Guest guest Posted April 25, 2004 Report Share Posted April 25, 2004 Namaste, Here is an interesting and/or silly idea I had while reading Dennis' new Atmananda book, which prompted me to look up a photo of Sri Atmananda. As some may remember from previous discussions, I have long been intrigued by the relationship between Buddhism and Advaita, as well as between Buddhism and Hinduism in general. (I have been studying Buddhism far longer than Advaita, mostly because it has a much greater presence in American bookstores.) I am drawn to an elusive but undeniable 'otherworldly' quality to Buddhism, which seems closely related to the Mahayana idea of 'emptiness' as well as to the Advaitin 'denial of objects'. These views both seem rather similar to me. As I was looking at a webpage with pictures of Atmananda, Ramana, Nisargadatta and other Advaitins, something struck me. They all have bald or shaved heads, just like Zen monks and some statues of Buddhas. I have also seen pictures of Brahmins with bald heads bathing in the Ganges. Then it occurred to me that perhaps what I think of as 'Buddhism' is really a more general phenomenon where the monastic ideal is taken to an extreme, such that the monk wishes to sever ties with the phenomenal world as much as possible and 'stand naked' so to speak in consciousness, or however you wish to put it. It is simply taking 'otherworldiness' to an extreme of detachment, which naturally coincides with a devaluation of the phenomenal world to an illusory status. The Jains also seem to be in this mold. This is to be contrasted, in my opinion, with more charismatic and 'worldly' gurus, such as Lord Krishna or our own swami in the spiritual organization I belong too. Of course, an avatar like Krishna is no less realized, but he is more 'worldly' in that he is connected to society rather closely, just as my swami is. And both have long flowing hair and overall charismatic features. The two seem to go together, and may be useful for spiritual leaders who are closely connected to their 'flock', unlike the more ascetic monks. Of course, there are also shaven or bald headed swamis who deal with many people, but I wonder if I haven't put my finger on something, a tendency that surfaces from time to time in different spiritual traditions. This might also explain why Hinduism in general seems to be more 'luxurious' in some sense than Buddhism, more colorful and full of life. It is more closely connected to society, and tries to appeal to the delight people feel in celebration and color. Buddhism may have lost touch with the larger population in India due to a certain ascetic atmosphere which is appropriate for monks but less relevant to everyday families. In Far Asia, Buddhism may have had more success due to incorporating a more down to earth and colorful wrapping. Just some ruminations... Hari Om! Benjamin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 28, 2004 Report Share Posted April 28, 2004 ben, i laughed when i read the title of this thread. some points to note : 1. only buddhist monks shave their heads. the laity don't. (likewise with jainism). 2. traditional "hindu" sanyaasis dont necessarily shave their heads. for example, the smritis (manu, yaagnavalkya) actually enjoin that at the stage of the sanyaasi one should grow the hair long. there's an ancient traditional view that growing hair, beard etc long, is quite conducive to spiritual progress. 3. but advaita monks do shave their heads. 4. ramana when young often had his hair cropped close and was also clean shaven. baldness only came with age. but it is to be noted that ramana was already enlightened at a very young age and such external things like hair etc makes little difference to him who is already non-dual. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 28, 2004 Report Share Posted April 28, 2004 Hi Nanda, >ben, i laughed when i read the title of this thread. I'm glad you are still here! I guess I could have said this off-line, but I wanted to take this opportunity to tell new people on the list what a good mind you have and to check out your scholarly site at http://home.earthlink.net/~pushpasri/ I know you are too humble to tell people yourself! Hari Om! Benjamin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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