MY POETRY

My Poetry can best be termed 'Post Modern Formalism'. It is an aesthetic poetry returning to the mainstream of classical English Prosody as a reaction against to-day's overworked prosaic free verse, which as Robert Frost succinctly stated".... is like playing tennis without a net'. I repect the principles rhyme and musicality, and where ever possible similes are rooted in Nature. As mystical poetry they demand an elevated language. My priciple influential educators have been Dante Gabriel Rossetti and Algernon Swinburne.

Alan Jacobs

GAZE OF GRACE

Who can be known by enquiring "who frees?"
The Master who dwells in the cave of the heart,
Not separate from one's Self, but being the start,
Of our final search from bond to release.
The Sage appears when the soul is ready,
With strong gaze of grace he says "be aware
Your God and his wisdom are already there!"
He acts as a brake to make the mind steady,
While mercy flows freely in sunshine and air,
Hindered only by our being unready.
If you come to him, meekly with an empty cup,
His grace is then bound to fill it up.
The Master's glance is the grace of the Lord,
He cuts you free with his mighty sword.

ARUNACHALA

Ruby red radiant mountain, see and behold,

Gift of Lord Shiva in fabled days of old.

We pray to reach your holy feet, oh sacred hill,

You, all wisdom-knowledge, are God's own will.

Your grace shines like the bright rays of the morning Sun,

Calling all Devotees to melt into the One.

We yearn to drown in the vast ocean of your bliss,

Like you gave the Mother Divine, the blessing of your kiss.

If you fail to gant me your ever flowing grace,

I'll never know my own original face,

I'll die shipwrecked before I reach the other shore,

To be reborn again in sad samsara ever more.

Whatever be your will, do that alone,

I shall will it too, bowing before your golden throne.

Alan Jacobs

Composed at Arunachala Feb. 2012

SURRENDER

Just seek for the source where mind is based.
You travel alone on a mystery train;
By this metaphor we're comfortably placed,
To travel by providence free from pain.
So put all your heavy luggage on the rack,
Only a fool carries it on his head!
Be glad, accept the predestined track,
Rest quietly, safe at home on your bed!
Surrender in joyful jubilation!
Surrender utterly to God's almighty will,
Surrender with total resignation,
Surrender knowing all will be well,
Surrender whole heartedly with one accord,
Take safe refuge in the all loving Lord!

POOR LOST SHEEP

The poor lost sheep have wandered far from home
In dense bracken , dangerously they roam.
They approach a perilous deep abyss
Which is very far from sheepish bliss .
They follow a false leader of the blind
Nowadays so easy for such sheep to find.
Good shepherd seeks to save them from their gloom,
And deliver them from threatening doom.
.He gently leads them on to pastures green,
A blue water stream so cool and serene.
Then with balm he heals their impeded sight,
The happy flock frisk and skip in sheer delight.
The moral of this tale will be very clear
For those with eyes to see and ears to hear

THE SILENT LAND

 There's a silent land dwelling between laughter and tears,
Arising in our life of worldly dreams and needless fears.
It's not a barren wasteland but a fecund soil of growth,
Towards maturity of soul and one's Self, which beckon both.Move onto that precious goal of peace and Realisation,
The pure conscious promised state of blissful liberation.
Don't get caught in the wild jungle of conceptualisation,
Or become a wierd dictionary of vainest verbalisation.
Instead bathe in the cool blue sea of the silent land,
And feel the waters of Selfhood lap over body's sand.
It's the death of one's maddening morbid melancholia,
A new birth of ultimate happiness and sweet euphoria.
 So it's in the silent land we'll find our heavenly joy,
A state of blessed Being that will never wilt or cloy.

TRUST THAT POWER

Myriads of Gods hold sway o'er the world,
And grant wishes of even the immature.
Even in my dreams at night, I pray to be pure,
Through my mind Bhagavan's truth's unfurled,
What I yearn for, is that He will surely insure
My worship of His lotus feet, so as to lure
My mind from folly, by troubled senses hurled.
The steady worship of His sweet lotus feet
Isn't easy, even for those when sitting near
Him, with hearts full of ardent love complete,
Holding firm faith and full freedom from fear,
Yet monkey mind feels feeble and effete.
We trust in the power of Great Lord Ramana,
He'll free us from the stain of all world drama.

VALE OF TEARS

Life's a swiftly flowing stream of re-born Souls,
All playing different roles on this ship of Dreams,
Ordained by God Almighty to make one whole,
For Enlightenment and Liberation, so it seems.
Many are the changing scenes in time and space,
'Till the soul's reborn after a deep sleep of rest.
A day comes when tired of suffering in this place,
Man searches, and by divine grace he's t...ruly blest.
There's a plea to awaken from this vale of tears,
By Sages through His grace, God sends a teaching,
Which tells us how to wake up from all our fears,
An answer to the Truth for which we're reaching.
We practice that Advaita Vedanta of the Sages,
Revealed to mankind throughout the many ages.

LOVE SONG

 

Love makes our fevered world go round

Love sings from the loud primeval sound.

"Love is all there is" say most great Sages,

A Truth echoed throughout all man's ages.

Love can heal all one's earthly pain and fear,

Love will protect all that we hold most dear.

Love's beginning middle and end dear friend.

INWARD TURNING

Driving the mind inwards, to Self Realisation,
He grants safe passage through life's stormy ocean.
What frail soul will ever be excluded
From the presence of the Holy Supreme?
No matter how depraved or deluded,
His mercy ne'er ends, 'twill always redeem,
Raising the soul from the depth of depression,
And  free one from the `I am the body' obsession.
From passion that churns desire and aversion,
His fresh breeze wafts clear equanimity,
Enmeshed no more in worldly adversity,
Never perturbed by praise nor foul enmity.
We learn that there's the greatest giving
In knowing all are the Self, and are so truly living.

SONNETS METAPHYSICAL

Proud Philosophy proposed to Poetry pure,

Coaxing, cajoling her to serve him as his Queen.

Reluctant, she succumbed, hair-dragged to his lair,

Lured and bedded behind his mental screen.

Uneasy waged their wedlock, heavily hard to bear

Her fairy fancies with his rigid thought machine.

Divorce seemed certain, until from who knows where?

Fourteen lines of metre, meandered on the scene.

Metaphysical sonnets solved their crisis soon

To knit ideas with verses in a subtle form.

He shone as Sun, she swanned as silver Moon

Reflecting wisdom, in stanzas, heartfelt, warm.

They seized the avid reader like a thunder storm,

BEAR WITH IT PRINCES AND PRINCESSES

 

Let's welcome challenge as our golden gate to Liberation!
Any resistance prevents the prize of our promised Realisation.
Mind must never strain to explain nor ever needs to complain,
About all in His great wisdom, our Good God deigns to ordain.

He blesses us with the most precious gift in all of creation,
So pray to surrender irreversibly without pre-condition,
Worry, fear, despair and anxiety must cease ever more,
If we're ever to open spiritual heart's inner sacred door.

Leave all burdens and concerns to Him to solve in His way,
Yet we strive to do the very best we can both night and day.
And we let go of the past, they were all fantastic dreams,
As that which appears is unreal, and not what it seems!

LIFE'S MYSTERY

Ah sweet mystery of life at last we've found thee! All hail

Bright Sun of Self ! By vasanas hiding behind a veil.

For our soul's development, you preordained our life.

Now we're on the razor's edge, sharp as a well honed knife,

Strong effort of Self Enquiry, along with Surrendering

The egotistic mind, are gladly enjoyed, thus rendering,

And scattering those dark black clouds away, revealing

The great light of Self filled with blissful love and healing.

So we surrender without precondition or demand,

Worry and fear must end for ever now, out of hand.

We leave everything to God in every possible way,

But aim to do the very best we can each single day.

ALL IS GRACE

Grace is truly the beginning the middle and the end,
Grace wields her axe to ego's head giving the final blow,
Grace leads to freedom, up the mountain path to gently wend.

All is Grace

That all's finally grace is all that poor pilgrim needs to know,
This knowledge will cures sad sorrows and his pain shall mend,
... Grace kills egotistic mind, Self's treacherous murdering foe.

This is the eternal message beloved Sat-Guru doth send,
Grace will end the suffering world's tyrannical picture show,
To Grace's everlasting love and mercy gladly bow and bend.

All is Grace.

ROSE GARDEN SONATA

God's Rose Garden is an emblem of the heart;

Blooms like blood red rubies shine in Sun's bright light,

Fountains play, and snow white lilies impart

Sweet perfume embracing this perfect sight.

My soul is filled with praise and adoration,

In gratitude to that Mighty Power above,

Who created this astounding sensation,

By which a rose garden speaks of His love.

Marvelling in wonder at such beauty,

Man's impelled to perform his vital duty,

Of awakening from this dire dream of life.

Through strong effort comes his prize for strife,

Grace descends and destroys sad ego mind,

Pilgrim's freed and eternal peace does find.

My Gnostic Gospels

Alan Jacobs - Internet Bible Catalog Title: The Essential Gnostic Gospels Including The Gospel of Thomas The Gospel of Mary Magdalene Alan Jacobs Date: 2006. Publisher: Watkins Publishing: ... bibles.wikidot.com/jacobs This is a free verse rendition

UNSTRUCK MUSIC

Tune in to the unstruck music of the heart,
Hear subtle ethereal sounds impart
Angelic melody from another place,
Where Souls at rest are at peace in grace.
It's the music of the heavenly spheres,
Only enjoyed by those who have the ears
To hear, as Lord Jesus so wisely said,
'Begin to walk and take up your bed'.

This music is composed in rays of light,
Heard in the Self, but unseen by sight.
It's a magic mystery of sound profound,
Hear it once and demon ego's soon unwound.
So rejoice in this Beauty to take one home,
It's all that's contained in the sound of OM!

GANAPATI MUNI'S 40 VERSES IN PRAISE OF BHAGAVAN VERSIFIED

Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi by Alan Adams Jacobs | Luthar.Com: HarshaSatsangh

http://luthar.com/bhagavan-ramana-mahars...

Site dedicated to Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi

EGOECHTEMY

The laser beam of finely honed attention
Dives inward with breath and mind retention,
Searching for the source of ‘phantom me’.
It cuts through five sheaths and veils we see
Of habits, thought forms and selfish will,
Formed over many life-time's dreams, so ill.

The Pearl Fisher finds nothing on the floor
Of his deep interior ocean bed no more;
Then one time his mind drops in his heart,
He touches 'ego', and it falls apart.
Crash, crash, it topples, shakes, and then falls down.
The Granthi Knot’s been severed at its crown.
Open heart surgery has been performed,
The errant soul no longer quakes, deformed.

MY BIO. and details of books can be seen here.

http://www.mantra-books.net/authors/alan...

108 sonnets for awakening

There is an extract from my new book on this site

http://www.advaita.org.uk/extracts/sonnets_jacobs.html -

CONFLICTS AFFLICT

Don't search for Real Happiness in the outside.
Else there's inner conflict the direst divide.
...

Don't strive for methods to beat such conflict,
It adds to your pain and your soul you'll afflict.


Search for its Source and find all solutions,
Conflict thrives between two false resolutions.


If you're merely concerned with just winning
Falsity moves on and mocks ever grinning.


Ego springs from this world with its sick culture,
Never struggle with such a vile vulture!


Ego mind can't escape from this wicked trap,
Instant reaction's caught in this world's muddy map.


Truth can't be found by the moving false I,
So mind must keep still for ones ego to die.


Beware of the meandering movement of one's false I,

No interruption ends the corruption of fake 'me' and 'my'.


Self Knowledge's ever conferred and maintained
By Self Knowledge, and right thinking's retained.


Spontaneous action never leaves any trace
Of mistake, such pure mind's kept ever in place.

Freshly young, a precious tool in hand; we find.
Only silent consciousness knows disorder in mind.


So striving to see conflict in mind only by thought
Conditioned and disordered, it will continue its fault!

Suryanarayana Raju & Alan Jacobs

DAKSHINAMURTI

The Primeval Sage in silence sits,
Emitting waves of God-Love to all those
Who rest surrendered at His sacred feet.
Mis mystic sight means He surely knows
How to destroy Devotees mournful woes
That prevent their climb to a holy place.
His merciful aid abundntly flows
Ever to grant pilgrim the power to trace
His Self ablaze in tranquil sea of grace.

A SUFI SONG

I'm quietly waiting at the tavern door,

Oh cup bearer hand me a cup of wine,

So I may enjoy the bliss of Self once more,

And rest assured in the love of God Divine.

The Sheikh called from inside the tavern hall,

"First dear child you must die to ego mind,

You'll hear the blessed bridegroom's call,

Cross the threshold, and the bride you'll find.

You wallow in the pleasures of the world,

Be still in the sacred silence of your heart,

Then in life's dream you'll no more be hurled,

From soul's wedded state ne'er more depart".

His fragments of soul then came together,

He found his Inner Master and then gave up,

His senses wandered through all winds of weather,

Then the faithful bearer brought the vintage cup.

The Sufi had obeyed his master's call,

He'd done his best to stay quite calm and be,

He'd waited with great patience in the tavern hall,

The door then slowly opened and he was free.

THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST

Life’s not some glamourous gambling game,
A throw of mindless roulette on life's wheel
Of scarlet-red time, and jet-black space;
A play of dice numbered by some numb brain:
It is much more than that my dearest friend!

We slipped from our Natural State the Self,
And fell into a gross material dream.
Our angel wings were badly bruised and hurt.
After suffering, we prayed to come back home,
And in His Grace, God-Love sent a unique Sage,
To wake us from our dark nightmarish plight,
Repeating birth and death through many lives,
Drowning in a whirlpool of sad predestined fate .

Surrender and Self Enquiry are His cure.
The mind which sent us on this ego trip
Of failing, now yearns to find one's Self again,
'Twill aid us, if real earnestness is there .

ALL IS GRACE

Grace is truly the beginning the middle and the end,

Grace wields her axe to ego's head giving the final blow,

Grace leads to freedom, up the mountain path to gently wend.

All is Grace

That all's finally grace is all that poor pilgrim needs to know,

This knowledge will cures sad sorrows and his pain shall mend,

Grace kills egotistic mind, Self's treacherous murdering foe.

This is the eternal message beloved Sat-Guru doth send,

Grace will end the suffering world's tyrannical picture show,

To Grace's everlasting love and mercy gladly bow and bend.

All is Grace.

SONG OF THE TOREADOR

 Lord, send me a matador to slay the bull
Of self so egotistic,
Give him the final coup de grace that will kill
This vain narcissistic.

Worldly desire is the waving red rag
To this mad idiosyncratic,
Stirring him to furious excitement,
So he's almost psychiatric.

Picadors of life's stings enrage the bull,
The matador is the ace gymnatic,
He slays the bull at last,
In a ceremony quite orgiastic.

THE TREE OF LIFE

 

On the tree of life every leaf calls his Name,

When they bow gracefully from green to gold.

They obey His will when e'er they fall to earth,

To greet next budding Spring for a fresh rebirth.

So 'tis with our human kind, much the very same,

We leave this vale of tears when we grow old,

To be reborn again for yet another lifetime's turn,

Unless blest Self Realisation, in this life we earn.

A woodsman went to cut down a mango tree,

A passing Sage called out in sudden peal of rage,

"Don't axe this fruitful tree, you'll cause her aweful pain,

Let her rest in peace in Gods sunshine and His rain.

Then I think, my blessed son, you'll soon agree,

'Tis kinder to spare her life and let her fruit to be".

SOUL'S GARDEN

 I garbed myself in the green garment of my Soul's garden,

And for all my willful waywardness begged God's pardon.

Mercifully He replied "my child all is so very well,

I will save you from planet Earth's hard prison cell.

Hearken to my voice deep inside your spiritual heart,

Never again shall you and I feel distant and apart.

All is well unravelling perfectly as it should,

Yes all is well, predestined for your ultimate good!"

CLEAVE WITHIN THE HEART

 Let's cleave to our Sat-Guru within our heart,
With all soul's love, praise, worship, main and might.
You're there ready and waiting for us. You impart
Knowledge, take us to bathe in Your sea of Light,
And win blest freedom from demon-ego elf.
Let us forever hold You always in our sight,
Lead us on to that Great Realisation of the Self,
Remove dark clouds that hide ...our Light like night!

Even our bodily pains reminds us of Your grace,
Our love remains for your teaching and Your Name,
Help us to see once again our real original face,
And realise the one true Self that's just the same.
Oh Sat-Guru lead us from the darkness into light,
Make us whole, in Your all embracing loving sight

ROSE GARDEN REVELATION

 

You're the dazzling diamond drop of dew

Glistening on my green garden of flowers,

There I contemplate the Greatness of You,

Midst snow white lilies and red rose bowers.

Their fragrant perfume fills the champagne air,

I am raised to heights of exaltation,

I've witnessed a sight so magical there,

My mind falls into my heart, in Realisation

Of Your Name, a moment pure so full of light,

The sublime beauty of the celestial, rose

Up and drowned my mind's perverted sight

In a sea of Love, ever ending my dark night.

SURRENDER AND ENQUIRY

Enquire within, who basks behind our mask?
To regain that Selfhood we lost at birth.
Just seek for the source where mind is based.
You travel alone on a mystery train;
By this metaphor we're comfortably placed,
To travel by providence free from pain.
So put all your heavy luggage on the rack,
Only a fool carries it on his head!
Be glad, accept the predestined track,
Rest quietly, safe at home on your bed!
Surrender in joyful jubilation!
Surrender utterly to God's almighty will,
Surrender with total resignation,
We leave it to grace, to grant us release

HAPPINESS

All beings yearn to be happy, always;
Happiness without a tinge of sorrow,
To enjoy a life of carefree days,
Taking no burden of thought for tomorrow.
When restless mind's at peace in deep sleep,
What glimpse of worry, grief or despair?
So happiness lies therein, buried down deep.
How to find this treasure, awake, aware?
Ask the question, who am I, and from where?
That's the essential means of the holy task,
Ending ego's `me' and `my', that's there.
No pleasure endures in things of this Earth.
Surrender whole heartedly with one accord,
Take safe refuge in the all loving Lord!

THE GOLDEN ROAD TO SAMARKAND

PROEM
Sweet to ride forth at evening from the wells,
When shadows pass gigantic on the sand,
And softly through the silence beat the bells,
Along the Golden Road to Samarkand.
We travel not for trafficking alone;
By hotter winds our fiery hearts are fanned:
For love of knowing what should not be known,
We take the Golden Road to Samarkand.
James Elroy Flecker
FROM THE GOLDEN ROAD TO SAMARKAND

We're carted in a cosy caravan of dreams,
Driving fast across vast desert waste.
Nothing we see is exactly as it seems,
From mirage to death we race in reckless haste.
The Master Sheikh cries "wake up you sleepy one,
Within you shines the Great Almighty Sun!".

A boy had cause to cross that golden sand,
To find his fond father in Samarkand.
His journey was beset by many trials,
The brave lad trekked for miles and miles.
He trudged on when all seemed sadly lost,
He persisted regardless of all human cost.
Grace came in camel shape, the beast had strayed,
So back to his father, his way was safely made!
The fierce blazing heat of noon-day Sun,
Afflicts each caravan on its lonely way.
The camels yearn for water, but there is none,
Until they reach some oasis, one blessed day.

The Sheikh cries "The Sun is like God's will,
Driving your caravan across the golden sand;
Water's like Real Truth, which you need to fill
Your heart, and cut your knot of bondage band!"

A traveller traversed across that desert plane,
Soon he became thirsty from the blazing heat,
He prayed for water from a fall of rain,
To save his life, his journey then complete.
He glimpsed an oasis, 'twas a mirage it seems,
Such is our wasted life, a caravan of dreams!
The Sheikh calls "come to my tavern, there drink
The ecstatic ruby wine of love divine!
Enquire into who's that one who thinks?
Soon you'll find your inner Sun sublime,
That lights your mind of wandering dreams,
And makes you see a world that only seems
As Real, when its all a false delusion;
That's the very root of mind's illusion!"

A pilgrim knocked hard at the tavern door,
Alas he found it locked and firmly closed.
No answer came although he did implore
The Sheikh to help in what he then proposed.
Then he heard a voice within the tavern cry,
"My son, to ego mind, you first must die!"
The One Eternal Sheikh is our blessed Self,
Not treacherous, perverted monkey mind,
Like some diabolic demonic elf,
It flits from every tree to tree it finds.

So hearken to the wisdom of one's Master Sheikh,
As he teaches freedom and the way to wake.
The Sheikh in the desert on the golden way
Frees us from the bleak jail of every day.

A man met his Master one blessed day,
And enquired, "how free myself from 'mind'?"
The Master said "if you turn within my way,
In search of your own false self you'll surely find,
The real freedom you so urgently desire,
Be reborn again in God's great sacred fire!"

Alan Jacobs

ALL IS GRACE

 Grace is truly the beginning the middle and the end,
Grace wields her axe to ego's head giving the final blow,
Grace leads to freedom, up the mountain path to gently wend.

All is Grace

That all's finally grace is all that poor pilgrim needs to know,
This knowledge will cures sad sorrows and his pain shall mend,
... Grace kills egotistic mind, Self's treacherous murdering foe.

This is the eternal message beloved Sat-Guru doth send,
Grace will end the suffering world's tyrannical picture show,
To Grace's everlasting love and mercy gladly bow and bend.

All is Grace.

GOLDEN KEY

 

Feel `I am awareness', absolute, pure, ever free

From strife. Let your skiff's white sail unfurl to bless;

Be kissed by the soft breeze of love, on the open sea,

Feel `I am awareness'.

Unattached to mind or body, our life is choiceless,

Free as an auburn autumn leaf which tumbling from the tree,

Is blown by the breath of breeze and rests effortless.

To sip love's flowering scent like a bumble bee,

In the radiant rose garden of essential beingness;

That, for you, dear friend, is the golden master key.

Feel `I am awareness'.

AM I THE SOLE DREAMER IN THE DREAM OF LIFE?

This is a philosophical essay for a change, for pondering and possible feed back. Alan

AM I THE SOLE DREAMER IN THE DREAM OF LIFE?

SOME FOOD FOR DREAM FIGURES IN MY DREAM TO PONDER

1.  AM I THE SOLE DREAMER WITHIN THE DREAM?

‘I believe that I am Pure Infinite Absolute Consciousness- Awareness-Bliss, that is my True Nature, Brahman the Self.     Unfortunately this Truth has been obscured by my many latent tendencies accumulated in this and previous lives. However, I know that I exist, and this causes the Light of Pure Consciousness- Awareness to arise and to be reflected by the mirror, formed by my latent tendencies and egotism, so that the world, body, and mind that appear  seem to be real but are actually unreal, like a dream projected on my screen of Pure Consciousness.

 Am I therefore the sole dreamer of that dream, the so called ‘others’ being merely dream figures in my preordained, choreographed dream of life?

Of course after Self Realisation the Jnani sees the world as Real because he perceives the substrate to be Brahman. Therefore as Shankara points out, the world is both Real and Unreal seen from different standpoints or levels of ‘understanding’.

        As a provisional doctrine, the world must be perceived by the Ajnani as Unreal, and myself as the sole dreamer within the dream, to lessen my identification with the apparent World, and save precious energy for Self Enquiry, so as to remove the vasanas which prevent that  Enlightenment, when the world will appear to be Real again. This practice of seeing the world to be a dream, provisionally, was recommended by Sri Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi until Self Realisation when the substrate of the world would be perceived and the world could be seen to be Real..

Thus this is not exactly Philosophic Solipsism such as Bishop Berkeley and others have propounded, which does not admit the world to be Real in any circumstance.

2. A WARNING

While still holding on to the ‘I AM THE SOLE DREAMER’ notion keeping it in mind, one must always live and behave as if the apparent dream and its dream figures are actually Real. This is because the dream figures are conditioned in one’s preordained dream world to react aggressively if one’s behaviour does not conform with what is regarded as ‘normality’ by them, i.e. not acting as if their dream world was Real. The dream world imposes consequences on the ‘sole dreamer’ who does not conform to its preordained character, of behaving as if it was real. Such is the nature of Maya.

3. MAYA

Maya is one of the powers inherent in Brahman to create an illusion in the human being, so that the so called world is a dream like appearance. This is because, inbuilt in the organ of cognition (brain) are the a priori conditioned reflexes of Time, Space and Causality as Arthur Shopenhauer pointed out in his major work ‘The World As Will and Rpresentation’. Schopenhauer had studied the Upanishads and early Buddhist Scriptures

.Every sentient being creates his or her own universe, e.g. from the mosquito to the chimpanzee etc. according to the structure of their organ of cognition. In the human being, the inbuilt mechanism of Space creates the theatre or screen of consciousness on which the pre-programmed dream unfolds. This unfolding of 32 frames a second in perception, gives an impression of events happening in temporal sequence, and it is compounded by the observation of changes apparantly taking place, in the so called ‘Natural Forces’ which are seen in my life dream. The Causal Faculty deduces a reason for so called ‘happenings’, which may be accurate or inaccurate, and the ‘me’ acts accordingly in response.

4.NOTES ON THE DREAM OF SUFFERING IN AN UNREAL WORD

Everyone complains about the immense amount of suffering which appears to happen in their individual dream of the world. But the world cannot be viewed horizontally and judged, just as it seems to appear on the screen of consciousness. It is better understood vertically as a dense thickly populated field of Karma, where the hand of preordained destiny is constantly directing the dream figures to action, designed ultimately for their spiritual development.

 These dream figures interact all the time unknowingly, and a world of suffering appears as a consequence, but internally they are being taught a severe lesson forcing them to pray to turn within, and end their dreadful repetitive cycle of dream births. Then aid arrives, and Grace descends in the form of the Enlightened Master who gives certain Non-Dual Religious and Spiritual Wisdom Teachings which show the way to escape from the prison house of the dream. But it needs persistent work on oneself, through Self Enquiry and Devotion, to remove all the old latent tendencies which cause the dream. Then the Self shines through, and the suffering soul wakes up and the dream ends forever.

5. MORE ON THE DREAM FIGURES 

To imagine that there are ‘ some others who are real’ in the dream of life, is like imagining that all the dream figures in one’s private night dream are dreaming the same dream as you are at exactly the same time.

6. FIRST PERSON EVENTS

Only one’s own first person events have any validity. We have no experience whatsoever of other persons’ first person  events, and only interpret them by inference which is widely open to misinterpretation by us, and cannot be relied upon with any exactitude. The ‘other’ can only be interpreted as a ‘dream figure’ because we have no reliable experiential evidence of his or her actual existence or consciousness, except as dreamed by us, and then superimposed by us upon him or her. We are left with being the Sole Dreamer until Realisation of the Self unveils the substrate of the world which then may be perceived as Real and is no longer a subjective dream.

7. OBJECTION

Most important Philosophers state that the case for solipsism is formidable. But none have ever defeated it effectively. Instead it is a viewpoint they ‘prefer’ not to accept.The best objection comes from Schopenhauer who says that ‘the object necessarily implies a subject’. But as the subject supplies the object, as has already been stated this fails.

8. GENERAL OBSERVATIONS

  Wittgenstein believes that Solipsism is at the core of the Metaphysical. Even the Subject’s relationship to Philosophy and other Philosophers is a Solipsistic experience. It is impossible to get beyond the boundaries of the egotistic self until one Realises The True Self of Pure Consciousness. What evidence is there of a World beyond our mental states other than the deceptive senses which are all untrustworthy? To infer there is a world from other dream figures statements is nonsensical, as it begs the question of ‘who makes the inference?’ ‘The subject, and the reply from the object, the dream figure, is supplied by the sole dreamer, oneself.

Perhaps the last word is expressed by the greatest Sage of the millennia since Adi  Shankara, the Great Sri Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi, who said “The world mocks you for thinking it to be Real”.

9. AN EXERCISE

An Exercise in Self Remembering is to feel firmly ‘I exist, I am here, now, awake in the dream of life’, and watch one’s  Self Awareness arise. Then one can feel that the body, mind and world are merely reflections from the light of pure consciousness mirrored by the latent tendencies, one becomes aware of one’s awareness, which is an approximation of the Self.

10. ULTIMATE PERSPECTIVE

From an Advaita, absolutist perspective, all is One. The dream is a dream dreamed by Brahman or the Godhead, and as ‘I Am That’ it is my sole dream as only ‘I’ have the first hand experience of ‘That’. This concept can only be experienced when the latent tendencies (vasanas) are all expelled through Self Enquiry and the mind is surrendered to the Sat Guru in the Heart, and one has Realised the Self.

11. Helpful Quotations

“Our revels now are ended. These our actors,
As I foretold you, were all spirits, and
Are melted into air, into thin air:
And like the baseless fabric of this vision,
The cloud-capp'd tow'rs, the gorgeous palaces,
The solemn temples, the great globe itself,
Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve,
And, like this insubstantial pageant faded,
Leave not a rack behind. We are such stuff
As dreams are made on; and our little life
Is rounded with a sleep”

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

“All that we see is a dream or a dream within a dream” Edgar Allen Poe.

“I am the one Being’s sole immeasurable Bliss: No one I am, I who am, is all that is.” Sri Aurobindo

“When knowledge of the Self arises in the form ‘I alone exist…. it puts an end to nescience’“. Shankara.

“One who sees everything as nothing but the Self, and the Self in everything one sees, such a seer withdraws from nothing. For the enlightened, all that exists is nothing but the Self, so how could any suffering or delusion continue for those who know this oneness?”

— Ishopanishad: sloka 6, 7

Rhada Ma; No, it’s not a multiple people’s dream, it is a single dream.” Advaita Ratnas 2^nd Edition   P.39

“There is nothing at all in the world or the
universe that can help you, because nothing exists”.
Robert Adams

“ First there is a mountain, then there is no mountain, and then the mountain is seen again to be real” Zen Proverb

“Row, row , row the boat gently down the stream, merrily merrily, life is but a dream”  Folk Song

For further reading

1.      Solipsism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

o    Varieties|

o    Main points|

o    History|

o    Psychology and psychiatry

Solipsism ( / ˈ s ɒ l ɨ p s ɪ z əm /) is the philosophical idea that only one's own mind is sure to exist. The term comes from the Latin solus (alone) and ipse ...

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solipsism - Cached

1.      2

2.      Ramana Maharshi on Creation

Ajata vada or the theory of non-causality. This is an ancient Hindu doctrine which states that the creation of the world never happened at all.

www.kheper.net/topics/Vedanta/Ramana_on_creation.html - Cached

Alan Jacobs

ROAR FROM THE ROOF TOPS

ALL is very well! to unfold exactly as it should,
Let it roar from the roof tops, all bold seekers tell,
That power which knows the way is truly good,
All is very well!

To rouse the sleeper from his dream -- ring the bell
Of Truth; All IS ONE, non-dual! for aeons stood
This beacon lamp to light our gloomy shaded dell.

As green willows grow sweetly in silent woods,
Foolish fear ends. Firm faith tolls the death knell
Of ignorance, for all to wake, who wish they could.
All is very well!

THE WORLD IS INSCRUTABLE

The world doesn't make much sense at the level of the mind,

Because everything that happens is according to God's will,

Above the reach of understanding, however well refined.

The world is inscrutable.

All that takes place is for ultimate good and not for ill,

The cast iron wheels of destiny inevitably grind,

Until we turn within because we've had our sensory fill.

The wire mesh of karma will inexorably unwind

Our sacred task is for the egotistic-mind to kill,

Then true insight will arise and we're no longer blind.

The world is inscrutable.