Guest guest Posted January 9, 2001 Report Share Posted January 9, 2001 jabba wrote: > > I wonder though what qualifications one has to have to be an > advaitist. Does Realisation make one unavoidably an advaitist or is > being an advaitist about certain core beliefs? > > Or is as Advaita just a tool and not a set philosophy? dear jabba- the following may prove to be the best or worst advice you will ever receive...or something in between. if it's the worst, then just regard it as you would some eerie [maybe interesting] artifact in a natural history museum. i studied advaita for over 35 years--and incidentally have the top-ranked website in "advaita vedanta" [according to popularity anyway]--and i can tell you that, in the final analysis, i discovered that i not only don't know what advaita is, i don't know what *anything* is anymore! i've never been in such physical pain (due to having been in a car accident and dealing now with 8 herniated discs); never been so poor (due to so many who've ripped me off for what amounted to my entire life savings, rendering me thus in the red to the tune of 23k and counting...where i watch my 15 y/o son living in a crack ghetto, and my wife due to her former marriage having to be with her kids 3,000 miles away from me, and other interesting stuff). in fact, my life in this world has always been, is, and will likely continue to be, a tragic comedy of the most ridiculous proportions! karma? yes on one hand and who the heck knows on the other! **and yet!: i never loved people or my life in this world more than i do now.** ....courtesy advaita vedanta. so, *what it is* about advaita (or any non-dual conceptual approach), can't be put into words. in fact, if it can be put into words, there's no real recognition of experience in the Heart as yet. there's definitely experience in the Heart...always was, is, and will be.. but it's yet to be *recognized*. and who or what it is that recognizes this experience is as much of a mystery as the experience itself! don't let anyone kid you! :-) now if this totally confused you. good! now rest in that magnificent confusion and allow it to dismantle the colossal reign of the ego-Mind-that-needs-to-know-and-control as much as possible. this is the first step [or if you're ready, the quantum leap itself] toward moksha (being the Liberation or Release from the clutches of the tyrannical ego-Mind thief of your otherwise innate *natural* bliss). this is beautifully reinforced by what dennis mentioned in his closing thoughts today on the thread "free will vs fate," when he said: "But certainly, I (my true nature) am *not* what the mind conceives. The truth is far beyond the ability of the mind." peace peace peace in OM. namaste, frank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 9, 2001 Report Share Posted January 9, 2001 I have just reviewed a very interesting collection of articles on awakening by Dave Oshana at his email archive site called: www.oshana. Dave has said that probably the closest Tradition to the Realisation that he teaches from is Advaita. I wonder though what qualifications one has to have to be an advaitist. Does Realisation make one unavoidably an advaitist or is being an advaitist about certain core beliefs? Or is as Advaita just a tool and not a set philosophy? best wishes jabba Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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