The Advaita Show #011 – Who's On First

The Advaita Show #010
November 8, 2005
The Advaita Show #012 – The No-Thing In The Red Shirt
November 22, 2005
Show all

The Advaita Show #011 – Who's On First

The Advaita Show #011 (MP3 – 14MB – 40min)

>LISTEN TO THE PODCAST HERE

Driving home from Bob’s this morning, I had the iPod on, and in between podcasts, Abbott & Costello came on with “Who’s On First”, and I decided that it has to be the most advaita of all comedy sketches.

And it also reminded me a lot of talking with Bob. One of the conversations he and I had today when the mic was off was about the nature of language (you get a bit of it on the show) and how some words mean different things to different people. That’s my problem with “intelligence energy” – even though I intuitively understand what Bob means when he says that, I’ve always had to parse the words into something I can understand, because the two words “intelligence” and “energy” have specific associations in my brain. So although Bob’s waying “Who’s on first”, my brain keeps asking “What’s his name?!?!??!”. 🙂

On this show we answer your questions from the comments section (well we answer the ones we understand anyway) and I hit Bob with a point of clarification. And we have an encore. Listen and you’ll understand what I’m talking about.

Thanks for listening and for all of the comments folks. I was telling Bob that this podcast gets WAY more comments and feedback than any other show on The Podcast Network…. which indicates to me just how crazy you all are.

28 Comments

  1. Tan says:

    There is no one who is enlightened.
    There is no such thing as enlightenment.
    Do you think there is?

  2. Tan says:

    I like your future book “Shut up and go on with your Life!”.

    My book title will be: “Stop asking questions and buzz off!”

    all my best to you Cameron and Bob
    cheers

  3. Tan says:

    What did you mean with “Guru Wars” on your last show?

    Guru Navy seals against Guru Ninjas? 🙂

    What is that all about?

    cheers
    Take care
    Buzz off to My Self

  4. Steve says:

    Cameron..a question for Bob.
    On the last show Bob said something that “rang a bell” for me.
    He said “there is nothing or no one capable of seeing or hearing” I think I sense what he means….there is just seeing and hearing happening **by itself** it dosen’t need **my** help…it just happens. Is this what he means ??…ie there is just this clear space of things happening, but not by, or to anyone.
    Can Bob talk more on this ??

    steve in Canada

  5. AND then
    i don’t know STOLE HOME
    OM ~ :-))

  6. great show (he said, definitely ‘sucking up’)
    love you too, Bob

  7. Hi Guy’s
    A lot of Eastern teachings talk about the ABSOLUTE (ie consciousness. That, noumena etc….) and the RELATIVE (ie the unreal, illusion, samsara etc…) Even though these two are seen as ONE ultimately.
    Question1 Do Bob or Cameron see any benefit in cultivating Goodwill(Relative stuff. ….but still the ONE…I know…… WHO cultivates it !!)

    Question 2 When someone/thing really gives you a hard time (Relative stuff but ONE/Not Two…. it sure does feel like two sometimes though!!!……) what do Bob + Cameron do…….(tho they don’t exist)

    Question 3 Did the donuts make it back from the shopping mall (Who’s asking… )

    Yours enjoying the show here in the Old Country

  8. Bob Seal says:

    Thanxs Cameron and Bob,
    Enjoying the show . . .
    Thought for the Xmas season coming up soon.

    Who’s giving Omni-PRESENTS to Who this Xmas! 🙂

    Thanks for sorting out the copyright issue sailor Bob.
    Thought I’d do this copyright in the future
    © GOD 2006
    That just about covers everything!

  9. jérôme says:

    hi Bob,
    what do you think of these teachers like Andrew Cohen or Echkart Tolle who speak about the evolution of Conscioussness??isn’t it a complete no sense and BS ??

  10. Dale Hinton says:

    I have finished reading all of Bob’s books, so all I have to read now is other Adavita books. One of the Adavita teachers said in there book, that you can NEVER becomed awaken, realized, (or whatever the Adavita term is) just by reading books of listening to tapes. That you had meet someone who has gotten it, whatever it is.
    I mean you didn’t realize the truth of adavita until you met Bob and Bob didn’t get it until he met his guru.
    So my question is, should i just trash all the books and forget the idea that i will ever get this through my thick skull . I mean the chances of meeting someone who has awakened or whatever you want to call it, are about as good of a chance as me winning the lottery.

  11. Gazza from London says:

    Hi Bob and Cameron,

    I’ll rephrase the question that you didn’t understand last week:

    QUESTION – Can you explain CLEARLY so there is no doubt in my mind, how you know that there is no such thing as free will?

    Loving the show guys,
    Gazza

  12. Hi Guys,

    Absolutely love the advaita show – hope Cameron has had enough coffee and Bob has had some sleep! As I’ve been ill at home this week, I’ve had more time on my hands and did a bit of research on language. Here some ‘advaita’ words with their root meanings:

    INDIVIDUAL – from Latin individuus “indivisible,” from in- “not” + dividuus “divisible,” from dividere “divide.”

    PERSON – from Old French. persone “human being” (12c., Fr. personne), from Latin persona “human being,” originally “character in a drama, mask,”

    ALONE – c.1300 contraction of Old English all ana “all by oneself,” from all “all, wholly” + an “one.” I suppose it is the opposite to loneliness where one feels separate.

    DESIRE – .1230, from Latin desiderare “long for, wish for,” original sense perhaps interestingly “await what the stars will bring,” which doesn’t sound like free will!

    MEDITATION – from Latin meditationem (nom. meditatio), from meditatus, Past participle. of meditari “to meditate, to think over, consider,”. So meditation doesn’t mean stopping thought at all.

    THINK – This one is very interesting. Probably originally “cause to appear to oneself,” from Germanic. *thankjan. This follows the idea that thought creates the idea of someone here.

    EMPTY – Old English from æmetta “leisure,” from æ “not” + -metta “to have”. Mod.Gk. adeios “empty,” originally “freedom from fear,” from deios “fear.” So emptiness is about letting go.

    EXISTENCE – present participle of Latin existere “appear,”

    TIME – from Proto-Indo-European *di-mon-, from base *da- “cut up, divide”

    PHILOSOPHY – from Latin philosophia, from Greek philosophia “love of knowledge, wisdom,”

    Take it easy,
    Shaamash

  13. Administrator says:

    Shamash: wow, that’s pretty amazing research! Man, I’m going to pull those out at dinner parties forever.

    Gazza: as Bob said in the last show, who is there that could possibly be exercising the free will? I’d just say, sit quietly for 30 minutes and watch the way thoughts arise in your mind. Explain to me how you created them. I want a detailed explanation of which neurons you used and how you activated them. By next week will be fine, thanks.

    Dale: yes, forget it. Nothing to see here, move along, move along….

    Steve: when someone gives me a hard time, I’m usually paying her extra.

    Tan: of course there is no one who is enlightened and no such thing as enlightenment. But you can’t sell books like that, can you? So don’t tell anyone…. shhh…. quiet, we’re hunting wabbits….

  14. Mark says:

    Hi Cam and Bob, loved show #10! Thanks for answering more of my dumb questions!

    Here’s even more dumb questions!

    1. Bob says there’s no ‘body’ there doing anything. He says things like “Does the seeing say ‘I see?'” Does the hearing say “I hear”? I get that, but aren’t we each born with unique “God Given” talents and motivations that set us apart, and doesn’t that imply that there’s a DOER which chooses to ACT on those desires and talents or NOT? There are an awful lot of couch potatoes out there. Isn’t it our PERSONAL WILL that sets those inclinations in motion? Why would this Intelligence Energy give us these distinct drives, yet simultaneously give us a MIND which often RESISTS acting on them? Isn’t that why there really IS free will?

    2. Can you discuss Christianity? Why do Christians keep telling us that unless we accept Jesus Christ as our personal lord and savior we are all DOOMED? This strikes me as crazy, but there are millions of seemingly intelligent people out there who believe this. Is this an epidemic, a mass hypnosis? or am I just a ‘sinner’ who is screwed for being skeptical? 😉

  15. Cameron,
    You are flakier than a homemade biscuit and I am not just saying that to butter you up.

    Bob should be bottled and sold.

    Flakes and ale…..how ’bout it?

    Vicki Woodyard

  16. Luly says:

    hi Bob, hi Cameron,
    i have some questions.

    1st question;
    what is this sense of a particular viewpoint? although it’s clear that there is no such person as ‘Luly’, or anything distinct or concrete here, there is definitely a perspective, a point of view, if you will. granted, this assumes there’s a point of view elsewhere, too. this viewpoint tends to lend credence to being an individual. so what up? don’t you both have this sense of a viewpoint at all?

    2nd question;
    if there is no free will, and that seems clear as well, then isn’t it all just happenstance? and ‘waking up’ is like winning a lottery that one hasn’t even bought a ticket for.

    3rd and lastly;
    what can one do about those moments of identification when we seem to forget the reality?
    i know, i know, Bob, there’s noone there to do anything (or forget reality! ha! lol).
    but still, there’s a recognition that something, call it ‘identity’, slips in! and then, of course, when the identifying is over, it’s over. finito.
    yet!!! there are those moments when identity appears and then everything becomes quite personal. and sometimes, simultaneously, there is awareness that identifying is taking place, almost as ‘tho there were two events happening at the same time. it is perplexing to say the least. when it is re-cognized, it either feels comical or it is frustrating. (i suspect the frustration is still some identifying going on. )

    i am so glad to have discovered your podcast show.
    thanks & ttfn!
    Luly
    (in northern california)

  17. ravi says:

    so I am, But “i” have no volition and is an imagination, right??? and this “i” also has no free will, right??? But we all have experienced that when the “i” really desires something in phenomenality, it seems to appear. Intense desire does manifest atleast in this dream world. Now my question is how does that happen?? what significance does it have?? some spiritual traditions do teach visualization as a meditation aid to co-creation with God. what is its significance?

    the other part of my question would have to be: so when a desire brings forth a result, was it the power of desire that did that or (since we have no free will) is the manifestation being pre-cognized and this dream body-mind organism appears to think that it is its thought/desire ???

    I love the show and have downloaded every single one on mp3 and listen to bits of it everyday

    thanks for all the pointers

    regards
    ravi from Bangalore, India

  18. Tan says:

    Shamash, you go(o)d old “drama”, you “mask” !
    Is everybody wasting his life with the same shit? 😉 of course,
    I did the similar bullox some time ago.
    Here are couple of more additional gooddies.
    Cosmos: meaning order (greek root)
    Ex- istere (ex – ire) = coming “out” of it
    Re-ligio = re legere = laying it back into it
    intelligence = inter legere = reading between the lines
    love ~ life = basically coming from the same root ( heard cameron “loves” the “love-thingie”)
    whole~heal = coming from the same root
    etc. etc.

    Yeah, cameron, I have to admit that my book from last year with the title:

    “DON’T BOTHER THERE IS NO ENLIGHTENMENT” really did not sell that well.
    My wife bought it after some pressure from me.

    Maybe I will change the title to:
    “THE GREAT AND AMAZING SECRET of the BIG E”
    “Get in 5 minute workouts everyday for free!”

    by the way, I was thinking that,
    in the ” I AM THAT”-comedy routine, there may still be some “non existing guys/gals” still be thinking that there is a separate “I” who could be in control of being this “THAT”. versus: “There is only THAT”

    same with the notion:
    “I” have no free “WILL” (sounding like an “I” being in control of “having no free will”

    versus

    There is no free will.

    bye, bye

    p.s.
    On your love of love.
    Do the guys/gals who constantly talk about “All there is, is LOVE” actually know that that LOVE is also hate, war, anger, murder, rape, tenderness, care, compassion and ALL da other stuff as well …

  19. Tan says:

    … which also means that “All there is is LOVE”, has the same meaning as:

    “All there is is, VEGGIEMITE” or

    “All there is is, CHOCOLATE DONUTS”

    bye
    buzz off, shh, shhh go away tan.

  20. Ken Burch says:

    Be still! B e s t i l l . What is not still is not what you are. Be what you are. It’s fine. Enough with the story telling.

  21. Brian says:

    Cameron…

    Your a Sci-Fi geek, like me… I actually get the refferences; the Universe MUST have a sense of humor…
    Now, did u watch any Babylon 5…(2nd-5th season)? Some very interesting insights in that show if you can forgive some of the acting from time to time.

    Cameron….Did anyone tell you you look like Trevon Horn from the Buggles, ya know the song “Video killed the radio star”….which reminds me…some nice tracks on Yes’s “Drama” album….

    Jeez , we must be crazy talking this strange language of Non-Do-ality….Can we talk a language that children can understand? …”a Doo doo doo daa daa daa is all i want to say to you”…lol

    Oh ,check out Kate Bush’s new album “Aerial” Beautiful, quite beautiful.

    Balu (bear from Jungle Book) and Winnie-the-Pooh are good examples of the simple.

    Response to one of the comments up above….

    Lots of seeming non-dual expressions in Greek philosophy (‘love of Wisdom’)….then again, east, west , topsy turvy…we are expressing and revealing what is already so what our nature is, not memorizing a conceptual beleif system. Thought is a cheap substitute for reality.

    hug to you Cam (instead of sending u a check for $5,000 dollars how about a life’s supply of Vegiemite? LOL)

    Love to Bob (wish I was there to joke with ya more)

  22. Administrator says:

    Hey Brian… no, don’t watch the Trek shows. The idea that 500 years from now, humans will still look like humans annoys me. My money says we’ll all be machines within 50 years.

    Yes, my elvis sunnies often get the comment that I look like the guy from the Buggles. Which is cool, cuz Video Kills was the first single I ever bought!

    A lifetime supply of Vegemite… hmmm I’ll take it. Who knows, maybe new-clear war will break out and I’ll need the Vitamin B.

  23. Tan says:

    for ken the burch.
    What is not still, is what you are and what is still, is what you are.

    “Be what you are” is a useless suggestion. “who” shall do the being?

    For once try “Not to be what you are”, see if you ever will be successful.

    apologize, this week is my blabber week.

  24. Helen says:

    Hello Bob and Cameron – In one of your two books, Bob, someone asks you about the influence of thought on the dream, and you talk about being able to walk on water, if you want. How can thought create reality when thought is just ‘hearsay’; just subtle sound?

    thanks,
    Helen

  25. Brian says:

    Cameron …

    I said Babyon 5! It is nothing like the Trek series. And there some humans on the show that are part technology, Techno-Mages. THey are infused with a bio-technology. Their science resembles magic. And many other quirky things…but humanity still has its sense of humor and sarcasm…try it…2nd – 5th season…some of the actors from Lost are from Babylon 5.

    cheers
    Brian

  26. Polly says:

    Can you talk a bit more about ‘separation’. My ‘form’ (body) appears separate from the body in the chair across from me. Therefore it seems that separation isn’t only caused by the imagining of an ‘I’….it seems to be caused also by the appearance of objects that are visibly separated. Ya get me?

  27. barney says:

    Hi Guys,

    I didn’t know podcasts could be so much fun. Almost taken off a packed train of city commuters in a straight jacket because i was laughing so much.

    My question is …..WHY bother to have a manifest universe. Can’t ALL THERE IS just stay un manifest and save everthing that cant see who they are from suffering !!!!!! If there is no one who gains anything WHY bother ?

    All the best

    Barney (London)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *