Guest guest Posted February 11, 2000 Report Share Posted February 11, 2000 Hi everyone! Only just found out about your list after making some enquiries of old members of the Advaita List. I have belonged to that for 3 1/2 years but have not found much of interest there for some time. When I failed to get much of a response to a recent serious question (separate posting), I decided I had better look elsewhere! Career-wise, I am a (Software) Metrics Consultant, specialising in Earned Value. And that's enough of that! I have been studying Advaita for about 15 years. Until the summer of '98, I belonged to an organisation called the School of Economic Science in England. This received guidance for about 25 years, until his death, from Sri Santanand Saraswati, ex Shankaracharya of the North. I attended classes once a week and acted as tutor to another group once per week. The disciplines are based primarily on Jnana and Karma Yoga with a little Bhakti. I meditate twice daily, initiated by the London School of Meditation, originally an off-shoot of TM. I also learned some basic Sanskrit there (alphabet plus a little grammar. I left for various reasons. The teaching was becoming increasingly obscure and non-practical, with lots of emphasis on reciting Sanskrit (without any real progress in teaching the language). I had derived the most benefit from tutoring others for the last four years but this role was taken away and, instead, I had to drive 35 miles to act as assistant Sanskrit tutor. This group began at 06.00 for only 1 1/2 hours, of which the first half-hour was meditation. And many of the group did not even know the alphabet! The fundamental problem with the School is that members were led to believe that they were making progress on a spiritual path and key to this path was subjugation of the ego. Since then I have moved increasingly towards an extreme 'direct path' position, believing that the concept of spiritual progress is meaningless and that it is impossible for the ego to destroy the ego. There is nowhere to go - who would go there? Who is there to realise the Self? In these sorts of ideas, I recognise Francis Lucille as my effective spiritual teacher, though I remain open to valuable insights from any source, whether other current gurus such as Ramesh Balsekar and Wayne Liquorman , traditional masters such as Ramana Maharshi or Western philosophers such as Schopenhauer. The more I search, the more I realise that so many are saying exactly the same thing; it is just that some use language that is easier for a particular mind-set to understand. I am currently engaged for most of my spare time in the writing of my second book, which is (not surprisingly!) an introduction to Advaita aimed at people who have never heard the term. It will cover all of the aspects about which intelligent people think (= worry) from time to time, showing how Advaita considers/resolves the problems. I am illustrating the book with lots of cartoons to lighten the whole thing. I hope to be able to throw open a few of the more knotty problems to the list to get some ideas and the first of these follows! I hope I can contribute usefully and interestingly to the list. Dennis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 11, 2000 Report Share Posted February 11, 2000 Welcome Dennis! Fascinating about the School of Economic Science, I've met several people who had been with that school and its American counterpart. Very progressive, non-direct, ?no? Including Joyce Newberry and Chris Harwood, who you might also know. Several of them have been going to see Francis Lucille also. Looking forward to your book, as well as engaging conversations with you here on the list! Your contributions are already valuable. For example, your question about Shankara and knowing the Self via the mind, I will respond to shortly! Regards, --Greg >Since then I have moved increasingly towards an extreme 'direct path' >position, believing that the concept of spiritual progress is meaningless >and that it is impossible for the ego to destroy the ego. There is nowhere >to go - who would go there? Who is there to realise the Self? In these >sorts of ideas, I recognise Francis Lucille as my effective spiritual >teacher, though I remain open to valuable insights from any source, whether >other current gurus such as Ramesh Balsekar and Wayne Liquorman , >traditional masters such as Ramana Maharshi or Western philosophers such as >Schopenhauer. The more I search, the more I realise that so many are saying >exactly the same thing; it is just that some use language that is easier >for a particular mind-set to understand. > >I am currently engaged for most of my spare time in the writing of my >second book, which is (not surprisingly!) an introduction to Advaita aimed >at people who have never heard the term. It will cover all of the aspects >about which intelligent people think (= worry) from time to time, showing >how Advaita considers/resolves the problems. I am illustrating the book >with lots of cartoons to lighten the whole thing. I hope to be able to >throw open a few of the more knotty problems to the list to get some ideas >and the first of these follows! > >I hope I can contribute usefully and interestingly to the list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 12, 2000 Report Share Posted February 12, 2000 Dennis, I fully sympathise with you.Lot of people say the same things using different words,different metaphors ______________ YOU'RE PAYING TOO MUCH FOR THE INTERNET! Juno now offers FREE Internet Access! Try it today - there's no risk! For your FREE software, visit: http://dl.www.juno.com/get/tagj. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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