Who am i? - A psychological anlysis

[Guest guest]

On Fri, 25 Sep 1998 nanda chandran <vpcnk wrote:

> Ultimately even consciousness is just a thought

 

Consciousness limited to thought makes for difficult communication

on an advaita list. Consciousness reflected in the buddhi illuminates

the movements of the mind. The ego, a product of buddhi, plays with

that 'mirror' and directs the light where it will: the ego is the

thinker (subject); playing with the mirror is thinking (verb); and

that which the light illuminates is the thought (object).

> In Advaitam, it's said that in the state of

> sushpti or deep sleep, the Atman shines in all its glory.

 

The Atman shines in all Its Glory in all states and at all times.

 

svapna (dream) and su.supti (deep sleep) both derive from the dhAtu

svap (to rest). In svapna there is rest for the body, but not for

the mind; in su.supti (su + svap = excellent rest) there is rest for

the mind as well as the body. The su.supti state is ignorance/avidyA/

AvaraNa/tamas; svapna adds activity/rajas/vik.sepa. In the waking

state there is opportunity for sattva to overcome the other two guNa-s.

> Just take a deep breath and let go. Relax. Fall into yourself.

 

Or fall asleep. To use a physical analogy: if muscle tension is rajas,

and muscle relaxation (flabbiness) is tamas, then muscle tone is sattva.

 

In any such practice it is necessary to be *very* wide awake and alert:

for this the back needs to be straight and head erect (as though drawn

from above). Sit on the floor or chair as convenient, but do not lean

the back or head against anything: it may take time to get used to this

posture, but it is the only one that can be maintained for hours on end

(literally) without discomfort or sleep. Besides which, in this posture

one is naturally more alert: have you observed that when an attractive

woman walks into a room, that the men 'sit up' and take notice?

 

You may find it helpful to practice the simple japa exercise given at

 

http://www.yogamalika.org/japa1.htm

> One mystery is that since we're not willing the thoughts, then from

> whence do these thoughts originate? This I suppose is Maya.

 

You invest the thoughts with a reality independent of their observer.

An advaitin enquires into the seer, not the seen: neti neti.

 

Regards, Charles.

[Guest guest]

Greetings Aikya:

 

Please share your positive experience with Swami Dhyananda Saraswathi by

posting an article about him. If you can, write an article about Arsha

Vidya Gurukulam and the various activities in the Gurukulam. This is

the best "Gurudhakshna" that you can give to your Guru. Such information

will be useful to interested members.

 

Regards,

 

Ram

 

 

Aikya_Param wrote:

>

> "Aikya_Param" <aikya

>

> I am enjoying your posts, Charles. Thank you so much for the referral

to

> the Yogamalika site

> http://www.yogamalika.org/japa1.htm

> and the talks on japa. I was enjoying them thoroughly since they

sounded

> awfully familiar. What a nice surprise to see that they are talks by

my

> guru, Pujya Swami Dayananda Saraswati, that a student has posted to

the web!

[Guest guest]

I am enjoying your posts, Charles. Thank you so much for the referral to

the Yogamalika site

http://www.yogamalika.org/japa1.htm

and the talks on japa. I was enjoying them thoroughly since they sounded

awfully familiar. What a nice surprise to see that they are talks by my

guru, Pujya Swami Dayananda Saraswati, that a student has posted to the web!

I will put a link to the site on my growing Vedanta site and include a link

to the japa talks in the appropriate place in Daily Readings on Upadesha

Saram. So nice to know that site is there.

 

 

 

 

Charles Wikner <WIKNER

advaitin <advaitin >

Tuesday, September 29, 1998 2:00 AM

Re: Who am i? - A psychological anlysis

 

>Charles Wikner <WIKNER

>

>

>On Fri, 25 Sep 1998 nanda chandran <vpcnk wrote:

>

>> Ultimately even consciousness is just a thought

>

>Consciousness limited to thought makes for difficult communication

>on an advaita list. Consciousness reflected in the buddhi illuminates

>the movements of the mind. The ego, a product of buddhi, plays with

>that 'mirror' and directs the light where it will: the ego is the

>thinker (subject); playing with the mirror is thinking (verb); and

>that which the light illuminates is the thought (object).

>

>> In Advaitam, it's said that in the state of

>> sushpti or deep sleep, the Atman shines in all its glory.

>

>The Atman shines in all Its Glory in all states and at all times.

>

>svapna (dream) and su.supti (deep sleep) both derive from the dhAtu

>svap (to rest). In svapna there is rest for the body, but not for

>the mind; in su.supti (su + svap = excellent rest) there is rest for

>the mind as well as the body. The su.supti state is ignorance/avidyA/

>AvaraNa/tamas; svapna adds activity/rajas/vik.sepa. In the waking

>state there is opportunity for sattva to overcome the other two guNa-s.

>

>> Just take a deep breath and let go. Relax. Fall into yourself.

>

>Or fall asleep. To use a physical analogy: if muscle tension is rajas,

>and muscle relaxation (flabbiness) is tamas, then muscle tone is sattva.

>

>In any such practice it is necessary to be *very* wide awake and alert:

>for this the back needs to be straight and head erect (as though drawn

>from above). Sit on the floor or chair as convenient, but do not lean

>the back or head against anything: it may take time to get used to this

>posture, but it is the only one that can be maintained for hours on end

>(literally) without discomfort or sleep. Besides which, in this posture

>one is naturally more alert: have you observed that when an attractive

>woman walks into a room, that the men 'sit up' and take notice?

>

>You may find it helpful to practice the simple japa exercise given at

>

> http://www.yogamalika.org/japa1.htm

>

>> One mystery is that since we're not willing the thoughts, then from

>> whence do these thoughts originate? This I suppose is Maya.

>

>You invest the thoughts with a reality independent of their observer.

>An advaitin enquires into the seer, not the seen: neti neti.

>

>Regards, Charles.

>

>

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>Discussion of Sankara's Advaita Vedanta Philosophy, its true meaning,

profundity, richness and beauty with the focus on the non-duality between

mind and matter

[Guest guest]

Hari Om Aikya:

 

I am glad to see and read your excellent article on Swamiji and the

Gurukulam. I request other members to follow the foot steps of Aikya

and write about other great souls and institutions. This healthy

exchange of information will be valuable to all list members and others

who read the archived articles. Announcements regarding special

discourses, Camps, and weekend special programs Special educational

programs are also welcome.

 

Thanks again,

 

 

Ram Chandran

Burke, VA

[Guest guest]

In response to the following request from Ram Chandran:

>Please share your positive experience with Swami Dhyananda Saraswathi by

>posting an article about him. If you can, write an article about Arsha

>Vidya Gurukulam and the various activities in the Gurukulam. This is

>the best "Gurudhakshna" that you can give to your Guru. Such information

>will be useful to interested members.

 

 

Swami Dayananda Saraswathi has been teaching Vedanta in English for decades,

both in India and the U.S. One extraordinary gift he has is to present the

teaching in a very simple way so that, provided you can concentrate for an

hour or so, you will understand. These talks he has been giving to the

public around the world, including besides India and the U.S., Switzerland,

France, Kuwait, Brazil and Australia. I first heard Pujya Swamiji in 1979

in New York City where he was giving a ten day series of talks.

 

Starting in 1970 (?), about every 5 years, Swamiji stopped traveling around

and settled in for

an intensive 3 year course for those who watned to study more deply. These

courses involved attaining gaining some mastery of Sanskrit and studying

several

upanishads with Shankara's commentary, Bhagavad Gita (with same commentary),

some Brahma SUtras (with same commentary) as well as some introductory

texts. Besides study, students were required to do practice teaching in

small groups and before the entire ashram as well as to write a paper, a

commentary on a key verse chosen by Pujya Swamiji.

 

These courses were given both in the U.S. and in India. I attended

the one given in Piercy, CA from 1979 to 1982. The most recent course in

the U.S.

was given at Swamiji's center in the U.S., Arsha Vidya Gurukulum.

(http://www.arshavidya.org ) about 9 years ago. Since then, a course in

India was given in

Coimbatore.

 

Perhaps due to increasing age (Swamiji is now well approaching 70), Pujya

Swamiji

is not travelling as much as he used to in the past. He does spend a good

part of the summer and early Fall at the gurukulum in Saylorsburg, PA.

 

Over the years, Swamiji has given sannyas to several dozen men including a

few Americans and they also teach with the same simplicity and clarity he

had.

The Manager of the Saylorsburg gurukulum is an American swami who is quite

skilled in Sanskrit and is a fine teacher of Vedanta. I suspect that he is

responsible for bringing to the ashram excellent classes in the angas or

ayurveda (seminars by Robert Svoboda) and Vedic Astrology. Visiting the

ashram also are Swami Viditatmananda who has a center of his own in

Ahmedabad and Swami Pratyaboghananda. The latter is fluent in English Hindi

and Gujerati. Swami Vagishanada, another American Swami is a favorite with

people of all ages who enjoy his fine Vedic chanting and singing of bhajans.

 

Charles Wilkner recently referred to a website of Swami Paramarthananda,

founder of Yogamalika, (http://www.yogamalika.org) an organization in

Chennai, India which presents this teaching and has chosen as its area of

karma yoga environmental education and advocacy.

 

In addition there are lay teachers like myself giving classes all over the

world. At the Saylosburg gurukulum Ashok Chhabra and his wife are fine

teachers and studied in my course in Piercy, CA. I will try to get a list

from Swami Tadatmanada in case anyone is nearby one of us and would like to

come to class.

 

Please pardon me for listing so many names which may not have meaning to you

since you do not know the persons. Just know that, thanks to Pujya Swami

Dayanada, there are quite a few well qualified teachers of Vedanta, even

here in the U.S.A.

 

Aikya Param

Berkeley, CA

http://members.xoom.com/aikya/aikya

 

 

P.S. FYI, an interview with Pujya Swami Dayananda Saraswati can be found in

Andrew Cohen's glossy new magazine "What is Enlightnement?" the Fall/Winter

1998 issue. (www.moksha.org/wie) Do not be waylaid by the interviewer's

misunderstanding of whatever it was Swamiji said about Ramana Maharshi.

Swamiji very much appreciates him and we studied Updesha Saram by Ramana

Maharshi in our course.

[Guest guest]

At 04:46 PM 10/1/98 PDT, Ram Chandran wrote:

>I am glad to see and read [Aikya's] excellent article on Swamiji and the

>Gurukulam. I request other members to follow the foot steps of Aikya

>and write about other great souls and institutions. This healthy

>exchange of information will be valuable to all list members and others

>who read the archived articles. Announcements regarding special

>discourses, Camps, and weekend special programs Special educational

>programs are also welcome.

 

Good idea! Aikya's article on Swami Dayanda Saraswati and the Gurukulam

was a blessing. Though never having met Swamiji, I have met Swami

Tadatmanda, listed to his teaching, and spoken to him several times. He is

a fine Vedanta teacher.

 

In the next post, I will send a calendar of various non-dualist teachers

soming to the New York/Boston/Eastern Seabord area. Not necessarily

teachers of advaita vedanta or scriptures, but Western-style teachers who

teach that we are awareness. Not everyone's cup of tea I realize, but the

posting might be of interest.

 

--Greg

[Guest guest]

Amazingly, Arsha Vidya Gurukulum does not have a list of those of us who are

teaching. I have offered to try to put one together if they will provide me

with the names and addresses. They do have a list of Gita Home Study

Groups. I believe those are groups which use Sri Swami Dayananda's

voluminous commentary on Bhagavad Gita. The text actually is a

transcription of the Gita lectures we had during the Piercy course. Of

course, they were based on Shankara's commentary. When I receive those,

I'll share with the list.

 

Aikya Param

Berkeley, CA

http://members.xoom.com/aikya/aikya/

 

 

Gregory Goode <goode

advaitin <advaitin >; advaitin

<advaitin >

Friday, October 02, 1998 7:27 AM

Re: Who am i? - A psychological anlysis

 

>Gregory Goode <goode

>

>At 04:46 PM 10/1/98 PDT, Ram Chandran wrote:

>

>>I am glad to see and read [Aikya's] excellent article on Swamiji and the

>>Gurukulam. I request other members to follow the foot steps of Aikya

>>and write about other great souls and institutions. This healthy

>>exchange of information will be valuable to all list members and others

>>who read the archived articles. Announcements regarding special

>>discourses, Camps, and weekend special programs Special educational

>>programs are also welcome.

>

>Good idea! Aikya's article on Swami Dayanda Saraswati and the Gurukulam

>was a blessing. Though never having met Swamiji, I have met Swami

>Tadatmanda, listed to his teaching, and spoken to him several times. He is

>a fine Vedanta teacher.

>

>In the next post, I will send a calendar of various non-dualist teachers

>soming to the New York/Boston/Eastern Seabord area. Not necessarily

>teachers of advaita vedanta or scriptures, but Western-style teachers who

>teach that we are awareness. Not everyone's cup of tea I realize, but the

>posting might be of interest.

>

>--Greg

>

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>Discussion of Sankara's Advaita Vedanta Philosophy, its true meaning,

profundity, richness and beauty with the focus on the non-duality between

mind and matter

[Guest guest]

At 08:23 AM 10/2/98 -0700, Aikya_Param wrote:

>"Aikya_Param" <aikya

>

>Amazingly, Arsha Vidya Gurukulum does not have a list of those of us who are

>teaching. I have offered to try to put one together if they will provide me

>with the names and addresses. They do have a list of Gita Home Study

>Groups. I believe those are groups which use Sri Swami Dayananda's

>voluminous commentary on Bhagavad Gita. The text actually is a

>transcription of the Gita lectures we had during the Piercy course. Of

>course, they were based on Shankara's commentary. When I receive those,

>I'll share with the list.

 

Yes, I have seen and perused Dayanandaji's huge Bhagavad Gita commentary,

but do not own it. It will be the next commentary I purchase, however.

 

--Greg

[Guest guest]

I realize I can hardly be counted as objective, but I must say that Swami

Dayananda's commentary on the Bhagavad Gita (based on Shankara's words) is

very rich. It is like having a vacation handy on your book shelf. It's

practically luxurious.

 

AVP used to send it out in monthly insltallments. That's how the Gita Study

Groups enjoy it I believe. Check with them at

http://www.arshavidya.org

or you can send an email to Swami Tadatmananda at

SwamiT

He'll know it's status...whether it is becoming a book...whether it is still

sent out in loose leaf form monthly, whether one can try it for a while or

if a commitment to the whole thing is required, etc.

 

Aikya Param

Berkeley, CA

http://members.xoom.com/aikya/aikya/

 

 

Gregory Goode <goode

advaitin <advaitin >; advaitin

<advaitin >

Friday, October 02, 1998 10:48 AM

Re: Who am i? - A psychological anlysis

 

>Gregory Goode <goode

>

>At 08:23 AM 10/2/98 -0700, Aikya_Param wrote:

>>"Aikya_Param" <aikya

>>

>>Amazingly, Arsha Vidya Gurukulum does not have a list of those of us who

are

>>teaching. I have offered to try to put one together if they will provide

me

>>with the names and addresses. They do have a list of Gita Home Study

>>Groups. I believe those are groups which use Sri Swami Dayananda's

>>voluminous commentary on Bhagavad Gita. The text actually is a

>>transcription of the Gita lectures we had during the Piercy course. Of

>>course, they were based on Shankara's commentary. When I receive those,

>>I'll share with the list.

>

>Yes, I have seen and perused Dayanandaji's huge Bhagavad Gita commentary,

>but do not own it. It will be the next commentary I purchase, however.

>

>--Greg

>

>------

>Help support ONElist, while generating interest in your product or

>service. ONElist has a variety of advertising packages. Visit

>/advert.html for more information.

>------

>Discussion of Sankara's Advaita Vedanta Philosophy, its true meaning,

profundity, richness and beauty with the focus on the non-duality between

mind and matter