The Main Argument

The pith of the awareness teaching of Advaita Vedanta could be put thus: “There are no actual problems, only imagined ones.”

The argument can be laid out very neatly; it will take quite some time, however, to verify that it’s true in one’s own experience.

1. A problem only arises in and as a thought. Do you ever find a problem in a mere bodily sensation (a tickle or an effervescence)? In a mere auditory perception? No and no.

2. The problem appears, in particular, in an I-thought. This I-thought is a certain kind of imagining. Take the I-thought: “I am deeply alone.” To begin with, see that there’s nothing to this problem apart from this particular and very intermittent I-thought or I-imagining.

3. Therefore, the problem is, per 2, isolated to this particular I-thought imagining. It’s, in actual experience, found nowhere else, nowhere apart from this particular arising and nowhere in the absence, indeed, of all thought.

4. Test the latter statement made in 3 by asking: “In the absence of all thought, do I experience the problem of loneliness—indeed, any problem whatsoever?” See that the answer is clearly “No.”

5. Go further still. Ask yourself, “In my direct experience of simply being aware and thus in the thought-free or imagination-free state, are there any problems at all?” Really stabilize here in order to discover that there are no actual problems. By “actually,” I mean, in Sanskrit, sat–permanent, self-luminous, and independently existing reality. Problem-arisings-in-imagination are not permanent but discontinuous; are not self-luminous but rather jada (inert, dumb, ‘mere appearings’); and are appearances that are dependent upon consciousness.

6. The pith? That your inherent nature (svarupa) is intrinsically and abidingly problem-free. This is why your inherent nature is also called “happiness” or “peace” or “bliss” (ananda).

A Few Low-hanging Fruit Cases

Here are three low-hanging fruit cases to explore:

1. Past & Future.– Consider that imaginary problems appear in past-oriented thoughts and in future-oriented thoughts. Test this. When does nervousness appear? When there’s a future-oriented thought. When does regret appear? When there’s a past-oriented thought. Can there, in fact, be the “problem we call fear” when there is no future-oriented thought? Can there be “the problem of resentment” in the absence of a past-oriented thought? Probe. Try, even, to disprove what’s being said here about past-oriented and future-oriented thoughts (or imaginings). Then ask yourself, “When there is no thought pertaining to the past or to the future, what is my experience actually like?” Really pause here, now and see!  
2. Others Dislike Me, or I Dislike Others.– Take the latter case: I dislike others. When do you notice this experience appearing? When there is a thought that proposes: “I don’t like John or Jane.” Is the experience of disliking John or Jane evident at all when there’s no thought about disliking John or Jane? (a) Our dislikes are actually passing phenomena: they’re not “always the case.” (b) There is no actual experience of a problem with John and Jane when there is no thought about John or Jane. Try to experience this thought-free, relaxed openness. Luxuriate in this openness.
3. Identity; Success & Failure.– Volatility or turbulence at work is not, per se, a problem. If you were to watch a river rapids from a good distance, you’d find it sublime–not problematic. Go one step further: it’s not volatility per se in the realm of finance or technology that is a problem. It only “becomes” a problem when an identity claim (to wit, a thought) appears. “I am a success” and “I am a failure” are, upon arising, precisely when and where the problems seem to raise their presumptively ugly heads. Now ask yourself, “Am I aware of the success-oriented thought and of the failure-oriented thought?” Yes and yes. “And what is it like to be aware of the first or the second thought?” It’s fine–problem-free. I feel just beyond–or free–of these thought-arisings. Exactly! Stay right here.