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My Blog from today on Dr. Shankar/YOU are NOT the doer
In the last chapter of Dr. Shankar's profound book, Kaivalya Gita Vol. 1, titled LIFE, he gives a full commentary on: "Man thinks he can control life." I found it so valuable, that it inspired the following BLOG on my website which I wish to share with my brothers and sisters here on the Never Not Here Forum. -Michael
YOU are NOT the doer
March 24, 2011
"The moment you understand that you are not in control,
then you become steady." -Dr. Vijai Shankar
YOU are NOT the doer. You are not in control. Life is--and always has been--for everyone. It's true. You are what sees/watches what happens AS it happens. And the proper attitude for your viewing pleasure and enjoyment of Life (since you have been given the very best seat in the house!), is one of love, faith and awe, and not worry, concern or fear! :)
Not convinced? Okay, let's say that you ARE the doer. And you wish to make something happen. Okay, so you wish to pick up a pen and you do so, now what? See, while you are deciding what the next thing is that you should do, the show is still going on! The movie is still playing! Life is still moving, still unfolding. If life were to pause while everyone on the planet tried to make up their mind as to what should happen next, Life could never work!
As Dr. Vijai Shankar reminds us:
"And what could man control when he is unable to control his own birth, the starting point of his life? And what could man control when he is unable to control his own death, the ending point of his life? When man is unable to control the beginning point and the ending point, how could he control the in-between, illusory story?"
Still some doubt? No problem. Look, the only reason you believe you are the doer is because you have a thought that tells you so. But let me ask you a question: What/who put the thought there? Did you "put" it there? Or, does it just appear spontaneously? And if so, then all thoughts are simply appearing on their own. Therefore, regardless of what a thought may claim, YOU didn't make it appear. And if you don't control your thoughts, then you don't control your actions, since the only way we know to do something is because we have a thought that tells us to do it.
Knowing that Life does all leads to freedom as the struggle drops away. When Life ceases to be a struggle then it can, finally, be enjoyed and admired as the unfolding miracle that it actually is and has always been.
-Michael Jeffreys
- 984 reads
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having no fear as to who is /who is not in control..
or....having no fear when in no control...
only that is true empowerment.
ON IDENTITY...
basui the zen master asks the disciple ....find out who is the real master inside who listens who responds ....
old cunniving monk...
the idea of questioning "WHat Am I"? is not to find an answer...the list which includes a huge list of Bull shits , including the present no -doer to ...brahman..atman ...this and that....
but rather to see into the question as a symptom of fear...
(again in terms of control) of fear of not being in control!
that and only that is what empowerment is
Dear Michael
Thank you so much for your Blog on Dr.Shankar. It inspires me to add more comments upon his teaching, specially since I`ve too just finished reading the Kaivalya Gita Vol.1.
Of course the word "finished" isn`t quite appropriate as the book, apparently so easy in its form, is so deep that we cannot finish it just in one reading.
I also love his humor, it is so contagious that the reading becomes a great fun.
The topic of non-doership is deeply connected with the concept of free will, which he also deals with in Chapter 8.
He tears apart the veils of our concepts such as "I am the doer of my actions" or "I can choose what to do or not to do" in a radical way, showing how illusory they are.
Life is a continuous flow in a timeless and spaceless now and everything in this flow is connected. Things being sepatare is an illusion.
Cause and effect are illusions since there is no time interval between them.
The illusion of cause and effect entertains the belief of free will.
Of course we can also start from seeing that thoughts just emerge completely out of our control, disappearing when they wish.They condition our actions.
Feelings and instinctive reactions make us also act in different ways.
So where is this Free will?
Understanding this - it means freedom to me.But also acceptance for everything that happens in life.
should rape be accepted?
or should the lady( who could be my sister, mother, friend, wife, daughter...) fight the bast!@# and tear his eyes out ?
should rape be accepted?
ahhhh may be yes ...you see the lady is not the doer, she is not incontrol of the rape...and whats more she also has no free will....?
regards
>>>>>The moment you understand that you are not in control,
then you become steady."
wrong.
before such a moment can happen
1. There has to be a moment when one understands that there is such a thing as control..
2. Then there has to be a moment when one understands that he or she should/should not /neednot/is not/is etc etc (be) in "control" in other words an understanding of the consequences of being or not being in control.
ONly then can a moment , where in , one understands that one is not in control can happen.
with this moment ....(of non-doership...No self...which finally , in terms of "freedom" amounts to doership, self/brahman etc ) only the 2nd moment stands resolved. The first moment remains. Unless the first moment is resolved there can be no steadiness.
this first moment is called by several names by several masters..the vedas call in ignorance, Buddha calls it craving, Bible calls it the "apple"....
and what is this first moment....it is the fear of not being in control!
By saying I am not the doer one is running away from this fear.
how we come to terms with this fear(of not being in control ) and attain fearless ness is true steadiness.
to not to fear due to a reason(non-doer, or Brahman etc etc ) is not true fearlessness.
not to fear without any reason is the only true fearlessness/steadiness.
forget about lifting a pen...one can take death/loss/pain..
not to fear death because one is not the doer or one not in control of it or , one not being the one, who is dying...is not a true fearlessness of death..the fear of death reamins..like the first moment which remains...therby which one is only sealing oneself away from it, without facing the fear(teh first moment) as such.
not to fear death as such..let it be real or God damn illusionary.....directly head on ...is the only true fearlessness of death...and true steadiness at death...
similarily doing without fear is life...
running aay from doing is death, cowardice and the apex of morbidity in man.
a true seeeker is one who sees this truth. An enlightened one is the one who attains this truth...
all of us have a minimum of 30-40 years beneath our bottoms. One can start by questioning and tackling the fear head on rather than shying away from it.
regards..
Hello Michael,
Thanks for this, I recognize you from the ET forum. Although I think I know what you are trying to say, I find it far more empowering to think of it as the mind has no control. We, as Life have complete control, for that is our true identity, but as the separte minde/ego that we usually identify with we have no control. If we view each moment as a moment that we have actually created and chosen as Life than there is a lot less resistance and meddling from the mind.