Quote (Handcuffs @ 5 Apr 2024 15:08)
I think we view the ineffibility differently. There's nothing 'to get'. Enlightment via the relinquishing of the illusion of self can generate a subjective value to those who walk that path, but it is still a way of coping. I think Albert Camus was right when he said the primary philosophical question is that of suicide. Everything beyond that is absurdity.
You are right there is nothing "to get" but you get it anyway none the less. You were given life and yes if you want to take your own life go right ahead.
Swami Vivekananda was an atheist who put most of his early years into destroying religion. He believed religion should be intensely debated just as science is.
The atheism you practice is actually in Vivekananda's words the quickest way to realizing "God". Not because "God" even exists but because an atheist will cut through all the fantastical bullshit and have a clear mind that's not as corruptible to fallacies.
Have you ever quieted your mind entirely of thoughts? &&& I mean hours not a few minutes. Not one thought. Very few can do it without years of practice.
That's the joke of enlightenment or nirvana. You fooled yourself into believing something that is actually an illusion, really exists. You have to admit you are a fool. Most because of their ego will think there's something more.
How could enlightenment just be quieting your mind and achieving a thoughtless state? Sounds silly right?
When you do it though guess what happens? No more ego. No more identity. No more purpose. No more bondage. No more bullshit. No more.
&&& then there you are in total bliss realizing your entire existence up until that point felt like it had "meaning". It didn't. It was an illusion in your mind.
So when you say when you die it all goes black, your consciousness ceases to exist, no purpose, etc. etc. you are literally explaining "ego death" which you experience while you are still alive.
It is a great gift to experience ego-death earlier in life instead of the "death/anxiety" you mentioned that people carry with them out of fear of the unknown.
So you've already realized God just as everyone else in this thread you yourself though are scared to admit that because "God" to you means something entirely different because you were raised in the West.
Every man must develop according to his own nature. as every science has its methods, so has every religion. The methods of attaining the end of religions are called yoga by us, and the different forms of yoga we teach, are adapted to the different natures and temperaments of men. We classify them in the following way, under four heads:
Karma-Yoga— The manner in which a man realizes his own divinity through works and duty.
Bhakti-Yoga— The realization of the divinity through works and duty.
Raja-Yoga— The realization of the divinity through the control of the mind.
Jnana-Yoga— The realization of a man;s own divinity through knowledge
You practice Jnana Yoga unknowingly. Most atheist if that what you "claim to be" do.
You don't bow to an image of Jesus Christ and just pour pure emotion towards that idol. That's Bhakti Yoga. Pure devotion.
You don't think there's purpose to any of it so you don't believe in Karma Yoga because someone who believes in karma will act accordingly in their mind saying, "Ok if I repent of these sins or if I do a good deed I'll be rewarded" "I'll be balanced" "There will be no karmic debt"
You don't practice Raja Yoga because you aren't trying to control your mind your just letting it "do it's own thing". Non-attached.