parting message by devendra.vyas.

[Jaldhar H. Vyas]

On Thu, 28 Oct 1999, Devendra Vyas wrote:

> dear ravi,
>           thanks a ton,i am leaving .i would rather join the bhagavan sri
> ramakrishna paramhansa deva list suggested by you.before leaving i would
> like to say the foll. things:
> i am sure many earnest seekers like myself get attracted to this list given
> the very fair name that advaita has in the entire world.many are even
> non-indians.they send the mandatory introductions and then they become
> queit.indeed the active members are the familiar ones and one never gets to
> hear anything further from most of the new members .one of the foll. reasons
> has to be true:
> 1.they are busy,don't have anything to say.
> 2.they find that the list is too "advanced" for them.
> 3.they find(or feel) that the contents and level of discussion in the list
> is quite far away and contrary to the  tough,indeed very abstract portions
> of lord sankara's commentary's and works and that the list members are
> engaged in their own "ego trip" and are discussing the easier,trifle parts.
> one of the above is true,


Probably all of the above are true to some extent or the
other.  So?  Everyone on the list has their own motivations.  They join
when they like and leave when they like.

As for easier, trifling parts, who are you to judge?  If you take a look
at the archives all aspects of Advaita Vedanta have been discussed.  And
if something is missing, start a new topic noone is stopping you.  For
some reason you seem to be looking for some kind of official permission
to talk about thingsinstead of just going ahead and getting on with
it.  Neither Ravi, Vaidya, nor I are interested in that level of
control.  All we ask is that conversations pertain to "Advaita Vedanta as
taught by Shri Shankara"  In that very broad scope people can talk about
whatever interests them.

> if i have got the facts right.well,it's your list;
> discuss whatever you want to.but i think some introspection will
> do much improvement.i don't write as your well wisher i write as a humble
> follower of the fairest flower of religion/philosophy -advaita,that advaita
> which moved/ melted the hearts of max muller,schopenhaeur (who incidentally
> never kept a "shika")

And incidently were not Brahmans and therefore didn't *need* shikhas.

.dear vaidya,if no interpretation/fresh
> evaluation/research is called for ,pray,why is the website titled:"advaita
> vedanta shamshodhan kendra"?

Because sanshodhan doesn't mean pulling rabbits out of a hat, it means
increasing the sphere of knowledge.   We are not out to convert the entire
world to thinking exactly the same as us but to help people understand
Advaita Vedanta.  Even if they end up disagreeing with its philosophy, at
least they'll leave the exchange with a bit more knowledge than when they
came in.

>i repeat ,dear self styled guardians of
> advaita:please introspect and stop spoiling the fair name of advaita,

Is that all Advaita Vedanta is to you?  A "fair name"?  If that's all
there is to it, we'll close down the mailing list and make some TV
commercials starring well-known filmi actors and actresses.  They can sell
the "fair name of Advaita" to you and your friends.  There is substance
behind that fair name.  There is centuries of history. generations of
teachers, volumes of work.  If you choose to throw that all out to persue
fads, you lose not me.

>if you
> can't; then rename the list:"general purpose timepass mailing list".

Let us assume we take your sage advice and start talking about "tough
abstract" things only.  Are we any better off?  No, because talk is just
that--talk.  If one is seriously interested in jnana, one must take
sannyasa.  Every single acharya of Advaita Vedanta has said this.  (I
would show you but you would only accuse me of "text-torturing".  See for
yourself in any shastra.)  Otherwise one is only just "passing time."  In
fact in this case you would be going backwards because you would be
neglecting your obligations too.  As a purely practical matter one must
follow the dictates of the karmakanda untill such time as one becomes
qualified to practice jnana.  This is not my interpretation, it is what
Advaita Vedanta has *always* taught.

I think you should rejoin the list and find out what Advaita Vedanta is
really all about.  You could learn a lot.

--
Jaldhar H. Vyas <jaldhar at braincells.com>

--
bhava shankara deshikame sharaNam

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