Dharma and the Dharma

[Guest guest]

Congratulations on the skillful means you've applied as an antidote to

Jody's sometimes shrill but always insistant Jnana. I am a Jnani

"type" myself, but find that, since I've turned on the internet,

There's a whole new type of Jnan to which I've mercifully never been

exposed before. Tony O'Clery, Dan Berkow, Jody and a few others don't

seem to grasp that the heart of Jnan is silence. A quiet UN-insistent

mind. They imitate their perceptions of Ramana or Nisargadatta

without the concurrent recognition that when these 2 worthies were At

Their Stage of Development they sat in complete silence day after day,

month after month, year after year until their sadhana reached it's

full fruition, and only then, did they choose to make themselves

available and allow us to "draw out of them" criticism that we might

find helpful in our work on ourselves.

As you probably know, Shabdha is more of an adjunct to Bhakti than

Jnan. But like so many other Bhakti practices, it finally leads in

one life or another to Nirvikalpa (Jnan) Samadhi. Great lineages,

absolutely informed by Jnan have built themselves on Shabdha or Laya

Yoga. Among which are the Sikh and certain Tantric lineages, as well

as the Bauls of Bengal.

Finally, as I'm sure you realize, Shabda "puts itself forth" or offers

itself to certain people. They find that with the beginning of their

"serious phase" of inquiry, sounds in the head become prominent.

Then, either for reasons of past karma and previous practice, or just

a non-verbalized preference they find themselves drawn towards

meditational investigation.

As we should all realize, more important than any particular

technique, is the right teacher. It is only for those patient and

curious enough to reach beneath the surface, to realize that Bhagavan

Ramana and Nisargadatta appealed to and completely accepted a few

non-Jnani's.

As Ramana so simply put it: "Either immerse yourself in inquiry, or

accept a good Guru and do what ever he asks you to do".

Good Gurus are hard to find, but one of their outstanding

characteristics is that they finish their sadhana before they embark

on a crusade to convert each and every other sincere sadhak to their

own persuasion; This latter with an unending constant flow of self

adulatory non-dual advice, offered gratuitously, I might add, to

those who haven't sought it.

yours in the bonds,

eric

[Guest guest]

Hi Eric,

>snip<

>I am a Jnani "type" myself, but find that, since I've turned on the

>internet, There's a whole new type of Jnan to which I've mercifully never

>been exposed before [who] don't seem to grasp that the heart of Jnan is

>silence. A quiet UN-insistent mind. They imitate their perceptions of

>Ramana or Nisargadatta without the concurrent recognition that when these

>2 worthies were At Their Stage of Development they sat in complete

>silence day after day, month after month, year after year until their

>sadhana reached it's full fruition, and only then, did they choose to

>make themselves available and allow us to "draw out of them" criticism

>that we might find helpful in our work on ourselves.

 

It sounds wonderful to be able to lead a life like that, doesn't it? To be

able to sit in silence day after day... But most of us, especially in the

West, must pursue our sadhana while we're living "in the world" as working

people and/or parents. It's the harder way of the two, I think. We have

to learn to find time for our practice but also to find the silence within,

even during daily activities. It does become much easier when the chatter

of the intellectual mind drops away.

>As you probably know, Shabdha is more of an adjunct to Bhakti than Jnan.

 

Is it? To me it seems it would be useful for many, no matter what path

they're on. Some people are more visually oriented and some more

sound-oriented. Some "hear" guidance and others see it in symbols or even

written words.

 

I began _using_ tones for the simple reason that the music that's always

going on in my head was distracting when I wanted silence. Better one tone

than a voice singing or an orchestra playing. Actually, I'm so used to

the music that I don't pay it any attention, often don't realize it's going

on. And one night I was meditating and in complete silence, I thought, and

then suddenly realized that somewhere in the background in my head I was

hearing "99 bottles of beer on the wall, 99 bottles of beer..." ))))))))

LOL! )))))))))) So I had to find a way to turn it off, temporarily. )

>snip<

>Finally, as I'm sure you realize, Shabda "puts itself forth" or offers

>itself to certain people. They find that with the beginning of their

>"serious phase" of inquiry, sounds in the head become prominent.

 

Years ago, I began having a lot of noise in my head, though it was not at

the beginning of my serious inquiry, which I can't really date anyway. It

_might_ have been a very early symptom of Kundalini, though that wasn't

really activated until much later, except for one brief flare-up. I used

to keep the TV on just so I wouldn't hear the noise in my head. Now, I'm

glad to say, it's more very high tones than it is noise - and much more

enjoyable. )

>Then, either for reasons of past karma and previous practice, or just a

>non-verbalized preference they find themselves drawn towards meditational

>investigation.

 

When I read Marcus' posts, I was simply glad to find that it wasn't just

pointless noise in my ears or tinnitus from some obscure cause... and the

phenomenon was known. And his suggestion of pursuing the dominant tone was

very helpful. You're right - if there are tones in your head/ears, why not

use them? )

>As we should all realize, more important than any particular technique, is

>the right teacher. It is only for those patient and curious enough to

>reach beneath the surface, to realize that Bhagavan Ramana and

>Nisargadatta appealed to and completely accepted a few non-Jnani's. As

>Ramana so simply put it: "Either immerse yourself in inquiry, or accept a

>good Guru and do what ever he asks you to do". Good Gurus are hard to

>find, but one of their outstanding characteristics is that they finish

>their sadhana before they embark on a crusade to convert each and every

>other sincere sadhak to their own persuasion;

 

Do they ever do that? Not a Ramana, I think. They teach and sometimes

offer advice when asked, but there's a noticeable lack of words like

"should" and ought" in what they say.

 

Love,

Dharma