Exploring Radical Non-Duality: A Journey to Pure Consciousness on the Bearded Mystic Podcast

0:00 Hello and welcome to the Bearded Mystic Podcast, and I'm your host, rahul N Singh. Thank you very much for joining today. So I got a question after yesterday's video about the kind of meditation that we did that led us into the non-dual awareness, and I got a question it's a very good question from somebody on Discord. This person who's asked me the question. I consider them to be, you know, more or less self-realized. So I know they have a deep kind of practice in this. They are very, very deep into the practice, not only in the practice, but they are even what they say.

0:47 I can sense the embodiment present too. So, you know, it's not just simply they realized a non-dual state, they're abiding in that one, in that non-dual state, and I can tell that literally by the question. That question shows me everything about that person. So I want to say thank you, and this allows me to go a bit deeper. In fact, this is my radical non-duality kind of video today. So buckle up. There's not going to be any, you know, beating around the bush or um, it's going to be very, very direct, and I think that's the best way to answer this question.

1:33 So he says um, rahul, a question, that which changes is not the self, the unchanging is the true self. Why is this not falling into duality? As I experience it, that which is is before changing, unchanging concepts. The absolute is thus neither the unchanging nor its opposite. Now, now that is radical non-duality and that is the absolute truth. You even have to go beyond duality and non-duality. So, even if you experience the non-dual state, the real abiding is beyond that.

2:25 Now, the thing is, the problem that can occur from this, when done prematurely, is that people can say it can become a competition. Well, are you beyond the beyond and that kind of nonsense? We're breaking that up now. What my friend here says is very correct. Now again, for a beginner, the meditation video is fine. I don't think there's any issues with it for a beginner, and maybe this is a sign for me that I should also at least leave some lines for the deep thinkers and the ones that are really, you know, are in the abiding stage.

3:07 But yes is absolutely right that that awareness that we're talking about, that consciousness, that formless consciousness, is beyond kind of dualism and non-dualism, beyond changing and unchanging, changing and unchanging again, again, manifest and unmanifest. These are states that occur when there is a movement in that awareness in the reflection of the awareness. So I want to make that very clear. So only when there is movement in the reflection of awareness.

3:49 Now there is no real movement going on, there's just, but the reflection can show that there's some movement and then the appearance arises and again, but on the completely non-dual state there's, it's beyond duality and non-duality. Now the reason why I actually do not talk like this mostly is because, again, I understand it can go through mental gymnastics and that's why I kind of avoid it. I don't like doing that. But in times like this I feel it's necessary that when I talk about, or whenever it's mentioned that we become aware of awareness and we go into that state and you, those of you that understand what I'm talking about, you, you've, you're in that state.

4:43 Now you understand what I'm talking about. We don't have to talk about duality or non-duality, we don't even have to say a single word. We don't even have to. We can go beyond silence to. Whatever is expressed is expressed. Whatever is inexpress is inexpress. It doesn't need to be. You know kind of? A notion needs to appear, a thought, a movement, even of thought doesn't need to appear. None of that needs to happen. So that is the ultimate answer. We have to go beyond duality and non-duality.

5:24 However, there's always a however, there's always a reason why we have to talk. So it's accessible for everybody. Now I think one of the most radical non-dual texts is the Ashtavakra Gita. It's completely radical. There's no kind of introduction. You know, in the Bhagavad Gita you know that Sri Krishna is kind of warming up, he gives the direct truth and then he kind of goes nice. But here I can tell you that Ashtavakra doesn't care about being nice, about warming Raja Janak up, he goes straight into it.

6:09 So the last verse of the Ashtavakra Gita and I'm specifically talking about the last verse, and he says where is existence, where is non-existence? Where is unity? Where is duality? What need is there to say more? Nothing emanates from me and I think that's enough. The unity that he talks about is the non-dual state, and what my friend pointed to was exactly what Ashtavakaraji was mentioning here.

6:58 I think that type of message we can be ready for. But there's a reason why it's the last verse in the Ashtavakra Gita, despite everything else being as radical as it is. This one last line, the last verse in the last chapter, the last verse of the Ashtavakra Gita is precisely the way it is for a reason.

7:42 Now, if I say that everything is beyond duality and non-duality, I don't need to make another video after this and that those that grasp that awareness, that consciousness that I'm talking about, that understand that's the only thing, that is. If there is a thing they don't need anything more here is freedom. There's no freedom. There's no one bound in this. We do go beyond polarities. That's when I think someone like Frank Yang makes complete sense. I can understand him then. But there's a reason why we don't do that completely.

8:25 But saying that Ashtavakarji also talks of being bliss, so we can talk about the blissful state of awareness. Now, is bliss separate to awareness? No, and that's the thing we have to catch out. And is existence separate to awareness, to conscious? No. When there's one, you don't need to really say there's one. To even do that is doing a big concession.

9:08 Yeah, so there's a reason why I don't do videos like this, because I feel like if I, if I end up leading to this in every uh video, I would be uh, I would run out for things to say. I kind of have to play the game of duality if I want people to realize non-dual truth and have a non-dual awakening and have a non-dual and lead them to self-realization. I have to use the language of duality If I have to speak to the hearts of everyone that comes across my videos or my podcast, it's a concession I have to make.

10:02 But know this, be radical and understand there's no duality and there's no non-duality. Consciousness, this formless consciousness, is beyond both. There's no duality and there's no non-duality. Consciousness, this formless consciousness, is beyond both. The absolute is beyond both, as my friend said. So I hope you find this video good. Let me know in the comments. Do write to me and tell me did you like this radical non-duality or do you like it when I'm a bit nicer and I entertain the duality?

10:46 I feel like I want my message to reach out to as many people and that's why I frame my videos in such a way. But yeah, I can do this, but I feel I'll be running into the neo-advaita Not saying I will run into neo-advaita, but I'll run into that kind of the mechanics that go on in those circles and that's what I want to avoid. So I do apologize in advance to the ones that have found this pure consciousness. I apologize in advance. But yeah, but let me know, let me know what you think and tell me your experiences.

11:28 Be open, share, but just remember that once you've attained this, there's nothing left to attain, really, because what is revealed is really what has always been here present, that ground of being. One other thing I want to say is that and I think this is an important point and I think this is an important point Because if somebody's watching this on some psychedelic trip or they've taken some sort of substance, I want it to be clear that when you come down from your substance, that state is not going to remain.

12:13 You have to do it consciously, with full alertness, because if you want to transcend the dualism of the mind, you have to use the mind in its full capacity or in its best capacity that it's in. So that's my only warning. But anyway, thank you for listening and see you in the next video.