The way of the bird

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them as luminous, amorphous, animated beings. However, it is what we are accustomed to. Vedanta states that the objects of the world are "namarupa" only. Nama means name and rupa means form. The forms and their names go together in the mental process of perception and recognition. Both are projections on the non-dual reality, in the same way that images are projected on a screen. The images are only colored light, the light itself is uncolored. Objects, although they appear to have form, and are recognized by their names, are still non-separate from the space that pervades them. Space allows all the forms of the world to appear. But reality is subtler than space, because it is aware of it. 1.22 "Truth always remains the truth. What is not true never existed." What does it mean that something is true? It means that it exists, it is real. Truth is not an idea or a set of ideas but is a word-pointer to that which never comes and never goes away, that which can always be relied upon. The words reality, truth, existence are all pointers to that which always remains. Truth has permanent being, or existence. That which is not true, on the other hand, does not have any reality and cannot exist, has never existed. 1.23 "All is illusion, but to understand the illusion, illusion is needed." Meeting the Master and accepting the Master's teaching occurs in illusion; like an encounter in a dream. However, to understand that illusion is illusion, it is necessary to go through the phase of acquiring knowledge and applying it to oneself. The knowledge that the Master provides in the form of teaching is ultimately not true, in the sense that the teaching is essentially just a system of ideas or set of concepts offered to the aspirant as a way to make sense of his or her experiences. Ideas and concepts, however useful within the illusion, are still within that illusion and so are not true. Acceptance of the Master's teaching happens because of the faith that the aspirant has in the Master, even though that separation between Master and aspirant is also ultimately false. Despite it all, understanding and self-realization do occur for the aspirant. Once that realization has occurred, the Master's teachings are no longer needed, just as when you reach the shore, you leave the boat at the water's edge. 1.24 "If it is not true, just let it be. Why to harm or demolish what is not?" Generally speaking, it is not necessary to do anything about the external circumstances of one's life. When you are an aspirant, you need to make sure that you have the qualifications needed to receive and accept knowledge from the Master. Apart from that, you can simply let life continue, while focusing free time and energy on understanding the teaching. Trying to demolish the ego or force the mind to stop its flow of thoughts is counter-productive. Such "efforts" only strengthen the sense of doership of the ego. After realization, it is very clear that there is nothing that needs to be done because there is no
false concept of a "doer." Life with its ever changing patterns goes on, but the realized person remains one with the unchanging reality that is always there in the background. 1.25 "What is there when everything is zero? What is true?" Maharaj would often say "Nothing is true." Someone would ask "Surely your words are true?" But he would reply "No, Master's words are not true and Master is not true either." So when he said "nothing" he really meant it! One way to look at this is to break up the word "nothing" into "no thing," so that the phrase becomes "no thing is true." Imagine a balance with Zero on one side and One on the other. Anything that can be objectified-thoughts, feelings, sensations, and experiences, as well as what we consider to be physical objects in the gross world-all this is placed on the zero side of the balance and is called "this," (idam in Sanskrit). On the other side of the balance-the One side-is that which can never be objectified, but which is always there. It is not a "thing" and is called "that" (tat in Sanskrit). That is what is true. 1.26 "All is wrong, nothing is true. Everyone is running in the wrong direction." Maharaj sometimes quoted a sentence that his Master, Sri Siddharameshwar Maharaj, wrote in a small book called The Golden Day: "The whole world is galloping toward Hell." In that book, Siddharameshwar Maharaj comments on how all the inventions and devices of the twentieth century only increased the stress and unhappiness in peoples' lives. More and more emphasis was being placed on seeking satisfaction in the pursuit of a fastpaced, pleasure-oriented lifestyle. He wrote his critique in India in the 1930s. What would he have said if he had lived to see the 1990s? The power of the so-called "wisdom of the world" traps almost everybody. In Vedanta, it is said that millions of lives may pass before there is a human birth in which there is a longing for God and all the necessary qualifications to seek Him. Only when that longing is there will someone start running in the right direction. 1.27 "What you know is nothing. If it is true, you cannot know it." It is characteristic of the ego that it believes that it knows everything it needs to know. Many people speak and act as though they know exactly what the world is like, the right way to live, the correct way to behave. They never question the validity of their opinions. Scientists, materialists, atheists, as well as believers in one or the other of the established religions, all feel that they have the inside track to the truth. And yet all of this scientific and worldly knowledge is knowledge of nothing. Knowledge of objects does not last. It disappears altogether when the knower goes to sleep. That which truly exists, the Self, cannot be known because it is not an object. Can the eyes see themselves? Can the tongue taste itself? Can the knower know itself? The Self is what you are. You cannot get outside of it in order to know it.
Page 1 and 2: The Way Of The Bird Quotations of R
Page 3 and 4: a collection of separate objects an
Page 5 and 6: objects. All of it taken together i
Page 7: yourself as the ego is to forget th
Page 11 and 12: decay that plays itself out much sl
Page 13 and 14: thing that was real. In the same wa
Page 15 and 16: "I am Brahman" is a phrase that is
Page 17 and 18: Maharaj would often use the phrase
Page 19 and 20: continue to play a part but you wil
Page 21 and 22: Understanding the nature of reality
Page 23 and 24: development through accumulation an
Page 25 and 26: tiny spring, is water when it passe
Page 27 and 28: It is always now, whether you are r
Page 29 and 30: "knowledge" in Self-knowledge is re
Page 31 and 32: The world is not a place in which l
Page 33 and 34: 4.4 "I am an ignorant person. I kno
Page 35 and 36: 4.10 "The power is also not true."
Page 37 and 38: more subtle than objects because it
Page 39 and 40: 4.25 "In Oneness, there is neither
Page 41 and 42: 5 May: The "Problem" of the Ego 5.1
Page 43 and 44: The whole of human interaction and
Page 45 and 46: 5.14 "I take bondage on myself." Yo
Page 47 and 48: Fools, dwelling in darkness but wis
Page 49 and 50: Maharaj equates mind with ego, and
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Page 53 and 54: elimination. This is why Maharaj sa
Page 55 and 56: disciples to become what he was. He
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describe your symptoms, and then re
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7 July: The Work of the Master 7.1
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There is no "you" in reality, but t
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fullness (sat-chit-ananda) is your
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and that you are That, just as he i
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The ability to accept what the Mast
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8 August: Grace and Understanding 8
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true nature is pure consciousness.
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Grace is there in the beginning, in
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for its own sake, but for the sake
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yourself everywhere. When you see "
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everywhere and so it is yourself th
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Kabir has washed off the dirt of ig
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9.15 "When his body goes away, the
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9.21 "Only the realized person can
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By his mere glance, Bondage becomes
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10 October: Thinking and the Mind 1
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want something," and all the variat
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It can hardly be emphasized often e
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10.23 "Guests come and go. They nev
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10.30 "It is not easy to cross the
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"You" have disappeared, in that the
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This went on for some time and the
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When you get knowledge of the Self,
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can experience the deep sleep of th
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11.26 "The state of forgetfulness i
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12 December: The Realized Person 12
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again. Because you always know your
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When the eye is single, the whole b
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artificial limitation created by th
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12.24 "Doership rests in Maya and n
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The individual consciousness that e
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The way of the bird

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