Robert Adams

[Unseeking Seeker]

***

“ ... then the word "self-realized," what does that mean? It simply means your natural state. It is not something you become. It is something you are. You wish to experience your natural state. What you want to do therefore is to awaken to your natural state, what you are now, but you've covered it up with the personal I. As long as you keep talking about, "I am this," and, "I am that," and, "I need to be self-realized," or, "I need to awaken," or, "I need to do anything," it will never happen.”

Robert Adams

***

[Tara5]

Realize the place that you're in right now, whether you think it’s good or bad, whether you think you're happy or sad, whether you think you're rich, or poor, or sick, or healthy, the place where you're in right now is your right place. That's the beginning. You stop trying to be someone else. You stop trying to change your life. You're in your right place, right now, just the way you are. If you can become happy and peaceful in the place where you are right now, all of a sudden you will find circumstances will change in your favor, and then again you will be in your right place. Whatever change comes along as far as your body-mind is concerned, you are in your right place. The more you can see that, the more you can look at what I just said intellectually, intelligently, the more peaceful you become, the more the karmic patterns begin to break away and you begin to awaken.

It may be gradual at first. You notice that things that used to annoy you, no longer annoy you. You notice that people that you live with, the conflicts you've had, they stop because you've stopped. There's no more trying to get even. There's no more trying to win your point. There's no more trying to find the right book, or the right teacher, or the right anything. You remain centered. You remain free.

Robert Adams

[Joe Mc]

Originally Posted by Tara5

Realize the place that you're in right now, whether you think it’s good or bad, whether you think you're happy or sad, whether you think you're rich, or poor, or sick, or healthy, the place where you're in right now is your right place. That's the beginning. You stop trying to be someone else. You stop trying to change your life. You're in your right place, right now, just the way you are. If you can become happy and peaceful in the place where you are right now, all of a sudden you will find circumstances will change in your favor, and then again you will be in your right place. Whatever change comes along as far as your body-mind is concerned, you are in your right place. The more you can see that, the more you can look at what I just said intellectually, intelligently, the more peaceful you become, the more the karmic patterns begin to break away and you begin to awaken.

It may be gradual at first. You notice that things that used to annoy you, no longer annoy you. You notice that people that you live with, the conflicts you've had, they stop because you've stopped. There's no more trying to get even. There's no more trying to win your point. There's no more trying to find the right book, or the right teacher, or the right anything. You remain centered. You remain free.

Robert Adams

Thank you for sharing this. There a few moments in my life were I had an overwhelming recognition of ... Oh how could I be anywhere else ? It wasn't that my material circumstances as such were marvelous or that I was deeply in love etc. It had nothing to do with anything like that, just a feeling or recognition that I could be absolutely nowhere else so to speak. Yes I have had a few small fleeting recognitions like that and your post reminded me of that. Thank you. Perhaps those feelings were the inklings of a recognition towards something deeper.

[Tara5]

Don't take anything personally. Nothing others do is because of you.
What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream.
When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you will not be
a victim of needless suffering.

Robert Adams.

[Tara5]

Your so-called enemy is really your best friend. The person you don't get along with
is doing you a favor, for he or she is teaching you not to react.
-Robert

[Tara5]

Maharshi’s ‘Arunachala’

It happened, Maharshi Raman was dying. On Thursday April 13th, a doctor brought Maharshi a palliative to relieve the congestion in the lungs, but he refused it. “It is not necessary, everything will come right within two days,” he said. And after two days he died.

At about sunset, Maharshi told the attendants to sit him up. They knew already that every movement, every touch, was painful, but he told them not to worry about that. He was suffering from cancer – he had a throat cancer, very painful. Even to drink water was impossible, to eat anything was impossible, to move his head was impossible. Even to say a few words was very difficult.

He sat with one of the attendants supporting his head. A doctor began to give him oxygen, but with a wave of his right hand, he motioned him away.

Unexpectedly, a group of devotees sitting on the verandah outside the hall began singing ‘Arunachala-Siva’ – a bhajan that Maharshi liked very much. He liked that spot, Arunachala, very much; the hill he used to live upon – that hill is called ‘Arunachala’. And the bhajan was a praise, a praise for the hill.

On hearing it, Maharshi’s eyes opened and shone. He gave a brief smile of indescribable tenderness. From the outer edges of his eyes tears of bliss rolled down.

Somebody asked him, “Maharshi, are you really leaving us?”

It was hard for him to say, but still he uttered these few words: “They say that I am dying – but I am not going away. Where could I go? I am always here.”

One more breath, and no more. There was no struggle, no spasm, no other sign of death: only that the next breath did not come.

What he says is of immense significance – “Where could I go? I am always here.'” There is nowhere to go. This is the only existence there is, this is the only dance there is – where can one go? Life comes and goes, death comes and goes – but where can ONE go? You were there before life.

[Unseeking Seeker]

***

“The last step before awakening is when you no longer react to life and you begin to feel harmony, everywhere, under all conditions, under all circumstances. And then you awaken. But if you are feeling distraught and angry and upset and you are practicing to awaken you will never awaken. As long as you have those feelings. Those feelings have to go first. You have to harmonize yourself with the universe. You have to reconcile yourself to the whole universe, starting with the mineral kingdom, the vegetable kingdom, the animal kingdom and the human kingdom. You have to develop a feelings of love and compassion towards everything.

In other words, devotion leads to Jnana. So the person who is not a devotee to life, a person who has no compassion and no love can never awaken, it’s impossible. It’s a prerequisite to awakening. And you have to develop these traits by yourself. Nobody can bring them to you.”

Robert Adams

***

[Unseeking Seeker]

***

“I'm experiencing the void. I'm experiencing emptiness, so I must be self- realized?"

On the contrary, as long as there is somebody to experience the void they can never become self-realized. The experiencer has to go. Nobody is left to tell about it. You have to go beyond the void. And what happens when you get beyond the void? You become your Self. You become your Self just the way you are, your natural Self. Words cannot explain.”

Robert Adams

Hush! Silence please

***

[Joe Mc]

I was trying to learn a little bit of Jazz theory this morning, trying being the word lol..anyways I was also glancing over some of Robert Adams teachings here and kinda had a synthetic moment if you will. As Robert says, if you are feeling angry and upset and non harmonising with the universe then its going to be impossible to awaken as such,( forgive my paraphrasing as i still dont know how to copy and paste lol) So i was figuring that he is speaking about holding on to these things and i had a woww moment that it's like that in jazz and all music, that there is dissonance and the dissonance,call it resistance or anger or whatever is there but there is always a way out ....
There is always a "Secret Chord" another phrase from the Master Leonard Cohen. There is always the possibility of surrender and resolution and acceptance of our so called enemies as I think Robert Adams is pointing out.

This is a really strong part of his teaching for me that ive picked up from this thread. Accept your enemies and the rancour of this world ..see it for what it is and resolve it if you will. Be with the dissonance and then move into that " Secret Chord." :)

[Tara5]