Spiritual Teachings With Shunyamurti

Student Question: Can you talk a little bit about friendship in the Kali Yuga sense, and also about what is the most sattvic approach to friendship for people moving into the same path together?

Excerpt: "Each of us has ESP, because we are ESP… What we mean here by ESP is Eternal, Silent, Presence. The Self that we are is always in Eternal, Silent, Presence. The one Self, and the one Self is the guru - the only guru. The one Self has been called by many names... The earliest name known is that of Shiva, but all religions give their own name to the same truth… For some religions that self is called the Supreme Self and from the perspective of ignorance, that is accurate. Because all else that portrays itself as a Self is really just an object in consciousness… So there is only one real Self and that Self is beyond words and thoughts and in an inconceivable silence, and even to say that is to go too far because the self is Nirguna. Without qualities that can be in any way considered a description of the Self, because the Self is not an object, not a thing, not an appearance, but we can also say that the self has infinite attributes. The three main ones noted by the Vedas are Sat – Chit – Ananda…." Recorded on the evening of Thursday, February 16, 2012.

Student Question: Can an egoless self survive the rat race?

Student Question: I am curious to know how you would bridge hysteria with post-traumatic stress and could you explain how the two relate?

Student Question: I have something I would like some clarity on. Thursdays are difficult for me in the sense that I feel pulled in two opposite directions. First we have a study group class that is very focused on theory and analysis and going into the ego and trying to understand our mind and then the meditation where we are told you are not the ego?

Student Question: Lately in meditation and especially in group meditations I have been experiencing a lot of pressure in my head and especially in between my eyes. I have heard that it may have a connection with the opening of the third eye? I was wondering if you expand a little a bit upon that?

Student Question: I wonder if spiritual teachings evolve with time or if they are just different translations of the same thing?

Excerpt: "If we can radically let go of the need for the others approval or gaze or touch or their desire - If we can radically detach from our own self-image based on the body or based on the mind - Based on achievements and prestige or social status - If we can let go of all of that, then the real search can finally get under way… Because those are the anchors that moor us in the physical plane where we cannot find the self… They moor us in attachments to biological family and we cannot find the spiritual parents that live in the depth dimension… But the light from that source - from the energy within - from the supreme self - Is always there guiding us and as we begin to disidentify from the physical form and the sensual realm and its pleasures and pains that follow quickly one upon the other… To realize some, more enduring peace and joy… And we recognize that the mind itself with all of it thoughts is another form of alienation from our being. It’s an attempt to grasp the self, that can never be the self, that can only at best point to the self, and so then the process of self-inquiry enters the phase were it goes beyond the mind… It enters the phase of being the silent witness of the mind… And it begins to see the patterns of the mind and the traps that the mind plays and all of its illusions; images of a happiness that are a mirage…." Recorded on the evening of Thursday, February 09, 2012.

Excerpt: "The unsurpassed sage Sri Ramana Maharshi has revealed that self-realization is actually a myth… Who is there to realize the self? The self is all that is… Has the self ever been unrealized? So self-realization doesn’t actually happen…. Take for example that if you have mold on your walls in your home you would probably want to scrub it off… well the ego is kind of like a mold isn’t it? Growing on the surface of the self… And so people scrub it off and then what is left is pure awareness… But to that awareness is there ever a wall? Was there ever a surface? That’s an illusion only ever held by the illusory mold itself which was never real…. So there are no things; things are an illusion of a mind that objectifies with concepts… Take away the concepts. No objects - no world - no self… but pure bliss - pure grace - pure awareness – pure supreme power and self-knowledge… but all experienced by the one without a second…" Recorded on the evening of Thursday, February 02, 2012.

Student Question: Can one be in peace without believing in God?

Excerpt: "Within each of us is the deathless spirit. The eternal self, that lies within and yet beyond, transcending the ego mind and this phenomenal world, and yet it is the very essence and core and center of our being. The purpose of all spiritual practices is to attain the realization of the deathless spirit. This alone confers eternal life, freedom from suffering, from illusion, from karma, and offers the direct union with the Supreme Being…. The most direct way to achieve the realization of the eternal Atman, which is the Holy Spirit, is simply to silence the chatter of the ego mind and hold your attention at the root of the ‘I’ thought. Not the ‘I’ thought itself, but the root which you feel as the urge to think with the word ‘I’…. Once you fall into thought you have moved from the realm of being into the realm of representation and you become alienated from spirit. First into soul and then into ego…. Remember that this world is only a dream in the mind of God. What is real is the Supreme Being. Don’t let yourself remain locked in lower states of false consciousness, but go directly to the source. This can be achieved easily if you do not let yourself to be deceived by negative thoughts. Hold to the silence and the higher you go the more the divine energy will pull you up and there will be no struggle at all. It will happen automatically as if your mind has become an anti-gravity apparatus, which it is because the mind is light. Let the light take you up into the highest bliss…." Recorded on the evening of Thursday, January 26, 2012.

Excerpt: "What we learn from Yoga and the science of the extraction of the ultimate essence is that all growth is about the extraction of that which is pure and meaningful from that which is impure and to be rejected.… It is to be extracted from our own consciousness. That is the only way we will ever know God – by extracting out the pure God-presence out of our grosser, impure consciousness. This is what we do in meditation. It’s an extraction process….it is a skill and an art that must be taught, and has been taught, through every culture until our most recent one…. there are really five stages of this process of extraction…" Recorded on the evening of Thursday, January 19, 2012.

Excerpt: “In Christianity there is a trinity as we all know. The Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. This trinity is an archetype and exists in every religion and every spiritual path although it has many different names in different paths… You’ll find it in Buddhism, you’ll find it in Hinduism, and you’ll find it in Taoism. In the yogic path it is only one of a number of trinity’s however… We could call it the vertical trinity and the equivalent in the yogic tradition is noted by the words Sat – Chit – Ananda…. But you have this power. Erase. Rewrite. That is what is known in religious terms as death and rebirth. That’s all it is. You erase the ego - it’s dead - it’s gone. It won’t be there because it is an artificial structure, if you really whole heartedly want to erase it. The problem is, we love our suffering. We are loyal to it…. Erich Fromm a great psychologist wrote a book called ‘The Fear of Freedom’, and it’s a very important book because what he shows is the reason why there are so many totalitarian governments in the world. So many big brothers that people follow… And it is because they can’t stand freedom… They want someone to tell them what to do….” Recorded on the evening of Thursday, December 08, 2011.

Excerpt: “Is everyone opened to having Christ Consciousness born within you this evening? It is not difficult to achieve that birth but we do need the recognition that Christ Consciousness is our Real Self. It’s not something alien, it’s not something different, it’s not something strange to us. What’s strange is the ego that we have come to believe that we are and that’s what we must be willing to let go of. What are we letting go? A false self. A structure of consciousness that acts as a filter that prevents us from seeing the world as it really is… And so to take that filter away - to become realized – all we need to do is to silence the ego mind. Period. No more. Silence is the key. When we can silence the mind, which is what meditation is… Contemplation... Then the Christ Consciousness emerges from within us and it comes in the form of an open heart through which pours divine love….” Recorded on the evening of Thursday, December 08, 2011. Keywords:

Student Question: How do you overcome jealousy and possessiveness?

Student Question: I was hoping you could explain to me why it is that every month especially around the full moon it seems that something happens with my energy and if I am not centered I become more susceptible to being pushed and pulled by it?

Student Question: I once heard a psychologist use the term catastrophic fantasy and I am not sure if that is a common term or not, but I was hoping you could explain this a bit more for me?

Student Question: Can you please explain a little bit about the difference between the Divine Love that we teach here in Sat Yoga and the love concept that we have in our society and in movies?

Student Question: Is it possible to be in a state of open heart without being vulnerable?

Excerpt: “In our modern world we have lost the joy of living with nature. We have become so alienated in these cities with their pollution and there artificiality and now even more so with the internet and the media we are several steps removed from the real of life... So an Ashram is a chance to get back to our real values…. Soon enough people will come to realize that food doesn't grow in the supermarkets and they will be surprised to find that there is nothing on the shelves… Only then we will remember that food comes from farms and from people getting their hands dirty in the soil and from milking cows and from living in harmony with nature and following the laws of nature… It is because we have arrogantly tried to deny those and control those - and even genetically modify the products of nature - that we are suffering the karmic blow-back of that arrogance…. So an ashram is a humble effort to come back to our roots…. You have to be very humble to get down on your knees and dig in the garden, and yet that is where the power comes from - and that is where life comes from… So by being willing to be humble and to live humble lives we are becoming empowered again…. Yoga is a science of consciousness, but it is also the art, and the art requires skill to silence the false consciousness of the ego mind in order to receive the energy and the power of the True Self… The Real Self is there, it is within you now it is always there, but we don’t have access to it because the ego mind clouds it over…. So an Ashram is a place to recover that peace - that deep peace which resolves all of the questions and confusions and depressions and anxieties that everyone is plagued with today…” Recorded on the evening of Saturday, September 10, 2011.”

Student Question: I have something that I would like you to clarify please. When you are being silent is it that there is no such thing as silent awareness? Is it rather that when you are in silence you experience awareness. Is that a good way to think about it? This came up because I was contemplating if there is a difference between being silent and being aware, i.e. silent awareness versus just silent nothing.

Student Question: I have noticed that after having spent days at a time in Maya, I become so disgusted with it and am totally exhausted by it, that I don’t even want to bring it up in a session as I am sick of thinking about it. I understand that this is the censor repressing the problem and it is similar to what I experienced in tonight’s class. I have been in Maya for a couple of days and I came to class thinking that I am going to speak to you about it, but then I come and hear an incredible teaching and have a very meaningful meditation and then that Maya kind of dissolves as you realize how ridiculous it was. Now I know that the problem has not been processed and I wonder if it is even real. What should I do?

Student Question: What is character and how is it formed?

Student Question: Is there a distinction between raising levels of consciousness and expanding awareness?

Student Question: I am in a situation where my parents want me to do a certain thing and they believe I have to do it. I don’t want to do it just because it is their expectation, although I do believe that it is something worth doing. If I choose not to do it in order to pursue something else, then I am left feeling bad about not doing both something worthwhile and what my parents wanted me to do. In this case the feeling of guilt is created by doing something that I think is more important. What should I do?

Student Question: What is stubbornness, and when it becomes too intense, does the ego then crack?

In the postulant preparation class we studied the Seven Virtual Matriculations. The last one was to realize that we are the oneness which dreams the cosmic dream and that that in itself is a dream, and needs be let go of. I was thinking that if all of these habit’s that we are developing are part of the same cosmic dream, then are these all ways of enjoying it?

Student Question: What is inverse narcissism and how does it work?

Excerpt: "In childhood a process begins that the psychologists call socialization… what it really consists of is the stapling together of the pure awareness that is the self with the belief enforced upon you that you are the body (the identification with the body)… that is controlled by the third element which is language… you are given a name and the name sutures consciousness to the body and from then on people can call you and tell you what to do and that is in societies interest… once you buy into that through your affirmation of that socialization process, you no longer have access to the pure awareness that is your eternal self…." Recorded on the evening of Thursday, September 08, 2011.

Student Question: I was wondering if everything outside of awareness like fears for example, are forms of intelligence or entities that are seeking expression through awareness, or even us as that awareness?

Student Question: How can I be loyal to myself while the ego’s agendas are still running? How can I make good decisions when it’s coming from an egoic state?

Student Question: Why is it so hard to keep ourselves from thinking when meditating, and what can we do to maintain these small gaps of silence? Is there a practice that can accelerate the process?

Student Question: What is worry?

Student Question: Is suffering always accompanied by pain, or can you suffer without pain? Do they necessarily go together?

Student Question: In the study group we have been talking about desires as part of a must be logic and I wanted to know if you could expand on that? I found myself using it recently and it feels like you say “no it’s not that it must be; you must want it”. Take for example the case of Liberation: you must want liberation, but it’s not that it must happen.

Excerpt: “Buddhists say that there are three types of desire. The first one, the lowest one, is the desire for pleasure. Then they say that more refined minds realize that what the desire for pleasure really was, is the desire to be, and that that’s the real underlying intention of all the various particular desires and objects of demand and lust… All of those objects that we think cause us pleasure actually do not, but they give us a sense that we are. They give us a sense that we can control something out there “therefore I am”… But of course the object is always a disappointment because you don’t really want that object. It’s not it, and it doesn’t give you the truth of your being, and therefore it is always something that turns into pain rather than pleasure. And so the ego eventually settles for the equation “I am suffering therefore I am”… But that doesn’t do it either because it [the ego] realizes that it is actually suffering because it is not, but it wants to get out of it suffering so the third kind of desire is the desire not to be… This creates a paradox of who is desiring not to be. The very fact of having the desire makes it seem that you are something, and therefore the desire necessarily fails in its effect… All of this is the logic of Buddhism that attempts to provide a way out of the trap of desire, which is ultimately the trap of an illusory sort of being trying to make itself feel real and failing again and again repetitively, but because this being is unreal to start with there is really no reason to find a way out of a trap which is also an illusion…" Recorded on the evening of Thursday, September 01, 2011.

Student Question: Recently someone told me that chilies are just pain, or rather that what’s in the chili is not flavor it’s just pain. I have done some study on this and I started tonight’s meditation in a lot of physical pain in one little area of body and then it went away. I know that obviously it’s not really a pain in the body and I even feel that it’s not a pain in the mind, but for whatever it’s not, I don’t understand what pain is?

Student Question: I was wondering if at this center, in regards to the running of it, if it is based upon some kind of divine ethics or some kind of divine ethical framework? What is the logic of the ethical framework for a spiritual community?

Student Question: You said, from what I understand, that cosmic consciousness was not the same as liberation. I used to think that it was the same, but then in the book we read by Walter Russell it said that only Jesus attained cosmic consciousness and oneness with God. It doesn’t seem like that really makes sense because then what about examples like Buddha and Sri Aurobindo?

Student Question: It seems like mathematics, image and language are interdependent. I was thinking of an image which could have a mathematical expression. You can’t talk about mathematics, however, if you don’t have language. I imagine it would be meaningless. I now feel, nevertheless, there is another question: is there a pure mathematics?

Student Question: In your article in Reality Sandwich you talked about how the cutting edge should be ridden in astonishment or something to that effect. I am wondering what the secret is to being in astonishment and having it not be a distraction or some kind of thing in itself that you get wrapped up in. What is the secret to being detached from astonishment and yet still be able to call it astonishment or amazement?

Student Question: Can you please talk about what I would call the "art of replacing yourself?" There is a book that you gave me a long time ago which talks about creating community and it spoke of this. It specifically mentioned the necessity of replacing oneself as one of the final steps of sustainability. Usually the ego wants to be special and hold on to its specialness and be the only one that can do something, which gives it some sort of power. So I was thinking about this and was hoping you could talk about this?

Student Question: Can you say something about the fall of patriarchy. I was under the impression that we are in a capitalist patriarchy right now, but in the study group Radha was speaking of the fall of it?

Student Question: If there is a particular situation or work that the ego dislikes, do you recommend doing that work for purification purposes?

Excerpt: “It’s the mind of the ego that creates all the problems with its chaotic thoughts based on false premises of misunderstanding of reality, producing anxiety and depression and all the other negative emotions and symptoms of suffering…All of that can be cut simply through silencing the mind, but to do that we have to realize that “I am not the mind”…. Silent awareness contains the mind; it contains everything in the universe which is actually mind. All there is, is mind…. But there is a difference between the ego’s little mind and the cosmic mind of God, and then the source of the cosmos - The ultimate noumenon…." Recorded on the evening of Thursday, August 25, 2011.

Student Question: What do you think about dementia? What is happening to that soul that suddenly doesn’t know who he or she is or where they are? What has happened to that spirit?

Student Question: I am finding that I have an inner conflict when writing emails. For example, my friend just got married and I wrote "I hope you had a nice wedding" or a friend of mine’s father is sick and I write "I hope he gets better," or "I hope you enjoy these photos," or whatever; it is it feels like I am giving them a command. What if they were not supposed to have a nice wedding? What if his father is not supposed to get better? I feel this conflict very strongly and I don’t know what to write or how to approach this?

Student Question: You mentioned that our consciousness constructs our reality and I have been thinking about that lately, but I have been wondering as to the extent of that. For example if I walk by and there are people being disrespectful and causing problems, is that like a reflection? Is every single thing just a projection?

Student Question: What is the relationship between mathematics and logic? Is it that one is a subset of the other? I tend to think that mathematics is more fundamental, or is it that they are just two sides of the same coin? It just seems like mathematics is logic at a very codified and more universal level.

Student Question: Does devotion require total surrendering, because I can see people who are devoted but not totally surrendered to God?