What is this?
Who am I?
The Many Faces of the One: article 26 - the unpublished esoteric writings of an aging yogi.
FREEING THE MIND
"For the one who is truly awake, the atman-yogi, there is no action they need perform although all actions can be and are done regardless. There is no place they need go as they already permanently residing in all places. There is nothing that they need acquire as they are already one with all things, and all things are one with them. No-thing need be done and yet all things are nevertheless done. Nothing need change and yet all things can and do change. No-thing need happen and yet all things can and do happen. This is the esoteric and supreme realization and knowledge of the full liberated soul that the Divine, the universe and all things that reside in it are identical and of the same eternal essence, state, nature and source. All in God, with God, as God, and of God and God in all. Only God is Real as the unborn, ageless, boundless, immaculate, timeless and undying 'I-am'. The Deathless Self alone is. All is 'emptiness' and 'emptiness is all."
This particular page, accidentally or intentionally, as the previous page when added, was still a work in process - articles 1 to 15 were mostly complete. Everything else on this esoteric blog on Atman-Yoga is still a meditative and contemplative work in progress as lifted from my personal collected notes and writings on the nature and truth of reality, experience and identity. To this point in the blog I have finished transferring all my recorded and collected writings and notes on to this blog. I will now simply do my very best to refine, correct and tidy each article and add any additional notes and corrections as and when I am directed. I am satisfied that the core message of Atman-Yoga is here for all to see, examine, investigate and ponder. Its authenticity and truth will have to be the discovery of one's own genuine self-awakening and Self-realization.
Additional note: You might be aware that some of article 26 has been carried over to article 27. Another one of life's accidents and imperfections. It was not intended and I decided to leave it as it is. Much of the core message is repetition here so I decided to let it be. My apologizes.
I can assure you that have no personal agenda in what others do. I simply have done as directed. Its true merit will be of its own making, destiny and integrity and with the support of the willing souls who unexpectedly or expectantly visit this esoteric blog. May the Great Awakening of pure 'Spirit' be your own. Certainly blessed and precious are those souls who have realized, embodied and radiated this sacred truth of 'I-am'. May they long continue to walk and live among us and deliver us all from spiritual ignorance and the temporary worldly state of suffering and the end of suffering. The essence and the whole of Atman-Yoga is this supreme knowledge that, the Deathless Self alone is and all is this supreme Truth. This is the embodied and sacred knowing and radiance of an authentic liberated soul, atman-yogi, who is one with all things and all things are with them. They know all things to be the unborn, changeless, untouched, timeless and deathless 'Spirit'.
All love. All peace. All one as the eternal 'I-am'. Sincere blessings, gratitude and love to all who fully venture into the heart and truth of the Deathless Self, pure 'Spirit'. The Deathless Self alone is. Of this I am certain. Of this I am very clear. May all embodied hearts and minds know the peace, love, beauty, wisdom, purity, simplicity, bliss and fulfilment that we all are, and embody and abide in conventional life as this knowing of knowing without knowing of 'I-am'. OM, shanti, shanti, shanti. I am the eternal 'I-am' - unborn, ageless, and deathless. Blessings to all who genuinely embody and radiant this Truth. May you discover the sacred and ever-present One that resides in you and all, and permanently and effortlessly embody and radiate the Divine at all times, in all places, and in all situations. Om, shanti, shanti, shanti. 'I-am', peace, peace, peace.
I am the 'I-am' of I am.
THE DEATHLESS SELF ALONE IS
You alone are the Deathless Self. All alone as 'I-am' is the Deathless Self. Not as mind, awareness or consciousness but simply as 'I-am', in, with, as and of all things. No things exist independent of the Deathless Self, and yet the Deathless Self remains independent of all things. This is the paradox of Self-realization, that the Deathless Self alone is all things and all things have their existence and being in and with the Deathless Self, and yet the Deathless Self remains untouched, unchanged, unaffected, unaltered, unthreatened and unmoved by all things. It is said that when things are seen to be separate and independent then they are known to be unreal and transitory, and yet when things are realized and known to be no-thing but the Deathless Self alone then they are real, permanent and eternal. You and all things exist always as the Impersonal and Ageless pure 'Spirit'. The 'I-am' of I am.
Us, the so-called 'us', seeing and knowing the Deathless Self as a result of spiritual Self-inquiry and Self-realization is only us recognizing and being the Self that we already are and have always been. The Deathless Self always is, regardless of appearances and all things are one with it. All separateness and individuality is born of the mind, has its place in the mind and is ended with the mind. So too with suffering and the end of suffering. So too with bondage and liberation. The Deathless Self alone is. It is the one true source, essence, nature and origin of all experience and phenomena including 'I-am'. All phenomena and realms of experience and existence come from the Deathless Self alone and have their being in the mind and mind-consciousness and yet they always continue to abide in the Self, with the Self and as the Self. No-thing is different or separate from the Deathless Self. All appearances are the illusions and projections of the individualized mind, and the mind has its being in the Deathless Self. The mind is one with the Self, and yet the mind, mind-consciousness and all objects of mind do not effect, alter, threaten, limit or change what the Self is. The Deathless Self alone always is - unchanging, unmoved, ageless, fulfilled, pure and supreme. All is this. This is the one true essence and nature of all things. This is their true absolute state and nature, regardless of all appearances, situations, dramas, events and things. Concepts, ideas, beliefs, views, opinions, and names only have their place in the mind; born of the mind, belonging to the mind, and ending with the mind, and therefore are only relative to the mind and mind-states and have no impact or reliance in us knowing this unsurpassable and absolute truth of the Deathless Self. Our true essence lies beyond the mind and yet its essence fills the mind with all manner of things.
If we are to say that the 'I' thought or the thought of 'I' is an illusion of a conditioned, conceptualized and individualized self, then who is it that recognizes or realizes this illusion of a conditioned, conceptualized and individualized self'? We could say that the 'I' thought gives up the illusion of the 'I' and yet remains only as the 'I' thought. What I would say is that all there is, is 'I-am', which is free of any individualized and permanent 'I' or mind. The 'I' itself has its being in 'I-am' and is always one with 'I-am'. The 'I' thought has its being in and with 'I-am' but it is not 'I-am'. For me, spiritual Self-realization is to remain fixed in and as the Deathless Self alone and always; our sense of being and presence, what I call 'I-am', even with the appearance and disappearance of the 'I' thought, is always fixed in the Absolute as its true formless, boundless and perfect home; a home that it has never left. It is the false idea of having left this home that is the real illusion. Only the Absolute is.
The ever-changing world of the senses and their sense organs are of the nature to change, so we do not fix or place our home in them. The body too is of the nature to change so we do not fix or place our home in the body. The mind is of the nature to change so we do not fix or place our home in the mind. The world, the body and mind cannot be permanently relied on as our true place of refuge or reliance. All our effort is only directed in giving up the notion that we are limited and have our being as a permanent individualized mind and body self. The true Deathless Self is complete, whole, fulfilled and free of all realms and forms of existence and non-existence. No-thing can add to it. No-thing can diminish it, and no-thing can limit or harm it and yet it is present in all things and all things are present in it; and it does not demand, need or expect anything of them. All things, forms and phenomena are left freely to themselves, to freely be themselves and are whole in themselves. Only the Deathless Self alone is. Of this I am certain. Of this I am absolutely clear.
What is this?
Who am I?
REALITY AS THE ONE 'I-AM'.
Reality is always Reality no matter how it manifests itself. Be it as an absolute Reality or an individual conceptual reality it is all the one deathless and unified Reality of the Deathless Self. Suffering only arises when the 'I' thought thinks it is something other than this deathless Reality, which alone is. Reality is always manifesting itself as conceptual, sensory and cognitive experience. Whether the 'I' knows it or not it is still all one unified and enduring Reality. It is all one reality as different realms, forms and states of knowing and experiencing. Reality is always Reality no matter how it manifests itself. There are just different ways of having, knowing and experiencing reality, but it is always the same one unified interconnected and enduring Reality. Whatever you experience is always Reality, and Reality is all there is as the eternal 'I-am'. The mistake is the 'I' thought thinking it is something other than Reality itself. All is because you are as 'I-am'. You are the one Reality, 'I-am', which alone is. The Deathless Self alone is. Only God is Real as the eternal 'I-am'. This is the heart of Atman-Yoga. This is the truth and light of the true Self.
It is the 'I-am' of I am.
When the individualized mind is made quiet and still, it sinks and disappears into the Self. The world is simply seen as a projection of the Deathless Self. In whatever way this Truth is presented it will not be satisfactory until it is fully realized as the knowing of it without knowing, and then speaking of it will not do it justice as it is without words and there is no one to speak of it. In fact it is far better for us to remain silent and still in the knowing of knowing without knowing. I say it is knowing without knowing because what it is requires no cognitive or conceptual knowing and yet it can still be known as the ever-present 'I-am'. In this knowing of knowing without knowing the world and the Deathless Self are one. The world is known as an appearance in and of the Deathless Self, and made of the Deathless Self. The world is only a problem when the 'I' assumes its identity as separate from the Deathless Self. The Deathless Self alone is and all is complete and whole in this knowing of knowing without knowing. Divinity itself is the real substance, state and essence of all life. The whole universe and everything in it is itself Divinity. Its silence and stillness is palpable.
Worldly conditions, dramas and events do not limit the Deathless Self or confine it. It does not matter to the Deathless Self what worldly circumstances, dramas and situations are, or what events and dramas are taking place, be they favorable or unfavorable, beautiful or unpleasant, welcomed or rejected. It knows that the world of change belongs to the ever-changing sensory realms of experience and experiencing. It is free of all conditioning, limitations, time, space and forms. It is not altered, threatened, lessened, limited or affected by what is. It is not limited by space, time or forms. It knows that all things, dramas and forms have their true identity and being with the Deathless Self. It alone is the essence, origin and source of all things. It cannot be moved, threatened or destroyed by what is or what is not. Its essence is impenetrable, untouchable and indestructible.
The individualized mind is not the Self, and yet it is of the Self. The body is not the Self and yet it is of the Self. Even the 'I' thought and so-called intellect that thinks it recognizes and knows the Self is an impersonal phenomena that happens in time, space and conditioning. Therefore the individualized 'I' is not the Self, and yet it is of and one with the true Self. All things, dramas, events and phenomena are seen as unreal when thought to be separate from the Deathless Self, but are known as real when realized and known to be one with the Deathless Self. The Deathless Self alone is. Individuality and separateness are the illusions to the Deathless Self, and yet everything is always abiding as and with the Deathless Self. This is what I mean by the statement that 'Only God is Real' as the 'I-am'. All is this 'emptiness'. Only 'emptiness'. This is the light and truth of knowing and the light of the Self.
I am the 'I-am' of I am.
VENTURING INTO THE ABYSS
Meditation on the nature of the body:
The individualized body is of the nature to die. It is born and comes into being, therefore it is of the nature to die. Birth and death are inseparable. There is no birth without death, and no death without birth. Therefore we see the body is of the nature to decay, cease and end. There is no permanent and lasting home in the individualized form we call body, and all its so-called parts. They are all marked, conditioned and shaped by change and impermanence. No one is to blame. No one did anything wrong. It is simply the way things are.
The individualized body is also of the nature to experience and have pain and unpleasant feelings and bodily sensations. The body is of the nature to have dis-ease and dis-comfort. It can be broken or damaged and it is of the nature to become sick and have ill-health. The form called body is of the nature to age and grow old; to decay, to have dis-ease and die. We can see that there is no permanent and lasting home in the so-called body and all its associated parts. They are all marked, conditioned and shaped by change and impermanence. No one is to blame. No one did anything wrong. It is simply the way things are.
The individualized body is of the nature to change. Its appearance and looks are ever-changing, unreliable and uncertain. All the associated organs of the body are of the nature to potentially become and be sick. All the organs of the body are of the nature to change, decay and die. They are all of the nature to cease to exist and end. Even the breathe and the ability to breath will end and cease to exist. All the associated organs of the body and the breath and the capacity to breathe are marked, conditioned and shaped by change and impermanence. No one is to blame. No one did anything wrong. It is not someone fault. It is simply the way things are. Vulnerable is this so-called body and all it associated parts and bodily senses.
Therefore seeing the individualized body as the body I place no self-importance, attachment or reliance on the body, and all its associated parts. I do not make the body and all its parts my permanent, abiding and lasting home. I do not make them my place of refuge and permanent reliance. Attachment to the so-called body; its appearance and all its parts can only lead to suffering. This includes all feelings, bodily sensations and the capacity to breathe. The body and its parts including bodily sensations, feelings and breath are all marked, conditioned and shaped by change and impermanence. They will all cease to exist. There is no permanence to be found in the body, its parts and the breath.
Seeing clearly and directly with the pure wisdom of insight that the body and all its parts and even the breath, are unreliable, ever-changing, transitory and uncertain I place no permanent reliance, identity or importance on them, or do I strongly attach to them. I do not identify with them and yet I do not reject them or abuse them. I simply and lovingly accept them for what they are with non-attachment and non-identification. 'I-am' is free of the individualized form called body, its parts and the breath, and yet these things have their being in its ever enduring and ever-present existence. Their being or non-being does not alter, change, threaten, limit, lessen or affect essentially what 'I-am' is. 'I-am' forever remains as it is. All is this enduring and ever-present 'I-am'.
Meditation on the 'mind' and 'mind-consciousness':
The individualized mind is of the nature to change. The mind is marked, conditioned and shaped by change and impermanence. There is no permanent reliance or happiness to be attached to the individualized 'mind' and 'mind-consciousness'. The mental objects, states, moods and modifications of the mind, and mind-consciousness are ever-changing and can not be relied on with any real certainty. An individualized person can be of a sick or dis-eased mind; a mind that has severe and recurring states of depression, anxiety, worry, restlessness, rage and fear. A person can even end up immobilized or ill due to a sick, dis-eased and corrupted mind state. The ever-changing individualized mind can have different and changing views, opinions, ideas, perceptions, interpretations, beliefs and conclusions about things and the world at large, both agreeable and disagreeable, and therefore what permanent reliance and happiness can there be to attach to the mind and mind-consciousness. The mind can be impacted and plagued by harmful and negative mental states, like, anger, hate, envy, doubt, restlessness, selfishness, jealousy, uncertainty, self-importance, insecurity, hopelessness, shame, pride, rage, lust, worry, greed and ignorance. Therefore it is considered foolish to place the need for permanent fulfilment, certainty and reliance on the mind and mind-consciousness as they are by their very nature marked, conditioned and shaped by change and impermanence. Therefore as an aspiring atman-yogi I do not place my sense of being and fulfilment in and on the mind and mind-consciousness. I do not make them my true abiding home. I do not reject them, and yet I do not attach self-importance, identity or certainty to them or rely on them as an permanent abiding sense of self, and who I am or what reality is. I do not reject or abuse them. My sense of identity is free of them.
WHAT IS REAL
It is very clear with the pure wisdom of insight that the ever-changing world and universe of the senses and their sense objects and sense impressions are all marked, conditioned and shaped by change and impermanence. The world of the senses and their sense objects and sense impressions are not something that can be permanently relied on and attached to. Even consciousness itself is marked, conditioned and shaped by change and impermanence. We speak and know of altered states and levels of consciousness; of being unconscious and of pure consciousness. We speak of being aware or unaware. We known very well that the bodily and mental senses are of the nature to decay and end. Seeing, hearing, taste, smell, touch and even the capacity to think, conceptualize and discern can decay, diminish and die. They too are marked, conditioned and shaped by change and impermanence. You might argue that we are all awareness itself, and that it is the objects of awareness usually perceived that have simply vanished from our knowing of them. As much as I can understand this so-called reasoning I do not agree with it. Pure Being needs not to be aware or non-aware in order to exist. It simply is as 'I-am'. The knowing of it does not make it so, or does the idea of being aware. It is whether there is an awareness of it; a knowing of it, or a so-called consciousness that knows it. I prefer an 'intelligence' that is all things, and the very essence of all things but it does not rely on the capacity to think, discern, know or be aware. It is empty and independent of anything that we can know, think, conceptualize and say that it is, and yet it is one with all things that we can know, think, conceptualize and say. It is simply 'I-am'. Nothing to conceptualize or speak of.
You might argue that it is 'individualized awareness' that ends and not 'awareness' itself. I know the same is said with 'consciousness'. Why then are we not aware at all times and of all things? Personally I am not in agreement with these claims and anything that can be named is not what I speak of. What can be named is easily misinterpreted, mis-used, and misunderstood. The mind can only take us so far. Once this is realized we give up the self-importance and reliance placed on it. It would be far better for us all if it remained nameless, and yet we need names to speak of it. This has been said to be the paradox of spiritual Self-inquiry and Self-realization despite that which we all are being absolutely free of mind, body, thinking, feeling, the world of the senses, perception, intellect and consciousness, it somehow needs the world of the senses and sense objects and phenomena to express its own enduring nature, existence and essence. This is the play of light that we all are. This is the simple innate miracle that we all are despite the strangeness, messiness and complexities of this divided, multifaceted and challenged world.
"All the world is itself Divinity. Imperfection is the real illusion. This is what it is to be lost to love, and the unity of all life. This is absolute Oneness. This is the so-called highest spiritual and perfected realization and knowing of an atman-yogi."
This is the essential and core message of Atman-Yoga. The Deathless Self, alone is as 'I-am'.
Atman-Yoga Daily Mantra: "I am. Life is. 'I am' is one with all life and all life is one with 'I-am'. Oneness in body. Oneness in mind. Oneness in all things."
Song of the Deathless Yogi:
I am 'emptiness'. All is 'emptiness'. 'Emptiness' is all.
Form is 'emptiness'. 'Emptiness' is form'. Only 'emptiness'.
This esoteric blog is dedicated to my earthly mother 'Rita' who transitioned on the 12th December 2021. A truly selfless, kind, beautiful and loving embodied soul, friend and mother.
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