I have been working with a fitness coach/trainer for a while now. It has been a lot of fun. He is excellent. I have noticed that I am quite sensitive to how he responds to me. I sometimes wonder how he feels about a question I have… if he feels like he has already answered it or it is silly, etc. I recall, years ago, feeling similarly with my spiritual teach, professors, etc. The image of me that they held was important to me.
These recollections and current experiences with my coach/trainer have been good. It has brought to light (again) the sensitivity I am sure a number of you have with respect to your interactions with me. I think this is particularly true in the spiritual area when the path is often viewed as one of Neti, Neti, Neti… not that, not that, not that. It could feel like everything you say is wrong. I know that such a response, even from my coach/trainer would be difficult for me.
I want to make it very clear to you all, that the path to enlightenment leaves one with nothing, NO-THING, to cling to. The transcendent is an abstraction, not a concrete concept or ‘thing’. Though infinitely solid and stable, it is also infinitely boundless and without edge or handle to cling to. Any ‘thing’ is not it… not that… neti, neti, neti. You rest into it, rest upon it, like a sort of cosmic cushion. It lies beyond relativity. So it is out of my love and devotion for you, that I keep pointing you in the direction of that which lies beyond all relativity. I love all your questions. I never judge you for them. I am your devoted helper.
Remember that every point has a counter point. Every notion has an equally valid yet contradictory notion. My job is to free you. Anything you cling to is Not That. Please do not forget, that my corrections or introduction of contradictory points to what you may be holding on to is not a judgment of you. Please do not feel that I have made you wrong. It is only to keep you moving forward… to keep your vision looking beyond the horizon and not locked on to a fixed notion, position, or principle. You are the transcendent, the divine, the absolute. My purpose is to awaken you to that. Enlightenment is not about adding anything, it is only about taking away reliance upon that which is Neti, Neti, Neti.
Very sweet blog, thank you.
Such a joy to be with you Brahmarshi! Jai Guru Dev
Thank you.
It has been much too long for me since I have sat with Neti, Neti, Neti. I have just started my own exercise/diet regimen this morning and every food I want clearly fits this notion as well – not that, not that, oh, definitely NOT THAT! Kidding aside, I am very grateful to have read this blog this morning – the reminder of Neti, Neti, Neti couldn’t have come at a better time for me. What else is knew in my relationship with Brahmarshi!
Just last evening, I was reading in Discourses by Meher Baba about the principle of neti neti, which seemed a new concept to me, not sure about that, but what struck me about you mentioning it today in your blog, was that it was very synchronous that the two should pop up so close together in time and space.
As I am reading this blog, my eyes well up and my heart dances gleefully. For 30 years I couldn’t understand the opening statement in Lao Tze’s Tao Te Qing, “The Tao that can be described is not the true Tao…” Now I can see that the meanings are not in the written words, they are hidden between the lines and embodied by an enlightened master. I got to experience something very unusual for me for a very brief moment during our last December class. It was like Brahmarshi’s words directly struck a deeper part of me where no intellectual effort was needed, just an AH and a smile. I will remember this, Neti, Neti, Neti, and move forward. My deepest gratitude to you, Brahmarshi!
Again your words take me into a deeper area of contemplation, making it harder to respond. Thank you. Happy New Year.
Beautiful blog. Thank you. My intellect constantly challenges me, wanting to understand, force and control everything. I know it’s a useful tool, but it all too often wants to be the boss. During one of the meditations this last weekend, I heard a quiet voice tell me to stop forcing and trying so hard. I felt myself rest into a blue green velvety sea that extended to infinity. I think about what you say about letting the awareness go where it wants to naturally go, no forcing, effortless focus, beyond relativity.
What a great t-shirt quote this would be… Neti, Neti, Neti
What a great lesson on the meaning of no-thing.
I experienced my little ego getting a bit bruised when I first became a student. There was even a moment when I felt that I was not worthy of becoming a student of yours Brahmarshi. That time was only four years ago and was very brief however rememberable. I feel very blessed that I had the karma to move through that little episode rapidly and step forward on to the sling shot of evolution that you are. Neti neti neti is becoming my life’s river and although I am sure I am not functioning from a place of class 5 rapids..I am working my way there.
Thank you..your life’s work has become my most exciting reason to be alive.
So many beautiful comments…
Thank you Brahmarshi – I can honestly say I have never cared more about what someone thinks of me, and I find that fact, and this blog very sweet.
This time, this really went in…
“I want to make it very clear to you all, that the path to enlightenment leaves one with nothing, NO-THING, to cling to. The transcendent is an abstraction, not a concrete concept or ‘thing’. …”
This is beautiful:
“So it is out of my love and devotion for you, that I keep pointing you in the direction of that which lies beyond all relativity. I love all your questions. I never judge you for them. I am your devoted helper.”