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Why is not everyone interested in Advaita?
Q. My curiosity persists. Why do some people have zero interest in this philosophy or maybe more specifically, why do so many seem incapable of understanding it?
A. Why are some people not interested in classical music? Gardening? Astronomy? Why cannot everyone understand quantum mechanics? Calculus?
Intellectual curiosity and capability depend upon upbringing and genetics or, if you prefer the more traditional viewpoint, karma. Also, most people believe that they can find happiness in the world of objects, status, achievement, etc. Very few have realized that discovering the truth about themselves and the world is the only worthwhile pursuit.
The Void
Q. I am writing you simply because there is no other than you that I remotely know to even say anything to. Last night I flipped. No, I don't mean flipped-out in the traditional sense of the word. I went to bed and, for lack of a better word, the flip happened. Nothing had a independent reality outside of I Am. I know that you know what I mean. Everything was still there, but it wasn't real. This morning it seems as though I have flopped back. A flip-flop. What are the chances of flipping back again? It was kind of scary, and far beyond my wildest imagination.
A. I think it�s quite usual for this sort of thing to happen while the mind is still coming to terms with what has been realized to be the truth. Don�t be impatient. Remember that this realization is �non-duality in spite of duality� � the appearance still continues.
Q. Eliminate everything, everything, everything, and arrive at the 'I'-thought. Eliminate the thought of 'I' and arrive at the 'I'-principle. Eliminate the principle (a concept) and arrive at the 'I' as Absolute. Eliminate the 'I' and arrive at what cannot even be thought of. A void. I don't know what to say to you. It is like Consciousness is supported by what cannot even arise as a thought in Consciousness itself. An undescribable void. Even a concept or thought of this void is only that, a concept or thought. Remove these and bam! - nothing.
On the one hand, it is absolutely useless to even speak of this; on the other (moving outward) the thought arises for a confirmation of something which appears as nothing. Either there is an unknowable support for Consciousness, or Consciousness cannot be thought of and remain Consciousness. The recent realization - that of understanding that the Knower is never changed by what is known (experienced) - seems like child's play now.
A. Eliminating everything is the beginning � accepting everything is the end. What is �left� is what is here now � sarvaM khalvidaM brahma. There is no �void�.
Q. '... accepting everything is the end.' I see that this is the same as saying that I must arrive at the firm conviction that I alone exist.
A. I would never put it like that � sounds like solipsism. There is only brahman and you are brahman. That takes the ego out of the equation.
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