introduction from VISWANATHAN KRISHNAMURTHY (fwd)

Ravi Mayavaram msr at REDDY20.TAMU.EDU
Thu Apr 2 15:30:06 CST 1998


namaskAram Prashant

Thanks for sharing your views.  Silence need not mean acceptance. It
can also mean ignorance. Often I am quiet because for a little-read,
ignorant person like me, the correct thing is not always obvious. Like
many in India these days, I was also lost in the agnosticism and
wasted my precious youth reading useless modern day philosophers. Like
many I also started the journey from the new age junkyard. But I am
not proud of my ignorance, rather ashamed of it. But such feelings
alone do not help. One has to take corrective action and read the
right thing.  One has to read what shankara and our what our achAryas
have said, at least make an attempt. By discouraging unnecessary
new-age discussions, we can accelerate the right by focussing on the
right things.


Often the discussion go on and on, with little benefit also. Take
for instance the discussion on freewill. What can one say. Personally
I think one should use technical terms in sanksrit, that may make it
clear. What is free will in sanskrit? I do not  know. I think
if one talks about ahaMkAram, then it is clear. The thought that
"I am the doer",  I am this buddhi, manas and chitta , so on lead to
terrible trouble. It is the starting point of all troubles due to
false identification.


On the these complex issues we should rather see what shruti and
smriti says, what our Acharyas say, otherwise these discussions are
pointless. That may force some to silence as well.


Ravi

shrI rAmajayam



More information about the Advaita-l mailing list