THE INCREDIBLE VACUUM AND DEATH THAT IS THE ROT AT THE CORE OF "BE HERE NOW," BY RAM DASS

SURRENDER
WHAT ARE YOU GIVING UP? A HOLLOW LITTLE TRIP
THAT'S GOOD FOR ANOTHER 40 YEARS AT BEST.
YOU'RE GIVING IT UP FOR:
ETERNAL UNION
WITH
PURE ENERGY & PURE LIGHT
BECAUSE SURRENDER MEANS
YOU
NO LONGER DIE
IT'S AS SIMPLE
AS THAT
THAT'S WHAT IT MEANS.
BECAUSE: YOU THAT LIVES AND DIES IS
YOUR EGO
AND FEAR OF DEATH ONLY COMES THROUGH
THE BRITTLENESS OF THE EGO
TOTAL TOTAL
SURRENDER SURRENDER
THERE'S NO MORE YOU, NO MORE
LIFE AND DEATH

***

LAME, HALT, BLIND, DYING
WE'RE ALL DYING
AT THIS MOMENT
YOUR BODY IS DISINTEGRATING
BEFORE YOUR VERY EYES
IF YOU'VE TAKEN LSD YOU KNOW
IT'S HAPPENING ANYWAY
IT'S ALL A DOWNHILL TRIP
ALL THE WAY
BOY, WHAT A FUNNY PLACE TO GET ATTACHED!
TO SOMETHING THAT'S GOT TO GO LIKE THAT

***

IF YOU READ
ST. JOHN OF THE CROSS "DARK NIGHT OF
THE SOUL"
YOU KNOW HOW IT IS

***

YOU DON'T SEEM TO UNDERSTAND
YOU ARE IN PRISON
IF YOU ARE TO GET OUT OF PRISON
THE FIRST THING YOU MUST REALIZE IS:
YOU ARE IN PRISON
IF YOU THINK
YOU'RE FREE YOU CAN'T ESCAPE.

***

DIVINE MOTHER KALI
LOOK AT HOW MUCH SHE CAN TEACH
HER TONGUE DRIPPING BLOOD
A CIRCLE OF SKULLS AROUND HER NECK
A DAGGER IN ONE HAND
GIVING BIRTH IN THE OTHER
THE WHOLE PROCESS OF NATURE
HOW EXQUISITELY SUBTLE

***

I AM A
HOLLOW BAMBOO

***

BEING DANCING PRAYING BUILDING SMILING DYING AWAKENING GROWING EATING SINGING SLEEPING
GROWING SEEING SINGING MOVING DYING SMILING CRYING SHITTING DANCING

***

THAT'S WHAT'S SO FAR OUT ...
YOU ARE YOUR OWN GURU
I AM MY OWN GRANDPA
AND THAT'S WHAT YOU FINALLY KNOW WHEN
YOU ARE HANGING OUT WITH ONE OF THESE GUYS
YOU HANG OUT WITH YOURSELF
BECAUSE THERE'S NOBODY AT HOME THERE

***

HE'S RIGHT AT THE EDGE
HE STAYS AT THAT EDGE
AND THAT'S WHY HE STAYS
IN HIS BODY ... IF HE
JUST STAYED IN THE VOID
THE BODY (AFTER 21 DAYS)
JUST FALLS AWAY
THERE'S NO EGO LEFT
TO HOLD IT TOGETHER
THAT'S THE RULE OF THE GAME
IF YOU'RE WONDERING WHAT HAPPENS.
SOME BEINGS DO THAT
THEY GO INTO SAMADHI
AND THEY'VE FINISHED WITH THEIR
BODIES AND THEY JUST LEAVE THEM.

AND THEN THERE ARE OTHERS
(THERE ARE SOME VERY FAR OUT STORIES IN INDIA)
THERE ARE OTHERS WHO LEAVE A THIN,
VERY, VERY THIN THREAD OF EGO.
THERE'S ONE BEING WHO FOR TWENTY
YEARS WAS LOCKED UP IN A CAVE:
AND EVERY YEAR HIS DEVOTEES OPENED
THE CAVE. ONCE A YEAR THEY'D GO IN
TO HAVE HIS DARSHAN. THERE WAS
NO FOOD. NOTHING. AND HE LOOKED
LIKE A CORPSE EXCEPT THAT HIS HAIR
KEPT GROWING AND HIS NAILS KEPT GROW-
ING ... FOR TWENTY YEARS ...
HE WAS NOT HANGING OUT WITH MUCH
HE WAS JUST LEAVING A SUBTLE
THREAD TO KEEP
IN CONTACT.

***

HE'S YOUR FINGERNAIL
JUST BITE YOUR FINGERNAIL
& YOU'RE EATING HIM ALIVE

***

NOTHING TO DO
THERE
IS
NOWHERE
TO
GO
& THERE
IS
NOTHING
TO DO

***

NOTHING IS HAPPENING
NO MATTER
WHAT
IS HAPPENING!

***

NO MATTER
NEVER MIND
NO MIND
NEVER MATTER
EITHER WAY IT WORKS

***

AND THE FUNNY THING IS
YOU'RE STILL NOT FINISHED
AND AS FAR AS THE BUDDHIST IS CONCERNED
YOU HAVEN'T EVEN BEGUN THE TRIP
YOU'RE STILL HUNG UP ON FORM

BECAUSE HE SAYS
BABY
IT'S ALL ILLUSION
NO MATTER HOW
GROOVY IT GETS
THE PHYSICAL PLANE
IS OBVIOUSLY
AN ILLUSION
ALL A DREAM

***

BUT THEN YOU GO THROUGH
THE FINAL DOOR
AND YOU GO FROM
FORM
INTO
THE
FORMLESS
INTO THE VOID
INTO THE BEYOND THE BEYOND
WHEN YOU HAVE CROSSED
THE OCEAN OF SAMSKARA
THE OCEAN OF ILLUSION
THE OCEAN OF ATTACHMENT
CALL IT WHAT YOU WILL
IT'S THE SAME OCEAN
WHEN YOU HAVE CROSSED
THROUGH ALL FORM
YOU ENTER THE STATE OF
FORMLESSNESS
IT IS ETERNALLY QUIET
IT IS ETERNALLY QUIET
IT NEVER WAS

***

"PUSH FAR ENOUGH INTO THE VOID
HOLD FAST ENOUGH TO QUIETNESS
AND OF THE TEN THOUSAND THINGS
NONE BUT CAN BE WORKED ON BY YOU
I HAVE BEHELD THEM WITHER THEY GO BACK
SEE ALL THINGS HOWSOEVER THEY FLOURISH
RETURN TO THE ROOTS FROM WHICH THEY GREW

***

THIS RETURN TO THE ROOTS IS CALLED
QUIETNESS
QUIETNESS IS CALLED
SUBMISSION TO FATE
THAT WHICH HAS SUBMITTED TO FATE
BECOMES PART OF THE
ALWAYS SO
TO KNOW THE ALWAYS SO IS TO BE
ILLUMINED
NOT TO KNOW IT
MEANS TO GO BLINDLY TO DISASTER

***

TO GO YOU'VE GOT TO GO THE WHOLE TRIP
ALL THE WAY TO THE BACK
BEFORE YOU GET TO THE PLACE
WHERE YOU SEE THAT BEHIND ALL THIS
THERE IS ALL THIS IN IT'S
OM
IN ITS UNMANIFEST FORM
ALWAYS
ETERNALLY
YOU PERCEIVE THAT
NOTHING
IS REALLY HAPPENING AT ALL
NOTHING
EVER HAPPENS
NOTHING
IS GOING TO HAPPEN
THERE'S
NOTHING
YOU'VE GOT TO DO
THERE'S NO DOER
TO DO IT ANYWAY

AND THEN:
YOU'RE IN THE VOID

***

THE FINAL PLACE THAT THE GAME LEADS TO IS:
WHERE YOU LIVE CONSCIOUSLY
IN ALL OF IT
WHICH IS IN NOTHING
YOU ARE ETERNAL
YOU HAVE FINISHED PERISHING
THERE IS NO FEAR OF DEATH BECAUSE
THERE IS NO DEATH
IT'S JUST A TRANSFORMATION
AN ILLUSION

***

YOU'VE GOT TO BE
REALLY PURE YOU
CAN'T JUST MAKE BE-
LIEVE YOU'RE PURE
ANYTHING LESS
THAN TOTAL
PURITY BACK
INTO OUTER DARK-
NESS THAT'S WHAT
YOU LEARN
AFTER
A
COUPLE OF HUNDRED
PSYCHEDELIC
TRIPS I MIGHT
AS WELL GO
STRAIGHT
BECAUSE
I'M
BEGINNING
TO FEEL
LIKE A YO-
YO I KEEP
GOING UP AND
COMING DOWN
UP DOWN
DOWN UP DOWN

***

AND SUDDENLY I DIG WHO I AM AT THAT
MOMENT WHEN I'M STONED! HIGH! I AM
OUT OF TIME!
I AM OUT OF SPACE!
BUT BOY! DOES IT FEEL VALID! DOES IT
FEEL REAL! IT FEELS LIKE THE FIRST
REAL THING THAT'S EVER HAPPENED TO ME!
EVERYTHING ELSE HAD A CERTAIN HUSTLE
LIKE QUALITY TO IT
EXCEPT MY SUFFERING

***

AM I HE?
I WAS REALLY INTO MY SUFFERING
YOU CAN REALLY GET INTO YOUR SUFFERING
SELF-PITY ... THAT'S REAL!
EVERYTHING ELSE MAY GO
BUT BOY! YOU'VE GOT TO SUFFER!
IT'S THE SAME FOR ALL OF US
WE'RE JUST COMING OUT OF THE
DARK NIGHT OF THE PROTESTANT ETHIC
SUFFER BABY!
THAT'S THE ONLY WAY YOU'LL BE GOOD
IT FEELS SO GOOD TO HURT SO BAD!
WE'VE ALL BEEN ON THAT TRIP
SUFFERING IS GREAT.
IT'S LIKE STRAIGHTENING-BY-FIRE
IT'S PURIFYING
IT'S VERY GOOD
FUNNY THING ... WANT ANOTHER PARADOX?

THIS TRIP
REQUIRES
TOTAL
SUFFERING BUT:
IT'S GOT TO BE SUFFERING
THAT IS NO SUFFERING
YOU'VE GOT TO GO THE WHOLE SUFFERING TRIP
BUT:
YOU CAN'T BE THE GUY WHO IS SUFFERING.

***

You become a statue in each asana.  The statue image is a useful one. No matter how unusual the position of the asana may seem to you, once you are in the position then you become totally centered in that position. It -- your body -- comes to be a position of rest ... as if you were always in that position, as a statue.

Your state of mind is of paramount importance in asanas. Don't identify with the ego who is doing the asanas. Merely watch the body move into the appropriate position. Stay in a place inside yourself where nothing is happening at all.

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