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Thread: Great Questions...

  1. #21
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    Re: Great Questions...

    Namaste Yajvan,

    I really like the quotes from Nisargadatta Maharaj. Do you recommend any particular book written by/about him and his philosophy? I would be keen on reading them.

    Thank you.

    Namaskar.

    Quote Originally Posted by yajvan View Post
    hariḥ oṁ
    ~~~~~~

    Namasté

    From Talks with Śrī Nisargadatta Mahraj - I Am That

    Q:What is austerity?

    A: Śrī Nisargadatta Mahraj:
    Once you have gone through an experience, not to go through it again is austerity. (That means) To eshcew ( abstain or stay away from) the unnecessary is austerity. Not to anticipate pleasure or pain austerity. Having things under control at all times is austerity.

    praṇām

  2. #22
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    Re: Great Questions...

    Namaste Atanu,

    I think your explanation is splendid!

    The fact that we are looking at this world, its inhabitants and their experiences both collectively and individually, in a myopic perspective leads us to think that there is suffering, pain, pleasure, fame, misery etc. when in actuality the sum total of this entire experience, or universe if you will, is perfection (Brahman).

    I was told a wonderful analogy to better understand this viewpoint.

    Imagine a group of ants crossing a dirt road in a straight line. They go about their business scurrying along the ground for bits and morsels of food and when they find it, they carry it back 'home' to feed on. Suddenly, it starts to rain heavily and many of the ants are washed away, some of which are never to be found again. The rest of the ants, through great peril, get back home and mourn the loss of their loved ones and the lost food! Such misery in Ant City has never been witnessed before! At the same time, in that particular village where Ant City is located, the farmers are rejoicing and there is joy in the air, for the drought has finally come to an end! The men can harvest their crop and have a prosperous season due to the rainfall!

    Now, how can one 'man's' (ants') misery be another's joy? If one were to look at the sum total of the events that took place on that day, there was neither happiness nor misery! The perspective enables us to see that the entire 'game' is perfection where there is no imbalance whatsoever.

    Therefore, I think that perspective is really important in dealing with life's situations and other things in general. After all the earth (Universe), with all its misfortunes and apparent inequity, is Tat (perfect).

    Namaskar.

    Quote Originally Posted by atanu View Post
    Namaste Devotee,

    Good answers have already been given for your query, which bothers most of us and which impels us to dig deeper. I wish to augment with two more points.

    First, who says that the world is created unequal and painful? The world does not say that it is unequal. Neither does Brahman say so. A third factor (entity) perceives the ills and goods. Second, why everyone, while being devoid of all possesions and while being devoid of the body-mind, in deep sleep, is blissful?

    The reality called Brahman is inherently saman, but an unequal mind, perturbed by unequal thoughts find the world unequal and painful. Our memories again and again draw us to the wrong idea "I am this" and subsequent perceptions. The practise of meditation to unite the mind with saman Brahman does only remove the error.

    Where there is perception of another there is fear and other ills. As in dream, the dream seems very real, in waking life, which is another dream of mind (and not of Brahman's), the perception of 'otherness' is so real. In dream, a bread being eaten is so real. In waking life also, the bread being eaten is so real. No one, while dreaming, can ascertain that the nighmare is a nightmare. So, being in the waking dream, it is not possible to ascertain that the ills are the mere nightmares of the mind. Unbroken yoga can only remove the errors of perceptions that karma is eternal, avidya is eternal, "I am a doer", and that "Brahman is creator".


    Om Namah Shivaya

  3. #23
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    Re: Great Questions...

    hariḥ oṁ
    ~~~~~~

    Namasté TatTvamAsi

    Quote Originally Posted by TatTvamAsi View Post
    Namaste Yajvan,

    I really like the quotes from Nisargadatta Maharaj. Do you recommend any particular book written by/about him and his philosophy? I would be keen on reading them. Thank you. Namaskar.
    The book I use is called I Am That, Talks with Śrī Nisargadatta Mahraj - ISBN 0-89386-022-0

    You can also find it on-line. Saidevo has posted the link ( that I cannot recall but am sure you can search on HDF to find it).

    Yet ( for me) reading this wisdom by computer is less comfortable and a book allows me to make notes, read in a comfortable chair - all that.

    praṇām
    यतसà¥à¤¤à¥à¤µà¤‚ शिवसमोऽसि
    yatastvaṠśivasamo'si
    because you are identical with śiva

    _

  4. #24
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    Re: Great Questions...

    Quote Originally Posted by TatTvamAsi View Post
    Namaste Atanu,

    I think your explanation is splendid!

    Namaskar.
    Namaste TTA,

    Thank you for the appreciation. Nevertheless, your cited story is the crowning glory -- simple and illuminating. Thanks.

    Om Namah Shivaya
    That which is without letters (parts) is the Fourth, beyond apprehension through ordinary means, the cessation of the phenomenal world, the auspicious and the non-dual. Thus Om is certainly the Self. He who knows thus enters the Self by the Self.

  5. #25
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    Re: Great Questions...

    hari o
    ~~~~~~

    Namasté

    From Talks with Śrī Nisargadatta Mahraj - I Am That

    Q: Is perfection the destiny of all human beings?

    A: Śrī Nisargadatta Mahraj:
    Of all living beings - ultimately. The possibility becomes a certainly when the notion of enlightenment appears in the mind. Once a living being has heard and understood that deliverance is within his reach, he will never forget, for it is the first message from within. It will take roots and grow and in due course take the blessed shape of the Guru

    praṇām
    यतसà¥à¤¤à¥à¤µà¤‚ शिवसमोऽसि
    yatastvaṠśivasamo'si
    because you are identical with śiva

    _

  6. #26
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    Re: Great Questions...

    hariḥ oṁ
    ~~~~~~

    Namasté

    '...let Me be many'

    In the Taittirīya Upaniṣad , Brahmanānanda vallī ( 6th anuvāyka or sub-section) offers the following:

    so'kāmayata bahu syā prajāyeyeti
    This says,
    He ( Brahman - sa) sounded out (syāṁ) His wish/desire (kāma) to bring forth (praja) and become many (bahu), let (Me) to be born.

    My question is why? A wish to become many - how is Brahman not totally full, complete. What could Completeness Itself want? Is it not inferred that if you desire or will someting, that you are looking for something additional? What is Brahman's intent?

    praṇām

    words
    • so = sa another way of saying the Supreme, the Universal, He, Brahman; used to denote used to denote Puruṣa
    • kāma कामwish , desire , longing ; having a desire or intention
    • yata यत- held forth, governed
    • bahu बहु -much , many , frequent , abundant , numerous , great or considerable in quantity
      syāṁ or syam स्यम् to sound , cry aloud , shout , cry , note ām आम् is an interjection of accent or recollection
    • prajāyeyeti - praja is to bring forth - bring forth ~birth~
    Last edited by yajvan; 22 April 2009 at 03:15 PM.
    यतसà¥à¤¤à¥à¤µà¤‚ शिवसमोऽसि
    yatastvaṠśivasamo'si
    because you are identical with śiva

    _

  7. #27
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    Re: Great Questions...

    In this quiet moment after homework and before dinner I bring this precious thread back to the surface.

    A perfect pie, golden and whole sits upon the counter...and until the moment I come and cut it into pieces, it can not be enjoyed.

    Perhaps it was a desire to share this wonderous experience?

    Being perfectly, fully, one and one alone, Beloved wanted to share so He broke each of us off from His beautiful perfect form so that He could share existence with each of us?

    Is this not the same reason we bring our own broken portions into this world? As I broke each child off from this fragile vessel to share this world I have created upon this frozen hill?

    As a mother I do understand this need, things were perfect before...but it was accompanied by such a solid silence that I was compelled to fill it will the laughter of children.

    Perhaps this particular feeling is shared between Beloved and this simple portion still struggling through this captivity to come home.

    Perhaps the moment each of us begins to feel the strain of this muddied existence is when Beloved begins to allow us to retract?

    My hope is that the weary which have seen enough behind the curtain to begin to ask these questions above, do find pardon and move beyond this leela back to the shelter of Beloved.

    I no longer fear death, of anyone or anything. If the whole world were to retract tomorrow, the last word upon my lips would be thanks to Beloved for this act of mercy.

    Death is truly the great liberation of captivity. Though, I still am compelled to intercede when it comes to suffering.

    I am grateful Beloved gave me a chance to bring beautiful portions into this realm to raise in this place of such misery. Each of them acts as my prayer for compassion and I send it out into this world knowing the perils they will face...but knowing no matter what peril may befall us...we will ultimately return unscathed, perfect and willing to Him.

  8. #28

    Re: Great Questions...

    Naya,

    That is so beautiful!

    Maya

  9. #29

    Re: Great Questions...

    Namaste,

    I would like to give my humble opinion regarding yajvan's question regarding Brahman's wish to become many. The text is clearly viewing Brahman from the personal, dualistic perspective, thus, I would say that SA ("he") would refer to Brahma and not Brahman (the impersonal). Also, I believe, the word is actually sah, which is a masculine pronoun, reffering to the personal creator, Brahma. The text is attributing personal characters to Him, as to wish/want something implies that we are already talking about some individual, something that is already separate and perceives duality. That One that wished to become many was already perceiving the duality between HIM and Nothingness, just as a man experiences duality in a dark room. He was alone, yet he was limited, because He was seeing Himself as an individual... So, considering that it is Brahma who became many, I think everything becomes clear now. Ultimately, we cannot explain how all this happened and how the personality of Brahma came into being and no text will ever be able to depict that
    Sarvam khalvidam Brahman

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