Tag: Spirituality
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‘The Absence Of Anything Is Not Directly Perceived’ (Ajata)
855. The absence of anything is not directly perceived. It is only the background that is really perceived, and the absence of a thing is superimposed upon that background. –Sri Atmananda, “855. What Is The Absence Of A Thing?,” Notes on Spiritual Discourses: Volume II. Let’s look at Atmananda’s three claims. First, one never actually…
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Advaita Entails Ajata
One of the greatest contributions made by Robert Wolfe, a teacher of nonduality, was to see that advaita entails ajata. How might we arrive at this conclusion? Here’s one line of inquiry we can follow: Ramana Maharshi helpfully points out that all other appearances–the body, the world, Ishwara–depend upon the rising of the finite mind.…
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Reality Never Stirred (Ajata)
Absolute non-manifestationis the only Truth. –Papaji How would it be possible for the manifest to “come out of” the Unmanifest? If such were the case, then somehow the Unmanifest would have to be the cause of manifestation and thus manifestation would have to be real. But this isn’t possible. To see that this is utterly…
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The Unborn Cannot Be Born (Ajata)
The unborn, or pure being, cannot be born. It’s also not possible for the nonexistent (i.e., non-being) to be born. It’s not possible for non-being to come into manifestation. The unborn can only seem to be born. This “seeming birth” is known as maya. That which projects maya is the finite mind; what is projected…
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Existential Fear: 3 Approaches
Question: I have this deep down existential fear that I can’t seem to get beyond. It’s been with me for so long that it’s become a familiar companion. What should I do? Investigate. Step 1: Is It Real? Ask yourself, “Is this existential fear really real?” For how could fear, which is presumed to be…
Andrew Taggart, Ph.D. 