Society Of Abidance In Truth Zine

So I went down to Society of Abidance in Truth and have been staying there a few days. Interesting things have transpired. I took the greyhound down, and one of the members agreed to take me from the station to the SAT temple. SAT is a hindu temple dedicated to the teachings of Ramana Maharshi. For about a year I've been in correspondence with the sage that teaches there named Nome (as in egoless). It is interesting because of the supernatural level that things operate on down here. The member that picked me up from the station had left a message on my cell which was out of batteries. She said to call her when I arrived so she could pick me up. I decided since i couldn't call her, I'd find out how to get there by transit bus here in Santa Cruz. The contents of my backpack was all over the sidewalk. I looked at my phone again, a new message. This second message said she was already at the bus station. I went into the station, and there she was ready to go. We get in the car. And I had noticed a shift in my consciousness. I asked her how long she had been with Nome. 25 years she said. Now she seemed like any normal 50s-ish lady, interestingly though while she chattered like any older mother-ish figure I was in such a deep state I could hardly respond. But the right words came out of me. I didn't have to do anything. Both internal and external in a state of peace I was being carried to the SAT temple. I said that on the Grehound I somehow intuitively knew that that street led to the temple. I was amazed by the psychic-ness. Her response dispassionate indicated that this was normal. She took me up the radiating staircase. Radiating some sense of being a deep spiritual mystery or abyss, Ramana Maharshi's beatific face was in a picture. "Nome" she said, I forget what they talked about. He said "yes". There was nothing about his presence, or behavior that said Jnani, except there was such an intense sense of all encompassing absorbing peace (like being waterlogged in a dream) and all the events that transpired from the station to his presence were a blur, I didn't feel like I had done them, that I was needed to move my body. I also didn't feel that the normal rules of time and distance seemed to apply. I mean that literally. Charmingly though, like any good natured, unassuming man with a sense of humor he smiled at me and asked me how long my bus ride was. When I said 25 hours he looked shocked. "That's a long trip!" Then he had to get something from the other room, and in a blur he snuck past me like a spirit. Then I found myself in my new room on the SAT grounds. SAT grounds were not large, but there were some very pretty gardens. Not long after, Nome and his wife stopped by. Nome came in to the house, I lept to attention out of my room with adrenylin. "Getting some rest?" he asked. His blue orb eyes slowly turned toward me. On the surface that was a normal question, but I felt such a nervous system shift in his presence that was almost physically discomfortable. Like too much all absorbing grace and power was in too small of room. What I was learning with these deeply spiritual beings, and in Nome's case a fully Realized Jivanmukta who had attained Moksha or God-Realization was that the bodily interactions were no different then with any other people. But the Grace in their presence was exceedingly potent. The next day Nome and his wife stopped by again. This time, more acclimatized to the supernatural grace, him and his wife briefly joked with me and were checking to make sure I had everything I needed. They took me to another person's house (also on temple grounds) who agreed to take me shopping. The most amazing thing about this place was that if any egoic-sense arose in me, some event would happen to check it, but not in an invalidating way that made me feel shame for the shame immediately transformed into the most wonderful Bliss. What i was learning is that Nome doesn't need to instruct because the power in his presence instructs, it's like being in the presence of a conductor, my instrument starts to play in tune. And everyone there plays in tune. If you need food, grace provides it. You find it in your hands, a bed, it's there. How is happening? No idea. Whenever something arose, I sloppily hand wrote out my thoughts and dropped in the mailbox. The first event was Ramana Darshanam where Ramana's teachings from Talks were discussed. The temple itself automatically engendered in me a sense of fear and trembling just entering it's premises. Bow down ego, it said. Me and the person who I encountered talked about the teachings. This person said that Nome was the best person he had ever found to explain meditation. There is a sense in spiritual depth where the world becomes more dreamlike and unreal in my experience. Here, that was the norm, the solid reality was not the norm. Uncanny coincidences were expected, something not having an obvious underlying cause was what was shocking. I mean from my point of view. Most conversations around the temple grounds were not spiritual but were about mundane things, and everyone was exceedingly dispassionate and calm about them like slow moving statues. Even around Nome, outside of Satsang Nome seemed to only talk about or care about mundane things. The spirituality was transcendent of the world, and actions, it was the dreamlike quality to experience that was suddenly made obvious, the blissful peace, the egoless graceful experiences were common, and it was easy to practice Self-inquiry. In Ramana Darshanam Nome started talking from Talks and analyzing a question answer session. Every movement of his was perfect I mean, as if he was in tune with my own inner most hidden being. He lectured profoundly and potently on fear of death and how it arises from duality arises from there being me afraid of something. If there is no me and no something, can there be fear? he asked. I thought, perfect topic! As I had that thought he shot me a glance as if to concur, that he had picked it because it was the perfect topic for me. He had the most sly smile when he shot his glance, the most direct eye contact. Now in Satsang when he looked at me my mind was completely stilled everytime. Not thinking, my whole being was stilled, any anxiety, any apprehension came to a completely halt in a stillness where there was only Nome. My question, I described how I get blissful, the room glows, maybe even a hallucenation of a letter twitching. My question was how to determine when I'm going the right way in practice, that I'm getting spiritually deeper and not more dull. When I said I hallucenate a letter in spiritual books twitching, everyone laughed. I mentioned that around Nome that the room around me glowed intensely, not by the light (there was light), but my consciousness was illumined so that everything glowed in my consciousness. When Nome looked at me, it completely obliterated the non-spiritual egoic tendency in me. It was so easy to inquire. With an all-knowing expression he nodded, "Points to consider. Blissful experience in any form at any time is always good. No exceptions. There is no need to question it." I lit up with Bliss. He went on, but what I remember him asking was "You say that the room glows, by what light does it glow?" I knew he was referring to the I or the real Self, so I mentioned one of my doubts. "When the I-thought is mentioned, it seems like they are not referring to a thought, the I-thought is just a way of saying the sense of me, the feeling of me". (this is what is to be annihilated through Self-inquiry in Blissful Self-Realization). "Correct" he said, and went on to say other things I can't remember. To day I discovered my non-devotee roomate living with his girlfriend who just lives here to live here, talks to gods. I mentioned that this place (knowing it's because of the Nome, Maharshi presence) is a magnet for those who are pulled in to their egoic demise.

The grace in Nome's presence, when he was sitting in silent samadhi was so strong that the room glowed by etherial light in my consciousness. Nome (I accidentally wrote Rumi) had a clear and distinct glow or white outline that appeared in my consciousness. When I say this, I want to make clear it was imaginary, but Nome's presence was so strong it induced this. Other people asked questions, suddenly i felt a pull waved my hand, he turned to me. I explained that