Katie Davis is a Satsang Spiritual Teacher of Advaita, Non-duality, Self-inquiry, enlightenment, spiritual awakening, the power of being now and presence. Since 1999, she has been traveling to offer satsang in communities worldwide. The Awake by Katie Blog is moderated by Katie Davis, author of "Awake Joy: The Essence of Enlightenment." http://www.AwakebyKatie.blogspot.com
Manu Namasivayam recently introduced us to a new Nisargadatta Maharaj Website that I would like to share with you. The website exclusively offers articles related to Nisargadatta and includes hundreds of photos, books, free downloads when permitted, videos and much more.
About Nisargadatta Maharaj - Pronunciation and Meaning, Biography - Meet the Sage - Navnath Sampradaya - Nisarga Yoga - I Am That - Lasts Days: Last Teachings - Mahasamadhi - Maharaj's residence - Monuments of Maharaj - The Style of Teaching - Consciousness - My True State - Memories of Maharaj - Narrations by various devotees - The Famous books of Nisargaddat Maharaj - Various other books about Nisargadatta Maharaj - Traditional scriptures often referred by Maharaj - Where to buy books - A Large collection of photos of Nisargadatta - Download print size portraits - Nisargadatta Quotes from famous books - Other Related Websites - Videos of Nisargadatta Maharaj - Original DVDs - Translations of I AM THAT into various languages.
"Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj was an Indian spiritual teacher and philospher of Advaita (Nondualism), and a Guru, belonging to the Navnath Sampradaya. Sri Nisargadatta, with his direct and minimalistic explanation of non-dualism, is considered the most famous teacher of Advaita since Ramana Maharshi. In 1973, the publication of his most famous and widely-translated book, "I AM THAT," an English translation of his talks in Marathi by Maurice Frydman, brought him worldwide recognition and followers."
The new Nisargadatta Website is truly a dedicated and devotional service to one of the most revered sages of India and the world and I would like to recommend it as an excellent resource.
Devotion is attending the sacred flame in the Heart, rather than mindfully wishing to change what already is. Upon awakening, one could say that we are in prayer all day long, during all that is appearing or being done. The still center point of the spirit is the permanent factor underneath all of the impermanent experiences. In this manner, life seems pristine and sanctified, regardless of how the mind and its time might judge it. Ultimately, we are being the sacred flame and we are effortlessly faithful to being the glowing light.
We finally realize that every life encounter is flowing from the fullness within and we profoundly appreciate the sacred essence, within which all is appearing. We are very much present to life, but attention is resting as the Heart, instead of projecting into the mind's life and its problematic situations and conflicts. We have directly realized that we are not separate from the divine and therefore do not objectify this dimension as a separate power, such as in duality. What greater prayer is there than to humbly rest as sacred unity and simply allow wisdom to do its work?
This inner vigilance has a feeling of objectless worship and reverence. We sense overflowing gratitude and divine appreciation. Vigilance prevents the confusion of our outer, conditioned existence from invading our inner space. Attention "protects" the Heart's flame, much like we would protect a candle from the wind. Witnessing keeps the inner space open, free and clear. Through silent and still watching alone, we are then able to recognize the slightest nuance of emotional contraction, so that we are free of reaction, when things go wrong or other than expected.
We are able to be gentle, patient and compassionate with the ego and that of so called others. When we are silently witnessing grief and suffering, this conscious allowing transmutes the negativity into the precious fuel for unconditional love, while the light seems to glow brighter and thrives. By being consciously present, the sacred loving burns everything into itself and only the loving prevails. Conscious suffering may not be comfortable, but it does have an end. We are no longer afraid of suffering or trying to escape it. When we allow the heart to crack open, we transcend into the perfect peace that we truly are.
Forbearance is one of the last gatekeepers to enlightenment and perhaps best described through my father's words. When I was very tiny and crying, he would often repeat the well known saying that every cloud has a silver lining. Yes, we may presently be sorrowful, but the primary focus is on the shining that surrounds it. This attentive light dissolves the misery, just like the morning sunlight gently parts the clouds.
Forbearance is the patient acceptance of how we presently feel, with the deeper knowing that we are safe and out of harm's way. We are able to maintain a sense of equanimity and innocence. This field of innocence is within you right now and it is a pathway to Self-realization; the only true answer to enduring fulfillment. Self-realization is love's conscious completion and is the end of psychological suffering.
The invitation of these teachings is to devote to being love's light, instead of tending to the phenomenal display called life experience. If we deny this light, we will suddenly find ourselves in the world again and get lost in the struggle. When this occurs, we merely shift attention back to being the open flame and we regain quietude and tranquility. In this manner, we might even be able to welcome the opposition of others as a rising teacher for the freedom of our inner space.
When we are able to consciously rest as the pure beingness within, we are an open window for the unconditional love to flow into the life situation and into the world. We unconditionally accept life as it is, without getting lost in the mind's resistance. In the refuge of timelessness, the past fades away and we respect life for the miracle that it genuinely is. This sacred dimension allows a sense of continuity and security in our lives. We are able to accept, welcome and honor the ever changing conditions and seasons of the life situation. Free of resistance, life is graceful and we experience an ease in living.
Resistance seems unique to the human being. Nature provides many examples of yielding to life, rather than resisting. In a tropical storm, a palm tree yields to the wind and then regains its graceful sway. A river yields to its gravitational force as it descends a mountain to enter the ocean. Winter yields to spring, just as the ocean yields to the tides. A bear surrenders to hibernation, rather than weathering the snows. An eagle soars in the sky and simply glides with the changing winds. Daytime gracefully surrenders to the intimacy of the night. Thought free, nature meets life as it is and never slips into time.
Surrender is a powerful transformer of negative energy, so that we become more present for genuine living. We surrender our anger, fears and desires to the grace that knows the way. When we let go of these contracted burdens in this manner, we regain a gentle lightness of being and an outpouring of peace that is simply beyond the mind and its ideas. The mind-made self and its delusion of control and manipulation are finally finished.
Since we have stopped feeding our thoughts, we are also free of the emotional body and its suffering. Instead of trying to make life conform to the ego's wants and need-based insecurities, we rest in "not knowing" and every life experience becomes a mysterious adventure. Uncaused joy surfaces and comes to the forefront as we discover that life, with all of its idiosyncrasies and what the mind might call its imperfections ... it is perfection.
I invite you to be as still as your meditation or church’s alter, while life's complexities, struggles and failures are passing by. They are only begging for forgiveness and in the light of consciousness, darkness cannot prevail. Be present when they arrive, compassionately allow them while they are here, and notice that after their passing, only the love that you are remains. In this willingness, life's greatest nourishment is adoration.
God's film is Now Playing, but many of you do not experience it, as you are giving your attention to the trailer of a coming attraction; produced by mind and entitled, I Can't Get No Satisfaction. You won't be available for God's film until your interest in this coming attraction ends. However, your interest may never end, because you are the star of this film in production and you just can't wait to see your name up in lights.
Who can blame you, given the circumstances? After all, you are assuming this role for good reason. This script is speaking to you. The theme of your screenplay is dissatisfaction. Your main idea is that something about this moment should change in order for you to be happy. That something could be anything.
A follow up to that concept is that you will need more time for the change to appear. So your film is set in a future time and place. Since this moment is lacking and no other time is here, your desired change has to be written now. As you are the only screenwriter for the movie, it's up to you to imagine and conceive the storyline for your future experience. Your desired changes to the present must follow your motivation, which is again dissatisfaction. As you dislike this moment or desire to re-create it for whatever reason, your unhappiness is being expressed just as you think.
First of all, you might not like yourself. Then again, you might not like others. What if you don't like the way the world is right now? Surely, that calls for a big change. However, maybe you adore this moment and don't want it to change, even as it changes right before your eyes.
As you write your own version of the present, your film is taking shape. Soon it will be developed, but not yet. There will be writes and rewrites, one after another, until you are finally satisfied with the look and feel of this moment. However, let's take it from your first judgment. Everything is going along great and then your star makes an entrance into the scene. Right away, we get a sense of your character's anxiety by witnessing the body language. Then the monologue begins:
"This peace can't last. It never has. Nothing ever works out for me as it should. Why can't I just be happy? If only things were different. I remember when times were good. This moment can't be it. Surely, there's got to be more than this. If I just keep waiting, something great is bound to happen or maybe something bad. No, I can't wait. If I don't make something happen, nobody will. Although, I'm not certain if I can do it. I don't know what to do. In any event, I just need more time."
By the way, how long have you been working on this film? Seems like forever, doesn't it? Just when you think you've got it all right, something happens to upset you and just like that, you've got another scene to write and also direct. Hey, no one said filmmaking was easy. Who knows this better than you?
I've got another idea for ending your movie if you're open to hearing it. As I see it, since your theme is dissatisfaction, what would be more dissatisfying than being unable to satisfy your dissatisfaction. Wow, that's truly dramatic, isn't it? Who knows, it might even help you discover a surprise ending. I mean, what if your character gets so fed up with being dissatisfied and unhappy that he just gives up trying to change the moment in any way?
In this circumstance, its hard to say how he would act. Maybe it's better not to write this ending. You could just leave it up to the moment and see what happens, when your character finally realizes that his situation is utterly hopeless. When he realizes that he can't think of anything to make the present other than it is, he might just accept it fully and be satisfied. Of course, this would change your theme, but you have to admit that it's a great twist on the direction you've been heading.
I know that you have been really busy producing your film unconsciously, but if you can be pure attention for just a moment, I've got an unbelievable proposition for you. Right now, I am watching a terrifc film. It's got everything. I would like you to realize it, as well. It's called Now Playing and it's being created by God as we speak. I don't know him personally, but I am witnessing his production and it feels truly alive and dynamic. While your movie has cost you an arm and a leg to produce and distribute locally, God's film is available now and it's playing everywhere. Best of all, it's free, if you are.
So, as far as the price goes, you can realize Now Playing, if you surrender to this moment as it is, because that's the price of your attendance. And when I say, this moment, I mean exactly This! So, forget about the idea of changing anything here. The script is already perfect. Every detail is being taken care of, so nothing is missing. The set looks and feels authentic to this present time and place. All the actors are in perfect form. Every performance is seamlessly happening and each is Oscar worthy in its own right.
This is real movie making in its truest form, so nothing is being edited out of the story. Not one of us hits the cutting floor. Everyone has an appearance in this film and though the reviews aren't always flattering, the acting is phenomenal. The fact is, Now Playing is not only the perennial winner of best film, its our life as we know it; uncut, uncensored, spontaneous, supersized, formatted to the big screen of awareness and therefore available to any being. Now let's relax, be quiet and open our eyes, because it's showtime!
Sundance Burke is author of Free Spirit: A Guide to Enlightened Being
