Pointers

The Pointers page is generally updated on Monday of each week.

The ego is a concept, an assumption. It is merely an idea. What is that idea? It is the notion that you stand apart from the deeper reality of things as an independent and autonomous self, a limited being. As you look into this matter, you find that this assumption proves to be entirely false. So the ego simply evaporates due to discovering its non-existence. There is no “ego death” needed or possible, because there is no ego present to die.

Instead of granting the reality of the ego and then assuming there is some death of it, I would rather say to try to find it in the first place. The finding that the ego was never present is its so-called death. But this is like saying that Santa Claus died when you grew up and found that he was fictional. Whole books have been written and movements have come into being detailing the process of ego death, when in fact the ego is entirely mythical. How can something die that was never present?

Discovering the non-existence of the ego is total freedom, because all seeking, suffering and doubt stem from belief in that notion. The body, mind and all else go on naturally, but things are no longer filtered through the belief in the separate, limited self.

The notion of searching for reality depends on the notion of being a separate someone apart from reality. This is why the ego notion is the root of all other concepts. If I do not have the notion that I am a separate self apart from reality, then how can the notion of a search or ending the search arise in first place? So rather than deal with notions such as overcoming the ego, ending the search and so on, the best and most direct approach is to go back to the fundamental question of “Who am I?” In that, the basic misconception is tackled head on. The ego, which never existed except as an assumption, is seen for what it is — an erroneous concept with no substance. Belief in that notion withers because it has no justification. All the other notions that are spawned by that belief die naturally on the vine. What remains, which is also here and now, is the natural, concept-free state.

The "not this, not this" approach is helpful to clear the brush, but the ultimate aim is to know what you ARE. You cannot expect to get to the bottom of this by mere negation alone. You can say "I am not this or this", but still remain in doubt about your identity. Do you have a sense of what you are, as opposed to what you are not? Take the case of a thirsty man. He can say that water is not a stone, a patch of earth, the sky, sunlight and so on. All of this is very true, but still he may not have swallowed a single drop of water and be as thirsty as ever. The real purpose of negation is to arrive at self-knowledge. So, the question could be put, have you realized your true nature in all of its fullness and clarity? After all, you are not a mere void or negation, are you?  If your real nature is not clear, the search will go on, in spite of whatever other knowledge you have got. A thirsty man must continue in his thirst, even after negating everything that is not water. More important than negation is clear and direct knowledge of your true nature. Even though that is not an object and cannot be captured in words, it still IS and can be known or experienced directly as the fact of your being.

If you look closely at thoughts moment by moment, you will see that the thoughts are not generated by a conceptual "I" at all. "You" actually do not create the next thought. It appears, and the mind steps in and erroneously interprets that the thought was generated by the phantom character called "I". There is no such entity present.

No "I" is necessary for functioning. For example, your heart is beating, your blood is flowing, your cells are functioning. "You" are not "doing" any of that, are you? In the same way, thoughts, feelings and perceptions are happening. Why is an "I" needed? Even if you posit such a "ghost in the machine", the onus is on you to find it and prove its existence.

If you are controlling the thoughts, why would you ever choose an unhappy thought? All suffering is thought created. If you are controlling thought, you should be able to abolish instantly all suffering and unwanted thoughts. Can you? If not, this really weakens the claim that "you", as an autonomous self, are running the show.

The whole universe arises and sets spontaneously in consciousness and has no separate existence apart from consciousness. This consciousness is not some aloof principle, but the very life, energy, substance and reality supporting and informing the appearances. Pure awareness is the source of consiousness.

The key is to clarify your identity.  Meditation or any other practice is not sufficient on its own to accomplish this. Nor are such practices needed for everyone, so no blanket approach is possible. You are. Whatever is to be "attained" is present as the fact of what you are. You already are what you are seeking, but may not know this clearly at this stage. Do not wait for some future event, but see what you are here and now. You most certainly exist. Start with that. What is this that you are? That is the real issue. When this is clear, everything is clear.

No one can deny one's very being, but until this is deeply examined, the nature of one's being is almost always misconceived. Suffering really boils down to living under a confused and erroneous sense of one's identity.

When you reject all that you are not, what remains? What remains is not a nihilistic void or mere absence. The point of the "not this, not this" is to clear away the coverings so you can see what IS. When the conceptual "me" is negated, do you actually disappear? And, if not, what remains? That is what is being pointed to. Remember, in addition to the "not this" pointer, there is also the "you are that" pointer. Even after negation of the "not self", some positive essence remains. This needs to be recognized. If you only negate the "not self" and leave it at that, you will end up in nihilism or a void of nothingness. Such a result could not possibly be the aim or intent of this. You are no thing, but you are not nothing.