From an early age I recall a natural inquisitiveness towards the nature and mechanics of all sorts of things. I was constantly observing and theorizing. Fortunately, throughout life, the denser and more persistent forms of suffering were not something I was particularly familiar with. Life unfolded quite smoothly on an inner and outer level.
Although there was already a strong spiritual bent, it wasn't until my late twenties that life introduced the notion of enlightenment and the underlying non-dual nature of life. When this happened all the cells in my body shouted ‘yes’ and there was an unexplainable faith that trusted what had been read. From that point, everything else faded into insignificance next to the quest that had been ignited. This was the beginning of a wonderful phase which spontaneously started some 15 years back and spanning 5 years miraculously didn't stop until what was initially pointed at became lived on an unwavering basis.
What was most amazing about the process was that from very early on the concept that everything is a 'happening' and not 'my doing' was introduced – that everything is unfolding exactly as it is meant to, not according to my will but according to God's Will. This notion immediately resonated deeply and in a short time the ingrained contrary beliefs dissolved and the conviction flowered into an experiential way of being that so perfectly embodied this pointer.
This magically intricate process unfolded with this heart attitude present throughout, making it known directly to be a divinely orchestrated plan delivering everything that was needed in exactly the right proportions and at exactly the right time. I have been known to say "that if any of this process was actually up to 'me', I would have messed it up on day one!". And yet the paradox, but not contradiction, is that it was Roger who was the one contemplating, reading, meditating and so forth.
From then I had a deep experiential conviction that everything in life happens the same way "according to God's Will" from the beginning of time to the end of time. This deepened and led to a radical insight about the nature of Source in its most primordial. From here the underlying oneness of life became obvious far more than just intellectually and an unbroken connection to Source was established from where peace of heart in daily living stems.
I always speak from my own direct experience, however many who knew the great teachings of my beloved Guru Sri Ramesh Balsekar will recognize the content often comes through in much the same vein as what he shared with seekers for more than 25 years in Mumbai, India. Jai Ramesh Guru. The teachings of Jesus, A Course in Miracles, Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj and Bhagwan Sri Ramana Maharshi, among others, were all precious gifts which were instrumental in what happened. Humbled and in gratitude I bow.
Website: rogercastillo.org
YouTube Channel
Transcript of this interview
Interview recorded 8/20/2016
YouTube Video Chapters:
00:00:00 - Introduction to Buddha at the Gas Pump
00:04:01 - Recognizing the Paradox of Life
00:08:09 - The Experience of Duality and Oneness
00:13:14 - The Three Simultaneously True Levels of Non-Dual Reality
00:17:24 - Smooth Life and Intense Teachings
00:21:38 - Practical Daily Living and Approaching Enlightenment
00:26:12 - A Magical Process of Insight and Contemplation
00:30:38 - Degrees of Spiritual Maturity and Reincarnation
00:35:15 - The Existence of Self
00:40:01 - The Deepening of Understanding in Daily Life
00:45:08 - Certainty about Death
00:49:32 - Life Carrying On
00:54:21 - Life after Death
00:58:23 - The Non-Physicality of Reality
01:03:33 - Surrendering to the Divine's Instruction
01:08:28 - Different Teachings for Different Levels of Development
01:12:57 - Understanding the Evolution of Relationship to Thoughts
01:17:55 - Consciousness and Creativity
01:22:19 - Understanding the Experience of Life
01:27:13 - Finding Peace and Happiness in Daily Living
01:31:17 - The Attitude of Non-Doership
01:34:27 - The Diminishment of Personal Doership
01:39:27 - Witnessing and Non-Doership
01:43:47 - Understanding Witnessing and Integration
01:47:55 - The Influence of Genes and Conditioning
01:52:08 - Acting according to your level of consciousness
01:56:49 - Living without a sense of personal doership
02:01:25 - Dissolving the Sense of Personal Doership
02:05:40 - The Manifestation of Duality and the Nature of Poverty
02:10:25 - Finding a Teacher and Allowing Life to Flow
02:14:53 - Conclusion & Thank You