Live As You Like But Renounce Internally

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Hand-drawn art by Rupali Bhuva
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Reality is without attributes: it is not color, it is not music, it is not yellow or black, etc. What you see is only the qualified consciousness just as you see that bangles or armlets are both made out of gold. [...] You must stop insisting that good alone should happen to this body. You have become the gross body because only one body is the object of your concept. Because we categorize all objects, there is the ego. You perceive the wife as wife, the son as son, the horse as horse and the dog as dog. They are all just Reality. 

Reality is One and only One, without any duality. Reality is only One, besides It, nothing else exists. Then why does It appear as a universe? There is only gold in various ornaments, nothing else. Later on, they are named as bracelets, bangles and necklaces, but their base is just gold and nothing else. 

Reality is forever shining but it is swallowed by the "I". Ego is not Reality, but appears as such. Everything is consciousness. It is not necessary to say, "I am Reality." Birth and death belong to this "I". The five elements, as well as consciousness, are just as they are, but the subtle body which calls itself "I" and which is full of desire eventually succumbs to death. When someone tells us, "Wamanrao has passed away", it means the name is dead. He came therefore he died. Eradicate from your mind that you are some particular "I". That is the sign of "knowledge". He who says, "I am the one who experiences" is swallowed by demons and still remains within the illusion.

It is the hand that lifts, but you say "I lift". The eyes see but you say, "I see". The nose smells, but you say, "I smell". All this is the power of the Self and yet you say, "I did it". That power belongs to God. Who is this ego arrogating "I"? (It) has no place in the palace, but once admitted inside, (it) overrules the king and affirms (its) own existence. But after some enquiry, this ego's existence is easily disproved. Then the king once again affirms, "I am Reality." There is one thing about this condition – there is bliss. If there are two, then there is pain. Where there is One, there is bliss.

An aspirant invariably faces the question, "Shall we continue to run our household or shall we leave it altogether?" Whether one runs a household or leaves it, it accounts to nothing. There is no sense in wearing a holy basil leaf garland around the neck and yet having a rush of anger in the heart. If one is not attentive to one's inner Self, what is the use of the saffron colored robe? The trees, tigers, beasts and birds do not run a household, but does this mean that they have become saints? What is the use if one is not attentive to one's inner Self? One should be alert. The objective knowledge should prove to be untrue. All the affairs we are conducting in the world should prove themselves to be untrue and that which has been taken as untrue should be experienced as Truth.

What is the use if one is not detached internally? The attitude must change. To know that all this [moving manifest mundane existence] is false is an act of great bravery. One should be detached within oneself.  Live as you like but renounce internally.

Seed Questions for Reflection

How do you relate to the exhortation to live as you like but renounce internally? Can you share a personal story of a time you were able to conclude all of your objective knowledge as untrue? What helps you disprove your ego’s existence?

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5 Past Reflections
Anthony is in prison for life and appreciates these Awakin' reflections - thanks for all you do!

His response: To renounce internally is non-doership. Action, with no sense of I as the doer.
Really, all thoughts are ultimately untrue because they are the product of the distorted, conditioned mind.
Ramana Maharishi' s spiritual teachings have always resonated with me. Ramana implores us to seek out the source of I through the inquiry who am I? When we inquire in that manner we discover that the I is nowhere to be found. The I is nothing more than a thought so without thought the I ceases to exist.
Another teaching of Ramana's is to never focus on the seen but on that which sees. When we turn the attention inward toward that which sees we discover our true essence, Pure thought free Consciousness.

JT response - Whenever I am reminded to focus on that which "sees" it takes me to a place of peace.
TE
Teny
Oct 15, 2024
How does one disprove ego and continue to exist? If one knows everything, one can never learn anything more. How does one have a personal story to tell about one's objective knowledge being untrue, if one does not exist? Why would one disprove one's existence? What is the author's purpose to suggest such a thing?
DD
Oct 11, 2024
I like this essay. I think of 'live as you like but renounce internally' as 'be in the world but not of it'. For me, both statements say play the game of living as you want in the external world of appearance while internally renouncing the external as appearance and knowing the real is internal or essential self. I think of my objective knowledge as belonging to the world of appearance and being as real and true as the world of appearance. Likewise, I consider knowledge within my dream to be true only within my dream. My awareness emerged as I learned and reflected about 20 years ago. For me, a big part of disproving my ego's existence is awareness that Real I or Self has been present for as long as I know, and I am confident was present and will be present before and after that, and awareness that ego emerged when I was a child and I am confident will die with my body.
JP
Oct 11, 2024
Who am I? Am I my body? Am I my mind? Am my ego? Am I my breath ?Am I an Indian? Am I a Hindu? Am I my breath? I have been exploring these existancial questions for quite some time. I have come to realize that I have many external froms but my Inner Self is formless. I am a five dimentional human being: physical, mental, emotional, breathing and relational. This my understanding of me. I also have come to realze that they are transient aspects of my life. And my Real Self is beyond all these dimensions. There is an ancient saying in Sanskrit: ekam sat vipra bahudha vadanti. There is OneTruth expressed in different ways. There is Oneness in Manyness. There is Universe in Multiverse. There is Unitive Consciousness that shines in all of us regardless of differentiating individual consciousness. Sadly we get caught up in individual consciouness and walls between ourselves and others. I see the value of objective and scientifick knowledge. Such knowledge is necessary for sur... View full comment