At 01:09 PM 10/31/97 -0800, Jonathan Bricklin wrote:
(to my comment here >>...)
>>A friend of mine just yesterday asked me this very question, seeing
>>everything from her own viewpoint.>
>People often say, in response to the possibility of the non-reality of free
>will, "Why get out of bed?" I think that tells us how exhausting life has
>been as an individuated agent self. By all means, tell your friend to get
>a rest. Then let her see what happens. The phone rings, the bladder gets
>full, she smells coffee brewing, she notices a fresh snowfall outside the
>window....
Thanks for your beautifully-stated thought. Yes, she does need a rest
(and knows it), and is very rigidly individuated. She's been coming to
some local Satsangs, however, and is interested in studying Vedanta...
>From Fri Oct 31 14:30:58 1997
Message-Id: <FRI.31.OCT.1997.143058.0500.>
Date: Fri, 31 Oct 1997 14:30:58 -0500
Reply-To: chandran at tidalwave.net
To: "Advaita (non-duality) with reverence" <ADVAITA-L at TAMU.EDU>
From: Ram Chandran <chandran at TIDALWAVE.NET>
Organization: Personal
Subject: Re: A search in secret India
Comments: To: "Advaita (non-duality) with reverence" <ADVAITA-L at TAMU.EDU>
MIME-Version: 1.0
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Govind Rengarajan wrote:
> The kAnchi mutt was in kumbakONam before it was
> moved to kAnchIpuram. You can refer to an article by
> Vidyasankar sometime ago (in the archives - sorry I don't
> have the dates). If I am not mistaken, Giri also has some
> information on his homepage:
>
> http://www.geocities.com/RodeoDrive/1415/
>
> Also Ravi or Sri Ram Chandran can perhaps shed more light
> on this.
> govind
Dear Govind:
Namaskar,
I believe that your information is complete and I have no reason to
switch on the street light on "Day light."
Regards,
Ram Chandran
>From Fri Oct 31 14:23:00 1997
Message-Id: <FRI.31.OCT.1997.142300.0500.>
Date: Fri, 31 Oct 1997 14:23:00 -0500
Reply-To: chandran at tidalwave.net
To: "Advaita (non-duality) with reverence" <ADVAITA-L at TAMU.EDU>
From: Ram Chandran <chandran at TIDALWAVE.NET>
Organization: Personal
Subject: Re: Couple of questions
Comments: To: "Advaita (non-duality) with reverence" <ADVAITA-L at TAMU.EDU>
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Nanda Kumar wrote:
< 1. In Hindu philosophy it's explained that a soul can take any of the
living forms during it's life cycle. Recently I came across an English
Translation of Bhagavat Gita by Swami Prabhupada, of Hare Krishna fame.
In the book there's a pictorial chart which displays various life forms
that a soul may be born as. From bottom to top it goes like this : fish,
reptiles, birds, animals, man. What was missing was the plants. Is there
any particular reason for this?
2. I've been trying to practice the Ramana technique, to try to 'hold'
on to the 'I' without trying to let the mind wander. Initially to 'grab'
the 'I' feeling I generally take a deep breath and then consequently
start breathing normally. What I feel is that, I'm able to relate the
thoughts with the mind to the head part of the body and the 'I' feeling
somewhere in the chest. The reason for this 'feeling', could be that I'm
actually referring to the brain and due to the breathing, the lungs. But
is there any other reason?>
Dear Nanda Kumar:
Namaskar,
Life in the universe is based on breathing! We, the animals and the
plants can breathe until death. The existence of life also relates to
food intakes! Humans, animals and plants need water and nutrients.
Finally life is indicated by sensual expressions. On this score, the
sensual expression differs between human beings, animals and plants.
Human beings possess full sensory perception(conscious.) Animals are
semiconscious and have partial perceptions. Plants are unconscious and
have no perception. We can also look at another dimension. Human beings
have full potential to control their senses. The animals need help from
human master to control their senses (circus elephant, horse training,
dog-training, etc.) The plants have no need to control their senses
because they have no desires! It is possible to construct a
classification using Advaita: Those who got lost in illusions(human),
those who got lost by the illusions of humans and those who are
undisturbed.
I find an interesting coincidence between souls and soles. We the human
souls need varieties of soles. The animals such as the horses and cattle
who are trained by the human souls are also decorated with soles (horse
shoes, etc.) The plants with no souls never needed any soles!
Doctors, Psychologists, Physical Education teachers, Coaches of sports
teams and politicians suggest deep breathing to reduce or remove stress
and anxiety. After the stock market crash, political leaders and
financial experts have asked the general public through the net work
news to take a deep breath!
The answer to your question #1 depends on definition. Please be aware
that all classifications are arbitrary and can yield misleading
results. The answer to question #2 depends on individual experience and
could vary. But in general deep breathing is potentially good for stress
relief and many times can awake a sleepy driver on the highway!
According to my doctor friend, deep breathing will pump more oxygen and
blood to the heart and brain.
Regards,
Ram Chandran