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kshama
20 December 2009, 08:46 PM
Blessed Members of the Forum,

Namaskar. I have a question, what makes a person unfit for spirituality? Isn't spirituality open to all? Why there should be any prerequisites? These questions ran through my head when a friend of mine, was told he was unfit for spirituality by "a learned" person, just because my friend is under depression.

I appreciate views on this matter thank you.

Eastern Mind
20 December 2009, 09:26 PM
Vanakkam kshama:

Sounds to me like this 'learned' person is unfit for spirituality.

Aum Namasivaya

devotee
20 December 2009, 09:43 PM
what makes a person unfit for spirituality? Isn't spirituality open to all?
......
when a friend of mine, was told he was unfit for spirituality by "a learned" person, just because my friend is under depression.

EM said correctly !

Did you ask your friend, what he/she understands by the term "Spirituality" ?

"An Empty Vessel makes too much sound !"

OM

kshama
20 December 2009, 10:07 PM
Namaskar Eastern Mind Ji, Devotee Ji and all,

My friend is going through a phase of uncertainty, where he yearns for bhakti. He surrendered to God in many circumstances, but all he gets is nothing but pain. Maybe his karma is such.

My friend is fond of certain deity in Hinduism. So he worships the God as any Hindu would do. Yet he wasn't happy with his life. He turned to God everytime in despair, in joy, in sorrow, he only knows God.

My friend thought perhaps he needs guidance in terms of spirituality, so he went to seek help from a certain religious organization. My friend wrote an email to the centre, stating about his life, his worship and seeking help abt his depression.

The response from the centre was quite shocking for him. He was told that depression was his own creation, his efforts knowing god was nothing but a play of ego, and he is unfit of being spiritual because he isn't happy eventhough praying to God.

Well, as a friend of his, I want him to get out of his depression. I do not know what to say abt the centre's comments.

When I think back, I think God provides us ample time and capacity to know Him. Why people need to have some sort of criteria in order to be spiritual? Isn't spirituality open to all?

kshama
20 December 2009, 10:15 PM
@ Devotee Ji,

My friend thinks spirituality is about knowing himself. He tried meditating and fasting but he still feels nothing. He cannot sense the bhakti like you or the blessed members here feel.

I can't help much my friend in terms of spirituality as I am too a beginner. I only said to him continue to do his worship and have faith in God. Do you or any members have any suggestions?

devotee
20 December 2009, 11:44 PM
Namaste Kshama,

Sorry to hear about your friend's problems.

See, one has to undergo the effects of his/her Karmas. It cannot be overcome so easily unless you get special blessings of a Self-realised Guru or reach at such a level in spirituality that you are able to roast all your evil Karmas. I will tell you how I perceive it :

We create all sorts of possibilities by our Karmas & they bear fruit at the appropriate time when the conditions are favourable for Karmic seeds to sprout. Now, if I have had so bad Karmas that I have created a jungle full of demons/wild beasts/deadly snakes/pitfalls ... I must cross that jungle. What God & Guru can do ? They can show us the way which can be comparatively easier or can even hold our hands to help us get out of that jungle quite safe & unharmed. The important point to note is that I cannot escape that jungle of my own creation.

So, is there no hope, if I don't get the blessings of any Self-realised Guru or God ? No ! The Karmas when we talk about are not only past Karmas but also the present Karmas. So, the past Karmas can be overcome by our more powerful present Karmas. OK. Agreed ! But what Karma shall one do ? The opposite of Karma which brought the misery. Let's take this case of depression. How & why should one suffer depression ? We are the omnipotent Self ... children of God ... how can depression subdue my True Nature ? This is because of the past tendencies that your friend might have developed in his past life. I would suggest a few things below :

a) Seek medical help from a good doctor in town. He may have some physiological problem.

b) Be active ...be where the action is .... he might be accustomed to being alone (might have carried this tendency from his past life) ... that inactivity can breed depression. The best option is to get attached with some social service groups, if possible. He must start telling himself that nothing in the world can depress him & must act accordingly. He must develop a strong will-power. How to develop a strong will power ? For that, he must chart a, "Dos" & "Don'ts" for himself. He must do all the Do's & must not do any of "Don'ts". Slowly he would feel that will-power is increasing & he is feeling better. He must rise above his physical limitations. After all, our looks, our frail body, our mental faculties ... are only temporary cover for our true Self. We are not our body-mind entity. We are ever happy souls ... we don't need anything for being happy. Happiness is our True Nature ... I must believe that to reflect that happiness from within me in all circumstances.

c) The distance between God & us is measured by the thickness of our negative thoughts. God is very shy. If you feel that God is away from you, no one can be able to bring God near you. You have to feel God's presence within you ... First belief ... then faith & then actual realisation... He will start reflecting through your consciousness when you have absolute faith in Him ... You have to catch each sign in meditation & focus yourself onto that ... be one with that.

I can't tell you much about this as the art of meditation must be learnt under well qualified Guru. Does your friend have access to SRF (Maharishi Yogananda) ? This organisation is excellent from my point of view & can teach many things without much hassles & without needing a lot of money. If he can, ask him to join correspondence course of SRF ... which is a three years course. If he undergoes this course sincerely & with devotion, I am sure all his depressions & distance from God will vanish over time (within less than a year). At the end of first year course, he may be given option of getting Dikshaa on Kriyaa Yoga depending on his progress.

May God bless you & your friend ...

OM

kshama
21 December 2009, 12:10 AM
@ Devotee Ji,

Namaskar. Thank you for your views. I will channel your views to my friend.

heartfully
21 December 2009, 05:29 AM
Namaste,

You are a kind and caring friend. He is blessed to have a friend like you.

I also have depression (caused by chronic Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). I know that my illness often causes me to think I "can't" because depression effects my self-esteem.

But the Divine, imho, helps me work on all the wounds. The past 2 years I have made it a priority to work on spiritual growth. It has helped me with the fear caused by PTSD. It has lifted me out of depression.

My depression and PTSD was so bad in the spring of 2007, I was hospitalized. It was also when the Divine answered my intense cry for help. I think of right now how 12 step spirituality has helped millions (maybe even billions or trillions) of people to overcome problems caused by addiction.

I read once that we have to "test" (that's not the word, but it kind of hints at what I mean) a spiritual mentor before we blindly accept their advice. Buddha told his students not to take his word for it; he told them to test it all out for themselves.

I send your friend concern and love from my heart.

Love to you,
Heartfully


Namaskar Eastern Mind Ji, Devotee Ji and all,

My friend is going through a phase of uncertainty, where he yearns for bhakti. He surrendered to God in many circumstances, but all he gets is nothing but pain. Maybe his karma is such.

My friend is fond of certain deity in Hinduism. So he worships the God as any Hindu would do. Yet he wasn't happy with his life. He turned to God everytime in despair, in joy, in sorrow, he only knows God.

My friend thought perhaps he needs guidance in terms of spirituality, so he went to seek help from a certain religious organization. My friend wrote an email to the centre, stating about his life, his worship and seeking help abt his depression.

The response from the centre was quite shocking for him. He was told that depression was his own creation, his efforts knowing god was nothing but a play of ego, and he is unfit of being spiritual because he isn't happy eventhough praying to God.

Well, as a friend of his, I want him to get out of his depression. I do not know what to say abt the centre's comments.

When I think back, I think God provides us ample time and capacity to know Him. Why people need to have some sort of criteria in order to be spiritual? Isn't spirituality open to all?

kshama
21 December 2009, 08:14 AM
@ Heartfully Ji,

Thank you for your post.

Eastern Mind
21 December 2009, 09:04 AM
Vannakkam kshama: I was rethinking all this. At first it seemed that the local expert was being very rude, insinuating another soul isn't ready. That was my first reaction, and of course could still be correct.

But there are a lot of levels going on here. One of them is that with intense sadhana, sometimes the state of mind one is in just gets intensified, leading to greater depression. I've seen this happen to to others, and experienced it first hand. Perhaps that is what the expert was referring to. I certainly don't know enough of the details.

I also have had bouts of depression, one that lasted nearly 3 years. Not fun. For me, writing was really helpful. Mostly I just wrote about positive experiences, and focussed on that. Fond childhood memories and creative conjecturing. The other thing that really helped was working with nature, getting my hands dirty, doing simple things like that.

This probably doesn't help but I thought I would toss it out anyway.

Aum Namasivaya

kshama
21 December 2009, 09:12 AM
@ Eastern_Mind Ji,

Thank you for the post. Well for me, when a person comes with a broken heart, being harsh won't help. The case where my friend was given insensitive comments is a proof. I had to persuade my friend that, there is much to live for in this life. He was contemplating to end his life, poor chap after he thought spiritual people too cannot understand him.

I have advised accordingly, may God be with him.

heartfully
21 December 2009, 09:35 AM
I also have had bouts of depression, one that lasted nearly 3 years. Not fun. For me, writing was really helpful. Mostly I just wrote about positive experiences, and focussed on that. Fond childhood memories and creative conjecturing. The other thing that really helped was working with nature, getting my hands dirty, doing simple things like that.

This probably doesn't help but I thought I would toss it out anyway.

Aum Namasivaya

Namaste,

Easternmind, writing also helps me emotionally. I also think its helpful sometimes to have a notebook dedicated to journaling on one topic. For example, I have had one to help me to begin to sort out what is my spiritual path right now. I have another for 12 steps and one for gratitude.

I believe gratitude is really helpful in overcoming depression. Maybe this "learned" person believes the depression is cognitive versus totally biological? There is sometimes the need for medication, but medication will never do the whole job at healing a person from depression.

Just my two cents. We can't do more than speculate on this though. Only the "learned" person has a clear idea of the intent behind his/her statement.

Love to you,
Heartfully

heartfully
21 December 2009, 09:39 AM
Namaste,

Being harsh with someone who is suffering so much from depression is cruel and harmful. :(

Is your friend getting therapy? If he is suicidal you need to talk to him about therapy and whatever type of medical help is necessary.

I hold your friend in my heart with love.

Love to you,
heartfully


@ Eastern_Mind Ji,

Thank you for the post. Well for me, when a person comes with a broken heart, being harsh won't help. The case where my friend was given insensitive comments is a proof. I had to persuade my friend that, there is much to live for in this life. He was contemplating to end his life, poor chap after he thought spiritual people too cannot understand him.

I have advised accordingly, may God be with him.

kshama
21 December 2009, 09:47 AM
@ Heartfully,

He hasn't been on any therapy for many reasons. He does not want to be dependent on drugs etc. He was thinking positive all these while, and thought this was a phase in his life. The reply from the learned one shattered him to pieces, thus making him decide to end his life.

I think he is more calm now after much discussions we have had. Prayers from anyone will help him through this phase of his life.

heartfully
21 December 2009, 10:03 AM
Namaste,

I'm glad he's calmer. The more you describe his depression the more concerned I am about him. Its good you are there for him, but let him know that you can be a friend who cares very much, but you cannot offer the professional help he may need.

Love to you,
Heartfully


@ Heartfully,

He hasn't been on any therapy for many reasons. He does not want to be dependent on drugs etc. He was thinking positive all these while, and thought this was a phase in his life. The reply from the learned one shattered him to pieces, thus making him decide to end his life.

I think he is more calm now after much discussions we have had. Prayers from anyone will help him through this phase of his life.

Harjas Kaur
21 December 2009, 10:06 AM
My friend is going through a phase of uncertainty, where he yearns for bhakti. He surrendered to God in many circumstances, but all he gets is nothing but pain. Maybe his karma is such.Can anyone be "surrendered to God" in all times and circumstances? Perhaps those rare occasional saints. But generally, surrendering is an ever-deepening process. Only in a religion like Christianity or Islam is there belief that surrender during the moment of conversion which absolves from all sins and transforms the person. Otherwise, I do not hold that belief. From all my reading of the scriptures, the whole of life and the whole process of karma and reincarnation is about learning to surrender. It's an on-going thing.

Without knowing your friend, I can't know what is the nature of his pain and anguish. Sometimes people feel estranged in life, and even married feel distant from wife and family. Others are estranged and going through divorce or some emotional separation. Sometimes there are losses, like death or serious sickness of a child, and these can even be from a long time ago which are unresolved griefs. Most commonly people can see through the veneer of worldly life, how fleeting and false so much of the allure really is, and that causes pain. So in a very real way, the pain is real and the happiness of the world is false.

ਕੂੜਾ ਰੰਗੁ ਕਸੁੰਭ ਕਾ ਬਿਨਸਿ ਜਾਇ ਦੁਖੁ ਰੋਇ ॥
कूड़ा रंगु कसु्मभ का बिनसि जाइ दुखु रोइ ॥
Kūṛā rang kasumbẖ kā binas jā▫e ḏukẖ ro▫e.
The color of the world is false and weak; when it washes away, people cry out in pain.
~SGGS JI ang 27

Part of spiritual awareness is the recognition that the world has nothing to offer and no lasting happiness can be obtained chasing after the false glitter. So in truth, this is everybody's karma, and not just your friends. Even if someone is a millionaire, with beautiful wife and loving family, and he is having parties all the time and enjoying deeply everything is available to him. There will always be a thorn on that flower. In time, the lustre of life will fade in some way. No happiness here is lasting. His wife will leave him, or his child could sicken, or he could lose his business. So whether the person is a dropout with no prospects or the wealthiest, suffering comes into the life of everybody.

ਮੈ ਮਨਿ ਤਨਿ ਬਿਰਹੁ ਅਤਿ ਅਗਲਾ ਕਿਉ ਪ੍ਰੀਤਮੁ ਮਿਲੈ ਘਰਿ ਆਇ ॥
मै मनि तनि बिरहु अति अगला किउ प्रीतमु मिलै घरि आइ ॥
Mai man ṯan birahu aṯ aglā ki▫o parīṯam milai gẖar ā▫e.
Within my mind and body is the intense pain of separation; how can my Beloved come to meet me in my home?
~SGGS Ji ang 39

There is another kind of pain, the pain of spiritual longing and not having. Even if a person is religious, and goes to worship services, and keeps the company of the sangat, and reads scriptures, practices yoga and meditation, etc. That person can be literally driven by a longing to obtain something he doesn't have, and that is the Divine Presence. Now, Divine Presence is always with us, but the PERCEPTION is not always there and the God can feel very far away and the life can seem empty.

My friend is fond of certain deity in Hinduism. So he worships the God as any Hindu would do. Yet he wasn't happy with his life. He turned to God everytime in despair, in joy, in sorrow, he only knows God.

My friend thought perhaps he needs guidance in terms of spirituality, so he went to seek help from a certain religious organization. My friend wrote an email to the centre, stating about his life, his worship and seeking help abt his depression. If your friend is having depression and seeking solace from a religious organization, there is a likelihood that his suffering of of this second kind, not necessarily a grief over losses in the world, but a grief over the loss of the Divine Presence itself. Like a gopi, he's going to be strongly pulled and nothing else will satisfy this longing. Unfortunately, no one else can really be of help to him in this. No one will understand him. No one will truly love him. And he will be without proper guidance and miserable!

Does this sound extreme? It is true for everybody.

No one can love you in the way you are deeply desiring to be loved. No one can guide you in the way you really need and in the way which would be productive and steer you safely through obstacles. WHY do I say this? Because the life has a quality of falseness about it. And everything here in some way is meant to disillusion you. That is it's purpose.

And this creates a condition known as bairaag/detachment intending to pull you away from anything or anyone which could ever take His place. And this in turn leads to tyaag/letting go of those false things.

This is the truth: No one is going to cure his depression. No one is going to give marvelously wise advice which will transform his life and give him answers to all life's secrets. He will live and die in the same confusion as the rest of us...

But there is one small thing, he will be learning something about the nature of Truth and falsehood, and this will give him vivek/discrimination. He will be learning something very deep about himself when he finally becomes so disillusioned that he stops looking elsewhere for that treasure which is within himself.

This is the whole life of everybody. We all go to temples, we all read holy books, we all do spiritual practices. And there is a time when we really believe that other person or that teacher is going to give us something we need, going to satisfy our deepest longings, going to impart wisdom or peace. And honestly, what do we find?

We find people more troubled than us.


Isn't it so?


The response from the centre was quite shocking for him. He was told that depression was his own creation, his efforts knowing god was nothing but a play of ego, and he is unfit of being spiritual because he isn't happy eventhough praying to God.

Well, as a friend of his, I want him to get out of his depression. I do not know what to say abt the centre's comments. They cannot give what they do not have.

If your friend is looking for understanding, welcome, teaching, wisdom, spiritual maturity, holiness, etc. This is exactly the kind of thing he will keep finding. Bitter, difficult, contrary, unwise, scandalous people in holy clothes. But the joke is, from the other side of the mirror, that is what needy people are seeing from US! Lol. This is a reflection of the world and everyone in it including this forum and including myself!

That's why a distinction needs to be made between a center, a temple, an office secretary overwhelmed with letters and chasing people away, and a Satguru.

Your friend needs to find a satguru. And his whole search should be focused on that. Because without a satguru, your friend will have nothing in this life that will ever give him what he deeply longs for, and that is to usher in the Presence of God in his life in an EXPERIENTIAL way so that it is beyond doubt and rationalization. And absolutely everything will be a demoralization and a disappointment and a let down until that point. Because we in this world do not have what your friend deeply needs. Or having found for ourselves, we cannot give it in a way that your friend will perceive. And so he has to find his Guru, the one Divinely appointed by God from before his birth in this world. And he has to go through this life with it's great glorious joys and it's mystifying despairs and living through a lifetime of losses learning finally the real meaning (not intellectualization) of "letting go."

We're not just letting go our possessions, our achievements, but our expectations and hopes as well. And this is a very psychologically challenging condition. No worldly doctor can cure it. It may be that the anguish of the searching is creating a restless vibration in your friend, and that tension is causing him to also create the responses he's receiving on a subtle plane. Haven't you noticed when you're in a negative place and really need solace that you can do nothing but attract more and more negativity?

He may have to burn out this spiritual tension before he can experience calm and be ABLE to receive the help that is already there in his life. And so there is a reality to the saying that someone is not yet "spiritually fit!" It's true of everyone. We go through stages of readiness and blockage. Energetically, the reason why people spend decades mastering the practices of yoga is to attune the body to receive the insights coming from spiritual dimension. Majority of us have not done that.

We live in this kaliyug surrounded by toxins and pollutants and having imbibed confused teachings. And we are in no way in any state of readiness to PERCEIVE those subtle spiritual vibrations. So we miss opportunities and lessons that bring insight. So much of the life is wasted suffering when there was no cause to. Joy is dancing all around us in spiritual planes and we are suffering because we only see, hear, think, perceive the suffering dimensions.

That's why sankirtan is such a profound medicine. It has the power though Divine Light and Sound to uplift the mind and heart even while living in the suffering world. Why spend your time reflecting on the suffering? Lift up your minds and hearts to the praise of the Divine! And don't worry about getting it right or understanding everything or being a member of the club who meets the criteria. Just be free in the moment's of praise. All life is are moment's of time strung like beads. One day they will run out. So spend your time lifting your heart to joy through praise! This will clear you of a lot of tension and save you unnecessary suffering.

You don't need a center to give you ability to sing and chant! But hopefully your friend can find like-minded people who don't want to discuss and drown in problems which they can do at home, but come to a temple and just do kirtan and simple puja. That's all you really need.

That's ultimately why we're all here and what we all must endure as part of the life. And in the meantime, your friend should explore all those other teachers whose wisdom is recorded in good books, and keep up his spiritual practices because these things in there own way are leading him to a state of readiness. Everything is leading us to a state of readiness and is our teacher, even pain. Suffering and death is our great teacher. From this we learn endurance, patience, humility, and that will give us freedom. The exhilaration of freedom from bondages will give us deep peace.

What we really need is patience. Because in truth, after we have gone all around the world, after the great journey of our entire life with all it's ups and downs; it comes back to what we find in the center of our heart. The God is always there. It takes a Guru to really show you that the longest distance is not galaxies but the disconnection between our mind and our heart. Suffering experiences open the inner door by cleansing desires for the false by letting them drop away, tyaag.

The bairaagi becomes a tyaagi. Not necessarily in kesri clothes and sannyas. Sometimes by dying on a hospital bed from cancer. But the bairaagi will become a tyaagi. And in this process of purification we all become more spiritually ready to be greater than we are. We become able to perceive those magnificent blessings of the God which were with us all along, only we couldn't see them. So many times in our lives we only saw suffering and loss in the midst of moment's of glory. Our spiritual vision is what becomes purified. In the life, essentially nothing else changes, only the way we perceive it changes.

When I think back, I think God provides us ample time and capacity to know Him. Why people need to have some sort of criteria in order to be spiritual? Isn't spirituality open to all?Just think how lucky was your friend to find out he didn't fit into the club now, then to be accepted by it and waste another 30 years only to discover later what he now knows! Because after 30 years of membership in this club he will find he still doesn't meet the criteria, others may think so, but he can never fool himself and he'll despair of pretending. Only by then, 30 years will have been wasted. So this was a magnificent blessing and guidance from the God for him. God saved him 30 years of wasted time and the hypocrisy of thinking he met some sort of criteria.

The criteria your friend needs is found in the shattering reality of the life itself, and in the reality of God's Presence always with us. Everyone burning though this will ultimately become a saint! So don't despair! Your time will come! His time, my time, we will all achieve it, because we are already that. And as the fake things drop away, our burdens become lighter. Eventually by this process, the darkness of our mental perceptions will be cleansed, and only the light will be left shining.

yajvan
21 December 2009, 10:25 AM
hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~~~

Namasté

If I may let me offer the following. There are a few ways of looking at this. Many are aghast when one says 'you may be unfit for spiritual pursuit'. We think how can any one say this? Surely having compassion, patience, friendliness can be spiritual qualities. Yet maybe there is more here then meets the eye. Let me offer the following for consideration.

adhikārin अधिकारिन् is one that is entitled to, fit for; possessing authority.This definition is used for the spiritual aspirant. For now let's assume adhikārin = the desire for and movement to mokṣa. We can also look at 'spiritual aspirant' in other ways, but for this post lets stay with the desire for mokṣa.

Entry level
It is suggested that there are 2 elements/qualities considered needed for the adhikārin. That of humility and truthfulness. We can see why , no? Humility suggests the ego is not dominating (it is still there but not in front) and truthfulness allows one to answer questions openly, even if there is some discomfort doing so.

More advanced
Ādi Śaṅkara's work, Vivekacūḍāmaṇi¹ , calls out 4 qualities (sādhana catuṣṭaya) to discriminate between the Self and not-Self (ātmānātma vivekaḥ). He mentions memory, power of comprehension, ability to reason, and is learned (study has occurred). We can consider this yogyatā¹ or fitness, ability.

Another view
Vasișțha's Yoga say is a bit differently. Vasișțha says to Śrī Rāmaḥ " there are 4 gatekeepers at the entrance to the realm of mokṣa (liberation or enlightenment), they are self-control, spirit of enquiry, contentment, and good company ( satsaṅga)"

Did you happen to note that yama and niyama are not mentioned? This is due to what occurs on the spiritual path. These qualities unfold or become one's focus of attention, not an 'entry fee' if you will to become the adhikārin.

Note that all of these elements can be expanded substantially, yet I think many readers will get the ideas offered.

praṇām

words and references

Vivekacūḍāmaṇi or the Crown jewel of Discrimination ( some say crest jewel), 16th śloka.
yogyatā योग्यता - suitableness , fitness , propriety , ability

Harjas Kaur
21 December 2009, 10:29 AM
Listen to the wise guidance in the words of the shabad.

Life without true Sikhi
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFt4LH8qE0A

kshama
21 December 2009, 10:36 AM
@ Harjas Kaur Ji and Yajvan Ji,

Thank you for your views. So much insights on your posts. The main thing now is for him to able to understand that this is a phase. It takes time.

heartfully
21 December 2009, 12:11 PM
@ Harjas Kaur Ji and Yajvan Ji,

Thank you for your views. So much insights on your posts. The main thing now is for him to able to understand that this is a phase. It takes time.

Namaste,

Is your friend Hindu?

There is a children's picture book that I own. Its called "The Little Soul and the Sun". Its by Neale Donald Walsh. It sort of tells a re-incarnation story through a little angel. It has helped me to remember something from that book when I get really really down. And that is: I'm here living this life this way for a reason. All that is happening to me in my life is helping me work out past issues and to move closer to nirvana/enlightenment/union with the One.

That means if I were to kill myself, I'd be setting myself back versus moving forward. What if your friend were to contemplate what lessons he is trying to learn from this depression? And remind him that he may have an important role to play in someone's life. He may help them learn the lessons they were meant to learn. If he were to kill himself, he might set people back in terms of their spiritual journey.

Am I making sense? I tend to know what I want to say, but I express it in ways that throw people off.

The past couple years I'm doing more of this contemplation.

Love to you,
Heartfully

PS- I am just starting to learn about Hinduism. What does it mean to say "ji" after a name?

kshama
21 December 2009, 12:22 PM
@ Heartfully Ji,

My friend is a Hindu. A very emotional man. He ought to know the effects of suicide as per Hinduism. But I think, he was disappointed when the learned one said he will not fit in spirituality. People have lots of reverence to learned men. So anything they say, will have huge effect in a person's life, what to say an emotional guy like him. So that's why he contemplated to do that. I told him, take it as a catalyst to excell in what he desires. I am sure he will do well.

Harjas Kaur
21 December 2009, 12:29 PM
Age and learning are something to always respect. But even with titles and followers, this is no proof of spirituality or spiritual insight. We have more fake spiritual teachers than authentic ones. And a Mahatma is hard to find.

kshama
21 December 2009, 12:34 PM
Age and learning are something to always respect. But even with titles and followers, this is no proof of spirituality or spiritual insight. We have more fake spiritual teachers than authentic ones. And a Mahatma is hard to find.

Namaskar Harjas Kaur Ji,

That's true in nowadays. I think there are enlightened ones but they shun publicity and remain anonymous.

Harjas Kaur
21 December 2009, 01:09 PM
Not always hiding in a cave either. It really goes to what our perceptions. When our own perceptions and receptivity become clearer and more open, you will find good things in unexpected places. You may even find a great mahatma where you least expect. :)