Tag: nonduality
-
Ego In Two Senses: Covert And Overt
Question: The nondual teaching says explicitly that the Self is not the doer, and yet I’m still hung up on being the doer. How do I go beyond this idea? Ego In Two Senses In what briefly follows, I don’t mean to suggest that ego “in the two senses” is anything but a stipulative distinction.…
-
Is Atmananda’s Direct Path Teaching The Same As Ramana Maharshi’s?
Question: Aren’t Atmananda and Ramana Maharshi essentially saying the same thing, and can’t their direct path approaches be regarded as versions of the Witness teaching? Excellent question! And just the right one. In short: No! Atmananda’s teaching can be divided into “the lower” and “the higher.” The lower teaching employs the Witness in order to…
-
What, Really, Is Karma Yoga?
One common misunderstanding of karma yoga would have it that it’s about being of service to others. While this view isn’t wrong per se, it largely misses the essential point, which is that it has to do with letting action come without resistance or fetishization while knowing that one is the eternal witness of all…
-
America’s Volksgeist And The Actuality Of Redemption
In “Is America a Creedal Nation” (First Things June/July 2025, pp. 33-8), David P. Goldman offers a fascinating take on America’s Volksgeist. Just what is that glue, that something, that underlying creed that holds the American people together? Goldman’s answer: “Uniquely among the cultures of the world, it [American culture] is monothematic. It is obsessed…
-
Suffering, Ultimately, Never Was
For most spiritual seekers who set foot on a nondual spiritual path, the idea that suffering–indeed, my suffering–is real provides the motivating force to embark. This is a good, albeit provisional, thing. Slowly, however, this claim is sublated. First, this suffering seems to spread until it seems almost ubiquitous, sometimes to the point of suffocation.…