Advaita Vedanta For Dummies

[Eelco1981]

@Matthew Lamot I know you don't like the idea of a thread about Advaita Vedanta, only to be forgotten in three hours. But I do it anyway. I read the document you linked to in your signature, but I miss some concrete steps to do. I am interested in learning more.

1. What are some sites you can recommend to learn more?
2. Any books you can recommend?
3. Any Youtube video's you can recommend?
4. Any meditation technique or self inquiry technique or question you can recommend?

(There are no Advaita Vedanta teachers in my country)

[Matthew Lamot]

@Eelco1981

Authentic Vedanta Teachings: James Swarts, Swami Chinmayananda, Swami Dayananda.

For Self Inquiry Rupert is good.

Ramana Maharishi's method for Self Inquiry is good (easy for sattvic students) (Rupert has tutorials for Ramana's method)

Netti Netti with emphasis on the vasanas (for students who extrovert a lot, passionate people)

 

 

[Matthew Lamot]

@Eelco1981

But again, let me put emphasis on the teaching.  It is this teaching that is the key, because what you will discover is that it's

our current ideas about what enlightenment is that is actually what is preventing us from enlightenment.

Enlightenment is not a higher state of consciousness.  If a person can grasp that along with the other teachings then it's game over.

I can't stress this enough.  The teaching blows away the ignorance and the concepts that keep ignorance manifesting the Jiva, it's the thorn that removes the thorn, the concept to remove the concept.

Edited August 21, 2016 by Matthew Lamot

[cirkussmile]

Game over? You realize the truth so to speak?

 

[Matthew Lamot]

5 hours ago, cirkussmile said:

Game over? You realize the truth so to speak?

 

Not me, not yet.  Just learning the right teachings solved a lot of problems for me.  My teacher is enlightened and his teacher too.  He comes from a tradition of traditional Vedanta teachers who know the real teachings of enlightenment.  If you want to check them out then the names are there, if you Google them you will see their lineage

[Matthew Lamot]

5 hours ago, cirkussmile said:

Game over? You realize the truth so to speak?

 

Game over means that the egos ignorance is undone.  If you read the PDF below, you will see that the methods you and I are being taught today are wrong, and keep people in bondage.  They are not even accurate.

[Eelco1981]

1 hour ago, Matthew Lamot said:

Not me, not yet.  Just learning the right teachings solved a lot of problems for me.  My teacher is enlightened and his teacher too.  He comes from a tradition of traditional Vedanta teachers who know the real teachings of enlightenment.  If you want to check them out then the names are there, if you Google them you will see their lineage

What names? What are the names of your teacher(s)?

Other question; You mentioned in another post that "It works for me". How do you know it works? What "results" did you have? How do you measure progress? How do you know you are following the right teacher/teaching? What problems have been solved?

[Matthew Lamot]

26 minutes ago, Eelco1981 said:

What names? What are the names of your teacher(s)?

Other question; You mentioned in another post that "It works for me". How do you know it works? What "results" did you have? How do you measure progress? How do you know you are following the right teacher/teaching? What problems have been solved?

Everything I have learned I have already shared here. 

I'm clearly not manipulated by cold shoulder, personal comments, or attached to any outcome.  

I'm not pushed around my the body/mind or the collective unconscious.

I can clearly see the way in wich some people are stuck here.

I know what enlightenment is, its nothing to do with experiences, so i dont chase self experiences.  There has been much re-organizing of the nonsense I learned, my head is much clearer.  Plus im just doing my work and not spending time on forum trying to piece a teaching together because im not being sufficiently fed intellectually.  I have done the course, and am doing the work on a experiential level now. 

My teacher is private, you dont need to know that, and I dont want to bring any karma on them.  My advice is to consult the sampradaya in general and pick a teacher you like.  But the Swartz article is posted for you guys or anyone who wants a critique on the nonsense that is being taught in mainstream western spiritual community today.

Im open to more questions in email, some things I cannot share here because its not allowed.

But you will find the maturity level and quality of seeker is better in the tradition, because her its pot smokers and people desperate for a bit of relief. I joke, but its a different vibe in the sampradaya.  Like attracts like in this world, and this is no more evident than on the maturity level of people posting here and on youtube .

Edited August 21, 2016 by Matthew Lamot

[Matthew Lamot]

23 minutes ago, Eelco1981 said:

What names? What are the names of your teacher(s)?

Other question; You mentioned in another post that "It works for me". How do you know it works? What "results" did you have? How do you measure progress? How do you know you are following the right teacher/teaching? What problems have been solved?

Aso look at the butthurt people here learning this mainstream stuff. Claiming high consciousness, but unable to have a civil conversation or look into something that might serve them better.

There is no hypocrisy in the tradition, because the teaching undoes ignorance step by step.  

[Natasha]

@Matthew Lamot I just read the article you linked 'Advaita Vedanta' and I don't see how what it says is much different from what I hear in Leo's material and other sources/ articles, books, videos. What exactly is the problem? 

Also, according to the 3 stages of enlightenment as it's described in the article, I could be considered enlightened. Cool! 

I know there is more work to be done on my ego (ego shadow). This is what I'm working on. Currently reading 'Discover Yourself' by Dr. Paul Brunton. What do you think of his work? 

[Matthew Lamot]

7 minutes ago, Natasha said:

@Matthew Lamot I just read the article you linked 'Advaita Vedanta' and I don't see how what it says is much different from what I hear in Leo's material and other sources/ articles, books, videos. What exactly is the problem? 

Also, according to the 3 stages of enlightenment as it's described in the article, I could be considered enlightened. Cool! 

I know there is more work to be done on my ego (ego shadow). This is what I'm working on. Currently reading 'Discover Yourself' by Dr. Paul Brunton. What do you think of his work? 

What you need to understand, or not, is that (if you did read the article) you need to receive the teaching from an actual teacher who is enlightened and who is skilled in the Vedantic teaching.

Everything is not the same, emptiness is not the same as realization, nobody can have an experiencw of their true self and there is no such thing as shadow work.  Pick and mix is not adviseable and from what i see here, there is more confusion than work being done.  A proper administered teaching will answer most questions that the forum would become redundant.

You are clearly trying to manipulate the conversation to suit your own ends, because its very clear to me you have not understood the writings (assuming you even read the article)

 

 

Edited August 21, 2016 by Matthew Lamot

[Natasha]

@Matthew Lamot Ok, thanks. Just re-read the article and still don't see any critical contradictions between its content and the material presented by Actualized.org and other sources. I do agree, however, a good enlightened teacher would be quite beneficial for guidance and to help grow awareness  

 

  

[Matthew Lamot]

1 hour ago, Natasha said:

@Matthew Lamot Ok, thanks. Just re-read the article and still don't see any critical contradictions between its content and the material presented by Actualized.org and other sources. I do agree, however, a good enlightened teacher would be quite beneficial for guidance and to help grow awareness  

 

  

The contradictions are glaringly obvious.  The results are staring you in the face, confusion, lack of information, pot smokers, and anyone interested in a quick fix.  Like attracts like.  If you had walked the path of disidentification you would see the asbsurdity of encouraging pick n mix methods, self actualisation in the same forum as enlightenment.

Once a person knows what enlightenment is they would not be advocating self actualization, or teaching it, or attempting to help, helping is an unconscious game and quite clearly shows a distinct attachment to ego and self gratification.

No genuine conscious seeker teaches a subject they are not qualified to teach.  And if you were conscious you wouldnt even be here spreading damaging nonsense videos from you tube.

[Matthew Lamot]

2 hours ago, Natasha said:

@Matthew Lamot Ok, thanks. Just re-read the article and still don't see any critical contradictions between its content and the material presented by Actualized.org and other sources. I do agree, however, a good enlightened teacher would be quite beneficial for guidance and to help grow awareness  

 

  

Natasha, another thing you are misinformed on is that your "other sources" are not even accurate either.  This is what I did not make clear to you personally in this thread.

The surface "ideas" are correct, even in Neo Advaita is in harmony with what the Vedas say.  But they are not teachings, and just because a person themselves could be enlightened (even awakened) does not mean that they have a teaching or are qualified to teach.

Most of the questions i see on here can be dealt with in one session with a Vedanta teacher, and be out of the way immediately.  What you are not getting is there are crucial aspects of the teaching that need to be realized before a student can move on.  So the path of knowledge is unpacked in a sequence, and the realized teacher administers correct practices for the student at the correct times.  Its not just one big free for all and memorize a video or two.  Thats not how it works.

Emphasis in the theraputic side is also a misconception.  In the path of knowledge, if followed correctly the student realizes enlightenment and that is a permanent thing.  There is no going back into ego or its "shadow".

Shadow is a therapy thing, there is no therapy for the Self, once realized completely that is it.  What you are being taught, not only here, but in the whole spiritual community is just nonsesne, because when you understand Vedanta you will see its completely opposite.

So this is why I do not understand where you think that what is being taught today is the path that leads to enlightenment, this just puzzles the fuck out of me quite frankly, because its obvious when you read the material, that what you know is nothing to do with enlightenment, at all!

So, have a third read, and also read what Swartz has to say about Neo Advaita, because when you understand what this Neo Adavita is, you will just drop all association with it.

http://www.advaita.org.uk/discourses/james_swartz/neoAdvaita.htm

And to be honest, anybody who leaves 2 sentence messages on the forum, and expects people to believe it is just fucking stupid in my opinion, no mature person looks at a one line piece of advice and makes something of it.  Where are your links?  Where is your critical thinking?  Where is your credibility beyond some person talking on youtube about one thing that can and is taken out of context?  This is not a spiritual path, its just entertainment.

Swartz mentions a guy who was in Samadhi for 4 years, he thought he was enlightened! But he came out of it and none of his programming had changed.  So what makes you think your experiences translate to enlightenment?  These methods being taught do nothing more than relax the body.

In light of the truth about what enlightenment is and how it is brought about, none of your ideas even make logical sense.  

Edited August 21, 2016 by Matthew Lamot

[Natasha]

@Matthew Lamot 

"At this point everything stops and there is a subtle shift in awareness in which the foreground becomes the background, and the background the foreground" - from 'What is Advaita Vedanta'. This describes the shift I had a few months ago (before this forum even existed and before I was familiar with any teaching at all). It just happened one day and it's permanent. I never claimed to be enlightened, though... perhaps just awakened 

Thank you for the James Swartz/ Neo Advaita link. Will read it shortly.

 

[Blind Observer]

@Matthew Lamot A few days ago I read something about Vedanta in an article that follow this comment, would you agree with the author of it? I'll have a read at the article you display as well, seems interesting, thanks.

http://www.whatneverchanges.com/blog_files/neti-neti-is-not-enough.php

[Matthew Lamot]

1 hour ago, Natasha said:

@Matthew Lamot 

"At this point everything stops and there is a subtle shift in awareness in which the foreground becomes the background, and the background the foreground" - from 'What is Advaita Vedanta'. This describes the shift I had a few months ago (before this forum even existed and before I was familiar with any teaching at all). It just happened one day and it's permanent. I never claimed to be enlightened, though... perhaps just awakened 

Thank you for the James Swartz/ Neo Advaita link. Will read it shortly.

 

People can have awakening and enlightenment.  Some with no teaching.

But there is a difference between spreading a teaching to seekers that is false, and innocent awakenings.

Not everyone is qualified to teach, and like I said, a lot of the misconception around today prevents seekers from realizing, because most teachers are not enlightened, they had experiences through the ego, but this still does not qualify them to teach.

For reason that will be obvious to you once you discover what is happening in the western spiritual community.

[Matthew Lamot]

1 hour ago, Blind Observer said:

@Matthew Lamot A few days ago I read something about Vedanta in an article that follow this comment, would you agree with the author of it? I'll have a read at the article you display as well, seems interesting, thanks.

http://www.whatneverchanges.com/blog_files/neti-neti-is-not-enough.php

Exactly, thanks for the article, I agree with it.  This person has done their homework and have been discriminative and observant to what is going on.

There are deep concepts at the back of the mind that unless seen, one might think they are enlightened.  This is what the teaching does, blows it all out bit by bit.

Yes, we can argue that some teachers have has success with netti netti and other techniques.  Perhaps they got lucky and wrote a book?  Enough people do that and you end up with a culture of chancers.  Combined with corrupt teachings that confuse Yoga with Vedanta.  Not a great recipe for success.

I give the analogy, if you want to cook a MacDonnalds you go ask Ronald for a recipe.  It will give you MacDonnalds standard.

However, if you want Gordon Ramsays 3 star Michelin foie gras, you seek him out because he has got the correct knowledge.

You get what you strive for in life, and unfortunately it's the same with enlightenment.  

Edited August 21, 2016 by Matthew Lamot

[Matthew Lamot]

Also guys, another critique of this forum "spot the ego" in each other thing.

How is that supposed to do anything?

For all I know, those who are calling me, or others out on their ego are just projecting their own?

Maybe there are people who have netti netti'd a large portion of their own ego, but someone comes along and trashes it because they only see you through their eyes.

Leo told me I need to learn.  Learn what?  Go back and learn something that I had moved on from and that he has not even learned himself yet?  This is not a teacher, it is a teacher for people who dont want liberation!  Like attracts like.  Look at the level of insight on here, that relflects the teaching, because for advanced people on this path this is childs play.  Im not listening to this guy because he clearly knows nothing of what liberation is.  

This is a massive problem in this New Age system.  Not one single person is qualified to tell you about your progress on your path except an enlightened teacher who can see where you are at.

This open mindedness thing is just another ego, it not always serves to be open minded, because that can corrupt the process, as it is doing here.  Everyone feels the need to just accept whatever comes their way if its fits who they are.  There is no liberation in this method here.

Even more reason for a teacher with a teaching, and a teacher who has actually embodied the Self.

Edited August 21, 2016 by Matthew Lamot