You Are the Highest

'The goal of...', is that what you mean, did you say you don't know the goal of...?

Let's look at this, this is an interesting point in Satsang. What is the goal of being open and empty, and what's the point, basically, he is asking in nicer words [chuckling]. What's the point of all of this if there is no control we can wind up in whichever way, ultimately any way, then what's the point? This is very very key, this is very very key, and I feel like hopefully the pointers that come from here will snap us out of this sort of perspective of point, goal, reason. And maybe you may even find a point or good enough reason to be open and empty, let's see. So it has to be tasted, and we can keep talking about it, but it has to be tasted. So, just now [clicks fingers], open and empty, just fully. Don't 'be' open and empty, like 'I am now open and empty', it's not like that. Just [gestures 'letting go' with both hands and exhales]. You're not taking any position including being open. Just notice that about yourself. You can't do it, it is the gie of the moment to you already. This gie is already yours, there is nothing you have to do. Just notice that you are not taking the position of being open or empty. What are you in this? What are you in this? I will propose to you that you are the Highest already and this is apparent to you in This. The Highest that you are, and the Highest cannot go higher, but the Highest that you will ever be is already apparent to you here, unless you're making some shape out of yourself. You're not confused about your true nature as pure Awareness Itself. It is fully apparent that you are witnessing. There is no reason behind it, there is no mechanics you have to use to be that. Just right now, notice this, that you are witnessing all that you perceive. But that You itself is not the object of any perception. So this discovery is only possible when you're open and empty. I'm not saying it's only possible when you're open and empty because Ananta is pointing to open and empty. I'm saying that whether you call it the unborn, whether you call it the notionless existence, whether you call it no-mind, this discovery of the Highest that you can be, the Highest that you already are, not you can be, is only apparent when you are open and empty. You cannot take yourself to be a construct of belief. You cannot identify and then discover That, it is just not possible, no matter what you try. Try the highest practice, at best that highest practice can be preparatory in nature to get you to a point where you can be open and empty. And here [clicks fingers] you don't need. Whatever helps you need is already here. This discovery of your ultimate Reality, of your true nature which is beyond this universe is apparent to you fully as you're empty [clicking fingers], you see. So that Highest which is not subject to time, the good news is, that that Highest is You. So, I cannot find a higher point or reason than this. Now the trouble is that, what does it mean for the non-existent me? What does it mean for the one that I think I am?

It's a trick question because for one that doesn't exist, can that one carry a meaning? What do you mean to the cat sitting next to you?

[Chuckling] No, I'm not going to buy that construct at all. In that you make leeway for, in the term 'apparent' you're saying the unreal now has a better life.

[Laughing] Sorry, I'm not buying that construct because somewhere we want to include this non-existent 'me' in some sort of a narrative, where [it's] actually from the perspective of Reality which is the only 'thing' there is, there is no need to do that. Suppose you're writing a story. And I tell you no, no, but make just sure you include the non-existent cat and everything that's happening to it in that story. You say, Ananta, why you want to include that? 'No, no, please, it'll be nice, I know it's not real, but please, can you just when you say'...

[Let me also help here with the] What you're possibly conveying is that Consciousness does not play the game of suffering empty of the belief in the apparent cat. So then because the game of suffering is not being played by Consciousness, to an observer of your 'life', to that one it may seem like 'Oh, yeah, your life is much better now'. But because you are open and empty, you are not constructing yourself as a construct of time and space and making those comparisons and saying 'Oh, my life used to be like this, now it is like that', you see. Inwardly you are not making those comparisons. If something comes outwardly and someone comes and asks you 'Oh, you've changed, you look very peaceful right now, what's happened to you?'. And then you remain open and empty and if some words come in response to this, which means it may seem like 'Oh I came to Satsang and I came to the discovery of my true nature and then now the false doesn't bother me', some words may come like that, so for communication you may convey like that. But you have stopped identifying with the false one, although in the actions it may still seem like you're taking positions, in the movement of the words because this worldly waking state may continue to show up, in which this body will continue to show up. And in that showing up all the movement that is happening is possible through all bodies including this one. But you will actually lose the ability to make any of these benchmarks, to take any of these benchmarks seriously. We got too far, too far.

Exactly. It's good when it arises like this. What is the point of this? 'I have been in Satsang 10 years – what have I got? What is the meaning of coming here? What is the meaning, what is the point?'. So, it's good because you recognize the place where this evaluative tendency is there, this bed of reasoning is there, this home of reasoning is there which we call the mind intellect, and you don't bother with that. Bother with your nose more than you do with that. And I'm not even joking. Bother with the sensations that you call your nose more than you do with that evaluative tendency, or that ability to reason or give meaning, or to do value judgments, or to put things in a narrative of 'my life'.

[Chuckling] Yes, yes, okay. So, the concept comes. Then, the value that you give to it, does that improve your life?

Yes, belief being the truth value or the reality that we impart on that particular notion.

The minute you put yourself in the box of 'I'm doing good', you're just basically making a big, big punch-me mark for the mind, [saying] for the evaluation which is coming sooner than later saying 'You're not doing that good anymore' or 'You're doing badly'. So it becomes like a roller coaster effect. The minute you put yourself in any limiting construct including 'doing well', it is automatically going to become something that you have to preserve. And when the mind attacks you with the notion 'Oh, last week you were doing so well, but see you this week, you're getting so angry, you're so full of lust, what is happening to you? You've lost it.' So then it can seem like a roller coaster ride. If you're doing well, but you don't make a shape or a judgment out of that, then? It comes and it goes, all the attributes that we may say belong to 'doing well', which is how much happiness is being experienced, how much peace is being experienced, how much joy is being experienced, how much love is being experienced. When you are fully empty of the evaluative tendency about all of this as well, that is when they play as your servants. They are in service to your Being. The minute we put ourself in a construct that we are happy to receive them 'Oh, thank you', then we sort of put ourself in that servitude position and then we become attached. And everything in life, it comes and goes, everything in your perception, it comes and goes. So when they go, then your mind has the possibility to then trouble you and say 'You were doing so well, now you're not doing so well'. If you know nothing about how you're doing, nothing can poke you. So this is where you come to the end of spirituality. We may say, okay, spirituality played a part in this life and all of that stuff, but you come to the end of spirituality being, you transcend even spirituality, the constructs of spirituality which are presumably designed to make you more peaceful, more joyful, more loving, all of these things.