Shaped and sustained by the nondual tradition of Kashmir Shivaism, Eric Baret’s words take us back to the simple observation of our felt sense of emotion and, ultimately, to pure listening.
This allows a liberating realization: the root of suffering is an illusion, and all claims to knowledge are a pretense.
The dialogues recorded in this book are an invitation to celebrate life in the present moment, free from the fear of an imaginary future.
“You don’t need anything in life, because it all ends in the present moment. You do not have the time to build a conscious life. You cannot become anything.”
Translated by Jeanric Meller
ISBN: 978-1727646269188 pages
Preface
In its traditional form, Kashmir Shaivism is beginning to be known in the West. In the last thirty years, scholars have introduced numerous texts, which are remarkable for their depth. The study of these works stimulates the mind and unveils many exceptional aspects of Indian thought.
Originally, however, the purpose of this tradition was not to enrich our knowledge but, on the contrary, to free ourselves from it. The burning fire of liberation, hidden under the exotic fantasies of the spiritual tradition, was revealed to those who found their way through those initiatory twists and turns. Nowadays, very few of us will have the time or even the impulse to immerse ourselves in Kashmiri culture of the Middle Ages in order to benefit from this revelation.
My teacher Jean Klein has passed on to his students an extraordinary transposition of this art without ever betraying it. Today, the teachings must find their students wherever they may be, to help them meet the modern world with the freshness which lies at the heart of every spiritual tradition. No knowledge is necessary to receive the essence of the art, for the origin of every tradition does not reside in thought, but in silence. Not-knowing is the way (niveda-sadhana). Spiritual instruction is received straight from the emptiness (sunyavani). These few dialogues are one of numerous examples of this approach. What is transmitted is not a body of knowledge, but a listening which is, ultimately, the only doorway to the essential.
— Eric Baret
Introduction
“Glory be to Him who has not carved a path towards Him other than the incapacity to know Him.”
— Ibn Arabi: The Meccan Revelations
Born out of fear, the impulse to know and to want is at the root of our psychological suffering. Our existence is often nothing but a struggle to assert this superficial paradigm. The constant search for security is the main obstacle to uncovering of freedom which beckons us at every moment of what we call ordinary life.
To free the world from our projections is the ultimate art, expressed in all the great spiritual traditions. This listening, free of personal ownership, is the solution to our conflicts, imagined yet so real within our regimented lives.
Our carefully conditioned psyche fears emotion, yet emotion is to be found at the source of all perception. When welcomed in its totality, this energy flows free of its projected cause and becomes the song of life, silencing the individual. Misery, an echo of our original, irrevocable and natural joy, is revealed as the second-born child of a barren woman.
At the heart of the non-dual Kashmir Shaivite tradition, the alchemy of emotion puts an end to intentional thinking.
The following conversations catch us in the midst of our everyday preoccupations which, in our approach, reveal themselves as portals to what is essential. Swept away by the fire of the moment, any resistance to a life free of conclusions, to the not knowing so dear to Jean Klein, is clearly seen as a hopeless struggle. Could the red sulfur of alchemy be anywhere else but in our very presence?
The transcript of these meetings preserves the spontaneous format of Q&A. What is said here could easily be contradicted in other circumstances or on other levels and should not be considered as the truth, but rather as an exploration of our patterns and habits. The style of speech is specific to the audience. Out of context, some responses might appear inappropriate or seem to have little pedagogical value. It is the intimacy and the spaces of silence pervading these meetings that justify these responses and invite their functional integration. The reader should not take them literally but transpose them. Although the intensity of these moments—in which expression is but a pretext for transmission of a sense of listening—can only be tasted in person, a reading without expectation of objective understanding can bring us back to the same obvious realizations which are at the heart of our deepest nature.
About Éric Baret
Without either diploma or culture, Éric Baret has no special competence. Deeply touched by the nondual tradition through Jean Klein’s teaching, he spent over thirty years exploring his experience from this perspective. In his yoga seminars, satsangs and through his writing, Eric invites us to surrender to a listening that is free of any agenda or end-gaining.
“Eric Baret, who was a student of Jean Klein, is a teacher of Kashmir Shaivism and yoga. This is a beautiful book saturated in the listening silence and presence from which it emerges and to which it points.”
— Joan Tollifson
“I am only 39 pages into this book and I am filled with heartfelt gratitude to the author who translated these words of Eric Baret into English. How I wish I knew French, so that I could read and listen more to his talks! I cherish this book and look forward to sitting with more of Baret’s teachings as they wash old beliefs and perceived understandings away and leave only what is shining in plain view. Thank you for this dear translation!”
— Clair Rose
“I was first introduced to Eric Baret by a Science and Non-duality (SAND) video. It was amazing! Eric was coming from a place few people are willing to visit. I then took a webinar with Eric and that was extraordinary. I deeply thank Zaya and Maurizio Benazzo for bringing Eric into my awareness and for publishing this amazing book! And I deeply thank Jeanric Meller for beautifully translating Eric’s words into English!”
— Tom Thompson
“When I began reading Let The Moon Be Free, I was reading it like any other ‘spiritual’ book. About half way through, I stopped and started again at the very beginning. This book is not like any other “spiritual” book. Or any other book. Eric keeps pulling the rug out from under the reader. It is like being in a relationship with and receiving transmission from ancient Chinese Chan master. This is not a book for the mind. Maybe for the heart and hara. I don’t know. But I highly suggest you read it! Slowly. Savor it. Let it in.”
“It is always good to know someone a little crazier than you are.”
