Some Myths about Awakening

Some spiritual teachers, especially in the so-called Neo-Advaita tradition, claim that you do not have to do anything. ‘You are already home.’ Strictly speaking, they are right. When you are able to radically accept what you are pointed to, you are done. That is what happened to Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj, for example. But even in his case “done” is a relative statement: after all, it took him three years to complete his process and the actual realization of this one clue: ‘You are the absolute.’

It is perfectly true that you just have to let go of everything that you are not, and will be “home” immediately. But reality has it that you, like everyone else, are so entangled and trapped in a complex of beliefs, thoughts and habits – also called ego – that such a clue most probably is not enough for you… “Let go” is just a phrase, and you may have no idea how to “do it”. When asked what you should do in order to let go, you are probably told that letting go is not a matter of doing. Without further guidance, these kinds of pointers only lead to frustration and feelings of inadequacy and failure.