The Seer

This should not come as news to those drawn to non-dual spirituality. You have discovered an entirely new way of looking at things. Insights have come and you can never go back to the old way of seeing. Your head is in the tigers mouth!

You may have also discovered that talking about these insights puts you at odds with those around you. To even remotely suggest that the individual is not the ultimate source of his actions (and is thus not responsible for creating them) is to invite powerful, sometimes violent opposition. It is as if the world has an unwritten agreement to not look at its most basic assumptions and if you violate that agreement you are in for a rough time.

Nisargadatta Maharaj had a strict policy that his disciples were not to discuss the Teaching outside of the satsang room. Not only did this have the effect of keeping the blind from leading the blind but it helped protect the fragile seedling of the new insight from being trampled by an ego-centric society. While it is not my nature to create policy, I am sympathetic to the spirit of Maharaj’s njunction.

The deepening of understanding and the relief from suffering that comes with a weakening of egoic involvement are usually part of a process. In the early stages particularly, it is best to let the Teaching grow strong inside you before taking it out and parading it on the street. You may even find that as the understanding deepens there is an ever lessening impulse to talk about the Teaching at all.

By Wayne Liquorman