, even if it is distorted by pain, desire and conditioning. 

There can develop a powerful fascination with this living truth. Over time the sense of I Am That, the Divine Self, becomes as established as the material world we have always seen around us. Simply put, that is Insight. Seeing inwards that which is permanent, the most real thing in our current state of consciousness.

Everything that caused pain, unfulfilled desire and led to our conditioning is seen clearly and begins to slip away. And we will know peace.