Believing, Seeking & Faith

Love is, if I had to guess, genuinely knowing that there is no “other”

[weareunity]

Hi janielee

If your guess comes close--as I also believe--, then love may be imagined as some characteristic of oneness, like oneness in action, the language of oneness, the communication of oneness---words fail me. The being ness of oneness. Make
any sense to you or anyone else?
petex

[utopiandreamchild]

Originally Posted by Uday_Advaita

My teacher defined LOVE as - Doing something for the "Other" without having the slightest expectation of anything in return.
He always stressed on personal non-doership
This kind of love can happen only when the separation between a me and the other disappears.
My understanding is that: For a seeker- Love, Compassion and Humility happens when the self dissolves, It cannot be brought about,
Namaskar

That's a love for being a servant of/to others. Thats the kind of love that is, which your teacher forgot to inform you of. Love for self is all important you must love yourself just as much as you love others. Equality is also all important. Love and equality = enlightenment. You should only get involved with things that you love with all your heart. The rest is meaningless. Only love has meaning. Amen

[Moondance]

Originally Posted by Uday_Advaita

Believing, Seeking & Faith
Ripley’s Believe it or Not – was a regular feature appearing in the 60’s in some magazines telling some incredulous stories and unexplained phenomenon. I used to be fascinated to read and ask - Could it be True?

In our day to day interactions, quite often we say – I believe, .. I believe,…. which generally means - I think I know…. or I almost know, but not very sure …..

How does the process of believing happens?

Most people tend to believe hearsay reports, rumors, sensational news items etc. The process of accepting something as true is based on preconceived notions, or the authenticity of the source of information or something they really want to believe.

From spiritual point of view beliefs are a very sacred part of individual persona. These are formed, entirely based on one’s life experiences and the demographics.

Whenever you say – “I believe….”
You are effectively saying that “I do not know…. but I presume, that something to be true……”
Admitting something that you do not know is a great possibility for knowing….
However, the appended presumption immediately reduces the potential of knowing the truth about - that something - dramatically.

The questions that come to my mind are

Are “Believing” and “Seeking” mutually exclusive??

Does believing in something precludes discovering the truth?

Could a Believer simultaneously be a Seeker?

Wouldn’t be conflict among diverse streams of beliefs inevitable?

What is Faith? Is it synonymous with Belief?

When I contemplate on the above, my understanding is: There ought be large number of believers than seekers in this world for the simple reason that in day to day life, believing happens more frequently than seeking. When true seeking happens, the beliefs hitherto held, get abandoned at a place where the seeker is unlikely to revisit ever.

Whereas True Faith is Surrender – It just cannot be equated with Belief

No one can choose the path, a seeker is likely to take. If the seeker emerges on the path of selfless action (Nishkam Karmayog), all his/her actions will gradually tend to happen without the slightest expectation of anything in return.

If the seeker emerges on the path of Devotion / Faith (Bhaktiyog), he/she will have left all the beliefs behind and true Faith will lead to complete Acceptance where the self-seeking Ego will gradually diminish enabling the seeker to unite with…. Him.

If the seeker emerges on the path of Knowledge (Gyanyog), he/she will be guided by a deep thirst for the quest of “Who I am”, looking deeply inward into his heart for the answers - the Final Truth - “Thou art That”

All paths finally have to converge to the ultimate understanding…..
“Tat Tvam Asi”

Namaskar

Good questions, Uday.

Nonduality (small ’n’) in the purest sense of the term refers to the felt-sense gnosis of not-two. The sense that Reality is of ‘one taste’ - all manifestation and phenomena are the expression/movement/modulation of a singular principle. It’s a felt-sense of present immediacy (THIS) where the past and future (and the distortions in perception that they give rise to) are seen to be unreal. This ‘clear seeing’ could be said to be antithetical to the fog of belief and ideology (and other ‘religious’ overlays.)

At the very start of the journey perhaps a certain amount of faith and belief necessary in order to be motivated along the path. But it’s my understanding that real motivation comes from a deep sense of lack, confusion and existential dissatisfaction. In fact it’s the very inability/unwillingness to settle - including settling for second hand beliefs - that makes one a truth seeker in the first place.

[Uday_Advaita]

Originally Posted by Moondance

Good questions, Uday.

Nonduality (small ’n’) in the purest sense of the term refers to the felt-sense gnosis of not-two. The sense that Reality is of ‘one taste’ - all manifestation and phenomena are the expression/movement/modulation of a singular principle. It’s a felt-sense of present immediacy (THIS) where the past and future (and the distortions in perception that they give rise to) are seen to be unreal. This ‘clear seeing’ could be said to be antithetical to the fog of belief and ideology (and other ‘religious’ overlays.)

At the very start of the journey perhaps a certain amount of faith and belief necessary in order to be motivated along the path. But it’s my understanding that real motivation comes from a deep sense of lack, confusion and existential dissatisfaction. In fact it’s the very inability/unwillingness to settle - including settling for second hand beliefs - that makes one a truth seeker in the first place.

Very well said Moondance. Thanks for your insightful inputs.
My motivation came from my first love “Physics”. When I started seeking answers from the scientific thought, I became restless and kept researching on the latest advances in particle physics, cosmology, quantum electrodynamics and even genetics. To my utter dismay I found that the cutting edge theories proposed were well disguised speculations to somehow find a fit with the observed phenomenon.

I also found that the topnotch scientists too made references to ancient wisdom and sought parallels to the concept of non-duality (More particularly Advaita) and hinted that the ultimate truth is reachable through internal (as the sages did) rather than external enquiries (the hallmark of science),

This led me to look inward. That is how seeking happened. Life as it happens is without any purpose and beyond any personal doership of a me or the other.
Namaskar

Originally Posted by weareunity

Hi janielee

If your guess comes close--as I also believe--, then love may be imagined as some characteristic of oneness, like oneness in action, the language of oneness, the communication of oneness---words fail me. The being ness of oneness. Make
any sense to you or anyone else?
petex

Hi petex

Sorry I missed your post earlier.

Oneness is peace and it is in that peace that the oneness is evident. Practices such as yoga, meditation and prayer all help us manifest oneness. And yes I believe the ultimate expression is love but not the love that is romanticised or considered love by society. It is almost unspeakable, cannot be described really.

In silence it arises in talk, it expresses for he or she that is true.

Namaste,

J