The subject is Advaita Vedanta, Non-Duality. That’s what we're going to talk about to you here in the next few minutes. What is Non-Duality? Our psychological and mental condition is the condition of separateness, the condition of duality.
There is the thinker and there are thoughts; there are feelings and the one who feels; there are actions and the one who acts: the author of those actions. That feeling of “me and you,” “others and him;” the feeling of “I in the world,” “I on one side and the world on the other side” – this duality is not real. It’s weird to hear that!
The idea of someone present experiencing life as if life were the object and this “someone” the subject, that’s duality, the sense of “someone” present. In this duality, what we have is separateness, and in that separateness, what predominates in that division is conflict, some form of contradiction, and some form of suffering.
This illusion of duality is sustaining this condition of psychological suffering in your life. It’s only in this psychological condition that there is this duality, only in this psychological condition there’s this separateness, this belief, this idea.
The experience of the senses tells us about this multiplicity. Yes, when we look at the world, what we see are objects, all separate – each one has its color, shape, name, and story... But, actually, what the eyes are seeing is within only one Reality, which is this Consciousness.
This Consciousness is the basis of the whole manifestation, and this Consciousness is not separate as the experiencer and the thing experienced, as the thinker and thoughts, the one who feels and the feelings.
The possibility of Love, Peace, Freedom, and Happiness is the possibility of You in your Being, in your Natural State of non-separateness, non-duality. There are no you and others! If there are no you and others, there’s no conflict; if there are no you and others, there’s no suffering.
There is no truth to this psychological suffering we are experiencing. This is something that is being produced and sustained by the illusion of separateness, by the illusion of duality.
We never approach to look closely at what, for example, fear is. What is fear? You are afraid of the dark, afraid of the wife, the husband, the children, the boss… You are afraid that something you have done in the past might be discovered and you may suffer the consequences. You are afraid of things that happened in the past could happen again now, at the moment, or you are afraid that something will not happen, and you are hoping that will happen in the future. You are afraid of the present, of the past, of the future. You're afraid of the dark room, of the wife, the children, you're afraid... there’s a lot of fear!
This fear has different forms of presentation, there are different fears. All these fears (are) psychological. The fear you have of someone, your husband, wife, or children, is an image you have of someone who can hurt you, injure you, or harm you in some way. Who is this one that can be hurt, injured, or harmed? Who is this one that can be mistreated and detracted? Who is this “I” that you believe to be? An image, a belief, an idea, an idealization that you make about yourself. This carries fear because it sees itself separate from the other.
Relationships, our relationships, are based, settled on fear because they are based and settled on these images – the image you have of yourself and the image you have of her; the image she has of you, and the image she has of herself.
Our relationships with people, our relationships with objects, even with darkness, are the idea of someone who can be visited by a ghost – as if a ghost only likes the dark to appear.
Thus, there is the fear of the dark, of sleeping alone… These different fears are psychological. They are based on this principle of separateness, of duality – “me and non-me,” “others and me.” This “I” is the image, and this “other” is the image. This “I” is afraid of the dark since there is an image that something scary might appear or any danger could happen.
Then, we are afraid of the future and we are afraid of the past and we are afraid of people. So, the fears are many, they are innumerable! You can help me there on your list. What are you afraid of? You're afraid of a confined space, you're afraid of the dark, of the elevator, of using a ladder, of diving into the pool, of height... Fear!
The presence of fear… We never approach the issue of fear; we never look closely at fear since when fear arises, it is fear always in a relationship with something – with others, with the dark, the ghost, the confined space… It’s always “me and the other.” There’s a relationship, and we don't get closer to it.
So, this sense of duality is sustained by this direct non-observation. Then, as long as there is not this observation of fear, fear will not be understood. And here “understood” doesn’t mean “analyzed,” or “intellectualized.” You can understand this principle and still be afraid. Here, understanding fear is to look at this pain of separateness, to what arises when the “I” appears in this relationship.
Approaching this is Self-Awareness. Seeing that this “I” and the other thing don't exist, realizing this duality is to understand the end of it, to perceive, to realize, to verify the end of this duality. Another example… And all this is psychological! Fear is psychological! It is not in Life, it’s in the mind.
Thoughts arise and there is the idea of “someone” thinking – that’s duality. Since a young age, you believe you are the thinker of your thoughts; this is not true. We all know that we don't control our thoughts. If you could control your thoughts, you would think only what you wanted to think about and you would stop thinking or would never think about anything you don't like, what you don't appreciate, what makes you suffer, and that’s not really the case.
Thoughts occur, they happen, and they are invaders. They are not invited; they just show up. It’s not you who produce the thoughts! You don't produce them, they arise. Thoughts arise and there’s this illusion of “I’m thinking,” “I’m producing” these thoughts.
Then, the thought comes and it’s something you don't want – and this “you” is the “I.” This “I” rejects thought, it fights with thought, it wants to repel thought, and it wants to fight against thought. What you don't realize is that this “I” is thought itself – it separates itself.
There is no “I,” there is no duality between you and fear, there is no you and fear. Fear is sustained because there is this identity rejecting that experience. So, there is the illusion of this “I” and the fear. In that division, conflict is established, fear is established, and suffering is established. In this illusion of the thinker rejecting thought, the thinker and the thought are established.
I want to invite you to approach Non-Duality. Non-Duality is staying with what arises and not separating yourself from it, not putting this “I,” this experiencer, this thinker, this observer within that experience. You don't put that image in this relationship with the wife, with the husband, with the children... you don't put that image. You observe when that image appears, and you become aware that it wants to separate itself and that when it separates, fear arises. You don't put this image, this “I,” when the light turns off. You perceive the emergence of this “I” and, with the emergence of this “I” in the dark, the imagination of the ghost.
You perceive the game, you perceive duality… you perceive, you become aware. Then, this duality is eliminated, and when it is eliminated, conflict is eliminated, fear is eliminated, and suffering is eliminated. This model of restlessness, of thought being sustained, all the time inside you, by this duality, by this resistance, by this struggle, because you reject, you try to get rid of, or you identify with and welcome it...
If it is something that gives you pleasure – this “me,” this “I” – you welcome it and mistake yourself for it. It’s just a memory, but you identify with it, you give an identity, so the sense of duality is there. But, if it’s something you don't want, you reject and fight it, and so you still uphold the sense of duality, the sense of separateness. Do you see what we're saying?
There is no “me” and fear. Fear is the only “reality.” If there is fear, there is only fear! You are the fear! There’s no you and fear. And you don't feed it, you bring awareness to that moment, you stay with this experience without separating yourself, and then you find out that it vanishes because that which is what is, is what is – fear is what is, the feeling is what is, the sensation is what is, perception is what is, thought is what is. There’s no thinker!
And when you don't fight, when you don't resist, when you just observe, you bring attention to that moment, mindfulness, then a new Energy emerges at that moment. This Energy is the very Energy of Consciousness, of Non-Duality, so the separateness vanishes. It doesn’t sustain itself, the experience doesn’t sustain itself, because the experience is psychological, it has no existential truth. Do you see?
The truth of this experience of fear... and fear is what it is. However, this experience of fear only exists in this relationship between the observer and the observed thing, between the one who fears and the object of fear. As this has no reality, it’s just a psychological configuration, ideation, a concept of the “me” itself, the “I” itself, the ego itself, it vanishes. Because it vanishes, the illusion vanishes – this is the True Meditation.
Contact with your Being, with your Divine Nature, is the end of ego, the end of fear. Not only the end of fear but also of everything the egoic sense represents. Ambition is based on that, envy is based on that, the pain of loneliness is based on that, anxiety is also on that, and depression is on that.
The sense of ego sustains human unhappiness. The misery of the “I” is the misery of the egoic mind. This is the unhappiness of the person.
Spiritual Enlightenment, Spiritual Awakening, the Realization of your Being, is the Realization of the Truth of Non-Duality. So, Advaita Vedanta points to Non-Duality. When your Natural State Flourishes, when your Divine State Awakens, your State of Being, What is present is Happiness, Love, Peace, Freedom, Intelligence, and the Truth of God.
Advaita means “the first without the second.” The only Reality present in all this manifestation is Consciousness itself, where all this manifestation shows itself, presents itself, as the one Reality, just one Thing. This is the Truth of your Being, the Truth of your Divine Nature.
We have online meetings, and face-to-face meetings, including retreats, to investigate this with you, this important issue of the Awakening of Happiness, which is your Divine Nature, the Truth of your Being.
Therefore, if this is something that makes sense to you, leave your “like,” subscribe to the channel – if you haven't already subscribed to the channel – and we can work this out together. There’s a link in the video description. Join the group and let’s work it out. Ok?
Thanks for the meeting and see you next!
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