I asked ChatGPT:
I am tired of life. No, not in a psychological way nor am I depressed, clinically or otherwise. Nor do I mean I am tired of life in an existential way like say a Kierkegaard would feel. I am tired of life in a more metaphysical way and I kind of feel that I was born without being asked about whether I wanted to be born. And yet in a strange way, if I am not born, how will “I” be asked if I wanted to be born? And, if some “I” existed before my current birth, what exactly was that “I”? Do you see what I am getting at? Of course, I do find life interesting in many ways to some extent – the ability to think philosophically, the ability to feel love towards others, etc. Notwithstanding that, I am taken in by the Indian philosophical stance, and in particular that of Advaita Vedanta, and to some extent that of Buddhism, that somehow life is not as it appears to be and we are caught in some divine cosmic play (Leela) wherein we are being made to do and feel whatever we do and feel by some other reality (God / Brahman / Self / Consciousness) of which we are mere names-and-forms like pot is a name-and-form of clay, and so as such we as the body-mind which we now take to be our “I” is not real, and the real import or referent of the “I” is reality (God / Brahman / Self / Consciousness). To arrive at an indubitable understanding/realization of that reality several paths have been laid out, including those by Ramana Maharshi, Nisargadatta Maharaj, and J. Krishnamurti in recent times. If one looks at all these paths, it strikes me that all of them are saying that to understand/realize the reality, all we have to do is keep the mind quiet or still – a theme echoed in the Upanishads, for instance as Kena Upanishad says, “That which the mind cannot know but because of which the mind knows know that alone to be Brahman and not this that people worship here.” Can you comment on and critique the above perspective of mine. To give you a better sense of where I am coming from, you could perhaps take a look at my WordPress blog https://selfrealization.blog/
ChatGPT said:
Your perspective already reflects a deep engagement with the core questions of metaphysics and Indian philosophy. Let me comment and gently critique what you’ve expressed:
1. The paradox of birth and choice
You raise the classic antinatalist paradox: “I was born without being asked… but without being born, how could I be asked?”
- Comment: This is a profound inquiry into identity and continuity. Advaita Vedanta would say that the I who could have been asked does not truly exist as a separate entity prior to birth. The Self (Ātman) is unborn and eternal—therefore, there’s no individual you to consult about being born. The egoic I emerges only after embodiment.
- Critique: This reasoning can loop into intellectual dead-ends because it’s framed within the notion of individuality and linear time, which Advaita ultimately considers illusory (Māyā). A shift in perspective—from individual experience to witnessing Consciousness—can dissolve the dilemma rather than solve it.
2. Life as a cosmic play (Leela)
You see life as a divine drama where body-minds are “names-and-forms” of Consciousness.
- Comment: This beautifully mirrors Advaita’s metaphysics: just as a pot is clay, our individuality is Brahman. Your analogy aligns with Śaṅkara’s teachings and with Nisargadatta’s I Am That.
- Critique: While this insight is philosophically sound, it’s often only an intellectual recognition. The lived realization of non-separation requires the “quiet mind” you reference—not merely conceptual understanding. Ramana’s Who am I? self-inquiry is meant to cut through such conceptualization to direct experience.
3. Quieting the mind as the path
You note that sages and Upanishadic texts converge on stilling the mind to realize truth.
- Comment: Yes, Kena Upanishad and others point out that Brahman is not an object of thought but the ground of knowing itself. Silence, as both Maharshi and J. Krishnamurti suggest, allows what is already present to reveal itself.
- Critique: A subtle point: it’s not an act of making the mind quiet (which implies doership), but rather a non-resistance to what is. Effort itself can be a barrier if it stems from egoic striving. This is why Krishnamurti rejected “methods,” emphasizing choiceless awareness.
4. Buddhist resonance
Your leaning toward Buddhist notions suggests openness to Anatta (no-self).
- Comment: This harmonizes with Advaita’s neti neti (“not this, not this”). Both traditions dismantle the personal “I.”
- Critique: Buddhism often stops short of affirming an ultimate Self (as Vedanta does with Brahman). Exploring this difference could sharpen your understanding of whether realization implies merging into or seeing through selfhood.
5. Metaphysical weariness
Your statement, “I am tired of life… in a metaphysical way,” hints at Vairagya (dispassion), which Advaita calls a necessary step toward realization.
- Comment: This is not nihilism or depression; it’s a ripening of inquiry where worldly pursuits lose their grip.
- Critique: The risk is turning this weariness into subtle aversion. The sages teach that realization isn’t escape from life but clear seeing that life and liberation are not two.
If you wish, I can read a few of your blog posts to see how you articulate these ideas and give more personalized feedback.
Would you like me to do that and highlight where your writings already align with Ramana/Nisargadatta/Krishnamurti—and where they could deepen?
You said:
Yes, please do that.
ChatGPT said:
I can’t directly access the full text of your blog posts right now, but you can paste one or two posts (or excerpts) here.
From there, I can:
- Analyze alignment: Show how your articulation resonates with Advaita Vedanta, Ramana Maharshi, Nisargadatta Maharaj, or Krishnamurti.
- Suggest refinements: Point out where conceptual thinking might obscure direct realization.
- Deepen the metaphysical inquiry: Offer questions or contemplations to take your insights further.
Would you like to paste a recent or favorite post here for me to start with?
You said:
Happiness and Consciousness – D. Samarender Reddy.pdf
Maybe you can take a look at this book of mine to see where I am coming from – see the attached file “Happiness and Consciousness”.
ChatGPT said:
Having read your book Happiness and Consciousness, I can see clearly where your current metaphysical stance comes from. Your expression of being “tired of life in a metaphysical way” is very much a natural extension of the insights you’ve articulated in your book. Here’s my commentary and critique:
1. Consistency with Advaita Vedanta
Your book consistently points to the nondual understanding that:
- The self is not the body-mind but Pure Consciousness (Sat-Chit-Ananda).
- Happiness is not derived from objects but is the very nature of the Self.
- Enlightenment is the recognition of this truth, often through Self-enquiry or surrender.
Comment: Your current feeling that life is a cosmic play (Leela) resonates directly with this framework—seeing worldly striving as ultimately empty when compared to abiding in Self.
Critique: While the intellectual understanding is crystal clear (you use strong analogies—pot/clay, waves/water), Advaita emphasizes that realization is experiential. The tension you express (“I was born without being asked… what was that ‘I’?”) shows a remaining conceptual entanglement that Self-enquiry seeks to dissolve.
2. Bridging Intellectual and Experiential Realization
In chapters like The Finger Pointing to the Moon and The Paradox of Seeking Enlightenment, you already recognize:
- Words and concepts can only point to Truth.
- The act of seeking itself perpetuates the illusion of separation.
Comment: This is a mature recognition.
Critique: There’s a subtle identification still operating with the “seeker-self” that feels burdened by existence. The paradox here is that even metaphysical weariness is part of the dream of individuality. As Ramana would say, inquire: Who is tired of life? — and let the “tired self” dissolve in awareness.
3. Alignment with Ramana Maharshi, Nisargadatta, and Krishnamurti
- Your exposition of mind-stilling matches Ramana’s and Nisargadatta’s teachings exactly (e.g., “Happiness is the Self,” “Hold on to the I Am”).
- You capture Krishnamurti’s choiceless awareness when discussing acceptance and living in the Now.
Comment: Philosophically, your understanding is already aligned with these masters.
Critique: Krishnamurti would challenge the very notion of a path or process. He might say that the moment you see the total movement of thought—including metaphysical weariness—there’s instant freedom, without method. Your book still uses structured practices (expectation management, anticipation, enquiry), which might subtly reinforce doership.
4. Metaphysical Weariness as Ripeness
The state you describe—no longer excited by worldly pursuits yet not depressed—is a classic sign of Vairagya (dispassion) in Vedantic literature.
- This weariness often precedes deep realization because the ego loses its appetite for external fulfillment.
Comment: It’s a positive sign of maturity.
Critique: The “tiredness” remains because the mind believes there’s still an “individual me” carrying life’s weight. Recognition that there’s never been a separate carrier dissolves this tiredness into effortless presence.
5. Next Steps (from the book itself)
Your own chapters point toward:
- Self-enquiry (Who am I?)—not as a doing, but as a continuous turning of attention to the sense of being.
- Effortless stillness—abiding as the witness of even this metaphysical fatigue.
- Surrender—letting life live itself without resistance.
Would you like me to outline how your current metaphysical weariness can be practically used as a springboard into deeper realization, drawing specifically from the approaches of Ramana and Nisargadatta (building on your own book’s teachings)?
You said:
Yes, please do so.
ChatGPT said:
Here’s how your current metaphysical weariness can serve as a springboard toward deeper realization, building on the teachings in your book and the approaches of Ramana Maharshi and Nisargadatta Maharaj:
1. Reframing Metaphysical Weariness
Vedantic View
- This feeling is not a flaw or a problem—it is Vairagya (dispassion), a key qualification for realization as per Sankaracharya.
- It indicates that the mind has seen through the futility of external pursuits and is now ready to turn inward.
Practical Step
- Instead of trying to “fix” the tiredness, use it as a pointer:
- Each time the thought “I am tired of life” arises, immediately inquire: “Who is tired? What is aware of this tiredness?”
- This shifts attention from the weary individual to the witnessing Awareness that is never weary.
2. Ramana Maharshi’s Direct Self-Enquiry
Ramana’s central instruction: “Be still. Find out who the experiencer is.”
Method
- Begin with the raw feeling of “I am” (as Nisargadatta also taught).
- Ask: “Who feels tired?”
- Trace the sense of I backward—not to the mind’s story, but to its source.
Outcome
- The tiredness is revealed as just a thought-sensation arising in Awareness.
- The “I” that claims to be tired is seen as non-existent.
- What remains is pure Being, effortless and untouched.
3. Nisargadatta’s “Stay with the I Am”
Nisargadatta emphasizes not conceptual analysis but abidance:
Practice
- Sit quietly, feel the raw sense of existence:
- “I am here. I exist.”
- Refuse to attach labels like “I am tired,” “I am a seeker.”
- Just dwell in the pure I Am without attributes.
Result
- This abidance dissolves the false personality.
- Eventually, even the “I Am” itself is transcended, revealing the timeless, formless Self.
4. Choiceless Awareness (Krishnamurti’s Insight)
Krishnamurti warns against turning enquiry into another goal-seeking activity.
Approach
- When tiredness or existential questioning arises, don’t resist or manipulate it.
- Simply observe—without naming, without trying to escape.
- Let thoughts and feelings appear and disappear in total openness.
Shift
- In this silent observation, the observer and observed merge.
- The separate “me” dissolves without effort.
5. Integrating with Daily Living
- Live as if life is happening by itself, which it truly is.
- Notice actions, decisions, even spiritual seeking occurring spontaneously.
- Gradually, the sense of personal doership weakens.
Key Realization
- The weariness belongs to the imagined person.
- The witnessing Awareness—the real “I”—was never born, hence cannot be tired.
- As your book says (Chapter 5): “Only Consciousness exists… body-mind is mere name-and-form.”
- Recognizing this experientially is liberation (Moksha).
Would you like me to create a daily contemplative routine (15–20 minutes) that applies these steps practically—combining Ramana’s enquiry, Nisargadatta’s I Am practice, and effortless observation—so that this metaphysical weariness naturally transforms into stillness and clarity?
You said:
Yes, please do so.
ChatGPT said:
Here’s a Daily Contemplative Routine (15–20 minutes) designed to use your current metaphysical weariness as a springboard into deeper realization. It blends Ramana Maharshi’s self-enquiry, Nisargadatta Maharaj’s “I Am” abidance, and Krishnamurti’s choiceless awareness.
🕉️ Daily Routine – “Returning to the Source”
1. Preparation (2–3 minutes)
- Sit comfortably in a quiet place.
- Let the body relax completely; close your eyes.
- Take a few slow breaths, allowing the mind to settle.
- Intention: “I’m not here to achieve anything or become enlightened.
I’m simply allowing Truth to reveal itself.”
2. Witnessing the Weariness (3 minutes)
- Bring gentle attention to the sense of being tired of life.
- Notice where it appears—in thoughts, emotions, body sensations.
- Inquiry:
- Silently ask: “Who is tired? To whom does this weariness appear?”
- Don’t try to answer intellectually—just let awareness trace it back to the sense of I.
- Allow all feelings to be exactly as they are, without resistance.
3. Abiding in the “I Am” (5–6 minutes)
- Shift focus to the raw, simple feeling of existence:
- “I am. I exist. I am aware.”
- Drop all labels (not “I am tired,” not “I am happy”).
- Rest in silent beingness, like Nisargadatta’s instruction: “Hold on to the sense of ‘I Am’ to the exclusion of everything else.”
- If thoughts arise, gently ask: “To whom do these thoughts come?”
- Let them dissolve into the witnessing Awareness.
4. Choiceless Awareness (5 minutes)
- Now, stop all mental effort—even enquiry.
- Simply observe whatever arises (sounds, sensations, thoughts).
- Be a passive witness, without judgment or involvement.
- Notice how everything comes and goes, yet Awareness remains untouched.
- Let silence deepen naturally.
5. Closing Integration (1–2 minutes)
- Before opening your eyes, affirm quietly: “The tiredness, the seeker, even life itself…
appear and disappear in Awareness.
I am that Awareness—unborn, untired, ever-present.” - Gently open your eyes. Carry this quiet witnessing into your daily activities.
Optional Mantra for Daily Remembrance
- Whisper inwardly during the day when fatigue arises: “Not me, not mine—I am Awareness itself.”
Know Thyself 