More on this book
Community
Kindle Notes & Highlights
by
Kapil Gupta
Read between
January 8 - January 22, 2024
If you are truly sincere about achieving Freedom and Bliss, you will look directly at that which is preventing you from realizing them. Ask yourself, what precisely is preventing you from having Freedom TODAY! Ask yourself, what precisely is keeping you from Bliss right now! Atmamun is a path away from All Paths. It is a journey toward Questions rather than Answers.
We are so enslaved by the mind that we don’t even recognize that we are enslaved. The mind plays a magic trick upon us. And the trick is so fantastic, so brilliant, so ingenious, that it enslaves a man whilst giving him the impression that he is free.
The ultimate teaching for any child would be to understand that fundamentally he is life itself. To teach him that his thoughts do not belong to him. The things that he becomes attracted to are not his attractions. The things that he craves are not his cravings. And that this is the only way to Freedom.
It will lead you to freedom much quicker if you learn who and what you are Not. For if you keep subtracting, there soon comes a time when you can subtract no more.
When your thoughts feel like imposters. And your ideas seem like noise. And your preferences fail to move you. And your pride is easily dropped. You will experience the state of No-Mind. When you lose yourself in the activity you are involved in, and that which seemed to be an insignificant chore now seems like the only thing in the world, you will experience the state of No-Mind.
I will also state candidly that partial truths would not be so readily published if there wasn’t a market for them. The masses are unserious. And thus their appetite for unserious information is exploited.
But the one who is truly serious transforms every single thing that he does into a meditation. In short, he becomes Meditative. Brushing his teeth is a meditation. Putting on his clothes is a meditation. Driving to work is a meditation. Losing himself in his work is a meditation. Talking to his children is a meditation. Kissing them goodnight is a meditation. Washing the dishes is a meditation. Tapping keys on his computer keyboard is a meditation. Everything Is A Meditation. And when everything is a meditation, you have become Meditative. And when you have become meditative, there is nothing
...more
When any artist has had the performance of their life, it was because they happened to dissolve into the performance. They simply disappeared. And because they disappeared, there was no interference. As such, it became a meditative experience.
If you wish to play games, by all means play them. But at least be honest enough to admit this to yourself. Admit to yourself that it is simply too painful to work through the conflicts and the disappointments that pepper your daily existence. Admit to yourself that you don’t have the appetite for the arduous work of attaining inner peace.
If every man and woman were encouraged to address their own needs and their own issues and faults, we would have a society filled with wisdom rather than a society filled with ideals.
Your greatest protection from the world is also your greatest gift to the world: Your Personal Peace. A fraction of daily peace in your own life will benefit you more than any sort of “world peace.”
Parents do not raise children. Nature does. Nature does not make mistakes with children. Parents do. But there is one mistake that nature has made with adults. And that is to allow the biology of childbirth to be granted to all adults.
The vast majority of human beings in the world, myself included, should not have been granted nature’s permission to have children. For this is the sort of on-the-job training that is completely unfair to the child.
You see, a child is a mirror. The most stark and unflinching mirror in existence. And when the parent looks at his child, subconsciously he sees his own inadequacies. And in seeing his own inadequacies, he cannot bear the pain of them. As a result, he attributes the inadequacies to the child.
You can refer to all of the “parenting” tips that fill the popular magazines if you like. But these will only address Behavior. But behavior is never the way to address an issue. To address an issue from the standpoint of behavior is like addressing the problems of a tree at the level of the branch, rather than at the level of the root.
If you wish to raise wise children, stop being a parent. Abandon the idea of ownership. For whatever a man owns, he destroys. Do you not see that you treat other people’s children far better than you treat your own? Why? Because you don’t own them. But the children that you own are the very ones that you take for granted. The truth is that you don’t own your children.
Parents are enslaved by their need for their children to do well. And this causes an enormous amount of pain in their lives. Parents are enslaved by the need for their children to reflect well on the family name. And this produces an incalculable amount of strife.
A child does not need a parent’s teaching. He needs a parent to create for him a certain environment. And this environment will do all of the teaching necessary. If you create an environment of peace, the child will learn to be relaxed. If you create an environment of understanding, the child will be open with his problems. If you create an environment of silence, the child will become averse to the world’s noise. If you create an environment of freedom, the child will have the courage to find his own way.
Imagine that tomorrow morning, your child was going to leave the home. Imagine that you were going to drive him to the airport. And as you were driving him to the airport you sat in complete disbelief that this time actually came.
Imagine that you are driving him to the airport NOW. You are thinking of all the years that have passed. The nuances, the joys, the quiet times, and the conflicts. And you suddenly have this urge to rewind the clock. You have this painfully desperate wish to have just two years of that time returned to you. Even two months . . .
Being a parent is, in many ways, a burden. The burden of possessing too much power. And any human being that is given too much power, even though he may have the best of intentions, ends up abusing it.
If you have children, you don’t love them. You control the times they sleep and wake. You control the things the say, the manner in which they say them, and even the tone with which they are said. You plan their future for them. You make them ask your permission for the most menial privileges. You control their behavior by withholding your affection (I will not call it love). You tell them not to embarrass you. You have free reign to speak to them anyway you like because you know they will be quick to accept your apology. While you are slow to accept theirs.
You do not love them. Not because you don’t wish to. But because you have not yet come to that moment in your life when you see your life as meaningless. And meaningless it is. When your life becomes meaningless. When you can live, instead of asking from life, you will have the capacity to give love. And it will look far different than it does now. The fundamental tenet of love is Freedom. The one who gives love has no need to control. He sees the humanity in the human being. And he loves him for who he is.
What they needed was for you to be so madly in love with them, that they would never feel the need to leave you. What they needed was for you to look into their eyes and see creation. What they needed was for you to give your entire self to them, and keep your mind to yourself.
Do not kiss them on the cheek. Or tell them your lies about loving them. Or fill them with your high-minded advice. Lose yourself in their eyes. And fall completely in love with who they are. Allow them the privilege of feeling that they are worthy of such love. Allow them the intoxication of feeling that they are perfect beings. In losing yourself in their eyes you will give them the love that they have always given to you. And nothing will need to be said.
The worst thing that a parent can give to his child is his Mind. The child’s mind is far superior to that of the parent. This is because it is not well developed. A well developed mind is simply a trash bin that is more full. The more empty the trash bin, the less the trash.
The greatest thing you can do for your child is to not interfere. It is the most difficult thing in the world for a parent to do. But it is also the most important. The mind is the greatest burden known to man. And the less of yours you give to him, the less burdened he will be.
What makes the concept of family so cumbersome is that every member of the family is lost in a search for something. What makes the family so dangerous is that none of the members knows what precisely it is he is searching for.
For those who believe that they know, for those who believe that they are in control, suffering is the order of the day. And endless conflict the staple of their lives. And it all begins with understanding that one is not their mind. In understanding this, the parent begins to hold his opinions and ideas loosely. And once the parent lives in freedom from their own ideas and prejudices, his children will be able to live free from them as well.
Look into your children’s eyes and see all of creation. This is all that needs to be done. For seeing them in this way will give them all the love they will ever need. And they will grow up in the glorious atmosphere of Atmamun.
The world thinks they have everything. But they themselves feel a sense of emptiness. Upon completing their ascent to the top of the mountain, they believe they will see a vista of Truth. But, in fact, what they often discover is an endless landscape of mountain ranges.
It is only when he or she discovers that the chase is Fruitless . . . It is only when he or she discovers that there is nothing to Find . . . It is only when he or she discovers that, in fact, the chase is not a running Toward something, but a running Away from something . . . That clarity begins to dawn.
You wear many faces. Some you show to the world. Some you keep hidden in the closet. And some you cannot bear to reveal even to yourself. Behind all of these faces there is a human being. And behind the human being is the Face-less Consciousness. No matter how beautifully you wear the face of your choice, the wearer will always be more than the worn.
If you continue to live your life as one of your faces, you will never achieve peace. Why? Because it is this very face that robs you of it. Equanimity. Enlightenment. Peace. Nirvana. Moksha. Samadhi. Mushin. These can never be available tomorrow. For tomorrow doesn’t exist. They can only be gotten NOW.
They are available to the one who is willing to exchange his identity of being Something in return for becoming Nothing. And when a man becomes nothing, he instantly becomes Everything!
Mind you, it is not about “swallowing one’s pride.” It is about understanding that there is no pride to speak of. There is only a surrender to the innocence and sincerity of the relationship. The relationship between two human beings. The relationship between a human being and himself. The relationship between himself and his life.
Wisdom is the understanding that we have bought into a game. That none of it is real. And that we have become pawns on a stage. Pawns of the mind. This very realization is the path to liberation. Even if you have this understanding, the understanding will still be fresh and “intellectual” in the beginning. And thus conflicts will continue to arise. But they will become less frequent. And shorter in duration. And one day they will stop altogether. They will not stop because we have run away from them. They will stop because we no longer need them.
We have a problem with the way our kids treat us. The way the waitress speaks to us. The way our spouse scolds us. The way our job makes us feel. The way our boss makes us work. The way the cold makes us tremble. The way the heat makes us sweat. The way the car delays to start. The way our hair fails to part. This is the way it goes for us. And the most tragic part of this is that we fail to realize it. We are given ridiculous adages such as “That’s life.”
Do you want to be a better fireman? Or do you wish to free yourself from the inferno? The wrong question is being asked (it always is, isn’t it?). And believe me, friend, it is always about the question rather than the answer. The question is NOT “How do I solve my problems?’ The question is “Why do I have problems in the first place?”
My friend, fire never harmed anyone. It only harmed those who chose to get in its way. Let the flame burn. Let the problems amass. Let the feelings of ill will flow through you. Let the boss yell and the children scream. The very attempt to distinguish the flame will only make it burn brighter. This flame is simply life being life. And the reason we get burned is because we attempt to put our arm around it and call it Ours.
You only pretend to not want them. You Relish your problems. And this is why they never go away. You will make certain of this. You enjoy the times of sorrow. You feel a sense of comfort when you cry. Wallowing in guilt is a delicacy. Playing the victim is a luxury.
The reason that you have problems is because you gain something from them. And unless the perceived gain from Peace exceeds the perceived gain from Misery, you will forever live in misery. Man gets what he wants. The reason that he is where he is, is because it is okay for him to be there.
