Originally Posted by iamthat

Agree with zorkchop. The mind cannot understand that which is greater than the mind. Which is frustrating for the mind because the mind likes to put things into neat little mental boxes and then it believes that it has understood.

This is nothing to do with traditions or assumptions. This comes from penetrating to those realms of consciousness where mind does not exist.

Iamit may quote from Nisargadatta to support his opinions, but let us consider other things which Nisargadatta says:

Distrust your mind and go beyond. [Then you will find] the direct experience of being, knowing and loving.

To go beyond the mind, you must be silent and quiet. Peace and silence, silence and peace - this is the way beyond. Stop asking questions.

Just look away from all that happens in your mind and bring it to the feeling "I am". The "I am" is not a direction. It is the negation of all direction.

And regarding the need for practice:

Try to be, only to be. The all-important word is "try". Allot enough time daily for sitting quietly and trying, just trying, to go beyond the personality with its addictions and obsessions. Don't ask how, it cannot be explained. You just keep on trying until you succeed. If you persevere, there can be no failure. What matters supremely is sincerity, earnestness; you must really have had surfeit of being the person you are; now see the urgent need of being free of this unnecessary self-identification with a bundle of memories and habits. This steady resistance against the unnecessary is the secret of success.

Meditation is a deliberate attempt to pierce into the higher states of consciousness and finally go beyond it. The art of meditation is the art of shifting the focus of attention to ever subtler levels, without losing one's grip on the levels left behind. ... But you must be energetic when you take to meditation. It is definitely not a part-time occupation. Limit your interests and activities to what is needed for you and your dependents' barest needs. Save all your energies and time for breaking the wall your mind had built around you. Believe me, you will not regret.

Peace