DMHC. I will be non reactive at home

GRS

 This passage is beautiful and closely connected to what you were saying about oneness and “knowing God.”

Here is a translation of the Hindi text:

“The Covering of the Gift”
(11 January 1996, Weggis, Switzerland)

All sensory pleasures of the world are like the outer wrapping of a gift; the true joy is the presence within.

The wise know how to enjoy the gift within; the ignorant become entangled in the outer wrapping.

Divine love itself is the gift, but we become trapped in the outer covering of the gift and think we have enjoyed the gift.

The whole world is for your joy, but do not get lost in it. Open the wrapping of the gift.

The spiritual point here is subtle:

• Outer wrapping = sensory pleasure, forms, objects, appearances
• Gift inside = divine presence, love, inner joy, truth
• The mistake is confusing the container for the essence.

This echoes both what Jesus says and what the Gita points toward:

• In Gospel of John 17:3, eternal life is to know God — not merely know about God.
• In Chapter 12 of the Bhagavad Gita, devotion turns attention from outer distraction toward union with the Divine.

You could read this passage almost as saying: the world is the wrapping; Presence is the gift.

Or in Advaita language: the many forms are appearances; the One reality is what shines through them.

BG 12

 You’re likely referring to Chapter 12 of the Bhagavad Gita — Bhakti Yoga (The Yoga of Devotion).

In this chapter, Arjuna asks Krishna a question that connects closely to what you’ve been asking about oneness / Advaita:

Which is better — devotion to a personal God, or meditation on the unmanifest Absolute?

Krishna replies that both paths can lead to the highest, but for most people, devotion to the personal divine is easier:

Those who fix their minds on Me with devotion are considered most united with Me.

But Krishna also says those who contemplate the formless, unmanifest reality can also reach Him — though that path is more difficult for embodied beings.

This chapter often gets read as a bridge between bhakti (devotion) and non-dual insight:

• Bhakti reading: love God personally, surrender, trust.
• Advaita reading: devotion purifies the mind until the distinction between devotee and Divine falls away.

A key theme of Chapter 12 is that spiritual maturity is shown in qualities like:

• non-hatred
• compassion
• freedom from ego
• steadiness
• peace amid praise or blame

Some readers notice a resonance between John 17:3 (“eternal life is to know God”) and Gita 12 — in both, the emphasis is not just on belief, but on relationship/knowing/union with the Divine.

If you want, we can look at a specific verse in Chapter 12 (for example 12.2, 12.3–5, or 12.13–20).

FMWDAS is a Karma

John 17:33

 You’re referring to a verse from the Gospel of John:

“Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.”

That is from Gospel of John 17:3, in Jesus’ prayer before his arrest.

There are a few ways people understand this passage:

• In many Christian traditions, “eternal life” here is not only about life after death, but a present relationship — knowing God in an intimate, lived sense.
• Some contemplative Christians connect this with a kind of union with God: not identity in the strict Advaita sense, but deep communion.
• Readers influenced by non-duality sometimes notice a resonance between “knowing God” directly and the idea of oneness, though classical Christian theology and Advaita usually make different claims about the relationship between self and God.

For example, in Christian mysticism, figures like Meister Eckhart or St. John of the Cross speak of profound union with God, while still often maintaining a distinction between Creator and creature.

The line you quoted emphasizes knowing, not merely believing or obeying — an experiential dimension. The Greek word used (ginosko) can imply relational, lived knowledge.

Are you exploring a connection between Jesus’ words and Advaita, or reflecting on what “knowing God” means?

I ness to One ness

 It sounds like you may mean “I need oneness. Advaita” — as in the idea of non-duality.

Advaita Vedanta teaches that the deepest self (Atman) and ultimate reality (Brahman) are not separate — the feeling of separateness is seen as an illusion. “Oneness” in this context doesn’t mean becoming something new; it points to recognizing an underlying unity that is already there.

Some classic ideas associated with Advaita:

• Non-duality: the observer and the observed are not ultimately separate.
• “Tat Tvam Asi” (“You are That”): a famous teaching from the Upanishads.
• Witnessing awareness: noticing thoughts and emotions without identifying fully with them.
• Inquiry: asking “Who am I?” to examine what remains beyond roles, thoughts, or labels.

People often explore Advaita through teachers like Adi Shankaracharya, Ramana Maharshi, or modern talks and meditation practices.

If you meant something different by “one ness,” tell me a bit more about what you’re looking for.

Jhanas 10

 B

In classical Buddhism (especially Theravāda), the standard model is 8 jhānas—four form (rūpa) jhānas and four formless (arūpa) attainments. There isn’t an official “9–10 jhānas” in the early canon, but later meditation traditions and modern teachers sometimes extend the numbering.

Here’s how the “9–10 jhānas” idea usually shows up:

1) Standard system (1–8)

• 1st–4th jhāna (form realm): progressively deeper absorption with increasing equanimity and one-pointedness.
• 5th–8th (formless attainments):
  5. Infinite space
  6. Infinite consciousness
  7. Nothingness
  8. Neither-perception-nor-non-perception

These are the core, widely recognized set.

2) “9th jhāna” (often: cessation)

In some commentarial and modern maps, the next step is:

• Cessation of perception and feeling (nirodha-samāpatti)

This is not a “mental state” in the usual sense—it’s described as a temporary suspension of conscious experience (only for advanced non-returners in classical doctrine). Some teachers label this as the 9th jhāna, though that numbering is non-standard.

3) “10th jhāna” (modern or system-dependent label)

There is no universally accepted 10th jhāna in traditional Buddhism. When it appears, it usually refers to one of these:

• Post-cessation re-emergence + insight phase (sometimes treated as a distinct attainment in modern frameworks)
• Or a teacher’s custom extension beyond classical cessation
• Occasionally used loosely to include “fruition” states (phala samāpatti) or deep insight stages

So “10th jhāna” is best understood as a modern mapping choice, not a canonical category.

Key takeaway

• Canonical model: 8 jhānas
• Extended model (some traditions): adds cessation as 9th
• 10th: not standard; depends on teacher/system, often interpretive

If you want, I can map how different traditions (Theravāda commentaries, modern Vipassanā teachers, and some Mahāyāna/Vajrayāna systems) each reinterpret the jhāna ladder—it gets interesting because they don’t all agree on what “absorption” even means.