We must make Ramana's simple, perfect teaching freely available to all.

My dear friends,

In the seven years or so that I have been the servant of Ramana's simple, perfect teaching of self-inquiry, I have come to see very clearly that no matter what we might think we want, or have been told that we should want, certainty about one's actual nature is all that's ever really wanted by anyone. And I've come to see from my own experience in this life, and from the reports of the experience of many who have been in satsang with us, that the simple act of turning attention toward the actual, naked experience of being whenever possible resolves all problems and will in time erase all inclination to project on others my misery, to take from others what seems to be needed for myself, and to destroy others in the belief that others are the cause of my suffering. 

The reason for this, according to all the great ones who have tried to bring us to this water of life, is that all problems are false; rooted in the false belief that I am the story about me; the history of my life, my attainments, my failures, my friends, my lovers, my enemies, my needs and desires. If this is true, that there is no problem other than this false belief, then it must be that the only possible solution is the truth, and the truth is ever-present, inescapable, and easy to see. No spiritual understanding, no spiritual experience, no spiritual background, no spiritual community, no virtue, no meritorious karma, nothing is needed apart from the determination to see directly, in this very moment, what I am. And if I know that truth is what I want, nothing can stand in my way. I am HERE, undeniably HERE, always.

This is Ramana's great gift to us, and the promise of all spiritual teachings everywhere. It is nothing less than the secret of eternal happiness, and if it were known to all, human life on this planet would flourish as the fully conscious eyes, ears, and mind of radiant awareness. We are in a time of revolutionary possibility for humanity; a time when fundamentalists of every stripe pray and yearn for Armageddon, for the cleansing destruction of human society; a time when these precious teachings have appeared in the west, and the possibility has appeared with them of freeing them from their ancient trappings and methods of transmission, making them freely available and accessible to all.

This is a time when humanity is truly alive,  maybe for the first time, with the actual possibility of a true great awakening, of a true revolution in human consciousness. The means are simple and self-evident, but if they are to bring about the transformation of human consciousness that they promise, they must be made available to all. And to do that, we must now also break free of our devotion to western means and methods of propagation. We have happily, innocently sold these teachings on the open market, persuading ourselves that this was the way to get them propagated. We have treated them as a product, telling ourselves that we could use the western expertise in promotion and marketing and the harnessing of market forces to spread truth while watching the bottom line — always the key to successful product propagation. In order to market them, we have turned them into a gospel of prosperity and personal transformation. We have done all this in good faith and with the best of intention, but the truth is that we have lost our way.

I want to use the magnificent and magical methods and technology now available to fling the seeds of this simple teaching freely to the winds. I want to use the internet, the radio, television, personal contact, and every other means of transmission that we together can come up with to plant the suggestion in every human mind that it might be worthwhile to look and see for itself, what it is, really. I would like to learn how to go to a town and set up, promote and produce an event that might appeal to anyone so that we can offer Ramana's gift to those other than the choir of already spiritualized minds for which it often seems too simple. I'd like to show all who can be reached just how easy it is to see one's actual nature; how easy it is to determine whether the claims of the great spiritual beings have any validity; to see whether it is really true that we are not what we think we are and that in truth's light all things are known to be wondrous and needing nothing.

I'd like us to consider the possibility that the widespread availability of this method might actually lead to universal peace and understanding among humans. My vision is to make this teaching available absolutely free for all; free of charge, free of any implied or explicit need for spiritual understanding, and free even of any conscious spiritual aspiration. That's why it has to be free of charge, because the only people who will come and pay money for satsang are those in the grip of the delusion of spiritual aspiration.

Now we can see, if we will, that all the spiritual work undertaken in the belief that we were looking for personal enlightenment, and personal gratification is of no use to ourselves or anyone else unless it can serve the general awakening of all humanity to the great perfection that IS aware existence. Now we can, if we will, abandon all seeking after personal fulfillment in the certain knowledge that such a thing is absurd: all is one — if any are bound, none are free.

In this love without condition,

John

Comments

[alexC.]

Beautiful John,
I don't come to your site often but wanted to read this. The title intrigued me. I was a little apprehensive as I have read many of these "satsang writings" and as I almost always enjoy them I didn't think this would be different. Totally inspiring! Free of charge, free of Restriction. It seems This comes to all of its own accord but possibly we can eliminate any barriers to its coming. If we can eliminate barriers to This within ourselves surely we can open the way further in society as well. Indeed it is being done. And visions such as yours, written with the fire I have just read are propelling it as needs be done. Truth supports itself!
Your ending comment on personal fulfillment and the necessary freedom of all really takes it back home for me. It takes the me out of the It.
Thank you.

[Haqiqa]

ohn,
You continue to touch me deeply. I met you three years ago in Ashland. I came down to see you from Eugene one Friday evening shortly after my own passing thru the gate. You were a breathtaking support. Your unconditional Love a marvel to behold. I talked to you briefly after your talk and felt seen in the deepest way possible.

I think this movement to freedom on yet another level is perfect. I know from my own experience that when you do the dance you are called to do your needs will be met. The Universe through the open hearts of people who are moved by gratitude will give freely what is needed and it's always a surprise.

My path was graced with many astonishing teachers and there was never a charge. At first I had to get out of my own way and learn to freely receive. As I opened the movement to gratitude was almost overwhelming. That too had to settle. When it's free, the freedom to give is free also.

Blessings

[Brian]

This is first class John: this is what the internet was invented for! We are happy to support you in this endevour.

Brian & Mati

[Frank W.]

Dear John,

First of all, thank you so much for making your crystal clear Satsang available to us all through your podcast.

I cannot own the truth. It owns me. Also, it cannot be spread. It's everywhere already. What can be spread is the word, and it will naturally be misunderstood. If the spreading of Ramana Maharishi's unteaching would turn into the spreading of just one more belief, it would defeat its own purpose.

The ones who, like yourself, or me, wake up in the real world are the real failures. The ones who failed utterly to hold on to whatever they believed themselves to be. Every healthy baby is born kicking and screaming.

My intuition is that by publishing the Satsang podcast, you're doing the very very best that can be done for now. The world is already a better place for having you in it.

Are you aware of Creative Comons (creativecommons.org) ? They are sort of the legal arm of the open source movement. Their system of some-rights-reserved licenses may well be useful to you.

Love,
Frank from Amsterdam

[KO]

...your words leave (me) with no where to go!

Thank you
KO

[Erby Dickerson]

John,
You are beautiful. And just reading what you have to share evokes the beautiful in me. Oh, sweet being - such beauty!!! Tears are flowing.
Erby

[Scott]

"I'd like to show all who can be reached just how easy it is to see one's actual nature"

Your article is great! However, in my opinion, your project as defined above is impossible. Most people are just way too stupid and psy-op'ed by their culture and their genes to get anywhere near what you are offering. And do people really want this peace and clarity? No! Men want sex, women want safety, that's about all. We're just monkeys with guns.

But don't let me be a dream-stealer (as they say in Amway), please keep on truckin as you have.

[Travis]

John,

(As an extremely happily married man I can't bring myself to start a note to you with, "Dear John" ;-) )

Thank you for what you are doing. Thank you so very much. I have been aware of Ramana's teachings for some time now, but until I saw one of your videos on YouTube I never had such a clear understanding of the simplicity of the practice. The medicine you prescribe is so very simple to carry, and once tasted, effortless to remember to take. Thank you deeply. I salute your dream, and will do what I can to assist.

Deep bow.

[thomas allen]

i watched your video and some of your writings and find both very profound and informative. i have been practicing the who am i method for a few weeks now and found your explanations very helpful.
thanks

[Paul Regeer]

"If any are bound none are free." Ramana used to say to people who wanted desperately to enlighten the whole world: 'the enlightened one doesn't see any unenlightened individuals around him. Don't be like the man who woke up from a dream and who now wants to wake up all the other people he met in his dream.' I believe you yourself, John, mentioned this in one of your talks.

[stephane]

john,

The last post by Paul Regeer, disturbed me, but i am glad that you let it there.

I never heard you say that you where enlighten, but, the point he made by saying about what Ramana said about (the dreamer who woke up of the dream and want to wake up all other people who he met in his dream), that stay in my mind had make me doubt about all this...enquiry.

How do you feel about that?

I think that i need someone to point me to my reality, but if i am all there is to be known now, how come i need someone to point me to this reality of me.

And if we are all free already is there any use of any kind of teachings?

If we are already free, isn't it the method to be use in order to remove the lie that something is important or missing.

Am i going somewhere here?

[JERRY]

PLEASE PUT ME ON YOUR DAIILY MESSAGE LIST. THANKS.

[Nancy Greenfield]

This is such a beautiful intention - Thank you. I went right to your blog page when I discovered you had one to post a concern/question and yet missed the message at the top, but I just read it, and thank you for your limitless open sharing.

[David]

to stephane..

I guess if someone is trying to help another to become enlightened that being is a guru. Bhagavan said a guru is necessary though gurus may not come in the form of a human.

I'm like you, I have doubts. I don't doubt that Ramana Maharshi was something very special though. He's affected so many people.. that's what causes me to assume that John is meant to be here for us.