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IcyCosmic
08 July 2014, 05:03 AM
Namaste friends of HDF,

Please share with me your favourite spiritual masters and teachers.
Mine are Buddha, Adi Shankara, & Swami Vivekananda.
I am also a fan of Ramakrishna, Sadhguru, Sri Aurobindo, & Swami Sivananda.

c.smith
08 July 2014, 06:16 AM
Hari Om!

Guru Purnima is this weekend and it goes without saying that I am eternally grateful to my Spiritual Master Sant Sri Asaramji Bapu who has changed my life forever. May He continue to Enlighten those on the path of S.D.

Om

Kalicharan Tuvij
08 July 2014, 08:15 AM
Namaste,

I find Vedic Rishis as my best guides and friends whose best friends are the various known and unknown, named and unnamed, Gods.

Goes without saying, friends' friends are friends: so in this way these Rishis- who never bothered even to write down their names in the annals- are to me my best teachers.

I also draw equal inspiration from the "illiterate Rishis" who were the sources behind the various PurANa-s, some are still here I believe- but again, not known to us.

The best way to be friends with them is not by understanding the world through their writings, but by coming to their teachings via our own experiences in the world.

Ram11
08 July 2014, 11:02 AM
Namaste friends of HDF,

Mine are Buddha, Adi Shankara, & Swami Vivekananda.

The above teachers are great men,they have gifted us a lot of knowledge ._/\_

c.smith
08 July 2014, 01:06 PM
Hari Om!

Not to forget (and I did) Swami Sivananada!

Om

yajvan
08 July 2014, 01:35 PM
hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~
namasté

There is only one (master) but we see and count many. Now why would I say this ?
om sahasra̍śīrṣā puru̍ṣaḥ sahasrākśaḥ sahasra̍pāt
sa bhūmi̍ṁ viśvato̍ vṛtvā atya̍tiṣṭaddaśāṅgulam ||


What is called out in the śloka is sahasra = 1,000 . So, this says puruṣa has 1,000 heads, a 1,000 eyes and 1,000 feet. Now does He really have this?

It is another way the seer (ṛṣi nārāyaṇa) of this great hymn tells us puruṣa is everywhere and even beyond that . He says that by saying beyond the span of 10 (daśā) fingers (aṅgula). When people say 'beyond' is also can mean transcend.

Not only is this puruṣa everywhere ( some like to say, there is no-where He is not) He also is beyond and transcends all that there is, beyond the span of 10 fingers. You will read some say 10 inches. This is not what the śloka says but is understood at times people use the width of a finger to suggest 1 inch.

So , what does this imply ? If He is everywhere, there is no need for any movement of puruṣa because there is no place for Him to go that He is not there already, no?
So, he is every great teacher... yet we see different faces, hands, legs - as if a limited being. But in every case it is puru̍ṣaḥ.

And if he is everywhere, He has feet and arms and legs and fingers everywhere, is He not your fingers, arms, your friends legs, and mothers lips, fathers strength?

So you see other insights and implications?

iti śivaṁ

1. puru̍ṣaḥ sūktaṁ - ṛg ved 10.90

anucarh
10 July 2014, 06:39 PM
hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~
namasté

There is only one (master) but we see and count many. Now why would I say this ?
om sahasra̍śīrṣā puru̍ṣaḥ sahasrākśaḥ sahasra̍pāt
sa bhūmi̍ṁ viśvato̍ vṛtvā atya̍tiṣṭaddaśāṅgulam ||


What is called out in the śloka is sahasra = 1,000 . So, this says puruṣa has 1,000 heads, a 1,000 eyes and 1,000 feet. Now does He really have this?

It is another way the seer (ṛṣi nārāyaṇa) of this great hymn tells us puruṣa is everywhere and even beyond that . He says that by saying beyond the span of 10 (daśā) fingers (aṅgula). When people say 'beyond' is also can mean transcend.

Not only is this puruṣa everywhere ( some like to say, there is no-where He is not) He also is beyond and transcends all that there is, beyond the span of 10 fingers. You will read some say 10 inches. This is not what the śloka says but is understood at times people use the width of a finger to suggest 1 inch.

So , what does this imply ? If He is everywhere, there is no need for any movement of puruṣa because there is no place for Him to go that He is not there already, no?
So, he is every great teacher... yet we see different faces, hands, legs - as if a limited being. But in every case it is puru̍ṣaḥ.

And if he is everywhere, He has feet and arms and legs and fingers everywhere, is He not your fingers, arms, your friends legs, and mothers lips, fathers strength?

So you see other insights and implications?

iti śivaṁ

1. puru̍ṣaḥ sūktaṁ - ṛg ved 10.90


Namaste, yajvan ji.

Thank you for sharing this teaching of the puruṣasūkta, rich in meaning.

> So you see other insights and implications?


Yes. I think that it also implies that we ought to have equal respect for the ātman in every being. This is also the teaching I see in Bhagavad Gītā 5.18, where it says that the wise look upon all beings with "equal vision" (sama-darśinaḥ), whether the being is a brāhmaṇa, cow, elephant, dog, etc.

Further, from an Advaita perspective, I think it means that there is in reality no separation between any of us, because in ultimate truth (pāramārthika) there is only Brahman. There is a similar passage in the Viṣṇu Purāṇa that says, "Whatever is perceived in the universe is the immutable Lord alone; there exists nothing other than He. I am He, you are He; all that exists is He. Give up the delusion of separateness."

praṇām



Terms Defined

ātman "self." Here the term refers to the higher, eternal, divine Self that is seen as identical to Brahman in Advaita philosophy, as distinguished from the jīvātman or separate, lower self.

brāhmaṇa- brahmin, priest.

Advaita- a philosophy of non-dualism that teaches that all that exists is ultimately impersonal Brahman beyond all dualities, words, and attributes.

anucarh
10 July 2014, 06:48 PM
Namaste friends of HDF,

Please share with me your favourite spiritual masters and teachers.
Mine are Buddha, Adi Shankara, & Swami Vivekananda.
I am also a fan of Ramakrishna, Sadhguru, Sri Aurobindo, & Swami Sivananda.

Namaste IcyCosmic,

At the moment, mine are:

Śrī Kṛṣṇa (Note: Arjuna tells the Lord, “I am your disciple. Teach me…” at Bhagavad Gītā 2.7), Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī for his teaching of the Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Śrī Ādi Śaṅkarācārya, Śrī Bhīṣma for his teachings in the Mahābhārata, especially for Mahābhārata Book 13 (Anuśāsanaparva), chapters 113-116 where he teaches Yudhiṣṭhira about renouncing flesh, Tiruvaḷḷuvar for his teachings in the Thirukkuṛaḷ, and Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa for his teachings in The Gospel of Ramakrishna.


I'm grateful to all of these amazing teachers.

praṇām

Edit: I've recently learned to revere Śrī Rāmānujācārya also for his life and teachings.

ShivaFan
12 July 2014, 10:02 PM
Namaste

One I will mention -

• Trailanga Swami of Varanasi

Om Namah Sivaya

ameyAtmA
19 July 2014, 11:54 AM
hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~
namast

There is only one (master) but we see and count many. Now why would I say this ?
om sahasra̍śīrṣā puru̍ṣaḥ sahasrākśaḥ sahasra̍pāt
sa bhūmi̍ṁ viśvato̍ vṛtvā atya̍tiṣṭaddaśāṅgulam ||


What is called out in the śloka is sahasra = 1,000 . So, this says puruṣa has 1,000 heads, a 1,000 eyes and 1,000 feet. Now does He really have this?

It is another way the seer (ṛṣi nārāyaṇa) of this great hymn tells us puruṣa is everywhere and even beyond that . He says that by saying beyond the span of 10 (daśā) fingers (aṅgula). When people say 'beyond' is also can mean transcend.

Not only is this puruṣa everywhere ( some like to say, there is no-where He is not) He also is beyond and transcends all that there is, beyond the span of 10 fingers. You will read some say 10 inches. This is not what the śloka says but is understood at times people use the width of a finger to suggest 1 inch.

So , what does this imply ? If He is everywhere, there is no need for any movement of puruṣa because there is no place for Him to go that He is not there already, no?
So, he is every great teacher... yet we see different faces, hands, legs - as if a limited being. But in every case it is puru̍ṣaḥ.

And if he is everywhere, He has feet and arms and legs and fingers everywhere, is He not your fingers, arms, your friends legs, and mothers lips, fathers strength?

So you see other insights and implications?

iti śivaṁ

1. puru̍ṣaḥ sūktaṁ - ṛg ved 10.90


Namaste,

I really like this post, Yajvanji, and for this thread, my answer is this post

http://www.hindudharmaforums.com/showpost.php?p=117864&postcount=51

made on Guru PurNimA which resonates with this.

manmanA madbhavo bhakto... madyAji namaskuru...
...... prati jAni priyoSi me ~