more on "personal god"

[Guest guest]

Interesting discussion....I know people in the yoga community,

Westerners, who relate to the concept of ishta devatA much like the

concept of "higher power" in the twelve-step movement. It might be their

practice itself, whatever it is that inspires them to persevere, that

unnameable "That" by which the eye sees, ear hears, mind moves, etc.

 

Swami Vivekananda defines it as "that aspect of the Godhead which the

aspirant accepts as his Chosen Ideal." He interprets the Yoga Sutras

(II, verse 44) as "By repetition of the mantra comes the realization of

the Chosen Deity." B.K.S. Iyengar renders this same sutra, "Self-study

leads towards the realization of God or communion with one's desered

deity." (SvAdhyAyAt istadevatA saprayogah), and comments, "Though

consciousness exists in the body, it needs to be tapped through the

practice of Asana and prAnAyAma, in which the intelligence acts as a

bridge to connect awareness of the body with the core and vice versa.

This connecting intelligence alone brings harmony of body, mind, and

soul, and intimacy with the Supreme Soul (IstadevatA)..."

 

I think it is to be expected that as our consciousness changes and

becomes more refined, so will our understanding of our "chosen deity"

until eventually practices do fall off in the experience that there is no

difference between our true "self" and The Self. (Aham BrahAsmi, "I and

my father are One.") At that point, I suspect all becomes silence and no

one who has been all the way there will be able to describe it to the

List Serv.

 

I want to add, as a Westerner who had a personal guru from childhood -

my guru was always scrupulous in re-directing me from himself to my

Inner Guru. He said over and over that he was only the finger pointing

to the moon. So for me, at any rate, "ishtadevata" or "personal god" is

not the same as "personal guru."

 

Namaste,

Zo

 

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[Guest guest]

Greetings Zo:

 

The example that I can think of is the 'pole vault jumper.' The pole is

necessary for the jumper to jump higher than the pole level. But he/she can't

hang on to it! The person who hangs on the pole will fall with the pole.

Whether it is a personal guru or deity, (religion and advaita philosophy

included) we should be prepared to give up at the appropropriate time!

 

regards,

 

Ram Chandran

>Zo Newell <zonewell

>

>..

>I want to add, as a Westerner who had a personal guru from childhood -

>my guru was always scrupulous in re-directing me from himself to my

>Inner Guru. He said over and over that he was only the finger pointing

>to the moon. So for me, at any rate, "ishtadevata" or "personal god" is

>not the same as "personal guru."

>

>Namaste,

>Zo