Fw: ADVAITA-L Digest - 6 Sep 2002 to 7 Sep 2002 (#2002-226)

[Gail Blate]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Gail Blate" <gblate at teleplex.net>
To: <ADVAITA-L at LISTS.ADVAITA-VEDANTA.ORG>
Sent: Saturday, September 07, 2002 5:14 PM
Subject: Fw: ADVAITA-L Digest - 6 Sep 2002 to 7 Sep 2002 (#2002-226)


>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "yogafarm" <yogafarm at webtv.net>
> To: <ADVAITA-L at LISTS.ADVAITA-VEDANTA.ORG>
> Cc: <gblate at teleplex.net>; <druby at teleplex.net>
> Sent: Saturday, September 07, 2002 3:33 PM
> Subject: Re: ADVAITA-L Digest - 6 Sep 2002 to 7 Sep 2002 (#2002-226)
>
>
> Namasté, Jaldhar and group -- thank you for your responses to my
> comments and questions!  In western North Carolina, it is very difficult
> to find people with whom to discuss yoga-vedanta ... of ANY sort; D, V
> or A.  I am fortunate to have two or three others, here; and now this
> group.
>
> To Jaldhar: Neti Yoga is the system we developed (primarily for
> westerners who were unfamiliar with advaita) and have taught for some
> years.  The "neti" ("not this") refers to the "No-Mind" experience --
> involuntary samadhi -- around which this system of jnana yoga is based.
>
> The No-Mind experience IS controversial; and one of our students did,
> indeed, visit a neurologist following his most memorable (and amusing)
> experience.  He standing, urinating, in his office's bathroom.  His next
> memory was being seated, again, at his desk, a few minutes later.  The
> physician found nothing wrong, but our student carried this worry about
> his sanity / health for some time ... until he took our class and
> discovered what had happened.
>
> "Enlightenment" we define as "realizing what it means to be Brahman /
> Atman / God That I Am / the Self."  In short, it is our definition of
> "Self-realization."  Once the Self is realized -- by having the No-Mind
> experience AND by understanding and accepting what it means -- one can
> spend many years then learning the process of converting that Knowledge
> into a living system of understanding that leads to moksha (moha + kshya
> -- "freedom from delusion") or mukthi (which is often quoted as
> "liberation" -- see below).
>
> In our system, the "inner core" is not "nothingness," but
> "no-THING-ness."  It is the same as the Great Void of Buddhism, it is
> zen, Mu, satori, nirvana, samadhi and all the other names that I have
> learned which describe the state of One without a second.
>
> It is Pure Consciousness -- or, as the great mahavakya asserts, "Prajnam
> (I'm not sure of the spelling) Brahmam" ... Consciousness is Brahman.
>
> Pure Consciousness can reveal Itself (it is, of course, omnipresent) at
> both convenient AND inconvenient times for any number of reasons.  Being
> turiya, the underlying, eternal Reality.  Its single, defining quality
> -- as I have been taught and directly experienced -- is the lack of an
> "observer" (ahamkara, ego, fear, etc.).  It is, as I've said, One
> without a second.  Tat twam Asi.
>
> For that reason, alone, it is "Pure."  Consciousness always IS; but it
> is not always Pure ... obviously.
>
> >From our perspective, there actually is no "liberation," as advaitans.
> For that would assume there is something to be liberated FROM, no?  But
> the basis of advaita -- again, as I have learned it -- is that maya is
> delusion / a mirage / unreality ...
>
> So liberated from WHAT?  Hence, "moksha": "Freedom from deluson."
>
> Involuntary samadhi requires knowing what to look for in infants, but is
> patently obvious in setting hens.  But, indeed, we EACH enter samadhi
> involuntarily several times each day: In the "bridge time" between
> waking & sleeping; and, again, between sleeping & waking.
>
> Regarding soma: Some believe soma is the sap of a rare plant; others
> believe it is a mythical remedy.  Still others hold it to be the
> equivalent of amritha, the Nectar of Immortality.
>
> Amritha is believed by some to be churned from the ocean; by others, to
> be released from within during special meditation.  But in fact, amritha
> is also being continuously manifested from several amulets which carry
> pictures of Sathya Sai Baba and Shirdi Sai Baba, and which were blessed
> by Sathya Sai Baba (immediately after which they began manifesting this
> divine-tasting syrup more than 30 years ago).
>
> These amulets -- available for all to see, hold and experience the
> continuous flow of this most remarkable nectar -- are housed in an
> orphanage within several hundred yards of the entrance to the holy site
> of Shri Rangapatnam, near Mysore, India.  The orphanage is specifically
> on the Mysore - Bangalore road, some 15 km. outside of Mysore.
>
> Hopefully, this has answered your questions.  Thank you for causing me
> to consider; it is a good exercise for me -- be well and namasté!
>
> Michael Blate
> Executive Director
>
> Welcome to DeerHaven Hills Farm and Yoga Eco-Center!  Learn more about
> us at www.yogafarm.com ...
>
> Then learn how to heal yourself or your loved ones, using only the touch
> of your finger -- www.g-jo.com ...
>
> Or discover the awesome transformative power of Neti Yoga by visiting
> http://community.webtv.net/yogafarm/NetiYoga
>
> Michael Blate
> Executive Director
>
> Welcome to DeerHaven Hills Farm and Yoga Eco-Center!  Learn more about
> us at www.yogafarm.com ...
>
> Then learn how to heal yourself or your loved ones, using only the touch
> of your finger -- www.g-jo.com ...
>
> Or discover the awesome transformative power of Neti Yoga by visiting
> http://community.webtv.net/yogafarm/NetiYoga
>
>
>


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