Deconstruct the Constructor

Deconstruct the Constructor

In answer to your first question, you should note (and ponder) Maharshi’s comment in your issue of Inner Directions: “There is no such thing as ‘realizing’ the Self. How is one to real-ize, or ‘make real’, what is already real?”

From the standpoint of the jnani (enlightened), there is no one to whom “enlightenment” pertains; the jnani does not view him/herself as an individual. Where there is only That (by whatever name you call it), not any thing can be considered to be individuated (separate from other things).

From the standpoint of the so-called “unenlightened individual,” there is some “thing(s)” or condition apart from him/her. When this person discovers that they are nothing more than That—and That only—the ideas of “individual,” and an individual’s “enlightenment,” fall away entirely. Paradoxically, this is what is referred to as “enlightenment”!

So, enlightenment is an illusion, as far as the jnani is concerned. When the ajnani is no longer “in the dark,” it is an illusion to him/her also!

Second part of this question:

How to tell “truth” from “illusion”? When you recognize that there is only That—all things are That—“truth” is that, and “illusion” is that too! Such distinctions—all distinctions—are ultimately meaningless. Even when you fall into deep sleep tonight, do you ponder the meaning of truth or illusion? No: they are then nonexistent, as are all

other things and their distinctions. The jnani is “asleep” while apparently “awake.” He sees only That.

Yes (continuing with your queries), you are “beyond desires and their patterns, and the principles that trigger them”— to the extent that you recognize this to be so. “Why should one bother to think about or correct them?”: no need to bother—to the extent that you recognize that you are actually “beyond them.”

Continuing: if there is no such thing (as the jnani asserts) as truth or illusion, can there be any such thing as karma? Who is the “individual” that presumes that some “one” or some “thing” somewhere is evaluating and recording our actions and movements? All is That: you are That, what “you” do is That. In your deepest sleep, there is no identifiable “you”; if that is your condition in deep sleep, will it be otherwise in death? So then, to whom is the history of “your” activities—good or bad—to be attached?

Recognize that when the contents of your consciousness are stripped away (or disappear as in deep sleep), only one condition remains: pure awareness. That is the core of “who” or “what” you are. It is unchanging. All else is changing.

All that you identify as you will evaporate at some point: at death…or possibly before. Frame all your questions from the standpoint of an awareness that has dissolved into That, into the condition that is “experienced” in the amnesia of deep sleep. Consider each time: what is the significance of this question, when there exists no separate I to ask it?