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Pointers
One of the great disclaimers in Non-duality is that what I'm telling you are "just" pointers; not the truth, not an accurate description, not a perfect recipe, not not not. I looked up the definition of pointer and the one that seemed to apply was hint or suggestion. So the teachers are hinting and suggesting what the hell they're talking about. Now they are have good excuses for why they can't just say the truth and can't describe what they are "pointing" to, but it all sounds very fishy. I notice that the heavies like Nisargadatta and Ramana Maharshi, never use the pointer excuse for why you can't understand what they are talking about; at least not from what I've read.
There seems to be a lot of fishy concepts going around non-duality. When a teacher says you are one without second and she is talking to you, her actions contradict her words. If all is one, wouldn't you just not say anything, thereby being a little more consistent. They all have answers for this, but not really persuasive ones. And then Ramana says he communicates in silence. If I wanted silence, I'd go see a tree or a wall.
I think most of us just hear these concepts, ignore them and move on, waiting for a concept that makes some sense. We pick and choose what interests us and believe and just chuck the rest.
After all, they're just pointers.
What pointers drive you crazy?
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Didn't Ramesh Balsakar write a definitive book on Nisargadatta called "Pointers from Nisargadatta" a title as you'll notice contains the P word?
I'm prety sure in any case that Nissargadata although he didn't use the "pointer" excuse as you put it, he almost certainly maintained that concepts could not capture what he was trying to say which tantamounts to saying that only pointers are pragmatically useful for "talking" about Non-duality.
My own position on the use of "Truth" is that the only viable way to use this is in a wholly deflationary way e.g. "Snow is white" is TRue in English if and only if snow is white. But as you can see this is hardly a path that leads to transcendent truth. Hence we're much better off with pointers and besides they pointers have the added advantage that they prevent fundamentalism and inculcate a sense of humility and irony which are civilising values
Hello RishiEd,
Clear and bright, that’s how I would discripe the way you wrote the article about pointers.
I must agree with most of it. There is just one line that’s very strange.
And then Ramana says he communicates in silence.
How can someone that is silence say something?
I am sure that it is not Ramana, but all the publicers that are getting rich and are trying to put the so called copyright on this stuff, those are the ones that are twisting words around until there are enough people that are buying there books.
Silly as it seems, someone has to read a lot off books to find out that the most of it are indeed just pointers. But ones it is seen that there are no pointers at all, than it is bright and clear… it just IS
With Love…
Wim Hein
You are one "cool guy". Put some of your movies up on this site. (How do you get Youtube longer than 10 minutes?)
For me the deep sleep pointer usually makes me yawn (how appropriate.)
Every teacher has to use it, like it´s mandatory. ¨And now a word from our sponsor ´Advaita´ who made this all possible:
´deeeep sleeeep, it´s cristal clear don´t you see?´
Now back to the studio...¨
It probably is an evergreen because it´s a really useful pointer. Nevertheless it would be refreshing, useful even, to hear a different pointer instead of the ¨every night when you go to sleeeep.....¨
... i can see no difference between pointers and no-pointers.
Both are phenomenon.
Neither is able to bring "me" closer to what i am, ´cause i am already what i am.
Both are equally the phenomenal realisation of what i am as noumenon.
Greetings
Andi