Advaita or Nondualism Is Hard

My latest adventure has been studying Advaita or Nondualism. It is not very popular. What got me interested were the books by Tony Parsons, As It Is and The Open Secret. What I believe is peculiar with Tony Parsons is that he never references anyone else. He just speaks about his own experience.

My limited understanding about Advaita or Nondualism is that the concept of individuals is wrong. We are all part of what is called The Self. You can substitute God, Spirit, Buddha Nature, etc., with The Self and you get the picture.

My first exposure to Advaita or Nondualism was through a book I read, The Experience of No-Self, by Bernadette Roberts. It was written in 1982. Roberts was a Catholic nun for ten years. She left the cloister and raised four children in California. During a retreat, Roberts experienced her death and the disappearance of her individuality.

While I enjoyed Roberts book, I wrote it off as somewhat an anomaly. However, as I have written elsewhere, Tony Parsons’ books shook me to the core. It might have been his outrageous statements that what we are experiencing day-to-day is not real. We exist as The Self.

I then got attracted to Ramana Maharshi. Some of the books I was reading kept referring to Ramana. Through a Ramana web site I found a fellow seeker in Michigan. We met for lunch one day, and it was nice finding someone with the same interest. We have e-mailed each other quite a few times.

Another person on a web site got me interested in Advaita and recommended some other authors, including Ramesh Balsekar and Wei Wu Wei.

Finally, I got invited to a local meeting of people who follow Gangaji who was a disciple of Sri Poonjaji who was a disciple of Ramana. Someone also told me about the web casts of Wayne Liquorman (aka RAM TZU), who was a disciple of Ramesh who was also a disciple of Ramana. Those interested in Wayne can go to http://advaita.org/ for more information.

At this time what I believe about Advaita or Nondualism is that it is extremely difficult. It is very difficult to get rid of the ego and attachments. What is also difficult to understand is that enlightenment happens when we are not there. It is experienced by The Self. What I find comforting is that it says that we can wake up at any time. We do not have to meditate for 30 years or practice Zen.

I believe that waking up depends on the willingness of the practitioner to surrender the ego. I believe this is difficult to do without a teacher or Guru. I find the Hindu concepts mentioned by Ramana and others difficult to understand.

Anyhow, I believe there is something to Advaita or Nondualism. I find myself attracted to it but find trying to let the ego go one of the most difficult things to do. Also, I do not know how successful one can be off by oneself trying to experience The Self. Sometimes Grace just happens. Also, they say the teacher appears when the student is ready. Will let you know if a teacher appears.