As opposed to adding, take away. Continue doing so until all that is left is essence, truth. Neti, neti, neti… not that, not that, not that… until the only thing left is no-thing-ness… pure ‘is-ness’… pure consciousness…pure Being… the source of pure Knowledge… the home of all Knowledge. Thereby, you come to know the One… who and what it is you truly are… Divine. Thereby, you come to know what is useful and what is not.
When asked what I teach, tell them, “The Law of Subtraction.”
The world of spirituality has been shrouded in a garb of mysticism, dogma, laws, rules, and pomp. No wonder so many today are rejecting it. The wheat has been lost to the chaff. The Truth of who and what you are has been buried beneath the indoctrination of lifetimes… conditioning, programming, samskara. Information must be used to free you, not to overtake you. How unfortunate: However well intended, so much beautiful spiritual knowledge has been distorted and misused to overtake people instead of emancipating them. After all, it is called spiritual emancipation for a reason!
Truth is not attained. It is revealed… uncovered. It is already there within you. Nothing need be added. It need only be found within. You merely subtract away this and that and that until your own inner wisdom is uncovered. This is the real purpose of spiritual doctrines and teachings… to awaken you to what is already there within you. I use spiritual texts to reveal what lies beyond all texts. When asked what I teach, tell them the Law of Subtraction. I take away, I unencumber, I free, until you are left with essence, the grandeur of your own being… the Divine, the Truth. This is called true spiritual teaching… the Law of Subtraction. It is an art. It is a science. The diamond is perfected by chipping away and polishing. Nothing is added. There is only to be taken away.
Thank you Brahmarshi! This is a very easy to understand blog on the Mahesha quality; somehow I still have a lot of conditioning around the destroyer value, but when framed as the art of subtraction, it seems I breathe a sigh of relief.
I love this concept. It really negates so much of what is out there in the name of spirituality and self-improvement. It pulls the rug out from under trying to be someone you’re not.
One of the main things I love about what you teach is there is always integrity. Of course, because it always comes from a place of integrity. Each teaching then encourages me to have more integrity with my Self.
In JKD (Jeet Kune Do), one does not accumulate but eliminate. It is not daily increase but daily decrease. The height of cultivation always runs to simplicity.
Bruce Lee
This blog explains Spirituality in a nutshell. It’s about taking away our preconceived notions and samskaras to see we are left with the Atman, our true Self (God Consciousness). Profound!!
Beautiful…Thank you!
Ahh a bruce lee quote i admire bruce lee very much, was watching him on youtube yesterday, he was 1 bright and strong man.
There is a real deep message in this and it seems to make a lot of sense somehow…but I have to say the points about taking away are very scary. I like who I am and my life. I don’t want anything taken away.
Hi Linda,
I appreciate your comment very much. Words have connotations that are often not intended as your comment shows. Perhaps ‘discarded’ works better than ‘taken away.’ And only that which is life damaging would be discarded. Also, you make that call every step of the way… no one else. It is said that the greatest healer is the light of awareness. Over the years, how many things that you perhaps thought were fine have you discovered to be unhealthy or simply a waste of your time? It is more like that than having something taken away from you. It is about living more and more from the place of wisdom within. As you do so, you naturally discard some things.
Some people remain frozen in an unhealthy lifestyle for their entire life. Evolution means expansion of awareness which involves change. Clinging to that which is unhealthy is something that can persist for years if one is not willing to take a deeper look. Know that the evolutionary path is a path of ever increasing happiness, fulfillment and joy. ‘No need to worry.
Exquisite…
I love this blog.
The Law of Subtraction implies the inclusion of intelligence, of reason, of choice to deeply discern and reach conclusions that disencumber. Thanks for providing me a more gentle and palatable terminology. The term “destroy” always made me feel like I had to duck!!!
I love this quote from Sir Anandamayi Ma: “It is Thou that cries out helplessly in distress, and it is Thou Thyself that art the Way and the Goal”.