My trip to NJ earlier this month included a few hours spent digging for gold in a used book store located in Montclair. This is one of my most favored past times. Among the half dozen books I returned home with was one by Paul Brunton - A Search In Secret India, first published in 1934. The following passage, a conversation between Brunton and a man called Maharishee, is taken from that book:

Maharishee: "The first and foremost of all thoughts, the primeval thought in the mind of every man, is the thought "I". It is only after the birth of this thought that any other thoughts can arise at all. It is only after the first personal pronoun "I" has arisen in the mind, that the second personal pronoun "You" can make its appearance. If you could mentally follow the "I" thread until it leads you back to its source, you would discover that, just as it is the first thought to appear, so it is the last to disappear. This is a matter which can be experienced."

Brunton: "You mean it is perfectly possible to conduct an investigation into oneself?"

Maharishee: "Assuredly! It is possible to go inwards until the last thought "I" gradually vanishes."

Brunton: "What is left?" I query. "Will a man then become quite unconsciousm or will he become an idiot?"

Maharishee: "Not so! On the contrary, he will attain that consciousness which is immortal, and he will become truly wise, when he has awakened to his true self, which is the real nature of man."

Brunton: "But surely the sense of "I" must also pertain to that?" I persist.

Maharishee: "The sense of "I" pertains to the person, the body and brain," replies the Maharishee calmly. "When a man knows his true self for the first time, something else arises from the depths of his being and takes possession of him. That something is behind the mind; it is infinite, divine, eternal. Some people call it the kingdom of heaven, others call it the soul, still others name it Nirvana, and we Hindus call it Liberation; you may give it whatever name you wish. When this happens a man has not really lost himself; rather, he has found himself."

As the last word falls from the interpretor's lips there flashes across my mind those memorable words which were uttered by a wandering Teacher in Galilee, words which have puzzled so many good persons:

Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it.

-- Rich (howe9@shentel.net), February 25, 2001

Brunton: The Maharishee speaks again, his words breaking into my thoughts.

Maharishee: "Unless and until a man embarks upon this quest of the true self, doubt and uncertainty will follow his footsteps throughout life. The greatest kings and statesmen try to rule others, when in their heart of hearts they knowthat they cannot rule themselves. Yet the greatest power is at the command of the man who has penetrated to his inmost depth. There are men of giant intellects who spend their lives gathering knowledge about many things. Ask these men if they have solved the mystery of man, if they have conquered themselves, and they will hang their heads in shame. What is the use of knowing about everything else when you do not yet know who you are? Men avoid this enquiry into the true self, but what else is there so worthy to be undertaken?"

-- Rich (howe9@shentel.net), February 25, 2001.

Maharishee: "The realisation of truth is the same for Indians and Europeans. Admittedly the way to it may be harder for those who are engrossed in worldly life, but even then one can and must conquer. The current induced during meditation can be kept up by habit, by practising to do so. Then one can perform his work and activities in that very current itself; there will be no break. Thus, too, there will be no difference between meditation and external activities. If you meditate on this question, 'Who am I' - if you begin to perceive that neither the body nor the brain nor the desires are really you, then the very attittude of enquiry will eventually draw the answer to you out of the depths of your own being; it will come to you of its own accord as a deep realisation."

"Know the real self," he continues, "and then the truth will shine forth within your heart like sunshine. The mind will become untroubled and real happiness will flood it, for happiness and the true self are identical. You will have no more doubts once you attain this self-awareness."

-- Rich (howe9@shentel.net), February 25, 2001.

How is this self-discovery to be achieved? Meditation? Medication? I'm not clear what he is advocating.

My personal experience is that one does not find oneself only by going within. IMO, solipsism is deadly dull and deadly spiritually. We discussed this recently on a "troubled loner" thread.

I think one is more likely to find oneself by journeying outward than inward. For me, family, community, friends and even enemies generate more self-knowledge than solitary navel-gazing. For me, context is paramount. Like I say, I don't know what he is advocating. Maybe we agree.

-- Lars (larsguy@yahoo.com), February 25, 2001.

"For me, family, community, friends and even enemies generate more self-knowledge than solitary navel-gazing."

Lars,

What kind of self-knowledge do you gain from this experience?

-- Mahareshi Yogi (yabba@dabba.doo), February 25, 2001.

MY,

Tee hee hee.

Well, "self-knowledge" may be too grand a word for it. I simply find the feedback received by interaction with other humans to be more enlightening than hermetic insights.

I am able to know myself better by how others react to me than by how I react to myself. Anyway, I don't think it's that important or even possible to "know" oneself. I think there is even a theorem in Systems Engineering that asserts that a system cannot know itself. What strikes me as more important is to live fully and in harmony with other life.

Time enough to figure it all out later.

-- Lars (larsguy@yahoo.com), February 25, 2001.

Lars,

Eastern paths to discovery are not for everyone. I started this thread because it may strike a cord in someone who reads it. It may just prompt them to read more on the vast subject of yoga philosophy. Or take a course to learn a few basic meditation techniques. I push no path. I offer no knowledge of a savior for all mankind. I shill for no one. Nor do I propose to know what is best for you.

Please read the following passage again:

"The sense of "I" pertains to the person, the body and brain," replies the Maharishee calmly. "When a man knows his true self for the first time, something else arises from the depths of his being and takes possession of him. That something is behind the mind; it is infinite, divine, eternal. Some people call it the kingdom of heaven, others call it the soul, still others name it Nirvana, and we Hindus call it Liberation; you may give it whatever name you wish. When this happens a man has not really lost himself; rather, he has found himself."

The intellect is but a construction, one which serves to masks who & what we are as living beings. Intellect can take us far, earn us a good living, inform & entertain us as we journey through life. But we are more than the intellect. The intellect is like a facet of a diamond; not to be confused with the diamond in its entirety.

Meditation, of which there are innumerable techniques, is in my experience the key that unlocks the door to the self. The practice of meditation is most difficult for those partial to their intellects, for the noise, the busyness which the intellectual mind thrives upon is a most unwelcome guest to the meditation experience. Only when the noise of the mind stills does the fruit of meditation make itself available.

In that peace borne of deep meditation lies much intuited information. There is a knowing which does not insist on intellectual analysis for confirmation. I could write the most elegant prose to try to convince you of this, but the effort would not suffice to convince. And it shouldn't!

Experience is the only way for anyone to know if what the Maharishee, and I, state is true.

-- Rich (howe9@shentel.net), February 25, 2001.

The truth may also be found by drinking a lot of beer and then breaking out a turntable and playing Black Sabbath records backwards. I had a friend who claimed to have seen God this way. For the social element invite several of your drunken buds to help.

-- (Weeble@wee.ble), February 25, 2001.

Exactly Lars. The self-knowledge you enjoy is not really "self" knowledge, it is the experience you enjoy by interaction with others, or "selflessness". This is because our true nature is that we are not a "self" at all, we are one with everything, all there is, or God if you like.

When I speak of looking inward, or "soul searching", I mean becoming consciously aware of what it is that brings you joy. A man who is prepared to evolve will realize that it is not the illusion of self based on a material existence which brings him true joy, but the ability to let go of this illusion and experience the pure spiritual joy and love of all that is.

In other words, when you interact with others, it is not their compliments about your material existence which brings you joy. It is the experience of sharing feelings and connecting with others on a spiritual level, for this is when we are closest to being what we truly are, spiritual beings.

The process of looking inward is necessary because it allows you to acknowledge to yourself what it is that is most real for you. Establishing this awareness of what it is that brings you true joy is what permits you to consciously choose to live this way from that point forward.

-- Mahareshi Yogi (yabba@dabba.doo), February 25, 2001.

OK, Maharishi, just don't stare at the sun all day. And knockoff all that levitatin and gigglin.

-- Lars (larsguy@yahoo.com), February 25, 2001.

Staring at the sun is not necessary... as with all things, it is the feeling of it which brings great pleasure.

Levitatin and gigglin is what God likes us to do, so I cannot knockoff from this unless I consciously deny my creator. I do not wish to do that, I enjoy giggling with God. Try it, you'll like it!

-- Mahareshi Yogi (yabba@dabba.doo), February 26, 2001.

"I push no path. I offer no knowledge of a savior for all mankind. I shill for no one. Nor do I propose to know what is best for you."

Rich--

I never thought you were shilling or preaching; merely witnessing. Same here.

M.Y.--

True enough, God gave us the capacity to giggle. He also gave us the capacity to belly-laugh. My preference is the latter.

As far as I know, he did not give us the capacity to levitate. Maybe there are breakthrus at Maharishi U. of which I am unaware. Levitation would be great for your basketball team.

-- Lars (larsguy@yahoo.com), February 26, 2001.