The Nature of Evil and Suffering from the media Love and Awareness Are Identical
A man, who talks about the concept of evil, suffering and an all-knowing, all-powerful and all-loving God, asks how to reconcile the appearance of evil in history. Rupert responds that suffering takes place on the inside, and evil is perceived on the outside. Both these take place when the all-good nature of reality is veiled, when infinite consciousness localises itself and forgets is true nature.
- Duration: 9 minutes and 43 seconds
- Recorded on: Aug 7, 2022
- Event: Webinar – Sunday 7th August
We could define attention as the directing of awareness towards an object of experience. We can follow attention towards the objects of experience, or we can trace attention back towards its source, namely awareness. Once awareness has withdrawn its attention from the content of experience it simply abides in itself, as itself. That is the essence of meditation. Likewise, the highest form of devotion is not a directing of our love towards anyone or anything, it is a subsidence of our devotion in its source: love. If there is any longing in you, trace that longing inwards to the love from which it proceeds. That love is God's presence in the heart. Love and awareness are identical; they are two aspects of our essential self. The have two names because we approach them in different ways: one through the intellect and one through feeling, the path of knowledge and the path of devotion.
A question is asked about synchronicity, and how it fits in to the non-dual framework. Rupert suggests that the idea of synchronicity isn’t possible under the prevailing materialist paradigm because mind and matter are considered two discrete activities. However, there is a direct correspondence between what appears in the inside and what is experienced on the outside. Rupert elaborates using the Mary and Jane dream and dreamer analogy. Synchronicities are like a smile from the universe reminding you that you are connected to it.
A man wonders about the location of ‘I’ in his body. Rupert leads the man in self-enquiry and asks him to tell us about the experience of being aware. The man discovers that the experience of ‘here’ is not a particular location in space but is simply where ‘I am’. 'Here' is not a place in space.
A man, who talks about the concept of evil, suffering and an all-knowing, all-powerful and all-loving God, asks how to reconcile the appearance of evil in history. Rupert responds that suffering takes place on the inside, and evil is perceived on the outside. Both these take place when the all-good nature of reality is veiled, when infinite consciousness localises itself and forgets is true nature.
A man asks, ‘Is life after death good or bad?’ Rupert responds that the nature of life is the same as the nature of death. If the body is how we appear, there is nothing to suggest that the finite mind disperses with the body. Awareness remains in the same way before and after death.
A woman talks about being overwhelmed by responsibilities. Rupert suggests that when we are engaged with something we love doing, there is no impulse to escape. The reason she loves to walk with the dogs is because it allows her to she remain with her self, her true nature. Our being is the source of happiness. Don't allow our peace and happiness to be a hostage of circumstance. That's a recipe for misery.
A man asks why his mind and body sometimes acts like he still has an ego, still needs to protect something. Rupert replies that our thoughts and feelings and behaviour have been arising on behalf of an ego for decades, so a glimpse of our true nature doesn't end the habit overnight, which has a momentum like a boat – after you turn off the engine, it still goes on for a while.
A man describes losing awareness of his mind and body during meditation and says it takes time to integrate back into daily life. Rupert suggests that he organise his life such that he has time to reintegrate into daily life after meditation. In time, try to remain with the presence of awareness when coming back from meditation.
A woman who struggles with intrusive thoughts asks about resistance and non-resistance. Rupert suggests that usually persistent thoughts keep returning because something needs our attention. It is not to be got rid of, not to be meditated away. Could she change her attitude towards it from one of being a problem to something that she is open to?
A woman asks if yoga meditations are meant to unite the body and awareness. Rupert responds that the non-dual understanding is that reality is a single, indivisible whole of love, God's being. The purpose of the yoga meditations is to bring this understanding into the felt sense of the body and to our perceptions of the world.
A man describes an experience he had after listening to a Nisargadatta discourse, in which he felt engulfed by a larger me. He asks how to recreate that experience. Rupert responds using the analogy of space, saying Nisargadatta would encourage us to see that we are not limited to the space of the body. Rupert then leads the man in self-enquiry to discover his unlimited nature.
A man shares a shameful experience he had which makes him question his worthiness. Rupert suggests that this episode does not make him unworthy of this exploration. On the contrary, it makes him eminently worthy of it. He encourages him to use this episode to help himself see clearly that his being has not been diminished or tarnished, and that his behaviour and that of the other person involved were simply conditioned responses.
A man asks about whether evolution’s natural selection favours the separate self. Rupert suggests that natural selection only refers to the preservation of the ‘part’, not the one. There is a difference between the finite mind and the separate self. The separate self is the belief that all we are is the finite mind. Natural selection favours the perpetuation of the finite mind and the body. However, underneath that there is a deeper impulse.
We could define attention as the directing of awareness towards an object of experience. We can follow attention towards the objects of experience, or we can trace attention back towards its source, namely awareness. Once awareness has withdrawn its attention from the content of experience it simply abides in itself, as itself. That is the essence of meditation. Likewise, the highest form of devotion is not a directing of our love towards anyone or anything, it is a subsidence of our devotion in its source: love. If there is any longing in you, trace that longing inwards to the love from which it proceeds. That love is God's presence in the heart. Love and awareness are identical; they are two aspects of our essential self. The have two names because we approach them in different ways: one through the intellect and one through feeling, the path of knowledge and the path of devotion.
A question is asked about synchronicity, and how it fits in to the non-dual framework. Rupert suggests that the idea of synchronicity isn’t possible under the prevailing materialist paradigm because mind and matter are considered two discrete activities. However, there is a direct correspondence between what appears in the inside and what is experienced on the outside. Rupert elaborates using the Mary and Jane dream and dreamer analogy. Synchronicities are like a smile from the universe reminding you that you are connected to it.
A man wonders about the location of ‘I’ in his body. Rupert leads the man in self-enquiry and asks him to tell us about the experience of being aware. The man discovers that the experience of ‘here’ is not a particular location in space but is simply where ‘I am’. 'Here' is not a place in space.
A man, who talks about the concept of evil, suffering and an all-knowing, all-powerful and all-loving God, asks how to reconcile the appearance of evil in history. Rupert responds that suffering takes place on the inside, and evil is perceived on the outside. Both these take place when the all-good nature of reality is veiled, when infinite consciousness localises itself and forgets is true nature.
A man asks, ‘Is life after death good or bad?’ Rupert responds that the nature of life is the same as the nature of death. If the body is how we appear, there is nothing to suggest that the finite mind disperses with the body. Awareness remains in the same way before and after death.
A woman talks about being overwhelmed by responsibilities. Rupert suggests that when we are engaged with something we love doing, there is no impulse to escape. The reason she loves to walk with the dogs is because it allows her to she remain with her self, her true nature. Our being is the source of happiness. Don't allow our peace and happiness to be a hostage of circumstance. That's a recipe for misery.
A man asks why his mind and body sometimes acts like he still has an ego, still needs to protect something. Rupert replies that our thoughts and feelings and behaviour have been arising on behalf of an ego for decades, so a glimpse of our true nature doesn't end the habit overnight, which has a momentum like a boat – after you turn off the engine, it still goes on for a while.
A man describes losing awareness of his mind and body during meditation and says it takes time to integrate back into daily life. Rupert suggests that he organise his life such that he has time to reintegrate into daily life after meditation. In time, try to remain with the presence of awareness when coming back from meditation.
A woman who struggles with intrusive thoughts asks about resistance and non-resistance. Rupert suggests that usually persistent thoughts keep returning because something needs our attention. It is not to be got rid of, not to be meditated away. Could she change her attitude towards it from one of being a problem to something that she is open to?
A woman asks if yoga meditations are meant to unite the body and awareness. Rupert responds that the non-dual understanding is that reality is a single, indivisible whole of love, God's being. The purpose of the yoga meditations is to bring this understanding into the felt sense of the body and to our perceptions of the world.
A man describes an experience he had after listening to a Nisargadatta discourse, in which he felt engulfed by a larger me. He asks how to recreate that experience. Rupert responds using the analogy of space, saying Nisargadatta would encourage us to see that we are not limited to the space of the body. Rupert then leads the man in self-enquiry to discover his unlimited nature.
A man shares a shameful experience he had which makes him question his worthiness. Rupert suggests that this episode does not make him unworthy of this exploration. On the contrary, it makes him eminently worthy of it. He encourages him to use this episode to help himself see clearly that his being has not been diminished or tarnished, and that his behaviour and that of the other person involved were simply conditioned responses.
A man asks about whether evolution’s natural selection favours the separate self. Rupert suggests that natural selection only refers to the preservation of the ‘part’, not the one. There is a difference between the finite mind and the separate self. The separate self is the belief that all we are is the finite mind. Natural selection favours the perpetuation of the finite mind and the body. However, underneath that there is a deeper impulse.