Guest guest Posted November 11, 1998 Report Share Posted November 11, 1998 Hari om ! "Meenakshi Bhaga" wrote : >The thirst to know the Infinite, that 'I am That' is there, but we have to >become thought-less (mind and intellect must be quiet) in order to >experience the Infinite. The necessity of having a quiet mind to know he truth of yourself is not a point of contention. This is one of the basic requisite of a student of Vedanta. The Sadhana Chatushtaya sampatti clearly points that out. The point which I was trying to put forward was simply that the absence of experience of thoughts should not be considered synonymous with negating thoughts. Negation implies realisation of the mithyatvam of thoughts, just as we realise the mithyatvam of a our reflection in a mirror. With this realisation of the ephemerality of thoughts, the thoughts do drop, and this state of being free from all thoughts, is extremely necessary to know 'that' which remains even when thoughts are not there. A person who has realised the ephemerality of thoughts, will not really be bothered even if the perception of thoughts is there. So the thrust has to be to know the truth of thoughts rather than quietening the thoughts. As far as experiencing the state of thoughtlessness is concerned, you any way experience it so many times daily. The reference to our deep- sleep experience is for that purpose alone. Yet if that is not sufficient you may even consciously keep aside all your thoughts and 'see' what remains when the thoughts are quiet. The proof of really having seen that which is the very substratum of thoughts, is to later 'see' that & that alone as the very essence of one & all, including your thoughts. Thoughts also will be seen as 'that self-effulgent blissful existence', which you had 'directly realised' after quietening all your thoughts, just as all pots are seen as nothing but that mud alone, which alone was when the pot was not there. Such men of knowledge revel in the non-dual inspite of the perception of this apparent duality. You see one inspite of the perception of many. That's the beauty of the knowledge of Vedanta. That is what Lord Krishna says 'Verily, everything whatsoever is Vasudeva alone'. Love & om, Swami Atmananda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 11, 1998 Report Share Posted November 11, 1998 Swami Atmananda wrote: > A person who has realised the ephemerality of thoughts, will > not really be bothered even if the perception of thoughts is there. > So the thrust has to be to know the truth of thoughts rather than > quietening the thoughts. and > [...] The proof of really having seen that which is the very > substratum of thoughts, is to later 'see' that & that alone as > the very essence of one & all, including your thoughts. Thoughts > also will be seen as 'that self-effulgent blissful existence', > which you had 'directly realised' after quietening all your > thoughts, just as all pots are seen as nothing but that mud alone, > which alone was when the pot was not there. this is paramount in importance, and isn't only worth repeating here, but should be read and re-read until it is fully assimilated. namaskaar. **** > "Swami Atmananda" <atma > > Hari om ! > > "Meenakshi Bhaga" wrote : > > >The thirst to know the Infinite, that 'I am That' is there, but we have to > >become thought-less (mind and intellect must be quiet) in order to > >experience the Infinite. > > The necessity of having a quiet mind to know he truth of yourself is not > a point of contention. This is one of the basic requisite of a student of > Vedanta. The Sadhana Chatushtaya sampatti clearly points that out. > The point which I was trying to put forward was simply that the absence > of experience of thoughts should not be considered synonymous with > negating thoughts. Negation implies realisation of the mithyatvam of > thoughts, just as we realise the mithyatvam of a our reflection in a > mirror. With this realisation of the ephemerality of thoughts, the thoughts > do drop, and this state of being free from all thoughts, is extremely > necessary to know 'that' which remains even when thoughts are not there. > > A person who has realised the ephemerality of thoughts, will not really > be bothered even if the perception of thoughts is there. So the thrust has > to be to know the truth of thoughts rather than quietening the thoughts. > As far as experiencing the state of thoughtlessness is concerned, you > any way experience it so many times daily. The reference to our deep- > sleep experience is for that purpose alone. Yet if that is not sufficient > you may even consciously keep aside all your thoughts and 'see' what > remains when the thoughts are quiet. The proof of really having seen > that which is the very substratum of thoughts, is to later 'see' that & that > alone as the very essence of one & all, including your thoughts. Thoughts > also will be seen as 'that self-effulgent blissful existence', which you had > 'directly realised' after quietening all your thoughts, just as all pots are > seen > as nothing but that mud alone, which alone was when the pot was not there. > Such men of knowledge revel in the non-dual inspite of the perception of > this apparent duality. You see one inspite of the perception of many. That's > the beauty of the knowledge of Vedanta. That is what Lord Krishna says > 'Verily, everything whatsoever is Vasudeva alone'. > > Love & om, > > Swami Atmananda > > ------ > To from this mailing list, or to change your subscription > to digest, go to the ONElist web site, at and > select the User Center link from the menu bar on the left. > ------ > 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 11, 1998 Report Share Posted November 11, 1998 At 10:54 AM 11/11/98 -0500, f. maiello wrote: >"f. maiello" <egodust > >Swami Atmananda wrote: > >> A person who has realised the ephemerality of thoughts, will >> not really be bothered even if the perception of thoughts is there. >> So the thrust has to be to know the truth of thoughts rather than >> quietening the thoughts. > >and > >> [...] The proof of really having seen that which is the very >> substratum of thoughts, is to later 'see' that & that alone as >> the very essence of one & all, including your thoughts. Thoughts >> also will be seen as 'that self-effulgent blissful existence', >> which you had 'directly realised' after quietening all your >> thoughts, just as all pots are seen as nothing but that mud alone, >> which alone was when the pot was not there. > > >this is paramount in importance, and isn't only worth >repeating here, but should be read and re-read until >it is fully assimilated. > >namaskaar. I agree! --Greg Greg Goode (e-mail: goode) Computer Support Phone: 4-5723 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 12, 1998 Report Share Posted November 12, 1998 Hari Om Swamiji, Thank you for the wonderful explaination. Meenakshi Bhaga ---------- > Swami Atmananda <atma > advaitin > Re: Experience & Knowledge > Wednesday, November 11, 1998 4:02 AM > > "Swami Atmananda" <atma > > Hari om ! > > "Meenakshi Bhaga" wrote : > > >The thirst to know the Infinite, that 'I am That' is there, but we have to > >become thought-less (mind and intellect must be quiet) in order to > >experience the Infinite. > > The necessity of having a quiet mind to know he truth of yourself is not > a point of contention. This is one of the basic requisite of a student of > Vedanta. The Sadhana Chatushtaya sampatti clearly points that out. > The point which I was trying to put forward was simply that the absence > of experience of thoughts should not be considered synonymous with > negating thoughts. Negation implies realisation of the mithyatvam of > thoughts, just as we realise the mithyatvam of a our reflection in a > mirror. With this realisation of the ephemerality of thoughts, the thoughts > do drop, and this state of being free from all thoughts, is extremely > necessary to know 'that' which remains even when thoughts are not there. > > A person who has realised the ephemerality of thoughts, will not really > be bothered even if the perception of thoughts is there. So the thrust has > to be to know the truth of thoughts rather than quietening the thoughts. > As far as experiencing the state of thoughtlessness is concerned, you > any way experience it so many times daily. The reference to our deep- > sleep experience is for that purpose alone. Yet if that is not sufficient > you may even consciously keep aside all your thoughts and 'see' what > remains when the thoughts are quiet. The proof of really having seen > that which is the very substratum of thoughts, is to later 'see' that & that > alone as the very essence of one & all, including your thoughts. Thoughts > also will be seen as 'that self-effulgent blissful existence', which you had > 'directly realised' after quietening all your thoughts, just as all pots are > seen > as nothing but that mud alone, which alone was when the pot was not there. > Such men of knowledge revel in the non-dual inspite of the perception of > this apparent duality. You see one inspite of the perception of many. That's > the beauty of the knowledge of Vedanta. That is what Lord Krishna says > 'Verily, everything whatsoever is Vasudeva alone'. > > Love & om, > > Swami Atmananda > > > > ------ > To from this mailing list, or to change your subscription > to digest, go to the ONElist web site, at and > select the User Center link from the menu bar on the left. > ------ > 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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