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In regards to the addiction, yes just whitewashing it with a veneer of Advaita isn’t going to do the trick. It’s very easy to say “oh well yeah I’m addicted to porn and watch it 5 times a day but it’s all appearing in awareness so it’s cool” Its hard to actually have the self-love to know you deserve and can express your sexuality in a much healthier and loving way and take the steps to overcome this addiction. as you say, addiction is coming from a sense of lack, especially extreme addiction. But, it is also habit forming, so may take time to reverse these old habits. For example, let’s say you have an argument with someone, usually you’d have your favourite ice cream now, you would have to change that behaviour pattern, which may take some work. So, it would also be an idea to investigate why you are involving yourself with this addiction, a lot of these issues will likely be resolved before you even get to awakening work, but some subtle ones may remain and will again involve investigation and the necessary relative steps to overcome. just to be clear whether you are a successful billionaire with a jacked body & the dream life or a bum on the street injecting heroin makes 0 difference absolutely speaking, but relatively it will have a huge impact on your existence, the absolute is always at peace and happy no matter what, it’s quite the paradox. However, addictions overall come from a place of lack, hence need to be investigated. This doesn’t mean you cant do things like drink alcohol or smoke weed or eat unhealthy food after awakening as a celebration, the difference is you aren’t doing it from a sense of lack to fill a void! When I say you are “okay” with whatever happens, I simply mean your inherent peace and happiness are not threatened by it, it doesn’t mean you won’t be sad or angry when things happen, it just means your true nature and absolute happiness is always unaffected. For example, let’s say you start a business and it does bust and you lose the business, you will of course be upset and potentially angry etc, BUT you, absolutely speaking, will still be happy and at peace, if you have awakened. It’s quite the paradox and can be hard to understand, especially for the mind, my advice would be dive deep enough into awakening, and find out these truths for yourself! here’s some videos & articles that explain it better than I can https://non-duality.rupertspira.com/read/addiction_porn_and_pseudo_advaita

@LfcCharlie4 thanks for the explanation. I’m familiar with stoic philosophy and I know what you are taking about but it is hard to implement. I’m just curious about how an awakened person perceives an addiction. An addiction is resistance or escapism. Your body and mind runs away from a thing. So as an awakened person you can perform an addiction or not perform your addiction, and you are ok with both? It is kind of confusing for me if you are also doing self help. I guess one also has to be stoic when going against your own addiction, if you chose to do so. Quote: “Life simply becomes a celebration and you can do whatever the fuck it is that you want, that's Absolute Freedom, there is NO rules. This is why it's important you sit down and decide what you actually want for your life, and then you go out there and do it, Leo's video on life advice for young people is great.“ End quote. If you chose something for your life for example success, doesn’t it mean you don’t chose the other thing such as failure? How can you be ok with both succes and failure at the same time if you chose?

Awesome blog! Just wanted to add, in my experience at least Non-Duality has made sex EVEN better in terms of deepening the experience of Sex, and I do feel it is more than possible to have a relationship post awakening that is an expression of ever deepening love, and can certainly include a happy sex life. I would say when integrated it leads to a much healthier, more loving and more fulfilling sex life. The distinction I would make is in the awakening process it would be tough, as you would be so focused on your Awakening, it would become difficult I feel to maintain a relationship, I found it most difficult when seeking, and much easier post awakening. I also don't think it's as simple as 'More awakened; less sex drive.' I actually think it varies in case to case, and your natural sexuality will express itself more and more, without the need to escape through sex & porn, sure it could be lower, or Celibacy, but it could also mean a more expressive sex life too. One last point, a lot of people who have these deep awakenings tend to be older, maybe that could play a role in the sex drive too. However, it must be said, nothing beats the absolute peace and happiness that awakening brings. It's easy to take it for granted at times. Then sex simply becomes a way to celebrate life and express this understanding, instead of a way to escape life. Rupert has the only decent video I've ever found on it.

First of all if all you want is to lead a so called "good and happy life" you don't need to be awakened ..... because frankly you are not ready for it yet .Even deep meditation and samadhi experiences can put you in a tranquil state and joyful state. However , if someone is in samadhi , he may not be awakened or enlightened . To be awakened or enlightened does not mean that you will always be in peace ... it means to know the full nature of world and reality . it means to realize (experientially) that you are the Brahman yourself .....that you are god yourself (according to vedanta ( non duality)) , and let me tell you that if you are enlightened ... you dont need to be in heaven 24/7 , because for the one who knows the true nature of reality ....joy and bliss are just "emotions". But if you want joy and bliss , you can pursue the path of sehaj samadhi or yoga.. if you achieve sehaj samadhi , you will not need material things to make you happy , you can be happy under a tree but being enlightened is the best thing one can do in this life because he just realized what is reality.

Awakening can help you a bit with improving the quality of your consciousness, helping you understand deeper truths, give you important breakthroughs to solve your issues but it cannot guarantee a perfect life. You can still have the same problems as you had before. The reason why you want to be awakened is not because you want to find solutions to all of your problems and needs but to seek the higher truth. It's a process of seeking, like an explorer seeks new lands and experiences. It's also an experience and an opportunity to grow inwardly. In fact if you are looking for a more perfect life where all your needs are accommodated and problems resolved, you should probably be more interested in pd and self actualization.

Or perhaps awakened gurus appear very beautiful to those who can appreciate them?

Normies love to mythologize and idealize awakened gurus, treating them as saints. It's actually a clever defense mechanism of the ego-mind. The ego-mind reasons like this: "If awakening doesn't make a person perfect and good, then it's not real and not worth working towards." By putting the guru on a pedestal the normie/student doesn't have to take responsibility for the hard work that must go into perfecting one's life. The normie/student wants awakening to be an instant cure-all to all of life's problems. This is of course a fantasy.

where does the misnomer that awakening/enlightenment means automatically becoming an emotionally mastered terminator that experiences no uncomfortable experiences and is in pure heaven 24/7 with no chance of ever wavering from this state? I've awakened but still feel I have much to do when it comes to managing and integration my emotions and beliefs.

Your mistake is conflating truth realization with changes or improvements in one's behavior. These are independent things. Even awakened people can have addictions, "bad" behavior, and other stuff. That's called being human. Realizing what is true will not automatically make you a saint. Survival is still a powerful force that remains post-awakening.

Yes, some people in the non-duality communities have this neo-advaita-rhetoric that makes no sense, they are basically just nihilists or mind-dwellers. They think denying that they are the body makes them free but it's just a belief-system, not an actual transformation. I'm not bothered by them though, and I'm glad there are some people on this forum who have genuinely awakened.

@Meta-Man Lol good luck bro. Someone always makes clear whether they simply have an intellectual understanding of these teachings, or have actually awakened themselves by how they act, and not what they say. Similar to that guy who kept exploding at people the other day. All people really need, is a good old fashioned awakening(s) and a few years of Integration, then all will be well

@Keyhole ok,but lets look at this whole thing like a scientists would... With a mind of common sense. 1) Leo claims he is the most awakened person in the world. Maybe not THE most, but he claims he is way beyond Jesus, Buddha, Mohammed, Shinzen Young, Pete Ralston, etc. (Funny enough, I knew someone who also believed to be "above" Jesus in my past... He is now in a mental hospital) 2) Every single "awake" person said Truth was SIMPLE... EXTREMELY SIMPLE (Papaji, UG Krishnamurti, J Krishnamurti, ...) Do you see how something just doesnt add up? And again - the New Age talks about ALL of these concepts. And no, there is a very powerful charge behind words. The fact is that you can read a sentence or remember a concept, or as you guys say "contemplate" about Love. And guess what.. after you contemplate God (or as Leo says - "the GODHEAD" - which is an idea that comes from Christianity), you will EXPERIENCE God. You can imagine yourself to be anything. The problem is when ppl confuse the "REAL" world with imagination. And so of course, while you are tripping out of your mind, you will FEEL like you can change the weather, heal illnesses, all of that stuff - because the "natural world doesnt exist! - right? Wrong. You just debunked yourself (i dont mean you personally) But somehow, these ppl are NEVER able to demonstrate it.

@Leo Gura Then what do you mean when you talk about "pursuing awakening"? It sounds that one is pursuing one thing. Or is it pursuing one awakened state out of many others?

@Girzo again, you dont know anything about me. Ive "broken thru" dozens of times, i can "merge myself with the divine" on demand, without drugs, but, so what? It has nothing to do with truth. It's a subjective hallucination. Thats why no awakened person will accept bullshit like 5Meo DMT LMAO Leo is so f*ing arrogant, he think "peter ralston doesnt wanna take 5meo cuz hes close minded", NO LEO ITS BECAUSE WE DONT WANT STUPID FUCKING FLEETING EXPERIENCES. Why do you guys attach such meaning to psychedelics delusional experiences? Serious question.

Don't assume that all gurus are talking about a singular thing called enlightenment. "Enlightenment" is more like a giant spectrum of possible awakened states and ways of being. You can have an awakening with God-realization or without, and there are many degrees of God-realization. There are literally 100s if not 1000s of different awakened states possible.

I agree and have already touched on this earlier. Rationality is used in the conceptual domain to understand mind. To move into metaphysics one must leave concepts and rationality all together. Both are useful but at different times. This by no means validates rationality efficient in the domain of interpreting consciousness itself which is my point. Ones own experience is the only force of guidance in that regard. Also consider that one can be awakened without having to be deluded and requiring rationality. Some individuals in the past have been reported to be born awakened with no distinction otherwise. Or some reached awakening spontaneously via intuition where existence of rationality we’re completely void. Rationality is not a prerequisite to awakening. @The observer You are straw manning while contradicting yourself. You are vouching for rationality in one breath then disregarding it in another. You are in fact, demonstrating relative and objective in your own argument. Your argument undermines the purpose of mind in the domain of consciousness. Relativity is the activity of mind from which concepts are organised. Ultimately none are any truer than any other. However, this doesn’t mean rationality is as useful as any other approach or that it will provide you access to truth. This is your conflation. You creating vague statements that assume because rationality is a reflection of truth it will serve just as equally valuable in deriving it. Just because a gun is truth, doesn’t mean shooting someone will produce enlightenment.

America has a ton of stage orange. A person like Sam Harris can easily cast a wide net and become popular with the crowd. But Sam Harris will fail terribly in a stage Green and Turquoise society. People like Sam Harris can become extremely popular in countries like America and India because most people in these countries are blue and orange, they focus on dogmatic thinking about race and religion and are very status and success oriented. America is a definition of Orange Success. These countries are far from green. And a man like Sam Harris that sells rationality is bound to impress the public. Because he says things that the general public in America are waiting to hear.. That's why Sam Harris is not very popular with the Leftists in America because a lot of the people on the side of the left are stage Green and they can see the holes in Harris's philosophies and thoughts. Sam Harris would have also become extremely popular in India if he was born here. He would have suited the stage blue and stage orange in Indians. Because people in these stages love the language of rationality since for them everything has to have a theory or explanation and some things need to be included and some things need to be excluded like a Mathematically accurate formula. But the universe has highly intelligent forces at work that work beyond the realm of physics and Mathematics or chemistry. Sam Harris is simply an intellectual like so many others. But he is not a profound wise awakened being.

I have had a lot of mystical experiences the last year, mainly through a lot of work on self-love, psychedelics, meditating in float tanks etc... So i´ve come across new people the last year, especially older awakened people.. have gotten one good friend which is 40 and another one which is a woman and she is 50.. i am only 28 which does not matter... And the thing is i did not like to be alone when i was younger, because i did not enjoy my own company and did not like myself very much. At the moment i have a beautiful girlfriend which loves me and i love her,we are currently looking for a house as we live in her mothers basement... So the relationship has been through it´s ups and downs, but i think relationships also can be tough mirrors and acting as catalyst for change for both parts. The thing is a lot of the guys i grew up with, friends from childhood and the dudes i have had in my life does not feel like they resonate as much with me any longer, every time i am with them i kinda get bored and lack connection... so i spend more time alone now than ever. And it feels like a byproduct of my awakening. People can say all they want about self-love and loving the universe, cause if i stay in heart, my awakened self (the original one) with a lot of the people i have had around me since childhood, i feel i don´t get accepted for who i am. So i am wondering as one awakens to truth - consciousness do we attract being who resonates on the same level of consciousness, do friendships fade more away for periods of time? The truth is i don´t want to be so much around especially my older brother (who talks all the time) and screams for attention.. and i don´t enjoy time with my friends the same way any longer.. it´s quite sad but have anyone else went through the same experience? wanting to be more alone? especially in nature, family really annoying cause they trigger your old self like Ram Dass quote: if you think you are enlightened go spend a week with your family.. And it feels like i am experiencing Ego backlash as well, my old self vanishing more and more, and then it comes back again, i make myself small around the people i grew up with.. family and friends. Maybe i am quite not ready yet, and there is a lot more to learn i guess. Especially when i am only 28. But on the other side i think we as humans are going through a very special time on the earth, more and more people waking up to the truth of oneness and nonduality. And i notice my self asking a lot of questions here, i would appreciate similar stories, even though i have all the answers inside..

You need hard training to keep up Kundalini, I cannot speak for 5Meo DMT because I never took it. I awakened my Kundalini once, by accident, but couldn't manage to do it again. There was also a lot of fear. Shakti pat is only the seed for kundalini, you need to be able to keep it up at all times. Awakened Kundalini isn't enlightenment. An awakening alone isn't enlightenment either... It needs to be permanent

The Kalki Avatar Bhagvad Gita and Srimad Bhagavatam There are approximately twenty-five incarnations of Lord Vishnu and Kalki is supposed to be the last and final incarnation of the Vishnu Avatars. There are numerous mysterious prophecies and predictions that date back to the times of Puranas that talk about the birth of Kalki...how true can they be? Is there a messiah ready to be born or has he already taken birth? Is he there to bring the world to an end and make the new-age man pay for his ruthlessness? Just before the beginning of the current age in which we are living (known as the Kali Yuga or Iron Age), sage Markandeya recorded a conversation he had with the God. In a passage in the Mahabharata text, it is recorded that Vishnu spoke of a time during the darkest period of the Kali Age when human values would deteriorate and falsehood would triumph over truth. Vishnu told how he would take a human birth in order to intervene and set the world on a new course. Lord Vishnu’s statement in Mahabharata “When evil is rampant upon this earth, I will take birth in the family of a virtuous man, and assume a human body to restore tranquility by the extermination of all evils. For the preservation of rectitude and morality, I will assume an inconceivable human form. In the Kali Age of sin I will assume an Avatar form that is dark in color. I will be born in a family in south India. This Avatar will possess great energy, great intelligence and great powers.” Lord Vishnu’s statement in Mahabharata “Material objects needed for this Avatar's mission will be at his disposal as soon as He will think of them. He will be victorious with the strength of virtue. He will restore order and peace in the world. This Avatar will inaugurate a new era of truth, and will be surrounded by spiritual people. The people of the earth will imitate this Avatar's conduct, and there will be prosperity and peace. Men will once more betake themselves to the practice of religious rites.” Predictions and Prophecies regarding Kalki Avatara The advent of this Avatar has been known of and predicted for thousands of years in various holy books and obscure texts including the Book of Revelations, Nostradamus in his book Centuries, The Ocean of Light (an ancient Persian manuscript of the revelations of Prophet Mohammed) and the Shuka Naadi Granthi - containing detailed prophecies of the Kalki Avatar written on hundreds of palm leaf manuscripts by Sage Shuka over 5000 years ago. The time of great evil mentioned in the prophecies corresponds to the Twentieth Century with its World Wars, regimes of mad dictators and authoritarian rulers, nuclear weapons, famines, diseases, pollution, crime, violence, catastrophes, and worldwide decline of morality. The Kalki Purana is an ancient Indian scripture which outlines the circumstances of the time and the place of birth of Lord Kalki. It also describes the predominant signs of the times which become so dire and needful that the Lord is compelled to assume a human incarnation. He does this at regular intervals throughout the evolution of humanity with the explicit purpose of uplifting the spiritual order. Only when a civilization is built upon a sound spiritual foundation can it exist and thrive in peace. Much of what is presented in the Kalki Puranas about Lord Kalki is allegorical in nature and therefore open to various interpretations. Those commentaries which have been written appear to have rendered the original scriptural treatise in a literal context rather than the highly symbolic one that was intended. However, one can point out that the precise astrological arrangements predicted around his birth are so specific and purposeful that it would be difficult to ignore them Take a look at some startling prophecies which were made by Nostradamus which clearly point towards Kalki Avatar. “CENTURY I.L - De l'aquatique triplisté naiftra, D'vn qui fera le jeudy pour fa fefte: Son bruit, loz, regne sa puiffance croistra, Par terre & mer aux Oriens tempefte.” Translation: Of the three water signs will be born a person whose holy day will be Thursday his name ,fame and rule will grow everywhere on land and sea and free the east from trouble. This quatrain states that this person will be born from the three water signs of Pisces, Cancer and Scorpio, the three water signs – which can be the three water bodies of the Indian Ocean, Arabian Sea and The Bay of Bengal which meet at Kanya Kumari at the southern most point in India. This Quatrain also states that this person will celebrate Thursday as his holy day, in none of the major religions except Hinduism is this so. Nostradamus’ second prophecy “Religion du nom des mers vaincra,Contre la fecte fils Adaluncatif, Secte obftinee deploree craindra, Des deux bleffez par Aleph & Aleph”. Translation: The religion called by the sea will overcome the sect of the Adaluncatif the stubborn sect of the two wounded men alpha and alpha. The only religion which is named after water is Hindu religion named after the Sindhu river. The Indians will defeat the obstinate sects; Nostradamus’ third prophecy “L'Oriental fortira de fon fiege, Paffer les monts Apennins, voir la Gaule: Tranfpercera le ciel les eaux & neige, Et vn chafcun frappera de fa gaule.” Translation: The Eastern man will come down from his throne and cross the Apennines into France through the sea and air and will strike the evil ones with his rod. This quatrain describes Kalki Avatar with his weapon crossing into France and destroying his enemies. Note that Nostradamus also sees the crossing through air. When the practices taught by the Vedas and the institutes of law, shall nearly have ceased, and the close of the Koli age shall be nigh, a portion of that Divine Being who exists of his own spiritual nature, in the character of Brahma, and who is the Beginning and the End, and who comprehends all things shall descend upon the earth. He will be born as Kalki in the family of an eminent Brahmin, of Shambhala village, endowed with the eight superhuman faculties. By his irresistible might, He will destroy all the barbarians and thieves, and all whose minds are devoted to iniquity. He will then re-establish righteousness upon earth; and the minds of those who live at the end of the Koli age, shall be awakened. The men who are thus changed by virtue of that peculiar time, shall be as the seeds of human beings, and shall give birth to a race who shall follow the laws of the Kritya Age, the Age of Purity. (Vishnu Purana 4.24) Kalki descended to earth (as a human) in the month of Baisakha on the 12th day after the full moon (Kalki Purana, I, Verses 11 and 15) Kalki is born to a man named Vishnujasha and a woman named Sumati in the Hindu month of Baisakha, which starts from 14th or 15th April and lasts till 14th or 15th May. So, Kalki will be born 12 days from the full moon day (after 14th/15th April), which can be anytime between 26th April to 15th May. Vishnu Purana also says that he had three elder brothers. According to I[2] V.32, the King of the land where Kalki is born is named Vishakhjupa. The mission of Kalki’s life is to destroy Koli – the equivalent of the Anti-Christ (in whose name the present age is named). Koli signifies a person as well as the vices which are peculiar to this age. As per I[3], V.25 Kalki was given a white horse, which he rode during his conquests all over the world. "You shall go to Sinhala, marry your beloved Padma and start your conjugal life…. You will then set out to conquer the world and defeat the Kings allied to Koli, defeat the Buddhists and hand over the rule to the pious kings named Devapi and Maru. (Kalki Purana, I, Verses 9 & 10) The wife of Kalki is named Padma who lives in Sinhala, which is commonly known as Sri Lanka. Coming of Lord Kalki would be fraught with terror... mindful of existing chaos world over! In the realm of Kalki... the goal of life is straight and clear! Exhibiting almost same powers as Lord Krishna... the advent of is beset with preconditions! The annihilator of Kali Yuga would advent the world scene at opportune moment...not a second before! All is preordained predestined in the system of God. The coming of Bhagavan Kalki gets necessitated when adharma (lawlessness) bares its fangs with no reprieve in sight! When is HE coming? This is the biggest question of all times! But God never directly manifests on mother Earth. As per sacred Bhagavad-Gita so is never to be. In times of distress... a commoner dons the mettle of lord Kalki... the awaited Messiah of present times! All happens with grace of God. Nothing in cosmic system results out of nothing... everything to minutest action is preordained predestined! Is Kali Yuga at its final stage? The feat of Kalki would make the whole cosmic system go around... come full circle as stipulated in Hinduism sacred Scriptures! After a period of above 3600 years... the coming of an avatar of an era is mandated. Life comes full circle every 3500 to 5000 years! If we have clock ringing 12 o'clock in the day... we also have 12 o'clock in night... the metal age... the darkest hour! Kali Yuga - the total period of which comprises 4, 32, 000 years as per sacred Scriptures of Hinduism is in its final stages! Even though only a few thousand years have passed since start of Kali Yuga... the advent of modern science has advanced the pace contrary to what is stipulated in sacred Scriptures. Something that would have taken thousand years to achieve in the past is now possible within a few hours... not days! Kalki would provide a sigh of relief to the ailing mankind after tremors of World War III that would devastate mankind forever. Albert Einstein once said, the fourth world war would be fought with bamboos and sticks... his inference was totally correct! With the coming devastation when developments of science would come to a naught... it would not be centuries but many millennia before things return back to normal! Who would not agree that Earth has undergone an extraordinary deterioration of its biosphere? Who could argue that living a pure life on earth becomes more difficult and challenging with each passing year? Who has not cried out about the social degeneration and political turmoil, financial chaos and pain and suffering caused by unending wars? Keeping aside every statement, counter statement and arguments regarding the predictions and prophecies about Kalki, I really wish that He is out there, somewhere…!

Rakshasas were believed to have been created from the breath of Brahma when he was asleep at the end of the Satya Yuga. As soon as they were created, they were so filled with bloodlust that they started eating Brahma himself. Brahma shouted "Rakshama!" (Sanskrit for "Protect me!") and Vishnu came to his aid, banishing to Earth all Rakshasas (named after Brahma's cry for help). Their literary origins can be traced to Vedic sources through Hymn 87 of the tenth mandala of the Rigveda. They are classified amongst the Yatudhanas, mythological beings that consume raw flesh. Rakshasas were most often depicted as ugly, fierce-looking and enormous creatures, with two fangs protruding from the top of the mouth and having sharp, claw-like fingernails. They are shown as being mean, growling like beasts, and as insatiable man-eaters that could smell the scent of human flesh. Some of the more ferocious ones were shown with flaming red eyes and hair, drinking blood with their palms or from a human skull (similar to representations of vampires in later Western mythology). Generally they could fly, vanish, and had Maya (magical powers of illusion), which enabled them to change size at will and assume the form of any creature. The female equivalent of rakshasa is rakshasi. In Hindu epics In the world of the Ramayana and Mahabharata, Rakshasas were a populous race. There were both good and evil rakshasas, and as warriors they fought alongside the armies of both good and evil. They were powerful warriors, expert magicians and illusionists. As shape-changers, they could assume different physical forms. As illusionists, they were capable of creating appearances which were real to those who believed in them or who failed to dispel them. Some of the rakshasas were said to be man-eaters, and made their gleeful appearance when the slaughter on a battlefield was at its worst. Occasionally they served as rank-and-file soldiers in the service of one or another warlord. Aside from its treatment of unnamed rank-and-file Rakshasas, the epics tell the stories of certain members of the "race" who rose to prominence, some of them as heroes, most of them as villains. In the Ramayana The Battle of Lanka pitted an army of Rakshasas under Ravana against an army of Vanaras, under Rama and Sugriva. Ravana the king of Lanka with ten heads, was the commander of Rakshasas. Maruti slew Jambumali the commander, with one stroke of an iron rod Ravana was the King of Lanka. He was the commander of the Rakshasas. He was the immortal enemy of Rama, the hero of the Ramayana. In the Mahabharata (Book III: Vana Parva, Section 271 ff.), the Sage Markandeya recounts the story of how Ravana kidnapped Rama's wife Sita and whisked her off to his stronghold Lanka. Rama, aided by the monkey King Sugriva and his army of monkeys, laid siege to Lanka, slew Ravana, and rescued Sita. Vibhishana was Ravana's younger brother. He was beautiful, pious and assiduous in his religious observances. When Brahma granted him a boon, he asked never to swerve from the path of righteousness and to always be illumined by divine knowledge (Book III, Vana Parva: Section 273.) Vibhishana joined Rama in his campaign against Ravana and helped Rama's army to cross the ocean into Lanka (Section 281). When invisible Rakshasas infiltrated Rama's camp, Vibhishana caused them to become visible; this enabled Rama's monkey soldiers to destroy them (Section 283). After Rama's final victory over Ravana, the loyal Vibhishana was made king of Lanka and remaining Rakshasas (Section 289). Kumbhakarna was another brother of Ravana; he was sometimes referred to as a Rakshasa because of his frightening appearance and size. Like Rakshasas, he had an enormous appetite and ate large quantities of food and meat. A fearsome warrior and master of illusion, he slept through most of the Battle of Lanka (having long before requested and received a gift of long-lasting sleep from Brahma). When Ravana awakened him with alarming news about the conflict, he arose and took the field. Upon marching out of the city, Kumbhakarna was immediately swarmed by Rama's monkeys; he just laughed and wreaked great mayhem amidst them. When the monkey king Sugriva attacked, Kumbhakarna grabbed him and started to drag him off. At that point Rama and his brother Lakshmana used arrows and a secret Brahmastra ("Brahma's weapon") to kill Kumbhakarna, dropping him "like a huge tree cleft in twain by a thunderbolt." (Ramayana, Book III: Vana Parva, Section 285.) Other Rakshasas that are featured in the Ramayana include Kabandha, Tataka (sometimes called Taraka), Shurpanakha, Maricha, Subahu, Khara, Prahasta, Akshayakumara, Atikaya, and Indrajit - the most powerful son of Ravana. In the Mahabharata The Pandava hero Bhima was the nemesis of forest-dwelling Rakshasas who dined on human travellers and terrorized human settlements. Bhima killed Hidimba, a cannibal Rakshasa. The Mahabharata (Book I: Adi Parva, Section 154) describes him as a cruel cannibal with sharp, long teeth and prodigious strength. When Hidimba saw the Pandavas sleeping in his forest, he decided to eat them. He sent his sister Hidimbi to reconnoiter the situation, and the young woman fell in love with the handsome Bhima, whom she warned of danger. Infuriated, Hidimba declared he was ready to kill not only the Pandavas but also his sister, but he was thwarted by the heroism of Bhima, who defeated and killed him in a duel. Hidimbi - the sister of Hidimba Ghatotkacha, a Rakshasa who fought on the side of the Pandavas, was the son of Bhima and the Rakshasa Hidimbi, who had fallen in love with the hero and warned him of danger from her brother. Bhima killed the evil Rakshasa Hidimba. Their son's name refers to his round bald head; ghata means 'pot' and utkacha means 'head' in Sanskrit. Ghatotkacha is considered a loyal and humble figure. He and his followers were available to his father Bhima at any time; all Bhima had to do was to think of him and he would appear. Like his father, Ghatotkacha primarily fought with the mace. His wife was Ahilawati and his son was Barbarika. In the Mahabharata, Ghatotkacha was summoned by Bhima to fight on the Pandava side in the Kurukshetra War. Invoking his magical powers, he wrought great havoc in the Kaurava army. In particular, after the death of Jayadratha, when the battle continued on past sunset, his powers were at their most effective (at night). After performing many heroic deeds on the battlefield and fighting numerous duels with other great warriors (including the Rakshasa Alamvusha, the elephant-riding King Bhagadatta, and Aswatthaman, the son of Drona), Ghatotkacha encountered the human hero Karna. At this point in the battle, the Kaurava leader Duryodhana had appealed to his best fighter, Karna, to kill Ghatotkacha, as the entire Kaurava army was near annihilation due to his ceaseless strikes from the air. Karna possessed a divine weapon, Shakti, granted by the god Indra. It could be used only once and Karna had been saving it to use on his arch-enemy Arjuna, the best Pandava fighter. Unable to refuse Duryodhana, Karna used the Shakti against Ghatotkacha, killing him. This is considered to be the turning point of the war. After his death, the Pandava counselor Krishna smiled, as he considered the Pandava prince Arjuna to be saved from certain death, as Karna had used the Shakta divine weapon. A temple in Manali, Himachal Pradesh, honors Ghatotkacha; it is located near the Hidimba Devi Temple. Bakasura was a cannibalistic forest-dwelling Rakshasa who terrorized the nearby human population by forcing them to take turns making him regular deliveries of food, including human victims. The Pandavas travelled into the area and took up residence with a local Brahmin family. Their turn came when they had to make a delivery to Bakasura, and they debated who among them should be sacrificed. The rugged Bhima volunteered to take care of the matter. Bhima went into the forest with the food delivery (consuming it on the way to annoy Bakasura). He engaged Bakasura in a ferocious wrestling match, and broke his back. The human townspeople were amazed and grateful. The local Rakshasas begged for mercy, which Bhima granted them on the condition that they give up cannibalism. The Rakshasas agreed and soon acquired a reputation for being peaceful towards humans. (Book I: Adi Parva, Sections 159-166.) Kirmira, the brother of Bakasura, was a cannibal and master illusionist. He haunted the wood of Kamyaka, dining on human travellers. Like his brother before him, Kirmira also made the mistake of fighting the Pandav hero Bhima, who killed him with his bare hands (Book III: Varna Parva, Section 11). Jatasura was a cunning Rakshasa who, disguised as a Brahmin, attempted to steal the Pandavas' weapons and to ravish Draupadi, wife of Arjuna. Bhima arrived in time to intervene, and killed Jatasur in a duel. (Book III: Varna Parva, Section 156). Jatasur's son was Alamvush, who fought on the side of the Kauravas at Kurukshetra. Karna Attacks Ghatotkacha Rakshasa heroes fought on both sides in the Kurukshetra war. Alambusha was a Rakshasa skilled at fighting with both conventional weapons and the powers of illusion. According to the Mahabharata, he fought on the side of the Kauravas. Arjuna defeated him in a duel (Book VII: Drona Parva, Section 167), as did Arjuna's son Abhimanyu (Book VI: Bhishma Parva, Section 101–102). But Alamvusha in turn killed Iravan, Arjuna's son by a Naga princess Ulupi, when the Rakshasa used his powers of illusion to take on the form of Garuda. Alamvusha was also defeated by Bhima (Book VII: Drona Parva, Section 107). He was slain by Bhima's son, the Rakshasa Ghatotkacha (Book VII: Drona Parva, Section 108).

I realize that has been my problem the whole time with these hospitalizations, and I did the Microcosmic Orbit guided Meditation which helped A TON. Any other suggestions, guys? Sorry for any manic posts, please understand I rushed enlightenment and got it with my last 10-15g mushroom life-saving trip. Reiki Healers? Visualization? Kriya Yoga? I'm only sleeping three DEEEEEEP awakened hours at night and the rest of my da is bliss and awakening after the other, calm/compassionate/channeling God and my higher selflessness, etc. They have me on anti psychotic, Ativan, prolixin, seroquel, Benadryl, propanol, and high doses of lithium to balance this, yet proving ineffective to go to sleep. What do those kundalini books say? I'll buy them once I get dispatched, but help please from the bottom of my heart. I am TOO damn conscious for my body it starts to ache at the 12 hour mark I'm up and I need to be medicated to calm my central nervous system down. I know I am a Shaman and most likely moving to Mexico after this to become a Healer with 5MEODMT, legally, whether I did it myself or not, this is My Plan for My Life. Love, Mark.

Here’s what worked with me, I didn’t go the psychedelic route. Normal seeker, low level depression for a few years, dark night of the soul etc, read every book and watched every video, meditated etc Started working with my teacher (Ananda Devi April 2019) Had sessions with her basically once a fortnight, sometimes not as often, each session was around 45-60 minutes talking, going over blockages and issues I had, integration challenges, enneagram stuff etc 15 Minute RASA Transmission at the end of the session, transmissions to be are INCREDIBLY powerful, and honestly just amazing, as Ramana said “silence is the highest teaching” Now- realised the truth of my own being, stabilised in peace and happiness and loving every spontaneous moment that arises (even the shitty ones like ive just been through a break up, there is still a beauty to sadness and the peace does not leave!) Also, if you’re under 25 like me, I highly recommend waiting to do psychedelics, unless you want to risk long term issues, I used to think this was BS when I did MDMA at raves and smoked weed a lot, it’s really not. so, yes, go find a teacher you resonate with and work with them 1-1, there’s nothing quite like the presence of an awakened being, I am forever in debt to how much Ananda helped me, but at the end of the day you are always your own guru

There are definitely many degrees of awakening, love, and egolessness. The degrees are not merely linear, but multidimensional. There are thousands of different awakened and egoless states.

Man, I lost my whole journal entry cause my computer crashed. It fit in really well, but who cares. CHEESEBURGERS! CHEESEBURGERS! ENLIGHTENMENT CHEESEBURGERS! I just made a youtube video. I'll post it tomorrow but lots of connections were made after the fact. Cheeseburgers will make sense then. I know that when I started having "OCD" when I was 10 and suffering deeply, (suddenly the memories coming up from that age and all the music connections, Shania Twain, Brittney Spears, Titanic make sense now) if I had had an awakened "psychiatrist" ( I suspect that a regular counselor or psychiatrist would have had negative or limited effects) the suffering I went through could have been worked through (not shoved aside and dis-identified with) in an incredibly productive and enlightening manner. Instead I had to deal the best I could as a child who had a huge revelation when she even heard what OCD was (ohhh... it has a name) and have it come back last year, eventually understood as impulse and intuition when I started heavily down the path at age 30. I'm still understanding it. There's no doer. There's no one thinking. The pieces are still clicking. I blamed my parents for being too independent and ignorant and religious for not taking me to a counselor. But now I see it as a blessing. Everything happened as it had to happen. I'm sorry 10 year old Mandy. You don't exist but I've thought about you so many times since the awakening last year. I see now what I came here to improve and desire to fix and work toward more clearly. It now makes sense why I always had such a deep, deep (romantic almost) feeling about... McDonald's. Sounds batshit crazy, but my parents were hermits and we rarely went to McDonald's so it was always a huge treat to go there and only on days when we went on trips which were already special. I never outgrew the magic of it, and always sort of wrestled with my own feelings about McDonald's and all the other negative perceptions about it of others. The first time I heard the cheeseburger love song above was from the first person I ever can't eat, can't sleep fell in love with when I was 15, and ended up traumatically trying to absolve myself of later. There's another connection with hamburger I don't want to explain now. Also the price is going up substantially right now, which is... hilarious when you get the analogy. I used to listen to this song a lot at that age. Cheeseburger song seems to spoof the style. Bats and (batshit crazy) on my mind.