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#2017 - Friday, December 31, 2005 - Editor: Jerry


 

 

from Alpha World

 

"Ever notice how it's a penny for your thoughts, yet you put in your two-cents? Someone is making a penny on the deal."
--Steven Wright

 

"Logic! Good gracious! What rubbish! How can I tell what I think till I see what I say?"
--E.M. Forster

 

"How can they expect a harvest of thought who have not had the seed time of character."
--Henry David Thoreau

 

"It is sometimes important for science to know how to forget the things she is surest of."

--Jean Rostand

 

"Oh how fine it is to know a thing or two!"

--Molière

 

"Read, read, read. Read everything - trash, classics, good and bad, and see how they do it. Just like a carpenter who works as an apprentice and studies the master. Read! You'll absorb it. Then write. If it is good, you'll find out. If it's not, throw it out the window."

--William Faulkner

 

"If one has to jump a stream and knows how wide it is, he will not jump. If he does not know how wide it is, he will jump, and six times out of ten times he will make it."

--Persian Proverb


 

 


 

 

from the I Am list:

 

Existence Forty

Verse 27

 

translated with short clarificatory notes

                                                 "... Like (the) capital ---
(first-)adjoining, 'this-(body-am)
   1 -I(-sense)-not-arising' existing-state (is the), 'We as That'
existing-state.
   2 '(This body am-)I(-sense)-springing that-place' not-seeking --
                                                                           
                         (This body am-)I-(sense)-not-arising
   3 self-loss adjoining is who, the he ? Not-adjoining (the self-loss
selfless state),
                                                                           
                          Self-That-Is
   4 Self-State-In abiding is who, the he ? " utter...

Sri Bhagawan's Existence Forty Verse 27 translated

Short explanatory notes thereupon:
 Capital is the first thing that adjoins a business.
 Likewise, 'This body am I sense' or the ego, first adjoins us, when we wake
up.
 Prior to waking up, we existed without this ego arising.
 And, that is the State in which we exist as That Supreme Self.
 
 We have to seek that place wherefrom this ego springs up.
 Without seeking that ego-Source, we cannot adjoin the state of egoless
ego-loss.
 Without adjoining That egoless state,
 we cannot abide in the State of the Self,
 in which the Self is That Supreme Being.

Yours in Sri Bhagawan
Ra Kumar Sankar

 

 

Translation of

 

Existence Forty

 

Verse 28

 

Happy New Year to all 
 
                                                          "...   ---   first
   1 -arising ego rising-abode(,) in-water
   2 (the-)fell thing-to-see desiring --- drowning-like(,)
   3  (the-)merging-intellect -with(,) speech -breath hidden
        -holding(,) inwards
   4 -sinking(,) perceive must(,) know (thus)."
 
Aum Namo Bhagavathe Sri Ramanaya

 Ra Kumar Sankar


 

 


 

 

 

Tsunami Disaster - A Spiritual Perspective
by Rajesh Anand

 

December 30, 2004 
 
 http://www.patnadaily.com/readerswrite/2004/rajesh_anand8.html

 

The disaster that has hit our planet recently is undoubtedly a real jolt to our sensibilities. Many of us are not witness to calamities of such gigantic proportion in our lifetime and quite naturally we are all very much affected by the news.

 

Every life that has been lost is precious and when the toll is 80,000 and more (nobody has yet talked about the land animals which would have also perished), the extent of grief and misery that has resulted is indeed indescribable to say the least.

 

However, such experiences help us to realize the limitations of the man before the nature. We may brag and boast about our scientific discoveries and inventions but the fact remains, our strength is infinitesimally small compared to the energy level in the vast domain of the universe and the nature in which we live.

 

Such acts of the nature on which we have precious little control should definitely humble us and make us surrender to the Omnipotent God. In Bhagwad Gita, the Lord says Sarva-Dharman Parityajya Mam Ekam Saranam Vraja Aham Tvam SarvaPapebhyah Moksayisyami Ma Sucah. (Resigning all your duties to Me, the all-powerful and all-supporting Lord, take refuge in Me alone, I shall absolve you of all sins, worry not). Every religion, to the best of my knowledge speaks of the act of respecting and surrendering to God or to the Laws of Nature in case we are not reconciled to the concept of God.

 

Look at the size of the universe. I understand that the sun alone is so huge that it can accommodate about 130 millions of earths and yet there are 10^32 (10 followed by 32 zeros) celestial objects like sun in the universe known to the astronomers till date. Light travels 186,000 miles in a second and yet they say there are stars situated so far away that its light is yet to reach the earth. Isn't that most fascinating? Man, in fact, has no clue about his origin through the mundane knowledge. We know our father and grandfather, some of us may be lucky enough to have seen our great grandfather but most of us do not know who our great great grandfather was and to think that there may have been countless such great great great grandfathers for each one of us to whom we owe our origin is simply mind-boggling. No scientist has ever been able to fully unravel the mystery but the Scriptures and the Vedas do explain everything. We witness countless mysterious activities in the nature all the time about which we have very little knowledge yet we often tend to think of ourselves above all the laws of nature and commit acts which are against. Have you ever paused to think that no two human faces are the same, no two human voices are the same and even the fingerprint of every human being is different? I am told that every individual also has a unique odour which the dogs can recognize. Such is the mystery of the nature that we can only marvel at the multitude of the animals, plants, fruits, fishes and the multi-coloured butterflies but will not be able to explain with our scientific knowledge as how has all these have been created. Scriptures, though, answer all our questions with profound clarity.

 

The recent natural disaster called Tsunami is one such example which appears to mock at our skyscrapers, flyovers, 7-star resorts, advancement in IT and communication. Whether we like it or not, we are compelled to admit our helplessness in the face of such natural phenomena. When we read about thousands and thousands of Tsunami victims who are still missing and unaccountable, we have to accept that technology alone is not the answer to all our problems. Technology must stay and advancement must continue but we definitely need to turn our efforts in the right direction. The direction in which the advancement is not against the laws of nature, the advancement which does not damage the earth, the advancement in which every living entity is respected for its existence given to it by the Power that created it. All that is achieved in our act of surrender and acceptance of our faith in the Almighty Who alone knows the complete past, the present and the future in the way Krishna explains to Arjuna in the Bhagwad Gita "Veda Aham Samatitani Vartmanani Charjuna Bhavisyani Cha Bhutani Mam Tu Veda Na Kaschan" (O Arjuna, as the Lord said, I know everything that has happened in the past, all that is happening in the present, and all things that are yet to come. I also know all living entities; but Me no one knows).

 

There are three kinds of sorrow that afflict us. Shastras call them Adhidaivic, Adhibhautik and Adhyatmik. Adhyatmik sorrows are those that are self-inflicted by us. Something like someone makes an insulting remark against us. Now we could either ignore the insult or choose to wallow in self-pity or anger. We could either get over and tolerate the insult or seek to avenge. It is entirely possible to overcome the Adhyatmik sorrows since we alone are the cause of the feelings that we generate. Adhibhautik sorrows are the ones caused by the other living entities. For example, a mosquito bites into our body. The last set of sorrow is inflicted to us by the nature and we have precious little control over them. We can only pray for wisdom and hope to avoid doing sinful activities and be inspired to do the righteous deeds. That is through our acts, we have to respect the dharma and the nature which will then protect us. Dharmo Rakshati Rakishtah (Dharma protects those who protect it)! There has never been a time when our planet has not had to suffer natural calamities. It has happened and thus it is logical to think that it will continue to happen. The only reference in history where we read about a society which had little or no sorrow was Ram Rajya. Daihik Daivik Bhautik Tapa Ram Rajya Kahahu Nahin Vyapa. That is all three types of sorrow were missing during Lord Rama's kingdom.

 

Secondly, we also must take note of the fact that silent calamities are happening in the world on a daily basis. For example, millions are dying of AIDS every year in Africa alone. A million lives were lost in Iran-Iraq war and if we count the hundreds of thousands who died in the civil wars, riots in the last few decades, the Tsunami statistics appears quite small. It appears that it is the nature of the tragedy that is - the timing, the geographical spread and the visibility of the catastrophe that really makes us sit up, take notice and think beyond our day-to-day existence. Otherwise isn't there tragedy galore every day? We just have to visit a hospital to see the sufferings. It is happening all the time.

 

In some of the PD articles, there are some comments about the sadhus, religious leaders and spiritual seekers. While it is true that in the world of today, many religious leaders have contributed to the decline in our faith for the holy institutions but in my opinion it is not fair to denigrate all religious and spiritual institutions because of the wrong-doings by some. From personal experience I know that there are many spiritual institutions which are doing great work for the humanity and are preaching invaluable precepts to the people. Also there is a tendency to mock at the charities given to the spiritual bodies since such charities according to the critics do not directly benefit the poor and the needy.

 

But remember, if a preacher (a sadhu or a priest or a mullah) on the strength of the holy institution has imparted the right knowledge to a seeker, the benefit to the society is no less. It is in a way a greater service since the recipient of the knowledge has been put on the righteous path for ever. He becomes a net giver for his whole life. Mr. Rajesh Chaubey writes that he has not witnessed any mullah or priest or sadhu in the forefront of the humanitarian activities in the current Tsunami aftermath but is it not possible that the people who are on the forefront did pick up the inspiration only through these mullahs, sadhus and priests.


 


 

 

ashoka: He wishes to enjoy HIMSELF

 

bindu: Enjoy is the wrong word Ashoka as to enjoy implies need ... The Lord needs nothing.

 

ashoka: He does not.

 

bindu: He exists AS love his enjoyment IS LOVE; His consciousness is Love, His very being is Love. Thus he says only his devotees .... only his bhaktas will attain him, he also says that to his bhaktis will accrue all yogas

 

 

~ ~ ~

 

 

Bindu in dialogue

 

http://groups.msn.com/AnantaYogaSchool/satsang.msnw?action=get_message&mview=0&ID_Message=132&LastModified=4675503168308476207

 

tatasthaa: Who is the realised one? Can another person understand the realised one? How can one who is not realised... could understand the one who is realised? What are the differences? How would he behave?

 

bindu: ah! No one can understand him, they can only have faith in god

 

1. who is the realised one? He is unknowable..... unspeakable, he knows himself. He has become himself.

 

ashoka: as without realization no one know who is the true one

 

bindu: Yes, but wait..

 

2. can another person understand the realised one?

 

ashoka: No, only by certain signs.

 

bindu: No, however a person can have faith in god.... it is not possible to determine if a person is realised by logic or by any comparative. Why? Because when we go to a realized persons presence, we disappear..... we forget who we are does not see us, our ego gets dissolved in him

 

tatasthaa: hmm

 

bindu: Yet when we leave him we will say .. .gee there is something different about that person... but i cannot tell what it is.

 

ashoka: Bindu there are signs

 

bindu: Those will be applicable ashoka only in the context of a realized one who is not an Avadhuta an Avadhuta may be one moment mad, another he may be god. At another time he may be a child, another the guru, you will never know him

 

ashoka: exactly, but still there is this pull, this flute that pulls us to him,

 

tatasthaa: When u are fitatasthaaed explaining ji please.. let us know how is love and realisation linkeda

 

bindu: Yes, tatasthaa "how are love and realisation linked?" Love and consciousness are the same thing; As i have said earlier, to the degree that you love god, so will be your awareness, so love is the catalyst of realization

 

tatasthaa: oh

 

ashoka: even that belongs to HIM, so who can love?

 

bindu: Yes, the Bhakti will merge into parabhakti and become one with love; then he will know he himself is the lord himself; he who is not a bhakti will not merge with the lord.

 

tatasthaa: In order to love lord.. do we need to separate our selves?

 

bindu: No, we should know that the love in us is his consciousness.

 

tatasthaa: Once we feel one with lord.. how does this love takes place?

 

bindu: listen carefully.

 

LOVE is the mirror of consciousness itself; love is that which lights up the knowledge "that i am conscious without the existence of the cosmos" ... (in fact it is the transcendental lord himself).

 

However When we humans think of love we tend to think of loving something, but if we love love itself, we will soon recognize that the lord seeks himself (Radhe\Love) as the love in us.... so when we deliberately love Radhe Maa as Love.

 

tatasthaa: But ji.. Krishna says in chapter 18 verse 40 in Gita:
"There is no being, either on earth or among the celestial controllers in heaven, who can remain free from these three modes of Material Nature." (18.40)"

 

bindu: That is right, In the realization, the realized one realizes he is not that man sitting there, since it it the self who realizes himself as the self, it is not the yogi who realizes himself at all

 

Loving love, There is a gradual snowballing effect of awareness\light, as the love compounds as we love it.

 

One might think one is being a doer by loving, but the only valid thing the Will can do that is not egotistical is to love LOVE (to Love Radhe).

 

We misuse the Will by not loving deliberately, we are self-willed and egotistical if we do not love. To love deliberately is to be compassionate. You see love is the only thing that exists that is its own reflection, this is why it compounds as we love love.

 

Parabhakti consists in this Loving love herself as Radhe Ma, the Will in us is of course Siva

 

tatasthaa: Yes ji, but when it comes to realization.. can we realise the love fully? as Krishna states There is no being existing, either here or among the demigods in the higher planetary systems, which is freed from the three modes of material nature.

 

bindu: What you must realize devi is that the realized one has realized he does not exist hence he is free from those modes. However his body may be subject to them, but he is not his body he understands his body came as mere clothing on the concept of i-ness. Having given up i-ness, his body is an empty shell he no longer dwells in it.

 

Nor does he dwell as the three modes themselves, he knows they too are clothing on the concept of i-ness, hiding non-existence within.

 

Hence Sri Dattatreya says in his wonderful Avadhuta Gita:

 

Chapter Four, Verses two and three...

 

2. The absolute is not liberated from bondage and obstruction.

 

The Absolute is not purified, cleansed and released.

 

The Absolute is not liberated by union or separation.

 

I am indeed the free One, like the sky.

 

 

 

3. I have developed no false notion

 

that all this reality come into existence

 

or that all this unreality comes into existence.

 

I am free from disease - my form has been extinguished.

 

 

 

So the connection between realization and love is the Will to LOVE, this is true.

 

tatasthaa: but when it come to realization.. can we realise the love fully?

 

ashoka: Ichha Shakti Kriya Shakti Gnana Shakti is Uma Shakti of Shiva

 

bindu: the very thought that "WE" might be able to realize that love is preposterous ... as it is his not ours...... but remember the Will is Siva.... so then to deliberately Will to Love Love.. WILL take us to realization, this is Parabhakti.

 

Yes Ashoka has it but note also:

 

Chapter Four, Verse One of Avadhuta Gita...
1. There is neither invitation nor casting off;

 

How can there be flowers, leaves,

 

meditations and recitation of sacred texts,

 

and how can there be worship of Siva -

 

which is identity in non-difference?

 


This means that to worship the Icchaa Sakti or any Sakti is to worship identity in non-difference.

 

This is why i say:
Who has Karma ? No-one it is his....
Who has Kriya? No-one it is his....
Who has jnana No-one it is his....

 

Thus since the realized one knows he does not exist he has no karma, he is free. This is realization. Since there is but one self how can i have any karma? Either it is his or it does not exist, either way it is not mine.

 

tatasthaa: ji.. you are saying Will is lord Siva.. Love is Radha ma.. so do u need will power to love? I thought love is love.. it comes automatically. I didn't know.. that we need Will to love..

 

bindu: Will IS Siva, So the only correct use of WILL is to love Radhe, or love Love. Then it is not the ego doing this but Siva.

 

tatasthaa: What is will? tell me about will. What is the correct use of will?

 

bindu: If we talk about WILL existing as a latent or potential power in the Absolute ... we can see that Will is the omnipotent power of Lord Siva; we can say that Will is the omnipotent power of lord Siva. But Siva without his Sakti is powerless. The Will is his Sakti. It is his existence itself.

 

Will is pure Sakti..... Sakti that has not yet moved or been employed; so it cannot be seen or known. It can only be recognized in itself by the Lord in Himself. Yet there exists a very deep secret about how the lord acts to create
it consists in the fact that He does not act at all.

 

The sheer power of His Will held in check.... causes the Manifestation of the Sakti, which vibrates as the primordial unstruck Pranavam; then the moola-maya appear "AS" that manifestation of His potency (AS A RESULT OF HIS NOT MOVING HIS WILL) this potency is the potential-to-be which appears as the diversity known as His Own Consciousness (we call it TIME). It is Maya, Samsara, knowledge and ignorance. Then there comes the whole of the Cosmic display.

 

But to return to the WILL in Himself; Lord Siva Shines forth as all the Cosmos simply by existing, never by actually acting. Think of it like the power in a massive hydro-electric dam - pent up but unreleased, this is due to his tapas generated by remaining still in Himself.

 

The Yogi taps this by developing Bhakti to such a degree that he always keeps his inner mind focused in the Will of Lord Siva.

 

So as you can see this is a very complex question, this is the very deepest understanding of the Sakti. to realize how the lord actually creates the universe simply by the fact of His existing.

 

tatasthaa: yes ji, it is quite hard to understand.

 

bindu: It is like the magnetism in a magnet that is not yet placed near steel.

 

bindu: Now tatasthaa, i recommend that you read these files in the following order

 

1. How to Become Nothing
2. How to Become NOT After Having Become
3. I Am Not What YOU Think I Am

 

They will help immensely with learning how to remain in the Self; After all, this is what the lord is doing; so to realize him we must learn it. In fact to come out of it is to push out the ego - to become - to exist - to be
to arrogate ... i.e to separate from Him; so i recommend remaining in Him

 

ashoka: Bindu why then they teach not to ask for 4 types of Mukti
1. Sayujya - To be like HIM
2. Samipya - To be near HIM
3. Salokya - To be in His Kingdom
4. Sarupya - to have his form
Why do they teach that

 

bindu: Because who will have them Ashoka? Who will be them? Jiva.

 

ashoka: I understand what u r saying.

 

bindu: Who will be in his kingdom? Jiva certainly wont get there

 

ashoka: I understand that.

 

bindu: Realization will not happen to jiva, The Lord REALIZES Himself, we do not.

 

ashoka: But the play of Golokha, is what then. Who plays with whom?

 

bindu: In the story about Lakshmi telling Vishnu stories which make him dream up the world

 

ashoka: a devotee, just wishes to serve eternally, what do u think of that humility and desire?

 

bindu: Does the lord not serve himself in the form of the devotee? Does The Lord not desire only Himself?

 

ashoka: Everything is the Lord, I know all of that, why then u say, wishing to come out TO BE is ego, whose Ego?

 

bindu: we are talking from the point of view if Siva Maa, not Krishna; but the trouble comes when the jiva thinks he is the doer, the devotee. or the one performing the seva, When in fact it is The Lord worshipping Himself in all cases.

 

bindu: The Transcendental lord Krishna seeks Himself so He splits Himself up into many bits ... His Transcendental Self remains in His abode if you like to say that.

 

ashoka: yes yes

 

bindu: Love comes then. This splitting happens as a result of his sheer existence.... His WILL IS LOVE itself ... does He not seek His own love? this empowers His transcendental Will...

 

Love blasts out of Him as Light then becomes denser as it manifests more and more as the Cosmos, from the subtlest to the most gross light\love\consciousness. But He is the Transcendnetal conscious SELF who is conscious of His OWN consciousness which exists as the ParamAtma.

 

There seems to be jiva but jiva is His reflection in each particle of His OWN being, thus Jiva is not him but his reflection only... and just as the mirrored image in your bathroom mirror is not you, nor is the reflection in the consciousness ort in you him himself,; it is merely his reflection. This is why we say Neti Neti.. not this nor this..

 

ashoka: He wishes to enjoy HIMSELF

 

bindu: Enjoy is the wrong word Ashoka as to enjoy implies need ... The Lord needs nothing.

 

ashoka: He does not.

 

bindu: He exists AS love his enjoyment IS LOVE; His consciousness is Love, His very being is Love. Thus he says only his devotees .... only his bhaktas will attain him, he also says that to his bhaktis will accrue all yogas

 

ashoka: Rasa Raja, Kanha. wants to be Meera, wants to be Radha

 

bindu: He does not want anything Ashoka, HE "IS " everything! He has no desires. He simply exists as bliss itself

 

Ashoka: i know bindu, i just have to experience it will come with grace and practice; what to do?

 


bindu: Ashoka, you say dear: "i just have to experience"

 

Let go of that I. say to Him in your heart Oh Lord it is not i who can experience you, it is you yourself that does this. say Oh Lord this whole world out here is your Lila and has no self nature as you alone are The Self. Do not become even an experiencer, neither a thinker, nor knower, nor a possessor or owner. Do not think that you have anything in the first place to renounce, as there is no renunciate either, Since The Lord is all
Om Namah Sivaya

 

ashoka: Mere Shyaamal Krishna Kanhai
Tu Ye Kaisi Preet Lagaayi
Praano Mein Bansi Bajaai
Saason Mein Chhip Kar Aayi

 

Naina Ye Dhoonde Hardam
Dil Gaaye Tere Sargam
Man Tarse Roop Anoopam
Aayo Mere Paas Priyatam

 

Bin Tere Jeevan Soona
Banaao Mujhe Tu Apnaa
Laaj Meri Ye Rakhanaa
Radhe Ko Sanga Laana

 

Brindavan Banjaye Jeevan
Dikhlaye Tujhe Man Darapan
Karoon Mein Ansoo Ke Arapan
Tere Paaon Mein Atma Samarpan

 

bindu: i say again: Since there is only Him, how can i have any karma ... or any vasanas, how can i have any jnana or Kriya? All is His and His only..... How can i have any jnana or Kriya? How can i have any Self-nature?

 

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