In this sub series of the journey of the Pilgrim, he sits at his feet and earns his teachings from his Guru. The article in the series Talks with Guru are subjective in nature with the teacher spontaneously responding to inquiries into non-duality through a series of queries the seriously inquisitive beginner puts across.
A point to note is that the non-dual Truth is infinite and can be experienced & explained in infinite number of ways, which may look conflicting at times, but each being right from an unique perspective.
Pilgrim: The books on spirituality appear to be so confusing and appear to contradict several things in many places. How should I find out the truth?
The Truth is one, however the Truth can manifest itself in innumerable ways. The analysis & explanation for each of these manifested ways could seem different & often contradictory but they would all lead to the same finding.
It is important to note that any such perception of the reality, analysis of such manifestations are deeply concerned with our intellect. They can thus lead to a certain stage of understanding but beyond that the intellect would fail to produce substantial benefits for our understanding of the Truth. We then have to depend on our Intelligence, dipping ourselves in the waves of the universal mind to progress further.
Texts such as the Astavakra Gita, Avadhuta Gita, Uddhava Gita and Ribhu Gita are meant for the highly progressed minds. So just having to read them & interpret them on their face value would definitely give an impression of contradiction if our mind is not well grounded in the foundations of non-duality. To a serious aspirant, it is important to have an experienced Guru teach these texts .
Pilgrim: How far does a mental understanding of non duality help in growing spiritually?
The path of Knowledge treads on our sharp intellect & our intelligence to progress. The process of analysis, peeling each explanation down with thorough logic that does not contradict other logical steps, is something to be practiced. But no matter what we analyse, the test of our progress comes when we have to face disturbances and tumult in our day to day life.
In the early days an aspirant would experience difficulties in practicing these texts when going through some really tough patches in life. Some even might come to the conclusion that these texts are imaginary. We should give time to practice and get grounded in the practice. For some it could take a life long time of practice. The foundation of such practice is definitely those termed as Nama & Niyama, where we establish honesty & purity in ourselves & our actions.
However, keeping the transient nature of life & the untrustworthy nature of our experiences at all times in our mind is one sure step forward.
Pilgrim: If there is no birth & no death as propounded in non-dual philosophies, and hence no eventuality, where does our fear come from?
All our desires & fears are rooted in the body mind identification. A body-mind existence is characterised by a name, form, qualities & utilities. Such an existence naturally leads to dependencies, some privileged and some unfortunate. Over time, we also build our aspirations and hopes on the false principles of our name, form & our utilities. Very soon, we find ourselves trapped in these webs of existential misery.
Those who realize at least the fatalities of such body-mind existences, can avoid a lot of the problems, even though they may not be able to avert all of them in one shot. Progressively however, time will wither a lot of their dependencies but one has to grow stronger in their faith and by all means practice, sometimes with a high degree of austerity, some of these guidelines.
There are no eventuality in the non-dual philosophy but as early aspirant, who is still only aware of their body-mind presence, will fear the death of their body, their possessions, whatever physical properties they have acquired as part of their lives and find it extremely hard to relinquish any of them. In the highest state, the aspirants will cease to know themselves of even being seekers & will find no need for any knowledge either. Knowledge or the search thereof becomes a big obstacle in their path & they are willing to forgo Knowledge & effort in their ultimate state.
Pilgrim: Buddhist texts explain the process of life, death and the luminous spirit and finally these texts all talk of nothingness. How should we interpret these texts?
Such texts would remain as a sequence of words or wishful imagination to those who are looking to get entertained through academic mumbo-jumbos. None of those texts matter unless an aspirant experiences any of these essences in their life. Texts would never replace a direct experience.
The “nothingness” as expressed in many Buddhist texts, also known as “shunya” is one path of analysis that finally leads to a vast, unfathomable emptiness. The Dalai Lama explains it as the “emptiness of the ego”, while Indian texts explain it as “That” or the “ultimate reality”.
Texts have their own place and cannot replace the experience of the aspirant. One has to put in an effort to experience That which is above the regular, expected or unexpected experience. One has to ground oneself in that new reality. It is only then that texts such as those that explain “nothingness” can be felt & understood.
Pilgrim bows at the feet of the Guru.