The vedanta of vedanta

[egodust]

Miguel Angel wrote:
> A)  ^ÓLike wood or stone, remain free from thoughts.^Ô  This sounds to me
> like a very attractive motto. I wish I could follow it. Just a question:
> What is then the place of viveka? Aren^Òt we supposed to use our intellect
> to investigate and discriminate the false from the true? Can we do that
> without thoughts? Can we always remain in meditation? Is it really possible
> to live our daily lives with an empty mind? I^Òve been trying to but haven't
> had any success.
>

Yes--as I alluded to in the post--, along with philosophical speculation,
viveka and other yogic sadhanas (such as vairagya, bhakti and karmayog)
have their [vital] place on the path of jnana.

The concept of a destroyed mind, in my understanding, has more to do
with the individual's ability to be dispassionate to the works of Mind.
Although the thoughts will continue, the jivanmuktha is not manipulated
by them...rather is centered on brahman, which isn't different from the
thought-works themselves, yet embraces all conceivable thoughts plus
the not-thoughts.   A neat motto is, "Act as though everything matters;
be as though nothing does."

> B) A quite different question, which has nothing to do with the contents of
> Egodust^Òs post : On seeing the expression ^Óthe vedanta of vedanta^Ô, and
> his explanation of it, I wonder:  Isn^Òt ^Óthe vedanta of vedanta^Ô not
> properly vedanta after all? I mean, isn^Òt the essence of Advaita beyond the
> Hindu culture? Is Vedanta necessarily based on the Vedas? This may seem an
> academic question, but it^Òs something I^Òve often wondered. Krishnamurti
> (and Nisargadatta) held that truth is a ^Ópathless land^Ô. That all religions
> and philosophies could help only in the beginning, by indicating the
> direction, but then they became burdens. I have the impression that in all
> religions there is an inner core which very few reach. This heart is free
> from cultural accretions, free from traditions and from scriptures. This
> essence is the same in all systems, or rather it is beyond all systems. And
> it can be expressed in very few words (if any).

I agree.  This point was raised on the List earlier.


> That^Òs why I^Òve been
> searching for jnanis from different cultures, to see what they have in
> common. But outside the Hindu orbit there don^Òt seem to have been many.
> Maybe due to the traditional Western dogmatism and intollerance. Anyone
> knows any?
>

Many Buddhists (Zens, Chinese, Tibetan), some Sufi's, and Westerners such
as Robert Adams, Gangaji, Wei Wu Wei, and Wayne Liquorman are insightful
advaitic teachers.

Namaste.

_______________________

"There are no answers
       because
there are no questions."
_______________________

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