The need for action. (Was Re: Spiritual Erudition)

[Dennis Waite]

Apologies again for being 'behind' on these discussions - my excuse this
time is that I have been on holiday!

I was very pleased to see Chuck's post expressing concern about the lack of
practical experience being reported on the list. The ego was very reassured
by Ken's response and the quotation from Swami Lakshman Jee to the effect
that intellectual knowledge is important. After all, 'I' enjoy it -
otherwise why join such a group as this? However, Anand's and Sadananda's
posts seemed to be construing this as deriving practical value from studying
the scriptures *in and for themselves*, which I feel is missing the point.
The scriptures are not intrinsically of any value. They are like the pole
used to lift the jumper to the bar in pole vaulting. They may be of
tremendous value to help 'lift' the individual to the 'bar' of
self-realisation but, in order to actually leap over to the knowledge of
unity, he must leave the 'pole' of the scriptures behind. (If he holds onto
them the bar will be pulled down.)

To pursue that analogy a little further however, we would be unlikely to be
able to take the pole for the first time and break the vaulting record. We
would have to undergo training and considerable practice. So it is, on my
understanding, with the scriptures - especially the Bhagavad Gita. This is a
supremely practical book and I am sure we are meant to use it as such, not
as a text for academic study. Krishna's admonition to Arjuna is to drop all
his mental prevarication and to get up and fight. Similarly, we (to whom,
after all, Krishna is really addressing his comments) should get up and act.

I disagree with Sadananda's belief that no value can be gained from
discussing practical topics. (My wife incidentally would say that in the ten
years that I have been studying Advaita, I have become more selfish, single
minded and boring; disinterested in all of the usual thing that people do to
'enjoy' themselves'. As with Sadananda, I could easily choose to interpret
this as a compliment!) Similarly, Vidyasankar seems to be missing the point.
He expresses concern about his ability to describe his personal experience.
This I cannot accept. Given his obvious ability to discuss Advaita concepts
and theory, practical experience could be related standing on his head. (An
expression to imply complete simplicity and ease, if you haven't come across
it!) Gummuluru, too seems to despair of the group doing other than it is and
implies that 'practical experience' only relates to one's own experience of
the Self, gained through meditation or study.

What about the rest of 'everyday life'? There is not just meditation and
study. There is getting up, washing, eating, driving to work,
working........... etc. Advaita is not just an academic presentation of the
way things really are, which we appreciate intellectually - think and talk
about for part of the time - and then, for the rest (majority) of our lives
carry on 'as normal', in the hope that, at some time (life) in the future,
we will suddenly actually 'realise' the truth in its entirety. Advaita is
(should be) a way of living our lives *every moment*. It is about letting go
of thoughts about likes and dislikes or about results. It is about
dedicating our actions to the Paramaatman. It is about giving our attention
to what is in front of us and responding to each situation as it occurs
without thought of past or future. It is about seeing the person in front of
us as the Self. It is going about our business from moment to moment in full
knowledge that we are not the body or mind. AND SO ON!

All of this is supremely practical and for one to relate a personal
experience of how applying this knowledge to an actual situation enabled one
to realise a truth not previously fully understood can be of direct benefit
to others. This is of far more value in a satsanga than mere intellectual
discussion over a dry academic point from the scriptures (assuming of course
that our purpose is one of 'moving towards' self-realisation, rather than
one of satisfying the ego's demand for the fillips derived from intellectual
discussion).

Apologies if this comes across as unduly critical but it did seem that these
points needed to be made strongly since the thread has apparently died. My
own experience is that I seem, for so much of the time, not to apply the
knowledge I have acquired to my everyday life. It is as though I spend large
parts of my time reading travel brochures and thinking about exotic places
but never actually going anywhere. The path to enlightenment for the
householder seems to require knowledge, meditation *and practice*. It does
not seem likely that the first on its own, or even the first two alone
(assuming that we all meditate for at least an hour each day of course!)
will get us anywhere very quickly.

Dennis Waite
dwaite at interalpha.co.uk

P.S. Ravi - Could you please alter my address in the list (was
dwaite at aladdin.co.uk) as the old address will be removed in the next few
months. I sent this message to the list yesterday but it was returned as my
new address was not recognised. Thanks, Dennis.