Back around ’69 I developed from Bateson and Wiener and myself a three stage leading to fourth stage stageless stochastic structure of mental/emotional activity. I did not know it but it was the trimurthi leading to experience of statelessness in not crude language. The articulation was systems theory of the time, which was very capable language, especially Bateson’s.

Not a little proud of the result, I sent it to Lama Anagarika Govinda — the German who had become a Tibetan Lama and was then in the USA because Tibet was unavailable — and asked if he would review it.

He soon wrote back and said it all looked very good and true … but he missed mention of the rivers, trees, birds and clouds.

I was aware of what he meant. He did not disparage the work. He mentioned how it should expand, and he was right. His response was the first key step in my leaving that career and then being obliged to find a way to support myself. It was after leaving it that Swami hauled me in and started showing me what to do — very gradually.

Yesterday I was mulling a formulation which precisely ended up saying we must be dualists without being dualists. It went like this:

As we all are aware, in our Adwaitha-Vedantin modes of living we deal with fear by answering with humour, we deal with hatred by answering with love, we deal with narrow-mindedness by answering with a story, and we deal with indigestion by recommending a whiskey and Maalox. In other words, we are perfect dwaithins. We are all residents of the same penitentiary. and if we are anywhere near the Lord we are also in the ICU of that institution’s hospital. And the first nature of hospitals is hospitality.

My response to the phenomenon is the same: it gives me hope because it is at least a if not the — probably the latter — tangible and reliable evidence of the presence and operation of Dharma. It is faith in Dharma which gives us courage and heroism. Dharma must have its extensible or tangible presence and that is the Solar Dynasty, at least the Solar Dynasty is the leadership of Dharma-Tangible.

Thoughts on scrubbing away maya, done here:

Sell or give all books/other media not immediately needed.

Sell or give all instruments/machines not immediately needed — this does not mean selling the snow plow every summer, obviously.

Vegetarian diet going to fruitarian.

Sell or give all padded furniture, except for small seat pads.

Keep only furniture/equipment/machines needed for work, sleep and eat.

Reduce socializing to barest necessity.

Ask a know-it-all how we are to know what maya is if it isn’t.

Life is good!

I cannot speak for [Name], but I can speak for myself in the matter to which you refer and that is that I am glad [Name] has this skeptical material on his site. I would not have it on mine, but [Name] feels it is important to have it on his, obviously, and on the principle that truth makes its own way and stands on its own in all circumstances I am not concerned that [Name] features this material on his site.

My impression of [Name] is that he feels the need for this material’s presence because he wants to be “fair minded” with respect to the circles he frequents, which are far afield from the Sai Orbit as well as within the Sai Orbit. (Of course [Name] would point out, rightly, that all is the Sai Orbit — and also is not any orbit, being Being — but [Name] makes this particular distinction as an element of his association with the Sai Organization, where it is common.) I would not engage in the circles he does, but I support him in his feeling that he should.

On principle, and in my view, negative material about Swami is not a matter of concern. It will always be present, I cannot prevent its occurrence. It is untrue and, therefore, it succumbs to the vicissitudes of time and circumstance. I am sure [Name] has some such thoughts as these himself. He does not mean to disparage Swami and I am sure he means, finally, to let people including himself learn that truth survives all opposition, disparagement and even imprecation, by its very nature, and that we can all rely on this splendid fact.

Americans tend to have a “let the winds blow” attitude and this attitude is a major reason people from repressive societies pine to come to these shores. The results are often disconcerting for their messiness but experience shows that in the long run humanity and happiness are served thereby. As our great theologian Paul Tillich pointed out, this attitude of Americans reflects a profound faith in the supremacy of Sathya, Dharma, Prema and Santhi. This faith and its practice draws people here, as well it should and thankfully does.

AMDG