One's Daily Life itself is Meditation ... Practice in Advaita!

[Guest guest]

Hello Adi-ji,

 

You certainly seem to have a lot of time on your hands.

 

Yes, I agree that some discussion of personal sadhana would be helpful in this

discussion. I see no reason not to allow it this month - it's on topic. From

the last several days, I see that the bhakti dynamic is alive and well in

advaitin-land!

 

So let me ask and observe, Adi:

 

1. What is the sadhana function of your newspaper reading?

2. You mention openness and tolerance. What do you do to

increase these qualities? You do mention the practice

of not applying labels to yourself or others. This is

a good one.

3. Those who value tolerance can tend to become upset at

the intolerance of others. This leads to being

intolerant of others' intolerance. This is not necessary.

One can come to see that intolerance is not a virtue

without becoming intolerant!

 

Pranaams to all,

 

--Greg

[Guest guest]

advaitin, Gregory Goode <goode@D...> wrote:

 

> Yes, I agree that some discussion of personal sadhana would be

helpful in this discussion.

 

 

Namaste,

 

Here lies the conundrum of Practice!

 

Gita 4:18

 

karmaNi akarma yaH pashyed akarmaNi cha karma yaH |

sa buddhimaan manushhyeshhu sa yuktaH kR^itsna-karma-kR^it.h ||

 

One who discerns action in inaction, and non-action in action is the

one with wisdom,

ever in spiritual union, and an accomplisher of all action.

 

Thus any practice that keeps one aware of it will defeat its

purpose!

 

 

Regards,

 

Sunder

[Guest guest]

Sunder-ji ,

 

It is very ironic that this same verse was quoted by me at the

beginning of this month's topic

 

and now quoted by You at the end of this month's topic! what a

strange co-incidence ! But, when you quote a gita verse, it sounds

more Divine.

 

You state,

 

( Here lies the conundrum of Practice!

 

Gita 4:18

 

karmaNi akarma yaH pashyed akarmaNi cha karma yaH |

sa buddhimaan manushhyeshhu sa yuktaH kR^itsna-karma-kR^it.h ||

 

One who discerns action in inaction, and non-action in action is the

one with wisdom,

ever in spiritual union, and an accomplisher of all action.)

 

and then you conclude

 

( Thus any practice that keeps one aware of it will defeat its

purpose!)

 

and Srangely enough, do you know what Our Beloved Bhagwan Rramana

Says ?

 

VERSE 37 -FORTY VERSES ON REALITY

 

The contention,

 

'Dualism during practice,

 

non-dualism on Attainment',

 

is also false.

 

While one is anxiously searching,

 

as well as when one has found one's Self,

 

who else is one but the tenth man?1

 

 

 

____________________

1 - This refers to a traditional story of a party of ten fools who

were travelling together. They had to cross a river and on reaching

the other shore wanted to check up whether all of them had got safely

across. Each one counted in turn, but each one counted the nine

others and forgot himself. So they thought the tenth man had been

drowned and began to mourn him. Just then a traveller came past and

asked them what was the matter. He at once saw the cause of their

mistake and in order to convince them he made them walk past him one

by one, giving each one a blow as he passed and telling them to count

the strokes.

 

http://www.ramana-maharshi.org/m_path/m_path.htm

 

Aum Tat sat !

 

ps -greg-ji commented that i have a lot of time on my hands - when

you are 61 , You live thinking you are going to die any minute and

you read and learn thinking you are going to live forever!

[Guest guest]

Namaste Sunderji.

 

Did I misunderstand you here?

 

Consider this action of replying you I am now performing. I am

sequentially yet fully in my thoughts, words, movement of my finger-

tips on the keyboard, the words appearing on the monitor screen, the

brilliance of the monitor and the satisfaction that all this gives

me. Virtually, I am everywhere fully in every bit of my action and

the feelings associated with it. Pedantically, we call this

attentiveness. Such pointed involvement in action is great pleasure.

It is an intoxication that runs up the spine and makes one roll in a

sort of electric ecstasy - not because of the action itself, which

any way is jada, but because of one's being Awareness. The only thing

I need to remind me is not to have the performership of this action

where the ego comes in. So, I am compelled to understand your

statement as follows:

 

"Any action that keeps one *aware of his performership in it* defeats

its purpose."

 

Am I right Sunderji?

 

Sans that dangerous performership, every moment and movement of ours

is ecstasy because we are them in fullness as Awareness. Then, what

to speak of devotional practices where I shine as Her in every bit of

my thoughts, every tiny atom and pulsation of my body, every breath

that goes in and out, and every movement of the tongue that raises

its head against the palate to capture the nectar in Her divine

names! Oh Ma, make me mad!

 

Incidentally, Adiji, this brings me to your request to write on the

significance of DEvI MAhAtmyA on this NavarAtri occasion and Gregji's

endorsement of it.

 

A lot has been written about the MAhAtamyA by DEvI upAsakAs the world

over and plenty of material is already available on the net. I don't

have the competence to tread that area to add anything more. But, on

a personal note, every moment is a NavarAtri or ShivarAtri, Ashtami,

Navami or Chaturdasi (eighth, ninth or fourteenth lunar day) for me.

I chant the MAhAtmyA without any initiation and without following

prescribed rules, as I am convinced that one does't need any to call

and extol one's own Mother.

 

I see Her as Awareness in every word that I chant - the place,

sequence, order or time of the chanting doesn't matter, therefore. I

do that most of the time and She keeps me company. In a sense, more

than a Mother, She is my girl-friend now - a constant companion.

Since She is understood as Consciousness, there is no question of

separating us in any way.

 

In my perambulations, therefore, be they in lonely places or along

busy city streets with traffic thundering by, I chant Her names and I

am then fully with Her. That is a thought which bestows a thousand

crimson sunsets on my heart at every chant of Her innumerable sweet

names! What more to ask for other than remain in this

intoxicating `madness'!?

 

Thus, I am the teenage boy who follows Her everywhere listening to

Her anklet clanks and divine music, which my doctors attribute to

hearing impairment. I tell them not to treat me for it, for I will

be a loser without it. Or, those who call such sweet experiences

hallucinations, like our Bhuvaneswar Chilkuriji once did on this

forum, can they `cure' me at all? Those who warn me against chanting

the MAhAtmya, Sahasra NAmAvali and Trishati (one thousand names and

three hundred names of ShrI LalitA respectively) without proper

initiation, also advise me against sharing these experiences with

others, for then these experiences might vanish. Let them! But, my

advaitia tells me that my nascent companionship with Her as

Consciousness is interminable. I don't, therefore, look for any more

guarantees!

 

Mounted on a tiger or lion or seated on the lotus, She is there

everywhere I look. The teenager in me yearns to hug those animals

and roll over in the joy of playful abandon as She watches by. And,

when She raises Her eyes to look at the splendour of the skies from

atop the VindhyA mountains, the little boy runs up to give Her

company in Her all-encompassing gaze holding on to Her speckled

glittering attire!

 

Yes. I am being emotional for I yearn for more of this madness.

There was this vEdAntin `madman' of yore in Kerala called NArAnattu

Bhranthan (NArAnattu Madman) who used to roll up huge boulders up the

hill all day, a la the Greek Sisyphus, and then roll them down at

dusk laughing in sheer abandon at the futility of human toil. I want

to be in his shoes – but with a difference. I need my girl-friend to

stand beside me and join me in my roaring laughter. That is the

reason why I am so very much into DEvI MAhAtmya and other prayers!

May She, my eternal girlfriend, grant me my wish!

 

I hope I haven't disappointed you, Adiji, by only dwelling on the

personal. I don't have anything scholarly to offer you. This has

come from the heart. What more can I offer Her this NavarAtri?

 

PraNAms (in joyful tears).

 

Madathil Nair

_____________________

 

advaitin, "Sunder Hattangadi" <sunderh>

wrote:

>

> Here lies the conundrum of Practice!

>

> Gita 4:18

>

> karmaNi akarma yaH pashyed akarmaNi cha karma yaH |

> sa buddhimaan manushhyeshhu sa yuktaH kR^itsna-karma-kR^it.h ||

>

> One who discerns action in inaction, and non-action in action is the

> one with wisdom,

> ever in spiritual union, and an accomplisher of all action.

>

> Thus any practice that keeps one aware of it will defeat

its

> purpose!

[Guest guest]

advaitin, "Madathil Rajendran Nair"

<madathilnair> wrote:

> Namaste Sunderji.

>

> Did I misunderstand you here?

>

> "Any action that keeps one *aware of one's performership in it* defeats

> its purpose."

>

> Am I right Sunderji?

>

> Sans that dangerous performership, every moment and movement of ours

> is ecstasy because we are them in fullness as Awareness.

> Oh Ma, make me mad!

 

 

Namaste Madathilji,

 

You have articulated it better than I did. Every question

of spiritual knowledge (adhyatma vidya) that I faced in my personal

life had an answer in the Gita that satisfied me. So it has become a

habit to refer to it whenever any such question is raised.

 

For example, to your question, I thought of :

 

Gita 11:33 - ......... nimittamAtraM bhava .................

 

9:10 - mayAdhyakSheNa prakR^itiH sUyate........

 

13:22 - upadraShTAnumantA cha bhartA bhoktA maheshvaraH

............

 

In the same vein as 11:33 above, I have found 23 more

'injunctions' that Krishna gave Arjuna (and in effect to all

humanity), that I constantly invoke for the 'shreyas'.

 

 

Regards,

 

Sunder

[Guest guest]

Namaste Sunderji,

 

As obvious as it should have been, I hadn't thought of looking for

answers in the Gita. Would you be willing to cite the other 23

"injunctions?"

 

Thanks, Bob Freedman

 

Sunder Hattangadi wrote:

>

> Gita 11:33 - ......... nimittamAtraM bhava .................

>

> 9:10 - mayAdhyakSheNa prakR^itiH sUyate........

>

> 13:22 - upadraShTAnumantA cha bhartA bhoktA maheshvaraH

> ...........

>

> In the same vein as 11:33 above, I have found 23 more

> 'injunctions' that Krishna gave Arjuna (and in effect to all

> humanity), that I constantly invoke for the 'shreyas'.

>

>

> Regards,

>

> Sunder

>

Discussion of Shankara's Advaita Vedanta Philosophy of nonseparablity of Atman

and Brahman.

> Advaitin List Archives available at: http://www.eScribe.com/culture/advaitin/

> To Post a message send an email to : advaitin

> Messages Archived at: advaitin/messages

>

>

> Links

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

advaitin, Bob Freedman <rlfreed@p...> wrote:

> Namaste Sunderji,

>

> As obvious as it should have been, I hadn't thought of looking for

> answers in the Gita. Would you be willing to cite the other 23

> "injunctions?"

>

 

Namaste,

 

Posting one daily may be helpful! When the 'injunction'

does not fit a situation fully, I do have to extend the search to

other verses until a satisfactory fit is achieved.

 

 

Regards,

 

Sunder

 

1.

niyataM kuru karma tvaM karma jyaayo hyakarmaNaH |

shariirayaatraapi cha te na prasid.hdhyedakarmaNaH || 3:8 ||

 

Do thou perform (thy) bounden duty, for action is superior to inaction,

and even the maintenance of the body would not be possible for thee by

inaction.

 

http://blessingsonthenet.com/ has audio of all the verses also.

[Guest guest]

Thank you, Sunderji, for agreeing to do this! I've been looking for

that "satisfactory fit" all my life ;-)

 

Bob Freedman

 

 

 

advaitins wrote:

> advaitin, Bob Freedman <rlfreed@p...> wrote:

>

>>Namaste Sunderji,

>>

>>As obvious as it should have been, I hadn't thought of looking for

>>answers in the Gita. Would you be willing to cite the other 23

>>"injunctions?"

>>

>

>

> Namaste,

>

> Posting one daily may be helpful! When the 'injunction'

> does not fit a situation fully, I do have to extend the search to

> other verses until a satisfactory fit is achieved.

>

>

> Regards,

>

> Sunder

>

> 1.

> niyataM kuru karma tvaM karma jyaayo hyakarmaNaH |

> shariirayaatraapi cha te na prasid.hdhyedakarmaNaH || 3:8 ||

>

> Do thou perform (thy) bounden duty, for action is superior to inaction,

> and even the maintenance of the body would not be possible for thee by

> inaction.

>

> http://blessingsonthenet.com/ has audio of all the verses also.

>

>

>

>

> Discussion of Shankara's Advaita Vedanta Philosophy of nonseparablity of Atman

and Brahman.

> Advaitin List Archives available at: http://www.eScribe.com/culture/advaitin/

> To Post a message send an email to : advaitin

> Messages Archived at: advaitin/messages

>

>

> Links

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Dear Nairji,

 

What a wonderful post! Bhakti with the sword of Advaita! The devotion

of a vira!

 

Warm regards,

Chittaranjan

 

 

advaitin, "Madathil Rajendran Nair"

<madathilnair> wrote:

> I see Her as Awareness in every word that I chant - the

> place, sequence, order or time of the chanting doesn't

> matter, therefore. I do that most of the time and She

> keeps me company. In a sense, more than a Mother, She

> is my girl-friend now - a constant companion. Since She

> is understood as Consciousness, there is no question of

> separating us in any way.

>

> In my perambulations, therefore, be they in lonely places

> or along busy city streets with traffic thundering by, I

> chant Her names and I am then fully with Her. That is a

> thought which bestows a thousand crimson sunsets on my

> heart at every chant of Her innumerable sweet names!

> What more to ask for other than remain in this

> intoxicating `madness'!?

[Guest guest]

Namaste Sunderji,

 

Thank you very much. I am looking forward to the further 22 posts in this

series. May I suggest that the subject of the thread be changed to '23

Injunctions of Lord Krishna' or something on those lines.

 

praNAms,

 

Venkat - M

 

 

Posting one daily may be helpful! When the 'injunction'

does not fit a situation fully, I do have to extend the search to

other verses until a satisfactory fit is achieved.

 

Regards,

Sunder

 

 

 

 

 

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