Nonduality

Nonduality, being synonymous with Advaita means, 'not‐two.’ It refers to the idea of everything being one and everything being connected to one another. Advaita is an ancient Indian knowledge that dates back to the old Upanishads, 800 years before Christ. The non‐ dualistic teachings were passed on for centuries from teacher to student. Ramana Maharishi († 1950) and Nisargada a Maharaj († 1981) are two teachers who had numerous Western students, which accounts for how the philosophy found its way to us.

Non‐duality is not a religion. It doesn't pass judgement on right and wrong, it doesn't know rules, methods, or rituals, and is only a reference to the truth, thus, not being the truth itself. Philosophers who occupied themselves with non‐duality were, amongst others; Spinoza, Albert Einstein, William Shakespeare, and Arthur Schopenhauer. Teachings that also include non‐duality are Taoism, Zen, Dzogchen, and Sufism.

Watching a Movie

Let’s have a look at non‐duality by using a simple example. Imagine that you are sitting in a movie theatre. A movie is playing on the screen. While you relax, you see how the scenes succeed each another. Sometimes it is exciting, sometimes you laugh, sometimes you feel romance, and sometimes you feel sorrow. The emotions run through you, but because this happens without resistance, it feels marvellous.

Such a movie brings you this inner peace and you may even feel 'enlightened' and free while you watch it. Many movie goers love to pay for a ticket to enjoy a movie for an hour or two. The interesting thing is that it can even feel nice to experience, for example, fear, while watching a horror movie. Furthermore, people tend to find it a good way to express sadness during a movie. 'I cried like a baby,’ they say, sometimes even with a smile on their face.

Even though we try to avoid sadness and fear in our daily lives, we can openly enjoy it during a movie! This is because there is no resistance to those emotions.

The Muppets

Imagine, if you will, that the Muppets Waldorf and Statler are sitting on the balcony in that movie theatre, and are continuously commenting on the movie before them.

'Christ, Brad Pitt should have never made that decision in the previous scene!' 'Watch out, Brad!'
‘I knew that was going to happen, man!'
'Great, now you’re in jail, you fool!’

'What if this ends badly?'
'What if he doesn't manage to escape?'
'By the way, check out his shirt, it’s way too tight.'
'Yes exactly, he probably shrunk it in the laundry'
'You think he has a dryer at home?'
'You should hang a shirt like that to dry on a line, it works better.' 'Or, he could have bought a larger size.'

'He should’ve stayed in Tibet.’

'Yes, but that girl did run away with his friend.'

'Why does this always happen to him?'

'He should have been friendlier in the beginning.'

Due to the Muppets’ drivel, you can no longer enjoy the movie. You may even end up Shouting, ‘Could you please quiet down?! You’re ruining the entire movie!’