[Advaita-l] If you really want it, moksha is dead simple

[Akilesh Ayyar]

Namaste,

The essence of advaita vedanta is this: your nature is liberation, or
moksha.

What is moksha? It is the destruction of the false belief that you are a
thinking, experiencing, doing person. When this happens, you live in your
true nature, which is inexpressible, perfect, stainless, and unchanging.
Actually, these last couple of sentences are not quite accurate, since the
real truth is beyond words, but they are accurate enough.

If you have a strong, unconflicted desire to awaken, the steps are very
simple.

Either self-inquire
<https://www.siftingtothetruth.com/blog/2019/6/7/the-ultimate-guide-to-spiritual-self-inquiry>
or ignore all thought <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IyU-One3oag>.

Self-inquiry means trying to locate the self-evident knowledge that you
have that "I am," (that is, trying to locate the source of awareness) and
not accepting any particular sensation, thought, or feeling as it --
because the "I am" is *aware of* all these things. Simply focus on trying
to find the *real* I am at all times. How do you do that? Every time you
think the word "I," a bell chimes somewhere. Follow, as best you can, the
sound of that bell. If you think you've found it, you haven't. Keep looking
until there is clarity. If you have to ask whether there is clarity, there
isn't.

Ignoring all thought (also known as surrender) is exactly what it sounds
like. It's the simplest way of all. It's not about stopping or fighting
thought. It's about moving your attention away from it. The TV could be on,
but you could refuse to pay attention. Refuse to pay attention to thought.
All thought. Repeat till clarity.

Either self-inquire or ignore all thought *every waking moment* as you go
about life. If you "lose it," come back to it. Keep doing that until there
is clarity. If you do it intensely, clarity will come. Again, if you have
to ask whether there is clarity, there isn't.

That is all it takes to awaken to what you already are.

Now if you do not have an unconflicted desire to awaken (this will become
apparent if you have low motivation to do the above practices, or you keep
getting seriously distracted by various other things), you can strengthen
it by getting an intellectual framework around the awakening process
(through association with and asking questions of a teacher, reading books
and scriptures
<https://www.siftingtothetruth.com/blog/recommended-enlightenment-books>,
etc.) and by dealing with your emotional baggage (this comes to being more
honest about what you want -- psychoanalytic psychotherapy and artistic
expression of your feelings can be very helpful here).

Akilesh