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TheOne
26 March 2011, 09:16 PM
Recently I've been thinking about leading a monastic life once my Dharma is complete I am asking whether anyone has any organizations or websites to assist Hindus in this. I know it is hard(especially for a western adoptee) to find a legitimate spiritual group to identify with.


I've been looking at the Kauai Hindu Monastery and I would request some feedback regarding them

http://www.himalayanacademy.com/ssc/hawaii/



I feel this would be probably one of the most important decisions I would make and I would like to be informed to the utmost respect before embarking upon anything.

Sahasranama
26 March 2011, 09:24 PM
Becomming a buddhist monk is much easier, as a Hindu monk you are not allowed to stay in one place for more than two days. Although in modern times most people don't follow this anymore.

TheOne
26 March 2011, 09:28 PM
I think you misinterpreted me as saying I wanted to be a Sadhu imagine me telling my parents that!(another life perhaps) I meant a monastic life such as living in an ashram or monastery.

Namaste

Sahasranama
26 March 2011, 09:32 PM
Do you want to go to a retreat for a few months, is that what you meant? Or for the rest of your life?

charitra
26 March 2011, 10:52 PM
@The one.
continue with your schooling and be a good student, good son and a good citizen. Monastic life can wait. Ramakrishna mission will give you, I think, 25 as cut off age and as you said Himalayan academy is not far away. In Salem, PA there is a full fledged monastery run by swami Dayananda mission, where I attemded a weeklong retreat and met a Spanish monk among others. Plenty of opportunities are available.
You got to go to college and do religion as your major, dont give up on univ education yet, scholarships are available. I am aware of the daily distractions you have to ward off in 'civilian' life, a challenge you must face and overcome, thats a major tenet the hindu culture demands/showcases: Resisting temptations. Potential litigation from parents could prove to be a deterrent for the host organization, on the whole please wait until at least you are 18. om shanti.

TheOne
27 March 2011, 06:32 AM
Sahasranama

I meant for the rest of my life if possible

Charitra

Thank you. My dharma must come first. I of course do not plan to "run away" when I'm 18 to a monastery as that would be adharmic. But as you said, I suppose college is good at least for giving time to think over the decision.


Thank you both and Namaste

Eastern Mind
27 March 2011, 07:32 AM
Vannakkam TheOne: There are two kinds of monks: those in monasteries, and the wanderers. There are many monasteries around if you look hard enough. There are sannyasin orders of monks in almost every sect. BAPS, the RK mission, and many in Rishikesh are but a few. On the Himalayan Academy website, there is a section on how to become a monk. http://himalayanacademy.com/ssc/hawaii/monastic_life/howto.html
The rules and disciplines for each group will of course vary. Some are quite austere in discipline or philosophy while others are less so.

But the key thing to initiate the process would be to make contact. Obviously one prerequisite would be to agree with the philosophy of any particular group so you may encounter a process of sorting out what you believe. Then once that is done, most maths would allow a shorter time trial period of visitation. It is a process, not a one time moment.

As far as finishing your education first, that is a myth these days, in my opinion. With the availability of on-line correspondence schools combined with the teachings within a monastery, you could easily complete your education from within a monastery. I would think that would be a wiser choice than going off to a college or university surrounded or bombarded by external things.

It is a rare thing these days, so difficult, but so honorable at the same time. The singular purpose is to pursue a religious life, headed for self-realisation in this life or one soon.

Aum Namasivaya

yajvan
27 March 2011, 10:12 AM
hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~

namasté


Recently I've been thinking about leading a monastic life once my Dharma is complete ....



Dharma is life long. It is found within pūruṣārthara, or the four aims of existence or human pursuit : kāma ,artha , dharma , mokṣa .
It would be wise to consider these in your decisions.

praṇām

TheOne
27 March 2011, 12:04 PM
By my Dharma I mean my current job of being a student, a good son, and a respectful member of the community. Of course Dharma never ends no matter what situation you have you will always have a Dharma. But I meant it in the way I described above.

As for the four aims of human pursuit I don't see any intrinsic attraction to success or money for me so artha I believe I can deal without. As for kama, yes that would probably be one of the harder things for me to "give up" because I'm very in touch with my senses and when something looks or tastes good I am very much attracted to it. But I am slowly ending this viscous cycle of wanting and buying and wanting and buying.


All of you have been very helpful. The reason why I ask about college is because as many of the Westerners here know college costs very much and I feel it would be not Dharma to go to college and then immediately become monastic for the rest of my life especially since my parents are kind enough to foot a lot of the bill.

smaranam
27 March 2011, 12:17 PM
Namaste TheOne

I laud you on your dedication. Fifteen is an interesting age. I remember visiting a holy place of pilgrimage at 15 and that precious moment albeit fleeting when i wanted to lead a certain kind of life. Of course, KRshNa did not think i was ready for Him then, so i forgot all about it, but do remember that moment.

May the ParamAtmA guide you from inside at this point, all your life and eternally.
Turn to your antaryAmi (in the heart) and leave everything to Him, He is the dearmost friend, Who surprises us from time to time.

praNAm

yajvan
27 March 2011, 04:50 PM
hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~

namasté


By my Dharma I mean my current job of being a student, a good son, and a respectful member of the community. Of course Dharma never ends no matter what situation you have you will always have a Dharma. But I meant it in the way I described above.

As for the four aims of human pursuit I don't see any intrinsic attraction to success or money for me so artha I believe I can deal without. As for kama, yes that would probably be one of the harder things for me to "give up" because I'm very in touch with my senses and when something looks or tastes good I am very much attracted to it. But I am slowly ending this viscous cycle of wanting and buying and wanting and buying.


All of you have been very helpful. The reason why I ask about college is because as many of the Westerners here know college costs very much and I feel it would be not Dharma to go to college and then immediately become monastic for the rest of my life especially since my parents are kind enough to foot a lot of the bill.


If one's attention is outward facing, then the pursuit of wealth may be the intent of artha. Be aware that artha अर्थ means 'aim, purpose'. It can also mean substance , wealth , property , opulence , money . Yet if one's aim is the fullness of Being, then one's attention is inward facing.

So we must be aware of the following:

trayoḥ arthaḥ sarva-vedeṣhu
(trayoḥ) three (arthaḥ) meanings (sarva) all (vedeṣhu) vedas -or-
There are 3 aims or meanings one can find throughout the various vedas or bodies of knowledge.

These are considered inherent in the veda'-s and great bodies of work one may be introduced to. What are these 3 aims?

ādhiyajña - ritualistic meaning; that of yajña or yaj sacrificing , worshipping , a sacrificer
ādhidaiva- relating to deities; that of the devatā, the higher creative impulses of creation
ādhyātma - spiritual or esoteric meaningPending one's focus and intent, pūruṣārthara, or the four aims of existence or human pursuit : kāma ,artha , dharma , mokṣa
take on new meaning.

The mundane view is that of ~ desires~, of finances, of job, school and the like. Yet when one puts there attention on mokṣa, then there is a new orientation.

For this, one needs to better understand pūruṣārthara.

praṇām

Eastern Mind
27 March 2011, 05:04 PM
Vannakkam TheOne: Here is the information on monks of the RK mission:
http://rkmissionashrama.org/become-a-monk/

One of the essentials to walk this path, in my humble opinion, is to have total family support. I believe walking out on a family, even later in life, is adharmic. But that's just me.

I think you already understand some of the hardships you will face in taking on such a path.

As a side note, I once faced this decision, and it didn't take me all that long to figure out it wasn't for me. I believe here in the west it is probably more difficult.

Aum Namasivaya

TheOne
27 March 2011, 05:42 PM
I agree Eastern Mind. To have family support for this is a must.

The only part that confuses me is WHEN? I have patience but I do not know when I should undertake the monastic lifestyle. The questions such as whether I should get a college education for this or whether it would be a drain on parents' finances and the questions such as how sectarian a monastery is aren't really answered on many of their websites.

Adhvagat
27 March 2011, 06:54 PM
TheOne, do you think your mindset 10 years from now will be the same mindset you have now?

When I was younger spirituality also meant running away from scary societal life. But true spirituality never comes from actions of negation I presume.

Search for your answer.

Ramakrishna
27 March 2011, 09:51 PM
Namaste TheOne,

I reiterate what Pietro said. I really think this is a common thing for a lot of young Hindus when they first realize the greatness of Sanatana Dharma. They want to go "all-in" so-to-speak and renounce the world and become a monk. It is definitely something I thought about over the past couple of years and even something that is still in the very back of my mind, as I am still young.

But ask yourself if you really see yourself having this mindset 10, 15, 20 years from now. One thing I know a lot of monasteries do is let you live with them for a week or a month or so you can really get a feel for the lifestyle and help you discern if it is really for you. I wish you the best of luck.

Jai Sri Ram

sunyata07
28 March 2011, 11:18 AM
Namaste TheOne,

Your intelligence and maturity for your age are very impressive, and I do wish you the best of luck with your future, whatever your choice. I understand that this is not a decision to be made lightly. As Pietro and Ramakrishna say, one's sentiments now may not exactly be the same in a few decades, or even a few years. I hope you don't take our words to imply we think you capricious or flippant in your attitude toward monkhood. You have shown great seriousness in your posts regarding knowledge and the pursuit of it. I just think it would be wise to do all the research you can, and to meditate on the decision to join a monastery a little while longer. You still have ~3-6 years before most monasteries would consider accepting you properly.

Ramakrishna has a good suggestion. Maybe you could try spending some time at a monastery as a temporary sojourn and experience monastic life for yourself first hand. You might find that it is the greatest thing you have ever done, or you might feel the exact opposite (for whatever reason). At least, you have given yourself a chance to try it and see how it goes.

Best of luck with this.

Om namah Shivaya

TheOne
28 March 2011, 02:53 PM
I agree. I for one and I'm total favor of people trying to make me doubt my plans because it makes me second guess and determine whether I really *do* want to do this.

I thought over this and I know that for the past 2 years(even before I encourntered Dharma) I wanted to live a Monks life. Not to run away from society(although yes, I admit is some of the reason) but to literally EXPERIENCE God. Not just worship him in church, temple, mosque or whatever else but to feel that strong union that thousands of people have described regardless of their religion.

sunyata07
29 March 2011, 11:23 AM
Your determination to know God directly is inspiring! If you feel this passionately about monkhood and worldly renunciation, then with the grace of Sri Ganesha may your karma blossom for you that you can achieve this goal. Good luck!

Om namah Shivaya

anirvan
30 March 2011, 02:43 AM
Dear TheOne"

I will quote the golden words of my Gurudev to many of his highly developed desciples desiring to take monkhood.

1. fruits when ripe will spontaneously fall from the tree, a green fruit can"t be sweet if plucked before time.

2.God realisation is the sadhna/job of a Lion heart,of an utmost brave warrior.
if one can do this in sannyas life,he can very likely do it in household life.infact its easy to do it in household life,because atleast the Ego will be under check as you will be constantly under struggle for worldly adversary and spiritual task.its a battle ground against the Lust,anger,greed where you see your enemies daily.
and you can moniter your strength and growth. but if move to monastery....most likely will be disillusioned with pseudo-knowledge that i have evolved into some great.

second thing is different kind of ego and different kind of bondage will engulf you. after all samsar lives in us,be it in home,be it in jungle.

3. GUNA.....unless our guna is balanced by Niskama karma,we can"t develop true renunciation. Bairagya (renunciation) is the foundation of Sannyasa dharma.but that renunciation should be PARA.as APARA bairagya will disappear after some time.its very tough task to recognize one"s true nature of Bairagya at a point of time.
so as long as one"s Guna is balanced(three nature of prakriti) one should keep working worldly dharmas and pray at god to give him scope to totally surrender himself at lord"s service.

4. what is your dominant nature? i mean how you look at God. you want to love and serve him(the highest form of spiritual goal0 or want to know him,to attain moksha...more of Jnana marga.to love him,to achieve the mokhsa and be also his lover to serve him,bhaktimarga is best and household is best place to pursue it.

5. IN Vedic time tow types of spiritual aspirants were seen

a- Muni marga....those engaged in their sadhna staying in Caves,the monk life

b- Rishi marga.....those staying with family,wife,children and taking along all with him in the path of god.(exp are Basistha,janak etc)
at Kali yuga...rishimarga is desirable as you will not get any caves for your sadhna.and i can promise you that the so called monastries are more bad than your house to do sadhna.

5. Is there a true Satguru you have been blessed with. such strong driving force should be the reason behind your renunciation which can give you guidance at time of downfall,whose mere words,presence can ignite the renunciation alive in your heart.otherwise downfall is 99.9999% sure.

6. sannyasa and to be mad about him is same thing.this decission can"t be taken after deliberate discussion. when one becomes mad for him,nothing can stop him from leaving this world. since you are discussing here,there must be the seed of samsar within you who makes you think pros and cons. its first need is to destroy that seed of samsar and jump into that fire called SANNYASA.

Believe me,God will ask you to take monkhood when your time will come,when your Guna khsaya will complete.he will give you sannyasa initiation.till then toil in this vice filled world with maximum effort in this path.

lots of love

jayaguru

jasdir
30 March 2011, 04:56 AM
Recently I've been thinking about leading a monastic life once my Dharma is complete I am asking whether anyone has any organizations
I feel this would be probably one of the most important decisions I would make and I would like to be informed to the utmost respect before embarking upon anything.

ORGANIZATION NAME: Your own, infact you can keep anyone you like.

ORGANIZATION COURSE: Do meditations daily.

MEDITATION NAME: Devotion.

MEDITATION AGE: People of any age can do easily (recommended to do in young age for best results).

MEDITATION TIME: Can do any time (recommended to do in the early morning 3am {the necter-time} for best results).

MEDITATION PLACE: Can do anywhere while standing, sitting, sleeping, aweaking, or even while working. (recommended to at same place, same time, simply by folding the legs & closing the eyes in the sweet remembrence of "Lord" for the best results).

MEDITATION TIMEAGE: Start with the sittings from Half an Hour and slowely extend them to three Hours, (recomended to extend the sitting as much as one can do for the best results)

MEDITATION HELPING FEATURES:
1) Less eatings. (recommended to take light & naturel diet earned with the honest means, better to take the meals once a day for the best results).
2) Less sleeping. (recommended to awake during the whole night {if possible} in the sweet rememberence of "Lord",don't worry if the eyes become red due to awaking in the sweet rememberence of "Lord", for the best results).
3) Less speaking. (recommmended to speak according to the needs for best results).

MEDITATION EXPLAINATION: Simply just fall in "Love" with "Lord" (recommended to do it "Unconditionally" for the best results)

MEDITATION BENIFITS: One gets rid from the circle of deths & births, Gets enlightenment.

MEDITATION PROGRESS SYPTOMS: As the concentration starts to begain the fingers of hands & feets feels like sleeping & Slowely day by day practice one feels the unstruck sound (divine sound) on the third eye or eye centre.

MEDITATION FEES: Will be collected in the Heaven by "Lord" himself.

:) I hope this will help you.
_/\_ Jasdir.

http://www.hindudharmaforums.com/images/misc/progress.gif

anatman
31 March 2011, 11:29 AM
hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~

namasté




If one's attention is outward facing, then the pursuit of wealth may be the intent of artha. Be aware that artha अर्थ means 'aim, purpose'. It can also mean substance , wealth , property , opulence , money . Yet if one's aim is the fullness of Being, then one's attention is inward facing.

So we must be aware of the following:

trayoḥ arthaḥ sarva-vedeṣhu
(trayoḥ) three (arthaḥ) meanings (sarva) all (vedeṣhu) vedas -or-
There are 3 aims or meanings one can find throughout the various vedas or bodies of knowledge.

These are considered inherent in the veda'-s and great bodies of work one may be introduced to. What are these 3 aims?
ādhiyajña - ritualistic meaning; that of yajña or yaj sacrificing , worshipping , a sacrificer
ādhidaiva- relating to deities; that of the devatā, the higher creative impulses of creation
ādhyātma - spiritual or esoteric meaningPending one's focus and intent, pūruṣārthara, or the four aims of existence or human pursuit : kāma ,artha , dharma , mokṣa
take on new meaning.

The mundane view is that of ~ desires~, of finances, of job, school and the like. Yet when one puts there attention on mokṣa, then there is a new orientation.

For this, one needs to better understand pūruṣārthara.

praṇām


Interesting!!!

Can you elaborate :)?

TheOne
01 April 2011, 09:00 PM
Update:

I've been looking into the "Atma Jyoti Ashram" in New Mexico, USA but I've been hearing some controversial stuff about it. I went on their website there's very little to complain about except they may be a *bit* to strong on universalism but that's a minor philosophical difference.


Could someone tell me the truth about this? Some have said it's a "christian missionary effort"

Eastern Mind
01 April 2011, 09:20 PM
Vannakkam TheOne; Please just type in the name and + controversy on your search engine, then read and decide for yourself.

Then maybe you can report back what you think.

Aum Namasivaya

TheOne
01 April 2011, 09:26 PM
Well there are dozens of websites "reposting" the same article accusing the Atma Jyoti Ashram of being a Christian missionary front citing their universalism and their emphasis on Jesus being on-par with other spiritual masters.

I am now starting to move away from thinking about this Ashram but I find it rather sad that most "ashrams" I've discovered are merely tourist spots and areas which offer cheap spirituality for a price of a couple hundred dollars per week. Turning "mushy mushy" spirituality into case is one of the most despicable practices I've seen. Well, it is the Kali Yuga after all and seeing not a single Ashram or Monastery organization that isn't tainted with controversy or New Age rhetoric is hard to do.


I would *really* appreciate it if someone helped me with this and gave me a few suggestions.

Eastern Mind
01 April 2011, 09:30 PM
Vannakkam TheOne: Try this one: http://www.arshavidya.org/home.html

No controversy, highly respected, entirely Hindu, and close to you. What else could you ask for? :)

Aum Namasivaya

Sahasranama
01 April 2011, 09:56 PM
Yes, arshavidya is highly respected and they teach advaita vedanta which is what you are interested if I am correct.

TheOne
02 April 2011, 08:06 AM
Ah yes, I saw this one it's only a shame there isn't that much information on their website. I will scour the internet for more information on them


Namaste