" You cannot be free from all this (mind, soul, enlightenment) easily..." - UG

There are two kinds of 'spiritually inclined' people - the curious and the serious. 

The curious are cautious, and dive into spirituality like they are pursuing a diploma or a degree course, with a greed to 'know' more and  acquire spiritual knowledge. 

All of us, without exception, belong to this category. 

This arm-chair spiritual pursuit or curiosity has its downside. It has a tremendous commercial potential, provides a fertile ground for spiritual 'talkers'. Wordsmiths reign as gurus and become larger than life cult figures. 

The curious thus not only hurt themselves but pave way for con artists who then exploit the gullible.

The serious ones are 'courageous' and are free of gain-seeking of any kind. 

Inquirers like Sri Ramana Maharshi and UG just 'abandoned' everything, throwing caution to the winds, with no thought of any security, plunging headlong into inquiry, pure inquiry for the sake of inquiry. 

With no agenda for any self-aggrandizement or self-attainment, the sages ( only a lucky few) see reality as it is, and turn into beacons that guide humanity. 

Every living and breathing creature knows the truth when one hears it. The moon will never be mistaken for the sun. 

The Real McCoys discourage seeking answers outside...

UG debunks enlightenment and maintains that there is no 'there' there! Nothing other than the most ordinary or natural state of being!

" Mind is a simple mechanical functioning." - UG

"The translation of a sensory perception within the framework of your experiencing structure is THOUGHT." – UG

UG held that the 'translation or the mental process' involved is the casue of division between stimulus and response, giving rise to the trinity, 'stimulus-thought-response', instead of the simple, natural unitary (divisionless) phenomenon of 'stimulus-response.' 

Thought brings about the division or separation ( 'Thought is the squatter' - UG).

UG did admit that thought as memory and experiece (conditioning) is essential for social survival - for securing food, clothing and shelter and to function 'intelligently and sanely' in a social or cultural setting. 

But seeking anything beyond simple necessities of life ( to become someone etc.) is trying to use thought (translation) for purposes other than what it is meant for. This is when thought turns neurotic becoming our enemy.

'There is no you other than the demand to experience..." UG

In this unique take down, UG is debunking ‘time and space.’

Science or any exploration is all about mentation (‘thought’) and measurement (‘experience’) of the material universe (‘matter’).

It is the thought (theory or hypothesis) that postulates ‘space and time’, the dimensions to enable measurement or experience of 'matter'.

Experience or measurement is the only way to corroborate or validate our thoughts (scientific or philosophical theories).

In this context, here is a gem from UG,
‘The word ‘Maya’ means to measure.”

UG explicated that the world is not Maya or illusion (gravity is real) but the ‘experiencing structure’ (‘you’) trying to explore or measure the world, IS the illusion!

The relentless demand for experiencing something or the other is the only way to ensure the continuity of ‘you’.

***

" The value system has created 'you' ! " - UG

The religious, social and politcal thinkers and leaders of mankind, from time immemorial, have used powerful thoughts to shape and mold value systems of the world driving various cultural environments.

Like fish soaked in water, we, humans, are completely soaked in a culturally superimposed 'thought ocean', or 'thought sphere' and live and breathe 'thoughts' every moment of of our lives.

Every living cell in our body (sixty trillion cells) is impacted by the physical environment. Additionally, specialised parts of the human brain ( 'neocortex' ) are involved in handling and processing of the super-imposed cultural 'thoughts and language'.

The physical add-ons to the human brain like the 'neocortex' seem to have developed to deal with the increasing complexity of the 'thought sphere' , the complexity of human knowledge and experience.

'Neocortex', the scientists say, is the prime centre of extraordinary 'cognitive' abilities, cognition being the 'mental' process involved in the act of learning & knowing, knowledge & comprehension.

No wonder we cannot escape thoughts or their influence. Thoughts impact and shape humans even at the 'physical level' ( neocortex like adaptations) and mold them to adapt to patterns of behaviour, the quintessence of any value system.

UG has the last word about dealing with the gravity of the cultural environment and its grave influence on our thoughts and actions:

"The absence of imagination, the absence of will, the absence of effort, the absence of all movement in any direction, on any level, in any dimension - THAT is the thing!" - UG

" Our effort to fit into the value system is consuming a tremendous amount of energy. " - UG

Human journey is all about negotiating the 'biological' and the 'mental' worlds. 

The tremendous biological apparatus with its built-in hardware, software and 'flash memory' ( the components of 'animal cybernetics') has the capability to deal with any physical functioning and survival challenges. 

No wonder humans can thrive anywhere and everywhere - snowy mountains or dark caves, wild jungles, dry deserts or remotest islands. Yes, handling physical threats or challenges for the body is relatively a simple affair.

Mental journey, on the other hand, is a lifelong journey of 'compliance.'

Complying with the incompatible, the unnatural 'cultural norms' or fitting into society or the value system is an exhausting journey. 

The family and its logical extension, the society form the very basis of this rich 'mental world.' 

The idea of 'family' is central or core to our day to day existence. Together with its patron society, it places never ending psychological demands, duties, obligations and  exhausting responsibilities. 

The social challenges of acceptance, compliance or compatibility are all in the doamin of the 'mental' and cause huge amounts of friction guzzling huge amounts of energy and biological resources, leaving us drained, dazed and exhausted.  

UG makes us see this reality here in its simplest and most naked form.

" The question HOW is adding momentum to knowledge...You are a product of that momentum. " - UG

UG narrows down the scope of self-inquiry, strips it down to the nuts and bolts of self-formation, self-sustenance or self-continuity.

UG tears apart the needless complexity or abstraction surrounding the 'self' and calls into question the deep-rooted cultural mechanism behind the build-up of the 'self'.

Our knowledge-based, knowledge-driven psychological existence is exposed or revealed with these four pithy statements:

One, " 'Self' is nothing but 'the movement of knowledge' "

Two, " Experience strengthens knowledge and knowledge strengthens experience"

Three, " 'You' as you know yourself is a product of the momentum of that knowledge passed on to us "

and

Four, " The 'How' adds momentum to the acquired and accumulated knowledge passed on to us.

Who we are, or who we become is the work of culture. Like cattle branding, cultural branding is a proof of ownership. With its humungous repository of knowledge culture molds, shapes and owns Rama or Radha, Saif or Sarah, John or Jane.

" The Mind Is Interested Only In Sensuality " - UG

Every moment there is craving for some experience or the other. It is the most direct and immediate form of 'self'-validation and 'self'-continuity. Our only insurance against self-doubt or uncertainty.

UG points out that craving in any form - intellectual or religious, corporal or social promotes sensuality.

Sensuality or pleasure of experience 'simulates' the 'self' or the psychological beast while sensation 'stimulates' the biological beast to act for survival.